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What’s Going On In the Playoffs: Mammoth and Golden Knights split the first two games
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Photo credit: Tim Heitman-Imagn Images
Ryley Delaney
Apr 22, 2026, 17:30 EDTUpdated: Apr 22, 2026, 17:44 EDT
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The 2026 post-season has finally kicked off.
Only four of the 16 teams involved have yet to win a game, with five of the eight series seeing a 1-1 split. Two former Flames defencemen duke it out, while the Philadelphia Flyers are dominating the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Battle of Pennsylvania.
Let’s take a look at what’s going on in the playoffs.

Golden Knights/Mammoth

The Vegas Golden Knights finished first in the Pacific Division, setting up a first-round match-up against the Utah Mammoth. Both teams traded for a Flames’ defenceman ahead of the 2026 trade deadline, with the Mammoth acquiring MacKenzie Weegar and the Knights acquiring Rasmus Andersson.
Game 1 went to the Knights. Late in the first, the Mammoth opened the scoring, but the Knights tied it early in the first. That tie lasted for less than two minutes, as Kevin Stenlund made it 2-1 for the Mammoth. The score held until five and a half minutes into the third period, as Mark Stone scored a power play goal to tie it. 
Less than two minutes later, Nic Dowd scored the game-winner, and Ivan Barbashev buried an empty netter for the winner. The Golden Knights out-hit the Mammoth 51 to 31.
Tuesday’s Game 2 saw the Golden Knights open the scoring midway through the first period. But with about three minutes left in the first, Weegar was credited with a goal as the Golden Knights own-goaled. 
The teams exchanged goal just 62 seconds apart, with Dylan Guenther scoring the Mammoth’s second goal, but quickly being answered by Barbashev’s second of the post-season. With six minutes left in the game, Logan Cooley scored the game-winner to make it a best of five.
The Mammoth now holds home ice advantage. Games 3 and 4 will be in Salt Lake City, with Game 3 starting at 7:30 p.m. MT on Friday. Three days later, the two teams will play Game 4, with Game 5 returning to Las Vegas on Wednesday.

Oilers/Ducks

The last series to start was the Edmonton Oilers/Anaheim Ducks series. That finally kicked off this past Monday, with the Oilers scoring two late first period goals, Jason Dickinson scored the first and Kasperi Kapanen scored the second. 
It was the opposite in the second period, as it belonged to the Ducks. They cut the Oilers’ lead in half just 19 seconds in, tying it less than five minutes into the middle frame, and taking the lead with five and a half minutes left. Troy Terry scored twice and had an assist on the other goal.
Midway through the third period, Dickinson scored his second of the game as Radko Gudas blew a tire on the Oilers’ rush chance. With under two minutes to play, Kapanen received a fantastic pass from Vasily Podkolzin, beating Ducks’ netminder Lukáš Dostál for a 4-3 victory.
Game 2 is on Wednesday with a start time of 8:00 p.m. MT. After that, the series shifts to Anaheim, with Game 3 coming at the same time on Friday, and Game 4 starting at 7:30 p.m. MT on Sunday. If needed, Game 5 returns to Alberta on Tuesday with a time to be determined.

Avalanche/Kings

Despite being down 2-0 in the series, the Los Angeles Kings are putting up a much better fight than expected. Game 1 saw the Colorado Avalanche win 2-1. It took over 35 minutes to score the game’s opening goal, and just six minutes into the third, the Avalanche extended that lead to two. Artemi Panarin scored a power play goal with just under two and a half minutes remaining, but were unable to find the game-tying goal.
Game 2 was the same result, as the Avalanche took it 2-1 in overtime. Panarin scored his second of the series, also on the power play, with just under seven minutes left in the game. However, the Kings were unable to hold on, with Gabriel Landeskog tying it with just over three and a half minutes remaining. In overtime, Nicolas Roy scored the game-winner, with the game ending around 11:45 p.m. MT. For me, that ended at nearly 2 AM. Gotta love playoff hockey. (Editor’s Note: And the Eastern time zone.)
The series shifts to California for Games 3 and 4. Thursday’s Game 3 has a start time of 8:00 p.m. MT, but Saturday’s Game 4 is an afternoon game, starting at 2:30 p.m. MT. If the Kings are able to win at least one game, Game 5 will be in Denver on Wednesday.

Stars/Wild

The last Western Conference match-up is between the Dallas Stars and the Minnesota Wild. Game 1 wasn’t close at all, as Joel Eriksson Ek opened the scoring five and a half minutes into the game. Less than a minute into the second, Kirill Kaprizov scored to make it 2-0. Then both Ryan Hartman and Matt Boldy scored, giving the Wild three goals within the first seven minutes of the second period. 
Jason Robertson’s power play goal with about five minutes left cut the lead to 4-1, but Eriksson Ek scored another power play goal in the third, followed by an empty-netter by Matt Boldy to take Game 1 by a score of 6-1.
Game 2 was a closer game that went the Stars’ way. Nine minutes into the first period, Wyatt Johnston opened the scoring. The Wild’s Brock Faber tied it midway through the first, but Matt Duchene restored the Stars’ lead with a power play goal four minutes into the second. Robertson scored his second of the series seven minutes into the third, just for Faber to score his second of the game midway through the final frame. The Wild were unable to tie it, with Johnston icing the game with an empty-netter.
Although they lost Game 2, the Wild were able to split the series in Texas. Now they return home, with Game 3 on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. MT and Game 4 at 3:30 p.m. MT on Saturday. Game 5’s time is yet to be determined, but it’ll be on Tuesday next week in Dallas.

