Friday marked the end of two series, with only one first-round series about to go the distance.

Tampa Bay 1, Montreal 0 (series tied 3-3)

The only goal in Game 6 of Montreal/Tampa Bay was the overtime winner from Gage Goncalves, which means the Habs and Bolts will meet in Game 7 in Tampa on Sunday.

GAGE GONCALVES CALLS GAME AND THE BOLTS FORCE GAME 7 🚨⚡️ pic.twitter.com/jPMwnHuaFH

— Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) May 2, 2026

Brandon Hagel assisted on the overtime winner, giving him eight points in six playoff games this season.

Andrei Vasilevskiy brought his A game, stopping all 30 shots he faced for his first playoff shutout since 2021-22. That was the season that the Lightning lost to Colorado in the Stanley Cup Final. Since then, Vasilevskiy has been ordinary in the playoffs. However, he has a decent 2.20 GAA and .905 SV% in this year's playoffs. He will need to be on his game again for Game 7 for Tampa to advance.

Nikita Kucherov still can't buy a goal in the playoffs. He has been held without a goal in four consecutive games and has just two playoff goals over his last four seasons (a total of 22 games). That's something to think about if he was a high pick in your playoff pool.

Jakub Dobes had another strong game, making 32 saves. Dobes has three quality starts and has not allowed more than three goals in any of the six games. From an eye test perspective, Dobes has had a great series.

At this point, it should be no surprise that this series is going seven games. Four of the games in this series have gone to overtime, while all six games have been decided by one goal. I could see either team winning Game 7.

Buffalo 4, Boston 1 (Sabres win series 4-2)

The breakout of the Buffalo Sabres will continue into the second round, where they will face the winner of the Montreal/Tampa Bay series. Zach Benson led the way in Game 6 with a goal and an assist, with Josh Norris, Mattias Samuelsson, and Alex Tuch scoring the other goals. Rasmus Dahlin and Tage Thompson each registered two assists.

Alex Lyon stopped 25 of 26 shots for the Sabres in the win. Taking over from Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen in the third period of Game 2, Lyon has allowed just five goals in his last four games. Expect him to continue to start as long as he is hot. If he cools down, it's right back to UPL, who has the bigger contract.

David Pastrnak scored the lone Bruins goal, which was his third goal of the playoffs.

Charlie McAvoy could be in some hot water with the league. After he was slew-footed by Benson, McAvoy retaliated with a vicious slash on Benson. With the Bruins now done for the season, McAvoy faces a possible suspension to start next season, which will be something to keep in the back of your mind if he is on your fantasy team. Benson should totally receive some discipline for the slew foot as well.

BENSON SLEW-FOOTS MCAVOY… AND HE RETALIATES WITH A BASEBALL SWING 😳 pic.twitter.com/oZpf9tm4U9

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— Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) May 2, 2026

More news involving Bruins' defensemen: After Game 6, Nikita Zadorov revealed that he has been playing through a fully torn MCL from Game 3. The giant defenseman did not register a point after Game 1, but he logged over 20 minutes in both Games 5 and 6. Googling "recovery time torn MCL", Zadorov will probably need at least three months of recovery time for a complete tear. He might be okay for training camp, but keep an eye on this anyway. Don't ask me for any other medical advice.

Vegas 5, Utah 1 (Golden Knights win series 4-2)

Look away, Leafs fans. Mitch Marner scored a pair of goals and added an assist to secure a second-round series for the Golden Knights for the third time in four years. In Game 6, Marner also fired seven shots and finished with a plus-3. Marner finished the first-round series with points in five of the six games, including three power-play points.

MITCH MARNER UNLOADS A BOMB AND VEGAS LEADS 2-0 😱💣 pic.twitter.com/TNc5ZokLYX

— Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) May 2, 2026

Marner has a lifetime 70 points in 76 playoff games, so his overall playoff stats look fine. However, he has the reputation of fading when the games become more important. At least he did with the Leafs.

Mitch Marner in Games 5-7 of a playoff series

With Maple Leafs 26 GP: 1 Goals, 0 PP Goals
With Golden Knights 2 GP: 2 Goals, 1 PP Goal

— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) May 2, 2026

Brett Howden probably isn't in your playoff pool, but he has been scoring in the playoffs. With a goal in Game 6, Howden now has four goals in the last three games. Howden is also tied with Pavel Dorofeyev for the team lead in goals (4).

Colton Sissons and Cole Smith scored the other Vegas goals, while Kailer Yamamoto scored for Utah.

