'Quest for Stanley Cup' explores Lindblom's emotional return to Flyers

The second episode of "Quest for the Stanley Cup," which premiered Wednesday on ESPN+ in the United States and YouTube in Canada, takes viewers on an insider's ride of the emotional rollercoaster of the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The Tampa Bay Lightning appear to have it the easiest after eliminating the Boston Bruins in five games in their series. They spend a day kayaking, fishing and relaxing on the shore of Lake Ontario in Toronto, the Eastern Conference hub city.
"I didn't see this happening on Day 35 in the bubble," Lightning coach Jon Cooper tells the 'NHL Original Productions' crew while paddling his kayak. "… Although I do find it odd that they gave us fishing rods to fish in a lagoon that has no fish."
Regardless, the Lightning's week was relatively stress-free compared to the three other teams that advanced from the second round. The New York Islanders, Dallas Stars and Vegas Golden Knights each had to survive a Game 7 after taking a 3-1 lead in their best-of-7 series and this second part of the six-part series documents the drama on and off the ice.

One of most compelling moments of the episode is Oskar Lindblom's return for the Philadelphia Flyers for Game 6 against the Islanders after surviving a seven-month battle with Ewing's sarcoma, a form of bone cancer. A camera crew follows Lindblom in the days leading up to his first game back.
"Playing hockey again has been my goal since I first got the diagnosis in December," the 24-year-old tells them. "So I'm just happy to be here."
Although the Flyers won 5-4 in two overtimes in Game 6, the Islanders prevailed 4-0 in Game 7 to join the Lightning in the Eastern Conference Final. New York and Tampa Bay leave Toronto behind to join Dallas and Vegas in Edmonton, the Western Conference hub city.
The Stars' and Golden Knights' Game 7 wins were a bit more stressful than the Islanders' victory and we see some of went on behind the scenes.
Dallas captain Jamie Benn proclaims, "We're not going home" before reading the starting lineup. Then unlikely hero Joel Kiviranta repeats, "We're not going home!" in the postgame locker room after the rookie forward scored his third goal of the game 7:24 into overtime to give the Stars a 5-4 win against the Colorado Avalanche.
Vegas' 3-0 win against the Vancouver Canucks was a lesson in persistence. After being repeatedly frustrated by Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko, coach Peter DeBoer implores the Golden Knights to, "Keep shooting. It's coming."
The Golden Knights finally broke through when defenseman Shea Theodore scored a power-play goal with 6:08 left in the third period, ending Demko's run of 98 consecutive saves dating to Game 5. Empty-net goals from Alex Tuch and Paul Stastny clinched Vegas' spot in the NHL final four.
"That's how we're going to win going forward," DeBoer tells the Golden Knights afterward. "It's going to be everybody contributing. We're just getting started here. Great job."