Updated 2026 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs Bracket, Schedule and Top Highlights from May 12
Three groups had the chance to maneuver a single win away from the convention finals throughout the two video games on Tuesday’s NHL playoff slate.
In the Eastern Conference, the Montreal Canadiens hosted the Buffalo Sabers with the prospect to grab a 3-1 lead. In the Western Conference, the Vegas Golden Knights and Anaheim Ducks confronted one another in a vital Game 5 after splitting the primary 4 contests.
Here is a have a look at the way it all unfolded.
The sequence between the Sabers and Canadiens is now a best-of-three battle.
Buffalo went into Montreal and shocked the house crew with a mixture of sturdy protection, glorious goaltending and well timed offense on the best way to a 3-2 victory. It stole home-ice benefit proper again and can seize management of the sequence in Thursday’s Game 5.
Mattias Samuelsson began the scoring within the first interval, but it surely appeared as if the Canadiens settled in with targets from Alex Newhook and Cole Caufield to take the lead. Even a tying purpose from Tage Thompson did not appear to be a large deal for Montreal when he earned a four-minute energy play late within the second interval.
Yet that energy play turned the sport round for the Sabres.
They turned away each Canadiens’ try to construct their very own momentum and then capitalized with a power-play purpose of their very own when Zach Benson discovered the again of the online.
While Jakub Dobes did what he might to maintain Montreal inside placing distance with an excellent save within the third interval, the offense could not resolve the Sabers down the stretch.
Buffalo goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen stopped 28 of the 30 pictures he confronted and performed the position of hero within the last minutes because the guests put the ending touches on the win.
(*12*)
Golden Knights 3, Ducks 2 (time beyond regulation)
The majority of the Game 5 strain was on the Golden Knights, as a loss at residence would imply they’d their backs towards the wall for Game 6 on the highway.
They delivered within the face of that strain with a dramatic 3-2 time beyond regulation victory to take a 3-2 lead within the sequence.
It appeared like Tuesday’s recreation was going to be one thing of a shootout when Beckett Sennecke scored a power-play purpose for the Ducks and Pavel Dorofeyev answered with a power-play purpose for the Golden Knights within the first interval.
However, the defenses and goaltenders raised their respective video games throughout a scoreless second interval, which meant all the pieces appeared to come back right down to the ultimate 20 minutes.
Tomas Hertl answered the decision with the go-ahead purpose for Vegas just for Olen Zellweger to seek out the again of the online with the equalizer with simply greater than three minutes remaining in regulation that finally compelled the additional interval.
All that did was set the stage for Dorofeyev to be the hero.
Dorofeyev discovered himself in excellent place and buried a free, bouncing puck with precision for the game-winning purpose in time beyond regulation.