Two games of playoff pucks on Thursday. The Rangers become the first team to advance to the conference final, while a last-minute goal in regulation places the Canucks one win away from their own trip to the conference final.

Rangers 5, Hurricanes 3 (Rangers win series 4-2)

With a 3-1 lead after two periods, the Hurricanes looked to be in a great spot to force a winner-take-all Game 7 after being down 0-3 in the series. But then Chris Kreider recorded a natural hat trick to give the Rangers the lead in the game and the series for good. Kreider's status for this game wasn't totally certain, as he took a maintenance day on Wednesday before testing his injury during Thursday's morning skate. Kreider should have plenty of time to rest his injury before the Eastern Conference Final, although Florida could clinch their series on Friday night.

Kreider's three goals gives him seven goals and three assists over 10 games. He also took a personal playoff high seven shots on goal in Game 6. His game-tying goal in Game 6 was on the power play.

CHRISTOPHER JAMES KREIDER 🤩

His natural hatty in the third period has sent the @NYRangers to the Eastern Conference Final! #StanleyCup

Hat Trick Challenge presented by @AstraZenecaUS pic.twitter.com/YZUDraN3N7

— NHL (@NHL) May 17, 2024

Vincent Trocheck scored one of the Rangers' other goals while adding an assist, while Artemi Panarin and Jack Roslovic each chipped in two assists. Barclay Goodrow scored an empty-net goal for insurance.

Sebastian Aho scored a goal and added an assist in Game 6. He finishes the playoffs with 12 points in 11 games, including nine points in his last six games.

Andrei Svechnikov registered two assists, giving him six points in his last five playoff games and 11 points in 11 playoff games.

Seth Jarvis and Martin Necas scored the Canes' other two goals. Necas finishes the playoffs with goals in back-to-back games.

Frederik Andersen most likely wanted this one back, allowing four goals on just 23 shots. That was Andersen's third really bad start in 10 playoff games this season. After a late-season surge, Andersen's playoff performance fell back to earth a bit.

Special teams were a more significant reason that the Hurricanes could not advance. After a season where they had the league's second-best power play (26.9 PP%), the Canes were only 2-for-21 (9.5 PP%) with the man advantage in this series. They also allowed two shorthanded goals to the Rangers.

The Hurricanes now face an offseason with some major decisions. Jake Guentzel, Teuvo Teravainen, Brady Skjei, Brett Pesce, and Tony DeAngelo are the notable free agents on their roster. Pesce has been rumored to be headed to free agency for a while, and Guentzel's asking price might simply be too much for the efficiency-focused Canes to afford. Also, I'd be surprised if the Canes bring back DeAngelo unless it is for something like the league minimum where he can be inserted as a seventh defenseman in a pinch. Expect some turnover on this roster as Carolina tries to figure out the right formula for getting over the Eastern Conference hump with its current core.

With all of these names (and more), keep in mind that the Canes will need to make re-signing Martin Necas a priority. Necas has been a bargain at $3 million per season and is arbitration-eligible this offseason. In his Salary Cap Projections, Alex has Necas projected for just over $7 million per season and Guentzel projected for nearly $10 million per season. Carolina will need to make some hard decisions.  

Canucks 3, Oilers 2 (Canucks lead series 3-2)

J.T. Miller's goal couldn't have been timelier. Miller scored the game-winning goal with just 32 seconds left in regulation to give the Canucks the lead in what has been a highly entertaining and emotionally charged Battle of Canada series.

JT MILLER SCORES THE GO-AHEAD GOAL WITH LESS THAN A MINUTE LEFT! 🚨 pic.twitter.com/2zjtNLRIvn

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 17, 2024

Miller is now tied with Brock Boeser for the team lead in playoff points (12 points in 11 games).

Carson Soucy and Phillip Di Giuseppe scored the other Canucks goals. Di Giuseppe in particular was very noticeable in this game, as he appeared to be extra fired up after his wife gave birth to a baby boy recently. Congratulations to PDG on what has been an amazing week.

Elias Pettersson's struggles during the playoffs have been well documented, as he entered this game with just five points in 10 playoff games while looking less than his usual dominant self. After publicly criticizing Petey, Rick Tocchet decided to place him on an all-Swede line with Elias Lindholm and Nils Hoglander, which looked like the right move. Pettersson finished with an assist on Miller's game-winning goal while taking three shots. This appeared to be one of Pettersson's better games of the playoffs, so expect this line to stick.

Evander Kane and Mattias Janmark scored for the Oilers in the first period. More notably, the Oilers went 0-for-5 on the power play in this game, which is the first game that their lethal power play was held without a goal in these playoffs.

Kris Knoblauch was taking a risk by starting Calvin Pickard in Game 4, but it was a necessary risk for the Oilers given the recent play of Stuart Skinner. Pickard has posted back-to-back quality starts in Games 4 and 5, including saves on 32 of 35 shots. The Canucks carried the majority of the play in Game 5, but Pickard kept the game tied despite an onslaught from the Canucks at times (17 SOG in the second period). Expect Pickard to start Game 6 for the Oilers, as he has been the better of the Oilers' two goalies. He is certainly making his case for an NHL contract this offseason, as he will be a UFA.

After decades of opposing peaks and valleys, the Canucks/Oilers rivalry is finally a thing. If you prefer the old "1-vs-8" playoff format compared to the new divisional format, then consider that the Canucks and Oilers would have different opponents for this round. Not that other series wouldn't be entertaining, but rivalries are built in the playoffs. Buckle up for Game 6 on Saturday.

Is this a penalty? I won't hide the fact that I'm a Canucks fan, but this is one of the worst penalty calls of the playoffs. Even if "jumping" is a form of charging, Pettersson is trying to protect himself knowing he will be hit. I think Petey has something nagging that he's battling through, but we'll find out for sure when the playoffs finish for the Canucks.  

Elias Pettersson gets two minutes for charging against Warren Foegele. pic.twitter.com/J3x1ZIK3Y8

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 17, 2024

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Some quick news items:

Big Save Dave will be back in LA. David Rittich has signed a one-year, $1 million contract to remain with the Kings. I would think that Rittich will be the backup for Los Angeles next season, as he posted career highs in all of goals-against average (2.15), save percentage (.921 SV%), and shutouts (3) in limited duty (24 GP).

Both Cam Talbot and Pheonix Copley are unrestricted free agents, and I'd expect the Kings to move on from both with goaltending being a sore spot (sometimes you get what you pay for). I think there's deal to be had with Boston, where the framework would involve the Kings acquiring Linus Ullmark and the Bruins adding a forward off the Kings' roster. I'm not sure if the Kings have an ideal center for the Bruins, although Phillip Danault seems like the most likely center to be traded. Unless the Bruins settle for a winger.

Connor Ingram was awarded the Bill Masterton Trophy on Wednesday. The award is presented to the player that best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey. I wrote about Ingram and Masterton nominee Frederik Andersen in an earlier Ramblings.

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RIP Darren Dutchyshen, an absolute giant in Canadian sports broadcasting. He was larger than life both on and off camera. His highlight packages first on ITV Sports Night in Edmonton and then on Sportsdesk/SportsCentre on TSN were must-watch and always entertaining.

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