We're back to the top-seeded teams' arenas for Game 5s. First up...
The Carolina Hurricanes host the Boston Bruins. Jeremy Swayman and Antti Raanta man the nets. Carolina led off in the first period with a Jaccob Slavin goal, his second of the postseason, via Tony DeAngelo and Sebastian Aho. The Hurricanes added on with a DeAngelo power play goal, powered by Teuvo Teravainen and Vincent Trocheck. Carolina extended the lead in the second period as Seth Jarvis scored his second of the playoffs, thanks to Aho and Teravainen. The Hurricanes padded the lead in the third period with another Jarvis power play goal, his second of the game and third of the postseason, helped along by Trocheck and DeAngelo. Boston got on the board with a Connor Clifton goal, courtesy of Erik Haula and Taylor Hall. Carolina iced it at 5-1 with an empty net goal by Trocheck, his third of the playoffs, set up by Martin Necas and Teravainen. The three stars were DeAngelo, Teravainen, and Jarvis, while Trocheck and Aho get the honorable mentions. The Hurricanes reclaimed the series lead at 3-2.
Up in Toronto, the Maple Leafs welcome the Tampa Bay Lightning. Andrei Vasilevskiy and Jack Campbell tend the twines. Tampa Bay began in the first period with a Steven Stamkos goal, his second of the postseason, made possible by Ondrej Palat and Nikita Kucherov. The Lightning added on with a Victor Hedman power play goal, his second of the playoffs, powered by Kucherov and Alex Killorn. Toronto got on the board in the second period with a John Tavares power play goal, with assists provided by William Nylander and Mark Giordano. The Maple Leafs tied it in the third period with a Morgan Rielly goal, his second of the postseason, via Tavares and Nylander. Toronto took the lead with a Nylander goal, his third of the playoffs, coming off of Ilya Mikheyev and Justin Holl. Tampa Bay tied it again with a Ryan McDonagh goal, helped along by Ross Colton and Nick Paul. The Maple Leafs regained the lead on an Auston Matthews goal, his third of the postseason, courtesy of Mitchell Marner and Michael Bunting. This stood for a 4-3 win, with the three stars awarded to Nylander, Tavares, and Kucherov. The Maple Leafs hold a 3-2 series lead.
Westward to Minnesota, as the Wild bring in the St. Louis Blues. Jordan Binnington and Marc-Andre Fleury guard the cages. St. Louis opened in the first period with a Ryan O'Reilly power play goal, his fourth of the postseason, powered by Scott Perunovich and Brayden Schenn. Minnesota tied it on a Kirill Kaprizov power play goal, his sixth of the playoffs, with assists provided by Jared Spurgeon and Kevin Fiala. The Wild took the lead with another Kaprizov power play goal, his second of the game and seventh of the postseason, via Fiala and Mats Zuccarello. The Blues tied it in the second period with a Brandon Saad goal, assisted by Jordan Kyrou and Robert Thomas. St. Louis took the lead in the third period with a Vladimir Tarasenko goal, his second of the playoffs, made possible by Pavel Buchnevich and Justin Faulk. The Blues added on with another Tarasenko goal, his second of the game and third of the postseason, with helpers from Ivan Barbashev and Faulk. St. Louis iced it at 5-2 with a Tarasenko empty net goal to complete his natural hat trick on his fourth of the playoffs, set up by Buchnevich. The three stars were Tarasenko, Kaprizov, and Faulk, while Buchnevich and Fiala get the honorable mentions. The Blues head home leading 3-2 in the series.
Finally, the Edmonton Oilers host the Los Angeles Kings. Jonathan Quick and Mike Smith are the veterans in goal. Los Angeles started in the first period with a Troy Stecher goal, his second of the postseason, courtesy of Alexander Edler. Edmonton tied it in the second period on a Zack Kassian goal, via Connor McDavid and Brett Kulak. The Kings retook the lead with an Adrian Kempe goal, helped along by Anze Kopitar and Alex Iafallo. Los Angeles added on with an Andreas Athanasiou goal, coming off of Dustin Brown. The Oilers got one back in the third period with a McDavid power play goal, his second of the playoffs, powered by Zach Hyman and Leon Draisaitl. The Kings replied with a Phillip Danault power play goal, his third of the postseason, with assists provided by Kempe and Sean Durzi. Edmonton pulled back on a shorthanded Draisaitl goal, his fourth of the playoffs, going in unassisted. The Oilers tied it on a Draisaitl power play goal, his second of the game and fifth of the postseason, assisted by McDavid and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. Los Angeles won 5-4 in overtime with a Kempe goal, his second of the game, with a lone helper by Stecher. The three stars were Kempe, Stecher, and McDavid, while Draisaitl gets an honorable mention. The Kings take a 3-2 series lead back home.
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