Alex Tuch produced another strong performance on the road and propelled the Sabres to their first series win since 2007. Buffalo now awaits the victor of Montreal-Tampa Bay in the Second Round.
* Mitch Marner had three points to tie the franchise mark for points in a potential series-clinching game and helped the Golden Knights lock in an all-Pacific Division matchup against the Ducks in the Second Round.
* Andrei Vasilevskiy posted his second shutout in an elimination game – highlighted by a must-see, cross-crease save in the second period – and Gage Goncalves scored the overtime winner to help the Lightning force the first Game 7 of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
* The puck drops on the Second Round tonight when Trevor Zegras and Sebastian Aho lead the Flyers and Hurricanes into their first-ever postseason meeting.
SABRES SKATE INTO SECOND ROUND FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE 2007
Alex Tuch opened the scoring just 3:25 into Game 6 and Mattias Samuelsson netted the eventual game winner to help the Sabres secure their spot in the Second Round, where they’ll face off against either the Lightning or Canadiens. The Sabres are the fifth team in NHL history to snap a playoff drought of at least nine years and the fourth on that list to win at least one series, following the 2017 Oilers (10 seasons), 2019 Hurricanes (9 seasons) and 1988 Devils (9 seasons).
* Tuch became the fourth Sabres player since 1995 with three or more road goals in a single playoff series alongside Thomas Vanek (3 in 2011 CQF), Stu Barnes (3 in 1999 CF) and Michal Grosek (3 in 1998 CQF). He helped Buffalo win its first three road games of a postseason for the second time in franchise history (also 3 GP in 1983).
* Samuelsson became the second defenseman in franchise history to score a series-clinching goal, following Alexei Zhitnik (Game 4 of 1999 CQF). He followed in the footsteps of his father, Kjell, who had one career goal in a potential series-clinching contest (Game 6 of 1996 CQF w/ PHI).
* Click here for more notes on the Sabres advancing to the Second Round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
MARNER MAGIC HELPS GOLDEN KNIGHTS CLINCH YET ANOTHER SERIES VICTORY
Mitch Marner (2-1—3) matched the most points by a Golden Knights player in a series-clinching game as his club eliminated the Mammoth and locked in a Second Round matchup against the Ducks. Overall, Vegas’ 13 all-time series wins are the third most by a franchise through their first eight playoff years, following NY Islanders (19) and Edmonton (17).
* The Golden Knights, who never trailed in Game 6, earned a third-period comeback win in three of their four wins in the First Round (Game 1, 4 & 5) and tied the most by one team in a single series in Stanley Cup Playoffs history. The others: 2025 Stars (R1), 2015 Ducks (R1), 1999 Stars (CQF), 1995 Blackhawks (CSF), 1980 Islanders (QF), 1977 Flyers (QF), 1969 Canadiens (SF) and 1943 Bruins (SF).
* Marner (2-5—7 in 6 GP), the fourth player with five assists through his first six career playoff games with the franchise (most: Reilly Smith, 0-7—7), netted his first career series-clinching goal – the 11th different Golden Knights player to net the clinching tally. Among franchises to debut in the 1990s or later, Vegas (11) is one of four franchises with a double-digit total through their first 13 series wins (also FLA: 12, TBL: 12 & ANA: 11).
* The Golden Knights and Ducks will clash in the Second Round – their first-ever meeting in the Stanley Cup Playoffs – after the Pacific Division rivals were two of only three teams with 10 or more third-period comeback wins during the regular season (ANA: 12; VGK: 10). The last set of teams to meet in a postseason series after each recording 10+ third-period comeback wins in the regular season were the Oilers (10) and Stars (11) in the 2024 Western Conference Final.
GONCALVES GETS OT WINNER AS LIGHTNING FORCE FIRST GAME 7 OF 2026 PLAYOFFS
Gage Goncalves collected the contest’s only goal at 9:03 of overtime as Tampa Bay evaded elimination on the road to force the first Game 7 of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The winner-take-all showdown between the Lightning and Canadiens takes place at Benchmark International Arena on Sunday, May 3 (6 p.m. ET on TNT, SN, TVAS).
