The Edmonton Oilers can thank two defensive gaffes by the San Jose Sharks for their pivotal Game 6 victory.

The Oilers won their first series since defeating the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in five games during the 2005-06 season. It was a tight game, and ultimately came down to a stretch of just 56 seconds early in the second period that saw Leon Draisaitl and Anton Slepyshev net breakaway goals.

The Sharks made it close with Patrick Marleau's late tally, but Connor McDavid had the last laugh, scoring his second of the series with less than a second left in regulation into an empty net.

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SAN JOSE, Calif. - Leon Draisaitl and Anton Slepyshev scored on breakaways in the opening minutes of the second period and the Edmonton Oilers advanced to the second round of the playoffs with 3-1 victory in Game 6 over the San Jose Sharks on Saturday night.

Draisaitl and Slepyshev each buried their chances for their first career playoff goals and the Oilers held off the Sharks after that to get the win in their first playoff series since getting to the Stanley Cup Final in 2006. Connor McDavid iced the game with an empty-net goal with less than a second to play for his first even-strength point of the series.

Patrick Marleau got the Sharks on the board with 7:48 left in the third period, but Cam Talbot didn't allow anything else on 28 shots to get the win.

Edmonton will take a young roster led by NHL scoring leader McDavid and eight other skaters under the age of 25 into the second round against Anaheim.

The defending Western Conference champion Sharks had a quick exit this year in the playoffs as they never fully recovered after blowing a two-goal lead in Game 5 in Edmonton.

Martin Jones made 18 saves, but couldn't stop the two breakaways and the offense failed to deliver in what could have been the final home game for longtime Sharks greats Joe Thornton and Marleau. The 37-year-old forwards are both free agents this summer and it is uncertain whether the Sharks will bring them back for another run.

The Sharks nearly got the equalizer on a late power play, but Joe Pavelski's backhand attempt hit the cross bar and post.

This game turned in the opening minutes of the second period. It started when Oscar Klefbom blocked Justin Braun's point shot and Adam Larsson sprung Draisaitl on a breakaway. Draisaitl held off Braun and then beat Jones between the pads to make it 1-0.

After having no points in the first four games and getting ejected in Game 4 for a spearing penalty, Draisaitl played a big role in the final two wins with a pair of assists, including one on the OT winner in Game 5, and the first goal in the clincher.

Just 56 seconds later, Slepyshev got into the action when Paul Martin mishandled a pass from Chris Tierney at the point. Slepyshev raced to the puck and got in alone on Jones on the goal to make it 2-0 just 1:50 into the period.

The Sharks finally found their game after that and put on heavy pressure late in the second period, but Talbot made a nice save on Marleau in alone and Marcus Sorensen hit the cross bar on another chance.

After dominating the overtime in their Game 5 win, the Oilers picked right up from there and controlled the play in the opening period of Game 6. They had the decided edge in shot attempts and scoring chances but neither team was able to score.

San Jose's best chance came short-handed when Talbot stopped Melker Karlsson alone in front.

NOTES: Klefbom did not play the third period with Edmonton. ... F Joonas Donskoi returned to the lineup for the Sharks in place of Timo Meier.

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Minnesota Wild forward Eric Staal appears to have escaped serious injury after a scary incident during Saturday's game.

The 32-year-old, who crashed headfirst into the end boards in the second period of Game 5, was transported to Regions Hospital and released soon after, the team announced.

Related: Wild's Staal taken to hospital after crashing into end boards headfirst

Staal was said to be alert and stable prior to being transported to hospital.

While he only managed one assist during the five-game series, he was vital to the team's regular-season success, pacing the team with 28 goals and finishing second with 65 points.

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It was a tight series between the Montreal Canadiens and the New York Rangers, but in the end the club that was able to solve the opposition's netminder reigned victorious.

With a 3-1 Game 6 victory, the Rangers punched their ticket to the second round, leaving the Canadiens to wonder what went wrong.

It shouldn't take the club too much pondering to realize the biggest fault was that their offense dried up. It was an offense that sat in the middle of the pack during the regular season and one that, to general manager Marc Bergevin, didn't need upgrading.

Looking back, it became clear ahead of the trade deadline that the Canadiens' biggest need was more offense. Carey Price had been good most of the year, but made it clear he could - on occasion - be just really good instead of unbeatable.

He wasn't going to be able to solve all of the team's mistakes.

So the club needed to find goals, but rather than adding potential scorers such as Martin Hanzal or Patrick Eaves, the team elected to add size in Dwight King, Steve Ott, Andreas Martinsen, Brandon Davidson, and Jordie Benn.

Sure, adding Benn and Davidson was acceptable in that both helped out on the back end, but the forwards acquired are evidence of some head-scratching management.

The contingent mentioned above - and Nikita Nesterov, who was also acquired ahead of the trade deadline - combined for no goals and no points in the series.

The three forwards mentioned above only contributed one goal (by King) during their time with the Canadiens.

In fact, David Desharnais - dealt to the Edmonton Oilers for Davidson - has contributed a goal - in overtime - and an assist this postseason.

