St. Louis advances to semifinals, outgoing champion Tampa Bay to play Game 7

St. Louis, winner of the Stanley Cup in 2019, advanced to the Western Conference semifinals at the expense of Minnesota on Thursday in the NHL playoffs, Tampa Bay, two-time defending champion, having pushed Toronto, in extremis, to a decisive seventh game.

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The Lightning, who are aiming for a hat-trick, came very close to leaving their ice rink after a stunning encounter. The Florida team initially led 2-0, before conceding three goals in the second period. Nikita Kucherov, taking advantage of a temporary numerical superiority, put the two teams in overtime, before Brayden Point released Tampa two minutes from the siren (4-3). The verdict of this superb series will be known on Saturday in Canada.

Still in the East, Boston, also back to the wall, also restored the situation against Carolina, with an easier victory (5-2), thanks in particular to Brad Marchand and Charlie Coyle, authors of a goal and an assist each. The hardest part still awaits the Bruins, since the 7th game will take place at the Hurricanes also on Saturday.

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St. Louis has avoided this type of quits or doubles match. The Blues did not miss the opportunity at home to get rid of Minnesota (5-1), to complete their series 4 wins to 2. They will challenge the Colorado Avalanche in the next round. Finally, in Edmonton, the Oilers beat the Kings (4-2), thanks to a brace from Evander Kane, to tie the game with three wins everywhere.