Hockey

Brett Howden scored from behind the net off Dallas Stars goalie Jake Oettinger 1:35 into overtime to give the Vegas Golden Knights a 4-3 victory in Game 1 of their Western Conference final. Jamie Benn forced the extra time when he scored on a 6-on-5 with 1:59 left in regulation. William Karlsson scored two goals for Vegas. Teddy Blueger also scored a goal, Zach Whitecloud had two assists and Adin Hill stopped 33 shots. Roope Hintz and Jason Robertson each had a goal and an assist for Stars. Joe Pavelski recorded two assists, and Oettinger made 33 saves. Game 2 is Sunday in Las Vegas.

Matthew Tkachuk beat Frederik Andersen in the final seconds of the fourth overtime to lift the Florida Panthers past the Carolina Hurricanes 3-2 early Friday to open their Eastern Conference final series. Tkachuck took a feed from Sam Bennett after Florida had won a battle for the puck as Carolina tried to clear the puck. He then whipped a shot from the right circle past Andersen with 12.7 seconds left for the winner. It marked the longest game in either franchise’s history, as well as the sixth-longest game in NHL history.

Roope Hintz and teenager Wyatt Johnston scored goals and the Dallas Stars advanced to the Western Conference final with a 2-1 win over the Seattle Kraken in Game 7. Dallas moves on to play first-year coach Pete DeBoer’s former team, the Vegas Golden Knights. Game 1 of the West final is Friday night in Las Vegas. DeBoer improved to 7-0 in Game 7s. The 19-year-old Johnston made it 2-0 with 7:12 left, when he gathered a puck that ricocheted off the back board to the left of the Seattle net and scored. Jake Oettinger had 22 saves, and the only Seattle score came with 17.6 seconds left.

Jonathan Marchessault scored three goals for his second career postseason hat trick as the Vegas Golden Knights beat the Edmonton Oilers 5-2 in Game 6 of their second-round series to advance to the Western Conference final. Reilly Smith and William Karlsson also scored for the Golden Knights, and Ivan Barbashev had two assists. Adin Hill finished with 39 saves.

The United States had to come from a goal down to outclass newcomer Hungary 7-1 for its second win at the ice hockey world championship. Canada had to do the same on the way to a 5-2 victory over Slovenia, the other team newly promoted to the top division. Nick Bonino scored two goals for the Americans and Rocco Grimaldi had a goal and two assists in Group A.

Jordan Eberle scored twice, Eeli Tolvanen had a goal and two assists, and the Seattle Kraken beat the Dallas Stars 6-3 to force a deciding Game 7 in their Western Conference semifinal series. Tolvanen's goal early in the second period gave Seattle a 3-1 lead. Rookie Tye Kartye beat Jake Oettinger with a wrist shot less than three minutes later, and the Kraken withstood several pushes by the Stars to send the series back to Texas. 

Nick Cousins scored at 15:32 of overtime and Sergei Bobrovsky made 50 saves as the Florida Panthers beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-2 in Game 5 of their second-round playoff series to advance to the Eastern Conference final. Aaron Ekblad and Carter Verhaeghe each had a goal and an assist for the Panthers. Morgan Rielly and William Nylander scored for the Maple Leafs, who had advanced in the playoffs for the first time in 19 years.

The United States has overcame defending champion Finland 4-1 to open the ice hockey world championship in Tampere. Alex Tuch scored two goals and Drew O'Çonnor had a goal and two assists to lead the U.S. Cutter Ganthier also scored and goaltender Casey DeSmith stopped 23 shots. In the Latvian capital of Riga, the Czech Republic beat Slovakia 3-2.

Jesper Fast deflected in a shot by Jesperi Kotkaniemi at 7:09 of overtime to give the Carolina Hurricanes a series-ending 3-2 victory over the New Jersey Devils on Thursday night. Fast's deflection while shielding Akira Schmid set off a celebration for the Hurricanes, who never led until the final play and twice trailed by a goal before winning the best-of-seven series 4-1 to reach the Eastern Conference final. In the first tight game of the second-round matchup, Fast made amends for when he popped a puck over the goal in front of an open net in the first period. Jaccob Slavin and Brent Burns also scored for Carolina, and Frederik Andersen made 27 saves. Dawson Mercer and Timo Meier scored for New Jersey.

Joseph Woll stopped 24 shots in his first playoff start, Mitch Marner and William Nylander had the goals and the Toronto Maple Leafs staved off elimination by beating the Florida Panthers 2-1 in Game 4 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series Wednesday night. Nylander was the beneficiary of an odd bounce for a power-play score in the second period, Marner scored midway through the third and Woll did the rest as he took the place of injured starter Ilya Samsonov. Sam Reinhart scored the goal for Florida, which got 23 saves from Sergei Bobrovsky. The Panthers still lead the series 3-1, with Game 5 in Toronto on Friday night.

Preventing goals in the NHL playoffs is just as important as scoring goals. Many would argue it's more important More than half the work happens before the puck gets to the goaltender. Sticks in passing and shooting lanes do the work – and sometimes cause harm with deflections. It also works on the offensive end when nifty deflections can make shots impossible for even the best goalies to stop. Savvy stickwork has been on prime display in the first two rounds this year from Joe Pavelski's tip-in goals for Dallas and Carolina's top penalty kill to Seattle's shot blocking.

Jordan Martinook had a goal and two assists and the Carolina Hurricanes scored five times in the second period to beat the New Jersey Devils 6-1 on Tuesday night for a 3-1 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinal. Martin Necas scored twice and Brett Pesce, Jesper Fast and Brent Burns added goals as the Hurricanes routed the young Devils for the third time in four games.