Carter Hart stopped 21 of 22 shots to earn his third consecutive win. Hart has been decent in the playoffs with a 2.57 GAA and .897 SV%. Expect him to be the goalie of choice again for John Tortorella in the second-round series against Anaheim.

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It was panicked Friday for the Oilers the day after they were knocked out of the playoffs. Connor McDavid is getting traded! The Oilers have wasted away all of his prime years! Why can't they ever find a goalie!

First off, a McDavid trade would have a massive impact in fantasy leagues. I don't think it happens this summer, but Edmonton's window is slowly starting to close. One could very well drop by the time his team control ends in two seasons.

It is very hard to win a Stanley Cup, and with another break or two McDavid and company might have hoisted it after one of their matchups with Florida. As for this season, don't discount injuries being a factor. Both Leon Draisaitl and Zach Hyman missed games late in the season and may not have been 100 percent for the series.

For the past few years, I've said that McDavid will win a Cup sometime in his career like the other greats of hockey, but he may or may not win it for Edmonton. If you think his time has passed, look at how long it took Alex Ovechkin to finally win a Cup. Ovechkin won when he was 32. McDavid is now 29. McDavid's personal cup window is far from closed.

As for the goaltending, I'm not sure it matters who the Oilers bring in if they don't fix their defense, unless they can find a truly elite goalie and not just a hot hand from another team. Evan Bouchard was the runaway leader among defensemen in scoring this season, but he was left off Canada's Olympic team because of concerns about his defensive ability. Mattias Ekholm is a 35-year-old depreciating asset, while Darnell Nurse does not play defense at a level consistent to his contract. Until upgrades are made on defense, Edmonton is a goalie graveyard for the sake of fantasy leagues.

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I might as well share what I had written about the Penguins last weekend but couldn't post yet because they were able to extend their series with the Flyers instead of getting swept.

Fantasy hockey writers are advised not to write about general hockey topics, as there are literally a thousand websites write covering the same topic. However, writing about the state of a team in general can relate to fantasy hockey – which direction a team goes can affect a player's role within the team or even whether that player will stay with the team.

This is especially notable for a team like the Penguins. A funny thing happened on the way to the bottom of the league: an unexpected playoff appearance. Yet in terms of sustainable success indicators, that playoff appearance has been a mirage. If Kyle Dubas and the Penguins braintrust perform an honest assessment of the state of their team, that means they are back to where they were before the season.

An immediate decision must be made on Evgeni Malkin. Will he play for a team other than the Penguins, and if so, what will his role be with that team? Malkin had an amazing bounceback season where he climbed back to the point-per-game mark (1.09 PTS/GP). However, it shouldn't be lost that he missed 26 games, with injuries being a regular occurrence throughout his career. With his contract expiring, Malkin wants to continue his career and should be able to. As much as it will be nice to bring back the band of Malkin, Sidney Crosby, and Kris Letang for at least one more performance, it may not be in the Penguins' best interest.

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I don't have as much to say about the Stars, except that the comparison to the Joe Thornton era Sharks seems accurate. Maybe they would have had better luck in a weaker division, but we'll never know.

Also, I wouldn't completely rule the Stars out from extending Jason Robertson long-term. Tyler Seguin might be going on LTIR next season, and his nearly $10 million cap hit will be completely coming off the books next summer. I'm not a capologist and I won't pretend to be one, but it looks like the Stars are still tight cap-wise.

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Some other quick news items:

Jon Cooper, Dan Muse, and Lindy Ruff are the Jack Adams Award finalists. Is this finally the year that Cooper wins it?

Filip Hronek was injured during a World Hockey Championship pre-tournament game. The Czech team has said that it is too early to tell whether Hronek's injury is serious or not. Hronek is the Canucks' top defenseman and registered a career-high 49 points last season, clearly benefitting offensively from the departure of his defense partner Quinn Hughes. The Finnish player (Mikael Seppälä) should face some sort of suspension for this.

Filip Hronek (AGGRESSIVE BACKSHOTS) has been placed on IR.

He expects to make a full recovery for the Canucks by training camp. pic.twitter.com/qZT91dmSGx

— M (@nucks0) May 1, 2026

Dylan Holloway has signed a five-year extension with a cap hit of $7.75 million per season. The offer sheet that Holloway signed with the Blues two seasons ago has paid off for both the player and the team. I plan to have more on Holloway in a future Ramblings.

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