In the six games, the Canadiens averaged just 1.83 goals, the fourth-worst mark in the playoffs, with the Oilers being the only team below them still alive.

The onus will surely fall on captain Max Pacioretty, and rightfully so, as he failed to record a single goal, only posting a single assist in the series. However, the fact is the Canadiens' offense was in question long before the playoffs began and the team had adequate time to address it.

Sure, Hanzal's asking price may have been ridiculous, but in the end, Bergevin failed to improve the club as they made their march into the postseason and the results now speak for themselves.

No one's going to be able to hide behind a fern on this one.

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It wasn't supposed to end like this for the Montreal Canadiens.

After finishing atop the Atlantic Division standings, the Canadiens find themselves bounced from the Stanley Cup Playoffs after six first-round games against the New York Rangers, leaving captain Max Pacioretty with an empty feeling.

"We had a great opportunity to do something this year," he said, according to Frank Seravalli of TSN. "It feels like a wasted effort."

For his part, Pacioretty finished the series with zero goals on a team-high 28 shots, and knows he'll have to answer questions about his inability to score over what will be a longer-than-expected offseason.

Pacioretty added he'll discuss his play in the series more following the team's exit meeting, per Seravalli.

It was a tightly contested series, with no game decided by more than two goals. As to why and what needs to change, Pacioretty passed the buck upstairs.

Pacioretty exits this season with 10 goals in 38 career playoff games with the Canadiens.

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All hail the king.

Henrik Lundqvist came out on top of a playoff battle with Carey Price, preserving a series-clinching win over the Montreal Canadiens with a last-minute toe save off the stick of Tomas Plekanec.

Lundqvist stopped 27 of 28 shots to help his team advance to the next round.

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Mats Zuccarello scored twice in the second period and the New York Rangers beat the Montreal Canadiens 3-1 in Game 6 on Saturday night to advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Derek Stepan also scored and Henrik Lundqvist stopped 27 shots to help New York get past the first round for the fifth time in six years. The Rangers won three straight after falling behind 2-1 to beat Montreal for the ninth time in 16 postseason series.

The Rangers will face the winner of the Ottawa-Boston series, which the Senators lead 3-2.

Alexei Emelin scored for Montreal and Carey Price finished with 20 saves.

The Canadiens, winners of the Atlantic Division after missing the playoffs last year, were bounced from the postseason by the Rangers for the second time in four years. In 2014, it was in the conference finals.

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Two surprising combatants engaged in a round of fisticuffs early in Game 6.

Montreal Canadiens captain Max Pacioretty and New York Rangers rookie Jimmy Vesey dropped the gloves after exchanging checks after the whistle Saturday. This after Alexander Radulov had sprayed Henrik Lundqvist with a little snow while crashing the net.

Both Pacioretty and Vesey, who remain in search of their first goals of the series, earned seven minutes in the penalty box for their transgressions.

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The St. Louis Blues entered the opening round of the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs as overwhelming underdogs, going up against a Minnesota Wild team expected to challenge for the title of Western Conference champions.

Instead, the Blues advanced to the next stage and a date with the Nashville Predators following a five-game series win over head coach Mike Yeo's former club.

Here are three players who came up huge along the way:

Jake Allen

This series was essentially stolen by the rejuvenated Blues goalie.

At one point this season, a struggling Allen was afforded time to step away from the crease and clear his head. He was able to find his game with the help of assistant general manager, goalie coach, and NHL legend Martin Brodeur, and, as a result, couldn't have been much better against the Wild.

Over the five games, Allen faced 182 shots and stopped 174 of them - good for a .956 save percentage.

Put another way, Minnesota averaged 36.4 shots per game - second only to Columbus' 38.8 - while St. Louis ranks last among all 16 playoff teams with 26.8.

With the ice seemingly tilted toward the Blues' zone, Allen was without question the difference in this series.

Vladimir Sobotka

The St. Louis Blues weren't sure they'd ever see Sobotka again, and now there's no telling where they'd be without him.

Unwilling to settle for a deal awarded to him in arbitration back in 2014, the forward chose instead to ply his trade in the KHL over the past few seasons. His hiatus, however, ended on April 6, when he decided to return to the club for the balance of this season, while also signing a three-year extension.

Sobotka scored a goal in his lone regular-season appearance, and went on to play a big role in St. Louis' win over the Wild.

In those five games, he recorded one goal and two assists, beautifully setting up the series-clinching goal by Magnus Paajarvi. He also came up big in the faceoff circle when called upon, and logged heavy minutes in all situations.

The Blues were wise to lock him up upon his return, because his stock as a free agent would have been way up based on his playoff performance to date.

Jaden Schwartz

A talented young winger led the Blues in scoring in this series, but not the one you might expect.

No, it wasn't Vladimir Tarasenko who did most of the damage offensively, but rather Jaden Schwartz, whose five points were more than any other player on the team.

More to the point, Schwartz's two goals were both of the game-winning variety, with a late third period snipe in Game 2 putting the Wild in a hole they wouldn't climb out of.

He fell short of his previous regular-season career highs this year, but might just have saved it all up for when it mattered most.

(Photos courtesy: Action Images)

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