* Goncalves has been a regular in the Lightning lineup for each of the last two seasons after making his NHL debut on Jan. 11, 2024, which was one day after learning he would represent the Syracuse Crunch at the 2024 AHL All-Star Classic. Goncalves hails from the major filming hotspot of Mission, B.C., and is of Portuguese descent.
* Andrei Vasilevskiy (30 saves) became the second goaltender in franchise history with multiple shutouts when facing elimination (also Game 7 of 2021 SF), following Ben Bishop (Game 7 of 2015 CF & R1). Dwayne Roloson (Game 7 of 2011 CQF) accounts for the only other one by a Tampa Bay netminder.
* The Lightning own an all-time record of 7-3 in Game 7s, with their .700 winning percentage marking the highest in NHL history among franchises that have contested at least five. Tampa Bay’s record includes a 4-1 clip as the home team.
* The Canadiens will contest their 25th all-time Game 7 (15-9 in 24 GP) and 14th as the road team (7-6 in 13 GP). Montreal can tie Boston (16 GP) for the most Game 7 wins in NHL history and extend its own benchmark for road victories.
#NHLStats Pack: Lightning Evade Elimination in Overtime to Force 7 vs. Canadiens
TRIO OF JACK ADAMS AWARD FINALISTS ANNOUNCED
Jon Cooper, Dan Muse and Lindy Ruff of the Buffalo Sabres are the three finalists for the 2025‑26 Jack Adams Award, presented to the head coach “adjudged to have contributed the most to his team’s success.” Click here for the full details.
QUICK CLICKS
* Mikko Rantanen fined maximum for cross-checking in Game 6 with Stars
* Quinn Hughes ‘difference-maker’ as Wild advance to Western 2nd Round
* 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs: Flyers vs. Hurricanes Eastern 2nd Round preview
* Flyers fan returns stick Cam York tossed into crowd after OT series-winning goal
* Evgeni Malkin wants to keep playing in NHL, even if Penguins don’t re-sign him
SECOND ROUND STARTS TONIGHT IN CAROLINA
Two teams who arrived at this point in very different ways drop the puck on the Second Round Saturday when the Metropolitan Division’s top-seeded Hurricanes host the third-seeded Flyers in Game 1. Carolina held top seed in the division every day from Dec. 11 until the end of the regular season and needed just four games in the opening round to win a playoff series for an eighth straight year (including 2020 Stanley Cup Qualifying Round). Philadelphia sat nine points out of a playoff spot on March 10, finished with a League-best 14-4-1 (29 points) record the rest of the way and earned their first series win since 2020 by defeating the state-rival Penguins.
* This will mark the first all-time playoff meeting between the franchises, but there are some connections of note between the two teams including Hurricanes defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere, who was selected by the Flyers with the No. 78 pick in the 2012 NHL Draft and played each of his first seven seasons with the club, setting single-season franchise records for goals (17) and game winners (5) by a rookie defenseman.
* Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind’Amour was traded to the Flyers by the Blues on Sept. 22, 1991, and played parts of nine seasons with Philadelphia before being moved to Carolina on Jan. 23, 2000. Brind’Amour put the Flyers into the Stanley Cup Final when he scored the series-clinching goal against the Rangers in Game 5 of the 1997 Conference Finals.
* Did You Know? Andrei Svechnikov (April 9, 2024, Dec. 17, 2019 & Oct. 29, 2019) and Trevor Zegras (Dec. 23, 2023, April 1, 2022 & Jan. 27, 2022) account for two of the NHL’s last three lacross-style “cradle” goals and six overall (including four in seasons before 2022-23 when the shot type was officially tracked). Zegras also cradled the puck and flipped it over the net for a viral alley-oop assist on Dec. 7, 2021.
NHL PODCAST WEEKLY ROUNDUP
* NHL Unscripted w/ Virk and Demers (April 30): Dean Evason joins; Macklin-Nate Debate
* 100% Hockey with Millard & Shannon (April 29): Hurricanes GM Eric Tulsky
* Never Offside with Julie and Cat (April 29): Pat Brisson joins; Playoff WAG jackets
* NHL @TheRink (April 29): Martin Biron joins; Playoff Hockey Return to Buffalo
* La Tasse de Café LNH (April 27): Une défaite qui laissera des traces chez les Canadiens?
* 100% Hockey with Millard & Shannon (April 27): Islanders coach Pete DeBoer joins
