* Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl each factored on all four Oilers goals Friday, including the assists on Evan Bouchard’s overtime winner, to help Edmonton head back home for Game 3 with deadlocked 1-1 series with the Canucks.
* The Panthers joined rare company in NHL history with a fourth consecutive playoff win in Boston and did so thanks to their second six-goal performance in as many games as well as a three-assist outing from Matthew Tkachuk.
* Saturday features a Hurricanes attempt to stave off elimination in the Second Round and hand the President’s Trophy-winning Rangers their first loss of the postseason, while the Stars and Avalanche continue their tightly-contested series at Ball Arena for Game 3.
McDAVID, DRAISAITL EACH DELIVER FOUR POINTS AS OILERS RALLY TO CLAIM GAME 2
The Canucks took three separate leads, but Connor McDavid (1-3—4) and Leon Draisaitl (1-3—4) helped the Oilers draw even each time before each superstar collected their third assist and fourth point of the night on Evan Bouchard’s winner 5:38 into overtime. Edmonton scored three game-tying goals and won a playoff game for the fifth time in franchise history and first since Game 3 of the 1991 Division Semifinals.
* Draisaitl (37-56—93 in 56 GP) and McDavid (31-61—92 in 56 GP) each reached and eclipsed the 90-point mark in their postseason careers with their Game 2 efforts. The duo required the third-fewest games in Stanley Cup Playoffs history to reach the mark behind only Wayne Gretzky (43 GP) and Mario Lemieux (45 GP).
* McDavid (2-15—17 in 7 GP), who has led the postseason in scoring for 74 different days dating back to the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs (outright or tied) and 40 more than the next closest (Roope Hintz: 34), has factored on each of Edmonton’s past five playoff goals. His performance helped the Oilers captain eclipse 60 career postseason assists and join Gretzky (43 GP) as just the second player in Stanley Cup Playoffs history to collect 60 career helpers in 56 or fewer postseason outings.
* Fresh off a 100-assist campaign, McDavid also recorded his 30th multi-assist game of 2023-24 (regular season & playoffs combined) – a mark he has hit once before (also 35 in 2021-22). He joined Gretzky (11x), Doug Gilmour (2x) and Lemieux (2x) as the fourth player in NHL history to do so multiple times.
ANOTHER SIX-GOAL OUTING PROPELS PANTHERS TO ANOTHER WIN AT TD GARDEN
Matthew Tkachuk (0-3—3) assisted on three of Florida’s six goals, including the second of a pair in 60 seconds, as the Panthers skated to another high-scoring win against the Bruins and captured their fourth straight postseason win at TD Garden since Game 2 of the 2023 Second Round. Only four teams in NHL history have registered a longer stretch of consecutive playoff wins* in Boston* – a list led by the Devils (7-0-0 from 1994 – 2003).
* The Panthers, who scored six goals in back-to-back playoff games for the second time in franchise history (also Games 1-2 of the 1996 CQF vs. BOS) and benefited from four power-play goals in a postseason game for the first time, saw their stretch of unanswered tallies halted at 10 following Jakub Lauko’s second-period goal for Boston.
* Tkachuk (15-22—37 in 28 GP w/ FLA) collected his third career three-point playoff game with the Panthers to tie Carter Verhaeghe for the most in franchise history and eclipsed 50 career playoff points in the process (22-30—52 in 55 GP). He became the eighth U.S.-born player in Stanley Cup Playoffs history to register 50 career playoff points in 55 or fewer games – a mark only two other active players (min. 1 GP in 2023-24) have reached: Patrick Kane (46 GP) and Jake Guentzel (52 GP).
QUICK CLICKS
* O'Ree Award finalist: Allen Hierlihy
* O’Ree Award finalist: Kelsey McGuire
* NHL EDGE stats: Igor Shesterkin’s case for Conn Smythe Trophy
* Connor Bedard talks playing for Canada in World Championships in Q&A with NHL.com
* Maple Leafs brass says 'everything must be on the table' in order to improve
DOUBLEHEADER ON TNT FEATURES PAIR OF PIVOTAL GAMES
Saturday features a pair of pivotal games on TNT, Sportsnet, TVA Sports and Max as the Hurricanes aim to avoid elimination and hand the Rangers their first loss of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs, while the Stars and Avalanche battle for a 2-1 lead as their series swings to Colorado for Game 3.
* Ranking first and third, respectively, in playoff goals, assists and points among defensemen since making their postseason debuts five days apart in 2019, Cale Makar (19-58—77 in 68 GP) and* Miro Heiskanen* (13-40—53 in 75 GP) have already left their imprints on the Stars-Avalanche series through the first two games. Makar factored on all three of Colorado’s goals in regulation during its comeback win in Game 1, while Heiskanen matched Dallas’ franchise mark for goals in a playoff contest by a blueliner with a pair of tallies in Game 2 to help his club even the series.
* After extending his postseason-opening goal streak to seven contests in Game 2 and matching Pat LaFontaine (7 GP in 1992 w/ BUF) for the longest such run in Stanley Cup Playoffs history, Valeri Nichushkin will look to climb another all-time postseason list in Game 3. The Avalanche forward can become just the third player to post an eight-game goal streak* at any point in the playoffs*, following Reggie Leach (10 GP in 1976 w/ PHI) and Brayden Point (9 GP in 2021 w/ TBL).
* The Rangers skate into Saturday with seven straight victories to begin the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs and can establish the longest winning streak in franchise postseason history with another triumph in Game 4. New York’s only other seven-game winning streak in the postseason also came in its first seven contests of the 1994 Stanley Cup Playoffs – the year the Rangers went on to win their most recent championship.
