Canes Push Canadiens to Brink of Elimination

Shayne Gostisbehere (Union) set up two goals, and K'Andre Miller (Wisconsin) and Jackson Blake (North Dakota) also recorded assists as the visiting Carolina Hurricanes blanked the Montreal Canadiens, 4-0, last night in Game Four of their NHL Eastern Conference series. Carolina now leads the best-of-seven series, three games to one.

Jakub Dobes (Ohio State) stopped 39 shots for the Canadiens, who were outshot, 43-18, on the night. Montreal, which will be facing elimination on Friday night in Game Five in North Carolina, is 7-3 on the road so far in the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

ADDENDUM: Blake notched a goal and an assist, and Gostisbehere and Eric Robinson (Princeton) also scored as the Hurricanes topped Montreal, 6-1, in Game Five to win the Eastern Conference title. Carolina will now meet Vegas in the 2026 Stanley Cup Final, starting Tuesday night in Raleigh.

U.S. Advances to Worlds Quarterfinals

The United States, defending champion at the IIHF World Championship, advanced to this year's quarterfinal round with a 4-1 win over Austria today in Switzerland. U.S. goal scorers included Connor Clifton (Quinnipiac), Ryan Ufko (UMass) and Paul Cotter (Western Michigan), while Devin Cooley (Denver) finished with 25 saves in net for the Americans. 

Team USA, which finished fourth in Group B, will now take on second-ranked Canada on Thursday in an elimination contest. The Canadians advanced with a 3-2 victory over Czechia today, thanks to two goals by Macklin Celebrini (Boston University).

ADDENDUM: Canada ousted the U.S. with a 4-0 victory, and will play Finland in the semifinals.

Hurricanes Ties Series with Habs

Mark Jankowski (Providence) notched two assists, including one on the game-winning goal, as the Carolina Hurricanes knotted their best-of-seven Eastern Conference series at one game apiece with a 3-2 overtime victory over the visiting Montreal Canadiens on Saturday.

Eric Robinson (Princeton) scored a goal for the second straight game for Carolina, which rebounded from its first loss in these Stanley Cup Playoffs with its ninth victory in 10 NHL postseason contests this spring. Jakub Dobes (Ohio State) stopped 23 shots for Montreal, which was outshot, 26-12. Game Three is Monday night in Montreal. 

ADDENDUM: The Hurricanes took a two games to one lead with a 3-2 OT victory in Game Three. 

Vegas Goes Up Two Games on Avalanche

Jack Eichel (Boston University) scored the tying goal and then assisted on the eventual game-winner, both in a two-minute span midway through the third period, as the Vegas Golden Knights topped the host Colorado Avalanche, 3-1, on Friday night in Game Two of the 2026 NHL Western Conference final in Denver. Vegas now leads the best-of-seven Stanley Cup Playoff series, two games to none.

Ross Colton (Vermont) scored the game-opening goal for Colorado, which had fallen, 4-2, in Game One on Wednesday. Colton's goal stood up from the first period on until Eichel knotted matters in the final frame, before Vegas went ahead and then added an empty-net tally for insurance with less than two minutes remaining in regulation. The top-seeded Avalanche, who were missing all-star defenseman Cale Makar (UMass) for the second straight game, outshot Vegas, 30-25, and won 34 of 58 faceoffs on the night.

Game Three is Sunday night in Las Vegas.

ADDENDUM: The Golden Knights rebounded from a 3-0 deficit after the first 20 minutes of Game Three to lock up a 5-3 victory and move within one game of their third Stanley Cup Final in their nine-year existence.

Montreal Wins 2026 PWHL Championship

Abby Roque (Wisconsin) scored two goals, including the game-winner, as the visiting Montreal Victoire blanked the Ottawa Charge, 4-0, on Wednesday to earn the 2026 Professional Women's Hockey League title. Montreal won the best-of-five series, three games to one, to become the first Canadian club to lift the Walter Cup as PWHL postseason champion.

Ann-Renée Desbiens (Wisconsin) of the Victoire stopped 23 shots for the shutout, while Gwyneth Philips (Northeastern) made 12 saves for Ottawa, which had forced a fourth game after dropping the first two contests of the series. Montreal's Marie-Philip Poulin (Boston University) was named PWHL playoff MVP after recording two goals and six assists for eight points in nine games, tying Roque for the playoff lead.

Habs Oust Sabres in Game Seven OT

Alex Newhook (Boston College) scored just over 11 minutes into overtime for his second straight game-winning goal in a Game Seven this spring, and the Montreal Canadiens ousted the host Buffalo Sabres, 3-2, on Monday in the deciding contest of their 2026 Stanley Cup Playoff matchup. Montreal wins the Eastern Conference semifinal series, four games to three, including victories in the last two games played in Buffalo. 

Newhook, who won the Stanley Cup with Colorado in 2022, finished this series with six goals in seven games after also notching the game-winner in Game Seven of the first round at Tampa Bay. Jakub Dobes (Ohio State) stopped 37 shots last night for the Canadiens, who advance to the conference finals for the first time in five years. Jordan Greenway (Boston University) scored the first goal of the night for the Sabres, who were competing in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2011.

Montreal will now face the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference final starting on Thursday.

Sabres Force Game Seven with Canadiens

Tage Thompson (UConn) assisted on three goals, and also scored one into an empty net as the visiting Buffalo Sabres staved off elimination last night with an 8-3 victory over the Montreal Canadiens in Game Six of their 2026 Stanley Cup Playoff second-round series, which is now tied at three games apiece.

Jason Zucker (Denver) had a goal and assist for the Sabres, who scored seven consecutive unanswered goals over the final 46 minutes of play after falling behind, 3-1, in the first period. Buffalo's Zach Metsa (Quinnipiac) also tallied his first career playoff goal in his first NHL postseason appearance. Alex Lyon (Yale) made one save on four shots for the Sabres in goal, before being replaced by Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen.

Jakub Dobes (Ohio State) stopped 27 of 33 shots for the Canadiens before giving way late in regulation to Jacob Fowler (Boston College), who made his own Stanley Cup Playoff debut in relief. The deciding Game Seven of this Eastern Conference semifinal is Monday night in Buffalo, with the winner to face the Carolina Hurricanes in the conference final.