Stanley Cup playoffs daily: Previews, stats, schedule, bracketESPN staffMay 14, 2026, 07:00 AM ETMultiple Authors
tamil yogi
The final four of the 2026 Stanley Cup playoffs continues to take shape, with the Colorado Avalanche joining the Carolina Hurricanes. And it could have another member by the end of Thursday night’s schedule.
The Vegas Golden Knights are back in Orange County, hoping to end their second-round series against the Anaheim Ducks. A win pushes them through to the Western Conference finals.
Meanwhile, the final series to start this round — Buffalo Sabres vs. Montreal Canadiens — is up to Game 5, with the series knotted at two games apiece.
Here’s what to watch in tonight’s games, along with scores and highlights from Wednesday and updated playoff stat leaders.
Read more:
Full schedule
Playoff Central
Stanley Cup odds
Conn Smythe Watch
Second-round picks
Offseason guide for eliminated teams
Thursday’s schedule
Montreal Canadiens at Buffalo Sabres
Game 5, 7 p.m. ET | Series tied 2-2
When a best-of-seven series has been tied 2-2 in Stanley Cup playoff history, the winner of Game 5 has an all-time series record of 242-62 (0.796 winning percentage).
Eight of the Canadiens’ 11 games in the 2026 playoffs have been decided by one goal, and they are 4-4 in those games. Just three of the Sabres’ 10 games this postseason have been decided by one goal, and they are 2-1 in those contests.
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Zach Benson celebrated his 21st birthday Tuesday and scored the winning goal in Game 4. He is the 13th player in NHL history to score a winning goal in the Stanley Cup playoffs on his birthday, and the first since David Backes did it on his 32nd birthday in 2016.
Teammate Tage Thompson scored a goal for the second straight game after going through a seven-game goal drought (Games 2-6 in Round 1 and the first two games against Montreal).
Montreal’s Alex Newhook continues his hot run in the postseason. With a goal in Game 4, he now has five in the past three games. He is the first Canadien with five-plus goals in a three-game span in the playoffs since Yvon Lambert in 1980.
Canadiens winger Cole Caufield has scored all seven of his postseason points (three goals, four assists) on the power play.
Anaheim Ducks at Vegas Golden Knights
Game 6, 9:30 p.m. ET | VGK leads 3-2
The Golden Knights have an 8-1 series record all time when leading a best-of-seven series 3-2; their only loss in this scenario was the 2019 first round against the San Jose Sharks.
The Ducks are 2-5 all time when trailing 2-3 in a best-of-seven series; their two series wins were in 2006 against the Calgary Flames and 1997 vs. the Phoenix Coyotes.
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Beckett Sennecke has an active four-game goal streak in which he has scored four total goals. That ties the longest goal streak by a player age 20 or younger in Stanley Cup playoff history; the others are Auston Matthews (2017), Nicklas Backstrom (2008), Jaromir Jagr (1992), Shayne Corson (1987) and Wendel Clark (1986).
Olen Zellweger scored the tying goal late in Game 5, which was his first career playoff tally. He is the 15th different Duck to score a goal this postseason.
Pavel Dorofeyev is now the only player in Golden Knights history to have a multigoal game in the playoffs that included an overtime winner.
Teammate Jack Eichel has become quite the clutch setup man; he had an assist on Dorofeyev’s winner after doing the same on Shea Theodore’s OT winner in Game 4 of Round 1 against the Utah Mammoth.
Thursday’s best bet
The bet: Ducks vs. Golden Knights first period over 1.5 goals (-130)
Let’s keep riding the wave. So far this postseason, all five games the Ducks have played on their home ice have featured two-plus goals in the first period. In fact, scoring has been so robust at Honda Center, that all five games on home ice for Anaheim have gone over the full game total. We’re actually averaging 8.0 goals per game these playoffs at Honda Center!
If we stretch this first period over back to the regular season, it’s hit in seven straight home games for the Ducks. With Vegas having Anaheim pinned on the ropes, I think we’ll get some wide open hockey in the first 20 minutes, which creates scoring chances for both teams. — Tyler Fulghum
Wednesday’s scoreboard
Colorado Avalanche 4, Minnesota Wild 3 (OT)
Avalanche win 4-1
Every eventual Stanley Cup champion must face adversity along the way. The Avs didn’t encounter much of it in a first-round sweep of the Los Angeles Kings, but they did in Round 2 against the Wild. Minnesota built a 3-0 lead in the first period of this game, with a goal by Marcus Johansson and two from Nick Foligno. But, Colorado was able to rally, beginning with a goal 11 minutes into the second period from Parker Kelly (his second in two games).
With the dam opened, the Avs added two in the third period — from Jack Drury and Nathan MacKinnon — to send the game to OT. In-season trade addition Brett Kulak was the hero, scoring 3:52 into the extra session to send the home fans into a frenzy, and the Avalanche to the conference finals. Here’s what the Wild have on their to-do list this summer. Full recap.
Playoff scoring leaders
PlayerGPGAP1. Mitch Marner, F, Golden Knights
Click here for full list of stats leaders.
Playoff goaltending leaders
PlayerGPWGAASV%1. Frederik Andersen, Hurricanes
Click here for the full list of goaltender stats.
Stanley Cup playoff bracket
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