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What’s Going On In the Playoffs: Hurricanes and Avalanche move on to the Conference Finals
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Photo credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images
Ryley Delaney
May 14, 2026, 19:00 EDTUpdated: May 14, 2026, 20:19 EDT
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Two teams have already punched their ticket to the Conference Finals.
Both the Carolina Hurricanes and Colorado Avalanche will be one of the final four teams with a chance to win the Stanley Cup, after defeating the Philadelphia Flyers and Minnesota Wild respectively.
Moreover, the Vegas Golden Knights are just one win away from punching their ticket to the Western Conference Finals for the first time since 2023, while the Montréal Canadiens and Buffalo Sabres are deadlocked at two wins each.
Let’s take a look at what happened in the post–season this past week.

Golden Knights/Ducks

The Vegas Golden Knights have pushed the Anaheim Ducks to the brink. Heading to Anaheim with the series tied at one game apiece, the 2023 Stanley Cup champions throttled the Golden Knights 6-2. In the first period, Shea Theodore, Brayden McNabb, and Mitch Marner scored to give the Golden Knights a 3-0 lead.
Then in the second period, Marner scored his second and third goals to give the Golden Knights a 5-0 lead after 40. The Ducks had some fight in them, scoring a pair of goals, but an empty netter from Brett Howden sealed the game, giving the Golden Knights a 2-1 series lead.
Game 4 was also in Anaheim, but it was the hosts that came out on top. Beckett Sennecke opened the scoring, but less than two minutes later, Pavel Dorofeyev scored. Before the end of the first, Mikael Granlund scored to make it 2-1.
Once again, the Golden Knights tied it thanks to a goal from Howden four minutes into the second period. But with Alex Killorn’s power play goal with two to play in the second, the Ducks started to pull away. Ian Moore scored early in the third, which turned out to be the game-winner when Tomáš Hertl found twine with 64 seconds to play. The Golden Knights were unable to tie it.
That made the series a best of three, with the pivotal Game 5 returning to Sin City. Sennecke scored the game’s opening goal for a second consecutive game, but Dorofeyev scored a power play goal with under four to play in the first. Hertl scored his second of the post-season five minutes into the third, but with just over three to play, Olen Zellweger scored to send the game to overtime.
There, Dorofeyev scored his seventh of the playoffs just four minutes in, giving the Golden Knights a 3-2 series lead.
The series shifts to Orange County for Game 6 on Thursday, which has a start time of 7:30 p.m. MT. If the Ducks win, Game 7 is on Saturday at 3:00 p.m. MT.

Avalanche/Wild

As expected, the Colorado Avalanche have punched their ticket to the Western Conference Finals.
Heading to Minneapolis down 2-0, the Minnesota Wild found a way to win Game 3. Kirill Kaprizov opened the scoring with five left in the first, then Quinn Hughes scored less than two minutes later. In the second, Ryan Hartman scored the Wild’s second power play goal of the game, but Nathan MacKinnon found the back of the net on the man-advantage with seven left in the second.
That 3-1 score lasted 20 seconds, as Brock Faber beat Mackenzie Blackwood to snuff out any comeback attempt. Matt Boldy sealed the win thanks to his third empty net goal of the post-season.
Now down 2-1 in the series, the Wild opened the scoring thanks to a Danila Yurov power play goal midway into the first. However, former Calgary Flame Nazem Kadri scored a power play goal of his own six minutes into the second.
With the score tied at one after 40, Ross Colton gave the Avalanche a 2-1 lead seven minutes into the third, but Nico Sturm returned fire with just over 10 to play. That turned out to be the Wild’s final goal on home ice this season, as Parker Kelly scored the game-winner just over two minutes later. MacKinnon and Brock Nelson each scored empty netters.
The Wild got off to a great start in Game 5, as Marcus Johansson scored just 34 seconds into the game. That was followed by a pair of Nick Foligno goals to put the Wild up 3-0 after 20. With nine to play in the second, Parker Kelly got the Avalanche on the board.
They held onto that lead for the first 16 minutes of the third, but Jack Drury cut the lead to one. With 83 seconds left in the game, MacKinnon tied the game to send it to overtime. Then just four minutes into the extra period, former Flame Brett Kulak scored to get the Avalanche to the Western Conference Finals.
It’s unclear when the Conference Finals will begin, as it depends on the other Western Conference series.

