Stanley Cup playoffs daily: Previews, stats, schedule, bracketESPN staffMay 16, 2026, 07:00 AM ETMultiple Authors
tamil yogi
The 2026 Stanley Cup playoffs are close to reaching the conference finals round, with three of the four spots taken:
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Lessons of the Stanley Cup playoffs: Marner’s revenge tour, Rantanen’s hidden impact
The inside story of the Beer Sabre: The drinking vessel that united a city and sport
‘Blast from the past’: How Taylor Hall found his MVP form again with the Hurricanes
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The Carolina Hurricanes earned the first spot Saturday (May 9), with a sweep of the Philadelphia Flyers.
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The Colorado Avalanche were next, with a 4-1 series win over the Minnesota Wild, which closed Wednesday.
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The Vegas Golden Knights earned a 4-2 series win against the Anaheim Ducks, finishing things off Thursday.
And now, those three await the winner of the Buffalo Sabres-Montreal Canadiens series. The Canadiens now lead 3-2, and Game 6 is Saturday.
Here’s a look at the key players and stats for Saturday’s game — along with a best bet — plus recaps and highlights from Thursday along with updated playoff stat leaders.
Read more:
Full schedule
Playoff Central
Stanley Cup odds
Conn Smythe Watch
Second-round picks
Offseason guide for eliminated teams
Saturday’s schedule
Buffalo Sabres at Montreal Canadiens
Game 6, 8 p.m. ET (ABC) | MTL leads 3-2
In Stanley Cup playoff history, when a best-of-seven series has been tied 2-2, the winner of Game 5 (the Canadiens in this case) has a series record of 242-62 (0.796 winning percentage), including a 3-0 series record so far in the 2026 playoffs.
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Lessons of the Stanley Cup playoffs: Marner’s revenge tour, Rantanen’s hidden impact
The inside story of the Beer Sabre: The drinking vessel that united a city and sport
‘Blast from the past’: How Taylor Hall found his MVP form again with the Hurricanes
The Canadiens are now 5-0 in games after a loss this postseason and have scored 21 total goals in this series. This is the most in a single series since the 1992 divisional semifinals against the Hartford Whalers.
The Sabres are now 4-46 all time in the playoffs when allowing five or more goals; their last win when allowing five or more goals was Game 1 of the 2006 conference semifinals against the Ottawa Senators.
Nick Suzuki had a goal and two assists in Game 5, his fourth straight road game with a goal. That is tied for the third-longest such streak in Canadiens playoff history, behind only Maurice Richard (six straight road games with a goal in 1951) and Russ Courtnall (five in 1989).
Juraj Slafkovsky had three assists in Game 5, which was his second three-point game this postseason. He is now the sixth Canadiens player in the past 40 years with multiple three-point games in a single playoff run, and the first since Mike Cammalleri in 2010.
With a first-period goal, Josh Doan now has a six-game point streak. This is the longest point streak in a single playoff run by a Sabre since Daniel Briere and Thomas Vanek each had a seven-game point streak during the 2007 postseason.
Who will the Sabres start in goal for this critical game? Alex Lyon started (and finished) Games 1-3, going 1-2 and allowing 11 goals on 91 shots (.879 save percentage). Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen started Games 4 and 5 (and was replaced in the third period of Game 5), going 1-1 and allowing seven goals on 54 shots (.870 save percentage).
Saturday’s best bet: Sabres puck line +1.5 (-185)
Let me start by saying I really do not love recommending a wager with this kind of juice because it’s just not worth the squeeze. My personal betting belief in this situation is to just go ahead and play Buffalo on the ML (+136). However, in this instance, I’ll go ahead and grab the +1.5 because I do think this is going to be a tight game, either way.
This series just feels destined to reach a Game 7, and obviously if that’s the case, Buffalo wins Saturday night. The Sabres have been elite road warriors in the playoffs, having won four of five games away from Buffalo. They’ve won six of their past seven as an underdog coming off a loss and have covered the puck line in 22 of their past 24 as an underdog. — Tyler Fulghum
Thursday’s scoreboard
Montreal Canadiens 6, Buffalo Sabres 3
Canadiens lead 3-2
A wild first period with back-and-forth scoring led some to ponder whether this would be like Game 1 of Avs-Wild, with a final score of 9-6. The Canadiens played along — finishing with six goals — but the three that the Sabres scored in the first period were all that they’d put past Jakub Dobes.
Jason Zucker, Josh Doan and Konsta Helenius were the scorers for Buffalo, while Montreal had six different scorers: Cole Caufield, Alexandre Texier, Josh Anderson, Jake Evans, Nick Suzuki and Ivan Demidov. Game 6 is Saturday in Montreal, with the Habs one game away from the conference finals. Full recap.
Vegas Golden Knights 5, Anaheim Ducks 1
Golden Knights win 4-2
While Thursday’s early game started off close before a decisive finish, the Golden Knights looked dominant from the opening puck drop. Mitch Marner scored his seventh goal of the playoffs before some fans had even found their seats, and Brett Howden scored his eighth seven minutes later. Shea Theodore made it an even 3-0 before the first period ended.
Mikael Granlund got one back for Anaheim in the second, but that was all the Ducks could muster on offense. Pavel Dorofeyev added a pair of goals in the third to put the game — and series — away for good. Here’s a look at the Ducks’ offseason plans, as the Golden Knights prepare for the Western Conference finals against the Avalanche, which begin Wednesday on ESPN. 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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