Stanley Cup Playoffs Playback : Golden Knights reach West Final, Canadiens push Sabres to brink

Marner doing it all for Vegas, Tuch struggling for Buffalo

Marner VGK celebrates goal with teammates

By NHL.com

May 15, 2026

The Stanley Cup Playoffs are in full swing and NHL.com has it all covered. Each day, we will present Stanley Cup Playoffs Playback, your one-stop shop for all the action. Here’s a look at where things stand on Friday, May 14:

The scores

Eastern Conference Second Round
Canadiens 6, Sabres 3 -- MTL leads series 3-2

Western Conference Second Round
Golden Knights 5, Ducks 1 -- VGK wins series 4-2

Next up

There are no games on Friday, but one game on Saturday

Eastern Conference Second Round

Sabres at Canadiens (8 p.m. ET; CBC, TVAS, SN, ABC)

What We Learned

Here are key takeaways from Thursday:

Tuch has not been Tuch

Through the first six games of his Stanley Cup Playoffs, the entirety of the Eastern Conference First Round series against the Boston Bruins, Alex Tuch was a force. He had seven points (four goals, three assists) in those six games. But since the start of the second round, it’s been a different story. Tuch has zero points and is minus-8 in five games. He acknowledged that it has been a rough series for him, and that part of the reason the Sabres are down 3-2 in the best-of-7 series against the Montreal Canadiens is his inability to score after he was the team’s third-leading scorer in the regular season with 66 points (33 goals, 33 assists) in 79 games. “Just got to be harder to play against,” said Tuch, who is a pending unrestricted free agent. “I feel like I’ve been easy to play against. That’s not my game. I haven’t been playing to my game. I’ve just got to elevate.” It will be crucial for the Sabres. Because if Tuch can find his game in Game 6, it makes it a much easier task for Buffalo to potentially force a Game 7. -- Amalie Benjamin, staff writer

Marner makes up for Stone’s absence

Mitch Marner continues to be a playoff performer and helped fill the void in the absence of Golden Knights captain Mark Stone. Marner scored a highlight-reel goal to open the scoring 1:02 into Game 6 and then set up Brett Howden for a short-handed goal at 8:30 to get Vegas started in the 5-1 win to clinch the best-of-7 series 4-2. Marner leads the playoffs with 18 points (seven goals, 11 assists) in 12 games. The 29-year-old forward is taking part in his 10th consecutive postseason and first with the Golden Knights. He has 81 points (20 goals, 61 assists) in 82 playoff games. Marner’s production helped make up for the offense lost with Stone, who sustained a lower-body injury in the first period of a 6-2 win in Game 3, and did not play the rest of the series. The depth and experience of the Golden Knights roster proved to be the difference in the final two games of the series against Anaheim. Vegas was also without defenseman Brayden McNabb in Game 6, who was serving a one-game suspension for interference on Ducks forward Ryan Poehling in Game 5. -- Derek Van Diest, staff writer