There's two games on this Thursday, beginning with...
The Carolina Hurricanes welcoming the New York Rangers. Igor Shesterkin and Frederik Andersen guard the cages. Carolina began in the first period with a Martin Necas goal, his fourth of the postseason, via Jordan Martinook and Dmitry Orlov. The Hurricanes added on with a Seth Jarvis power play goal in the second period, his fifth of the playoffs, powered by Sebastian Aho and Andrei Svechnikov. New York answered with a Vincent Trocheck goal, his sixth of the postseason, made possible by Artemi Panarin. Carolina shot back with an Aho goal, his fourth of the playoffs, guided in by Svechnikov and Jaccob Slavin. The Rangers replied in the third period with a Chris Kreider goal, his fifth of the postseason, assisted by Mika Zibanejad and Jack Roslovic. New York tied it on a Kreider power play goal, his second of the game and sixth of the playoffs, with assists provided by Panarin and Trocheck. The Rangers took the lead with a Kreider goal to complete his hat trick on his seventh of the postseason, fueled by Ryan Lindgren and Roslovic. New York iced it at 5-3 with an empty net goal by Barclay Goodrow, his third of the playoffs, set up by K'Andre Miller. The three stars were Kreider, Panarin, and Trocheck, while Roslovic, Aho, and Svechnikov get the honorable mentions. The Rangers won the series 4-2 and will play in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Out west, the Vancouver Canucks bring in the Edmonton Oilers. Calvin Pickard and Arturs Silovs are the backups in goal. Edmonton led off in the first period with an Evander Kane goal, his third of the postseason, assisted by Leon Draisaitl and Vincent Desharnais. Vancouver tied it on a Carson Soucy goal, going in unassisted. The Oilers retook the lead on a Mattias Janmark goal, helped along by Connor Brown and Brett Kulak. The Canucks tied it in the second period with a Phillip Di Giuseppe goal, an unassisted goal. Vancouver took the lead in the third period on a J.T. Miller goal, his third of the playoffs, via Elias Lindholm and Elias Pettersson. This held for a 3-2 win, with the three stars being Miller, Di Giuseppe, and Soucy. The Canucks are ahead 3-2 in the series.
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