Canadiens/Lightning

The most entertaining of the eight series is the match-up between the Montréal Canadiens and Tampa Bay Lightning. Game 1 the teams each reach 14 penalty minutes with five power plays each. Josh Anderson opened the scoring in the first, then took a penalty in the second that the Lightning capitalized on.
Less than 30 seconds later, the Lightning took the lead thanks to Brandon Hagel’s first of the game. Then Juraj Slafkovský took over, scoring a power play goal with 24 seconds remaining in the second. He scored another power play goal six minutes in the third, but the Lightning tied it with a power play goal of their own nine minutes into the final frame. In overtime, Slafkovský completed the power play hat trick, beating the Lightning goaltender just 82 seconds into extra time.
Game 1 was a docile game compared to Game 2. The teams combined for 52 penalty minutes, with the Canadiens receiving four and the Lightning three. Hagel scored his third of the post-season about nine minutes into the first, but the Canadiens’ Lane Hutson tied it with a power play goal with just under four minutes left in the opening frame.
With 84 seconds left in the second, Anderson’s second of the playoffs gave the Canadiens the lead, but Nikita Kucherov tied it with just over seven minutes remaining in the third period. The Lightning dominated overtime, and on their ninth shot, J.J. Moser finally beat Jakub Dobeš to tie the series at one.
The series shifts to Québec for the next two games. Game 3 is on Friday at 5:00 p.m. MT and Game 4 is on Sunday at 5:00 p.m. MT. The two teams will return to Florida for Game 5 on Wednesday with an undetermined time.

Sabres/Bruins

As you likely know by now, the Buffalo Sabres have made the post-season for the first time since 2011. The Boston Bruins spoiled the party temporarily, as Morgan Geekie scored midway through the first period. Early in the third, former Flame Elias Lindholm scored to make it 2-0.
Then, the Sabres did the improbable. With Tage Thompson scoring his first ever playoff goal in his first playoff game, finally beating Jeremy Swayman.  Less than four minutes later, he scored his second of the game to tie it. Mattias Samuelsson’s goal less than a minute later gave the Sabres a 3-2 lead, and Alex Tuch buried the game with an empty netter. Pretty cool moment.
The Bruins were guilty of sitting back on their lead in Game 1. They didn’t make the same mistake in Game 2. Viktor Arvidsson opened the scoring five minutes into the second. Geekie scored a half-ice shot with three and a half minutes left in the frame, then Pavel Zacha scored a power play with under two to play in the middle frame.
It went from bad to worse for the Sabres, as Arvidsson scored his second of the game just 16 seconds into the third. The Sabres attempted a late comeback again, as Bowen Byram scored with six minutes left in the game, then Peyton Krebs scored with five minutes left on the clock. That’s all they got, as the Bruins took Game 2 by a score of 4-2.
Game 3 is on Thursday in Boston with a start time of 5:00 p.m. MT. They’ll have two days off between Games 3 and 4, with Game 4 taking place on Sunday at 12:00 p.m. MT. Game 5 will return to Buffalo on Tuesday.

Hurricanes/Senators

Over in Raleigh, the Carolina Hurricanes are playing the Ottawa Senators in the first round. The Hurricanes won Game 1 handily, as Logan Stankoven opened the scoring just over two minutes into the second period. Taylor Hall then scored seven minutes into the third period. Frederik Andersen stopped all 22 shots he faced in the victory.
The Hurricanes jumped out to a 2-0 lead in Game 2 as well. Six and a half minutes into the first, Stankoven scored his second of the post-season. Eight minutes into the second period, Sebastian Aho extended their lead to two. However, the Sens fought back this time, cutting the lead in half midway through the second, then tying it with three and a half minutes left in the period.
After neither team scored in the third period, the two teams went to overtime. It looked as if the Hurricanes won in the first overtime period, scoring on a delayed penalty, but it was deemed to be offside. That delayed penalty happened to be a penalty shot, which the Hurricane Jordan Martinook was still able to take. Linus Ullmark came up big between the pipes.
Martinook eventually won the game anyway, scoring the game-winning goal with just over six minutes left in the second overtime period.
The series shifts to Ottawa (Kanata) beginning on Thursday. Game 3 is at 5:30 p.m. ET, while Game 4 is on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. MT. If needed, Game 5 is set to be played on Monday in Raleigh.

Penguins/Flyers

Lastly, Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins are taking on the Philadelphia Flyers for the first time since 2018. Coming into the series, the Flyers were surging, and that continued in the first two games.
Game 1 saw Jamie Drysdale open the scoring midway through the second period. Six minutes later, Evgeni Malkin tied it for the Penguins. The Flyers restored that lead 10 minutes into the third thanks to Travis Sanheim’s first of the post-season, then Porter Martone scored his first playoff goal with just over two and a half minutes remaining. With 61 seconds left, the Penguins cut the lead to one, but were unable to tie it.
The two teams were scoreless through the first 33 minutes, but eventually, Martone scored his second of the post-season. Shortly later, the Penguins received a power play, but the Flyers were the team to score on it to give them a 2-0 lead. Luke Glendening iced it with an empty netter with just over two minutes remaining.
Heading into Game 3 on Wednesday at 5:00 p.m. MT, the Flyers have all the momentum. Game 4 is set to be played on Saturday at 6:00 p.m. MT. If needed, Game 5 is on Monday in Pittsburgh, while Game 6 is on Wednesday in Philadelphia.
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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