There were two games of playoff pucks on Friday. Vancouver advances to the second round, while Nashville's season comes to an end. Meanwhile, Vegas forces a winner-take-all Game 7 with Dallas on Sunday.

Canucks 1, Predators 0 (Canucks win series 4-2)

It wasn't an overtime goal, but it almost seemed that way. Pius Suter scored the game's only goal with just 1:39 remaining in the third period. That was the difference for the Canucks, who now advance to play Edmonton in an all-Canadian second-round series.  

The Canucks took a cross-checking penalty with just 33 seconds remaining, but they were able to survive a 6-on-4 onslaught from the Predators to secure the series win. This was arguably the Canucks' most impressive game of the series, as the 29 shots they took was the highest total of any game in a series where they struggled to get shots on net.

Look at how close the Predators came to tying the game with about 7 ticks left on the clock. Sheesh. I didn't actually notice that until after the game.

The real story in this game was the goalies. Arturs Silovs was flawless in net, stopping all 28 shots he faced to become the youngest goalie in Canucks history (age 23) to post a shutout. Silovs was playing in just his third career playoff game. Juuse Saros had an impressive game himself, stopping 28 of 29 shots he faced. After a disastrous third period and overtime in Game 4, Saros was his best in Games 5 and 6 in allowing just one goal in each game.

The injury to Thatcher Demko after Game 1 had Canucks fans panicking, while the minor injury to backup Casey DeSmith raised the temperature even more. Silovs has just nine games of regular-season NHL experience, but he has some recent big-game experience in leading Latvia to a bronze medal in last year's World Hockey Championship while being named tournament MVP. Unexpected heroes can appear from the playoffs, and this season Silovs is emerging as one of those guys.

It's important to determine whether playoff success can lead to fantasy success the following season and beyond, because that's sometimes not the case. DeSmith is a UFA after the season, so it's entirely possible that Silovs moves into the backup role in Vancouver next season. His AHL numbers (2.74 GAA, .907 SV%) did regress a little bit from last season, but he is demonstrating that he has what it takes to stick in the NHL. With Demko now an injury risk with games missed both this season and last, the Canucks have to seriously think about giving him more nights off. Spending big money on a backup goalie isn't an option if the Canucks are to stay competitive, so Silovs' emergence in these playoffs couldn't come at a better time.

The coaches in this game (Rick Tocchet and Andrew Brunette) were two of the three finalists for the Jack Adams Trophy for top coach. In fairness to Rick Bowness, whose Jets team made vast improvements this season, I think Tocchet and Brunette should be the top two candidates. Tocchet has not only met the Canucks' goal of making the playoffs this season, he also had them in the mix for the Presidents' Trophy. Meanwhile, Brunette has taken a rather ordinary (on paper) Predators group into the playoffs where they seem to buy into his system. I've seen very few passengers on this Nashville roster during their first-round series. Kudos to them on a hard-fought series.

An argument could be made for Kris Knoblauch to be a Jack Adams finalist. The Oilers' season seemed to completely turn around when he was hired as head coach. The counterargument to that could be that the Oilers finally started to perform as expected after their woeful start, considering that they were a preseason favorite to win the Stanley Cup.

To wrap up this section, who do I like to win the Canucks/Oilers series? I'll post my pick with the other writers shortly, as I haven't completely made up my mind as I write this. The Canucks may have a psychological edge, having won all four games against the Oilers this season. Three of those wins were early in the season before the Oilers made their coaching change, and it's understood that the Oilers are a different team now. In addition, the Oilers will have a bit more rest while we don't really know when Demko will return and how Silovs will hold up against Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and company.

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Golden Knights 2, Stars 0 (series tied 3-3)

There will now officially be two Game 7s in this season's first round. Leafs and Bruins on Saturday, followed by Golden Knights and Stars on Sunday after the first game of the Hurricanes/Rangers series.

Noah Hanifin's icebreaker goal midway through the third period turned out to be the game-winner for Vegas, which snaps a three-game losing streak for the Golden Knights in this series.

Since being acquired by Vegas, Hanifin has 12 points in 19 regular-season games and five points in six playoff games. He was also installed on the top power play late in the season and has remained in that role through the playoffs, while both Shea Theodore and Alex Pietrangelo have manned the second unit. That's shown in the point totals for these defensemen in the playoffs. Three of Hanifin's points during the playoffs have been with the man advantage, while Pietrangelo has just one total point in the series and Theodore has yet to register a single point in the series.

Although things could change, Hanifin on the Golden Knights' top power play could be something to remember for next season's drafts. Vegas is all about buying the shiny new toy, which is why they signed Pietrangelo in the first place a few years ago. Now it's Hanifin, whose eight-year contract with a cap hit of over $7 million kicks in next season, which could mean his days of sub-50% power-play usage could be over. In other words, we could see Hanifin reach a whole new level in Vegas. Dobber, if you're reading this, can you adjust his upside to beyond 55 points?

The "what have you done for me lately" Golden Knights decided to turn to Adin Hill for Game 5. Logan Thompson had allowed three goals in both Games 3 and 4, but he posted quality starts in all of Games 2, 3, and 4. Maybe Bruce Cassidy felt the team needed a shakeup, or simply wanted to give last season's Cup-winning goalie a chance to deliver again. After a Game 5 loss, Hill stopped all 23 shots he faced to pitch a Game 6 shutout. If Vegas advances past the first round, expect them to continue to ride the hot goalie.

Thompson and Hill posted surprisingly similar numbers during the regular season, reaffirming that Vegas' goalie situation should be considered a timeshare. Thompson posted a 2.70 GAA and .908 SV%, while Hill's 2.71 GAA and .909 SV% was practically a mirror image of that.

Mark Stone scored an empty netter in the final minute to add insurance to the victory. Since returning from a lacerated spleen (just in time for the playoffs!), Stone has scored three goals in six games. Stone is still an effective player, but he has clearly earned the title of Band-Aid Boy. Over the past three seasons, he has averaged 45 games played, making him a high-risk option in fantasy leagues. When projecting his stats for next season, you need to knock off at least 20 games. That's just because he still might be dealing with a back ailment, while another extended LTIR stay for whatever is also a factor.  

Remember when Joe Pavelski was an exceptional playoff performer? Yeah. He's been held without a point during this six-game series. It's a small sample against one team, but maybe we're finally starting to see a decline from the 39-year-old Pavelski. His scoring total fell from 77 points last season to 67 points this season. He's also a UFA at the end of the season, so it will be interesting to see whether Dallas prioritizes resigning him over someone like Matt Duchene or Chris Tanev.

Don't know if this means anything, but Peter DeBoer is 7-0 all-time in Game 7s. I have to think for a minute which team Peter DeBoer coaches for. Oh yeah, used to be Vegas, now it's Dallas.

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