Sabres/Canadiens

One of two ongoing series is contested between the Montréal Canadiens and Buffalo Sabres. It was late to start thanks to the Canadiens’ opening round series against the Tampa Bay Lightning heading to seven games, and the Sabres took a 1-0 lead after a 4-2 victory in Game 1.
The Canadiens managed to split the first two games in Buffalo thanks to a 5-1 victory in Game 2. Alex Newhook opened the scoring 96 seconds into the game, then Mike Matheson doubled their lead five minutes into the first. Newhook scored again about five minutes into the second.
Zach Benson found the back of the net with 38 seconds to play in the second period, giving the Sabres some life. However, that push was ended after Alexandre Carrier scored four minutes into the third. Captain Nick Suzuki iced the game with an empty netter.
For the first time this post-season, the Canadiens won two consecutive games thanks to a 6-2 victory in Montréal in Game 3. Tage Thompson opened the scoring 53 seconds in, but Newhook tied it with five to play in the first.
In the second period, Cole Caufield scored a power play goal to give the Canadiens a lead, then Zach Bolduc extended the lead to two. Juraj Slafkovský then scored a power play goal to make it 4-1, but that was quickly followed by a power play goal from Rasmus Dahlin. Once again, any hope was snuffed out quickly, as Kirby Dach scored nine minutes into the third. Newhook scored his fourth of the series after an empty netter.
Looking to avoid going down 3-1 in the series, the Sabres were able to win Game 4 by a score of 3-2, despite being out-shot 31-22, the fourth time they were out-shot in the series. Mattias Samuelsson scored six and a half minutes into the first, but Newhook scored his fifth of the series midway through the first. With 13 seconds left in the first, Caufield scored a power play goal.
However, Thompson tied the game thanks to a power play goal seven minutes into the second period. Then Benson found the back of the net five minutes into the third, with the Sabres being able to hold on from there.
Game 5 returns to Western New York, with that game coming our way on Thursday at 5:00 p.m. MT. Game 6 will be on Saturday evening in Montréal with a 6:00 p.m. MT start time. If needed, Game 7 is on Monday at 5:30 p.m. MT.

Hurricanes/Flyers

To the surprise of no one, the Carolina Hurricanes easily dispelled the Philadelphia Flyers. Taking a 2-0 series lead to the City of Brotherly Love, the Hurricanes took a commanding 3-0 series lead thanks to a 4-1 victory in Game 3.
Captain Jordan Staal scored a power play goal late in the first period, but Flyers’ winger Trevor Zegras tied it early in the second. On a Flyers’ power play, Jalen Chatfield scored a short-handed goal, which turned out to be the game-winner. Four minutes into the third, Andrei Svechnikov scored a power play goal to take a 3-1 lead, then Nikolaj Ehlers scored seven minutes into the third for the 4-1 victory.
With their backs up against the wall, the Flyers put up more of a fight in Game 4. Tyson Foerster opened the scoring eight minutes into the first, but the Hurricanes tied the game with seven to play in the second period thanks to a Jackson Blake goal. Four minutes into the third, Logan Stankoven scored his seventh of the post-season to put the Hurricanes up 2-1, but Alex Bump scored less than two minutes later, sending the game to overtime.
Both the Hurricanes and Avalanche have clinched their ticket to the Conference Finals thanks to overtime goals. Blake was the hero for the Canes, scoring five and a half minutes into the extra frame for the 3-2 victory and 4-0 series win.
With an ongoing series in each conference, it’s unclear when the Conference Finals will begin.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for FlamesNation, Oilersnation, and Blue Jays Nation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.
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