ST. LOUIS 5 – Minnesota 1… The Blues breezed past the Wild to wrap up the Western Conference first-round playoff series in six games. Ryan O’Reilly, Tyler Bozak and Vladimir Tarasenko scored second-period goals. Goalie Jordan Binnington stopped 25 shots. St. Louis advances to take on Colorado in the second round.
BOSTON 5 – Carolina 2… The Bruins skated past the Hurricanes to force a seventh game in the Eastern Conference first-round playoff series. Brad Marchand scored a goal and assisted on another. Goalie Jeremy Swayman stopped 23 shots. The series returns to Raleigh for Game 7 tomorrow.
TAMPA BAY 4 – Toronto 3 (OT)… Brayden Point tipped in a rebound with 1:56 left in overtime and the Lightning outlasted the Maple Leafs to set up tomorrow’s Game 7 in Toronto. Ondrej Palat, Anthony Cirelli and Nikita Kucherov scored in regulation for Tampa Bay. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 30 saves at goal.
Edmonton 4 – LOS ANGELES 2… The Oilers doubled up on the Kings to force a seventh game in the Western Conference first-round playoff series. Tyson Barrie scored the go-ahead goal with 5:10 remaining. Evander Kane scored two goals and had an assist. Connor McDavid added a goal and two assists. Game 7 is tomorrow in Edmonton.