If upsets are in the offing in the Western Conference’s round of 16, don't expect them to come courtesy of the Blackhawks or Coyotes.

Spunky efforts kept those teams within a goal in Game 2 losses, but they won't ward off the inevitable. Chicago's defense is leaky - fodder for the Golden Knights' relentless attack. Darcy Kuemper's a tremendous goalie, but the Avalanche profit from mismatches everywhere else on the ice.

Surprise play-in round victories were already more than Chicago and Arizona would have gotten out of a typical postseason. Soon their presence in the Edmonton bubble will be a bizarro memory.

So the onus falls to the Canucks and Flames to try to prosper as underdogs out west. They've looked considerably more complete - defending tenaciously and scoring in droves most nights - than Edmonton and Nashville, higher seeds that the 'Hawks and 'Yotes vanquished in the qualifiers. And several days into the first round, they each have inside track on authoring momentous upsets of their own.

These Canadian clubs' paths to the Stanley Cup quarterfinals run through the offensive end. The Stars and Blues tend to lock it down defensively. Dallas netminders Ben Bishop and Anton Khudobin form an elite tandem; St. Louis' Jordan Binnington ascended to that form at times during last year's Cup run. Yet the Flames and Canucks have gotten to them, helping deface save percentages that in Bishop and Binnington's cases now sit at .862 in this small playoff sample.

They've employed different approaches to achieve this objective, a vital development against squads that are built to thwart and frustrate opposing playmakers and snipers. Friday's results - Calgary's 2-0 shutout of Dallas and Vancouver's 4-3 defeat of St. Louis in overtime - delivered them to within two wins of a common prize.

Offensive opportunism is Vancouver's secret sauce. That the Canucks didn't put a shot on target over a 12-minute stretch of Game 2 conformed with the control the Blues exerted overall. That they won anyway was a testament to the speed with which their go-to players can strike.

We saw it when Elias Pettersson went to work on the power play - first as his saucer pass set up Tanner Pearson for a one-timer in the slot, then as he batted an airborne rebound past Binnington. We saw it on two of the prettiest rushes Bo Horvat has ever converted: his undressing of Brayden Schenn and Jaden Schwartz to open the scoring and his five-hole finish in overtime off Quinn Hughes' great breakout feed.

Indeed, this brand of clinical play characterized all four Canucks goals - as it also did J.T. Miller's disallowed breakaway marker, the veteran straying a step offside in his haste to deke Binnington moments after he exited the penalty box.

Already the Canucks have cashed five power-play goals in this series. Their best unit - Pettersson, Horvat, Miller, Brock Boeser, and Hughes - moves on a string, rotating rhythmically and passing with precision, waiting for gaps to open in danger areas. Accounting for all phases of the game, five Canucks have scored multiple goals this postseason, led by Horvat's six and Pettersson and Pearson's three apiece, with Hughes (one goal and seven assists) playing the part of expert orchestrator.

Vancouver's quick-hit nature contrasts with the physicality and collectedness that St. Louis has used to generate way more shot attempts at even strength (107-72 overall, per Natural Stat Trick). The Blues don't waste chances to test Jacob Markstrom - or to body Pettersson and Hughes near the boards. Here, the Canucks' young stars have been opportunistic, too. Witness Pettersson drawing the interference penalty on David Perron that led to his goal, or Hughes accepting that this Tyler Bozak check was a reasonable trade-off to create Horvat's winner.

While Vancouver's big guns have led the charge, the story of Calgary's start to the playoffs has been that of any and all sources scoring however they can.

Thirteen Flames have tickled twine over seven games. In the city where Tobias Rieder infamously went scoreless in 2018-19 - becoming Oilers CEO Bob Nicholson's scapegoat of choice for a lost season - the German winger's potted two shorthanded breakaway goals. His second came in Game 2 against Dallas, the same night defensive rearguard Derek Forbort - who last scored in March 2019 - stunned the bubble by netting a knuckler from the point.

Those depth contributions, a vastly different modus operandi from Vancouver's top-heaviness, have done a lot to compensate for the silence of Calgary's top two forward lines, whose six usual members still have yet to score on the Stars at even strength. Who would have guessed that that group's Game 3 breakthrough would come via a workmanlike shorthanded goal from Mikael Backlund? Or that T.J. Brodie's insurance tally would arise from - of all situations - a fourth-line faceoff win in the offensive zone?

Calgary would be down in this series if those sequences didn't bear fruit - and, pertinently, if Cam Talbot wasn't spotless in net with 35 saves. Dallas absolutely slammed the Flames at five-on-five, doubling their shot attempts (56-27) and tripling their scoring chances (27-8), according to Natural Stat Trick. Astoundingly, those margins were 33-5 and 18-0 in the second period.

Aside from his Game 2 stinker, Talbot's steadiness in the bubble has unquestionably been huge for Calgary. The Flames still needed someone to score to win, of course, and should their goalie falter, they've proven they have the manpower to MacGyver a solution.

Similarly, the Canucks' defensive structure warrants mention before we move onto Game 3. By collapsing into a shell, jamming lanes, and blocking plenty of shots, the skaters in front of Markstrom have lessened the burden he'd otherwise face during the Blues' sustained O-zone time.

