In the quarterfinals of the Eastern Conference, the “Panthers” lost to Tampa Bay “Lightning” 3:6 (0:3, 3:1, 0:2), while the Florida team maintained a 3-1 lead in the series up to four victories.
Steven Stemkos, Brandon Hagel and Brayden Point made it 3-0 for the home team in the first period.
In the second period, Carter Verhegy led the Florida team with an accurate shot, but Hagel restored the three-goal advantage five minutes later. The Panthers scored two more goals in the third period, with Sam Reinhart and Oliver Eekman-Lashon beating the opposing goalie to cut the deficit to one goal.
During the final 20 minutes, Stemkos and Nicholas Pauls still sent the puck into the home team’s “Panthers” goal, achieving a sure victory.
In another quarter-final series of the Eastern Conference, the Boston Bruins beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-1 (1-0, 2-0, 0-1) and took the series 3-1, coming one win away from entering the next round.
James van Riemsdyk, Brad Marchand and David Pastrniak scored for Boston, while Mitchell Marner scored the only goal for Toronto.
In the quarterfinals of the Eastern Conference, the first victory in the series was won by the New York “Islanders”, who beat the Carolina “Hurricanes” at home 3:2 (0:1, 1:0, 1:1, 1:0) in overtime. “Hurricanes” hockey players are in the lead in the series with 3-1.