But it's the offense that has them two games up on St. Louis, a defending champion on a five-game playoff skid. Against heavy pressure, Vancouver's performance suggests opportunism can be a lethal countermeasure - so long as the counter belongs to a team more talented than Chicago or Arizona.

Nick Faris is a features writer at theScore.

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The first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs is heating up. Here are three key takeaways from the Eastern Conference games on Friday's schedule, which included a 5-0 pounding of the Philadelphia Flyers by the Montreal Canadiens and a decisive 5-2 New York Islanders victory over the Washington Capitals.

Relentless Ovi not enough

If Alex Ovechkin's nifty goal 56 seconds into the first period and the subsequent noisy celebration didn't convince Barry Trotz and the Islanders that Relentless Alex Ovechkin came to play Friday night, what followed certainly did.

On his next shift, right in front of the Isles' bench, Ovechkin blurted out what sounded like an "oh, c'mon!" loud enough for everyone in Scotiabank Arena to hear after a linesman accidentally halted a potential odd-man rush for him and linemate Evgeny Kuznetsov. That fieriness deep inside Ovechkin - which was not always present in the Caps' four previous postseason games - didn't really leave until the final buzzer sounded. He looked every bit like a man on a mission.

"We needed a big game from him tonight," Caps head coach Todd Reirdon said postgame. "He's physical, he's able to convert a couple of different ways for us. I thought he had a strong game from his perspective and we need more players like him that are playing to the top of their level."

Alas, Ovechkin - who scored both Caps goals - couldn't propel his squad past New York all by himself. The Isles now lead the best-of-seven series 2-0.

Full marks to New York for dictating the pace and style of play in Game 2. The Islanders put Washington on its heels for most of the night, mercifully carrying out textbook coach Trotz hockey: smothering, physical, and unified.

"They're very disciplined and they stick to it throughout the game," Caps defenseman John Carlson said of the Isles, who gave Washington only two power-play opportunities. The Caps, meanwhile, were the opposite of disciplined, gifting the Isles five power-play chances. They shot themselves in the foot, twice getting assessed a minor for too many men.

Ovechkin, who skated for more than 22 minutes in the loss, managed to record 10 shot attempts, including six that reached New York goalie Semyon Varlamov. Ovechkin had laser focus, deployed his trademark short, chopping strides, and yapped away. Leo Komarov, one of the Isles' better defensive wingers, tried to glue himself to the Russian's hip as best as he could, but Ovechkin bounced around the rink like a ball of energy.

Maybe too much energy. Ovechkin's best chance in the third - a wide-open shot off a back-door feed from Kuznetsov - hit the side of the net.

"I just missed it," he said. "Shit happens."

Habs must bottle this

Max Domi hit the bullseye following the Canadiens' dismantling of the Flyers on Friday. In his media availability, Domi noted the commanding 5-0 Game 2 win was both "just one game" and "a huge step in the right direction for us."

Couldn't have said it better myself for a Habs team that finds itself tied 1-1 with a really strong Philadelphia squad despite selling pieces at the trade deadline. Without head coach Claude Julien, who is back in Montreal recovering from a health scare, the Canadiens displayed their true potential as a collective against the Flyers.

Goalie Carey Price was flawless, turning aside all 30 Philadelphia shots. Montreal's forwards played with a sense of urgency and completed passes with precision from the opening faceoff onward, accounting for the game's first 12 shots on goal and 32 total. Tomas Tatar and Jesperi Kotkaniemi both scored twice, while Domi seemingly flew up and down the ice on every shift.

"We got our butts kicked today in all facets of the game," Flyers coach Alain Vigneault said. "They outworked us, outplayed us, and outexecuted us."

"We're doing it in numbers," is how Kirk Muller, Montreal's associate coach and Julien's temporary replacement, explained his group's inspired showing. In Muller's eyes, everyone who dressed for the Canadiens on Friday played well. That gave him the freedom to roll out four forward lines and three defensive pairs. The Flyers simply had no answer for a team that played like a wrecking ball, especially when Habs captain Shea Weber was on the ice.

"It's nothing new," Ben Chiarot, Weber's defensive partner, said of his teammate's domination. "This is something he's done his whole career. We're talking about 14, 15 years of being one of the best defensemen in the NHL."

It was one of those games where the better team had more giveaways (18-9 for Montreal) because it had the puck the whole time. The Canadiens eventually chased phenom Carter Hart from the Flyers' net before running over backup Brian Elliott moments later. Bottling up this emotional, well-earned win for Julien will be the tricky part, and it's no small task given Montreal is usually no world-beater.

"When we stick to our game plan," Domi said, "we skate, we have everyone going, and we're a very tough team to play against."

The key word there is "when."

Don't sleep on Suzuki

Columbus Blue Jackets center Pierre-Luc Dubois is enjoying a postseason coming out party thanks to four goals and four assists in seven games. So is Miro Heiskanen, the Dallas Stars blue-liner who's opening eyes across the continent with a combination of effortless skating, defensive prowess, and swagger with the puck. Kotkaniemi, who's bagged four goals to pace Montreal, would also count as a breakout player.

What about Nick Suzuki, though? The unflappable Canadiens rookie should be in the conversation as one of the best up-and-comers of the restart. He's arguably been as impactful as Kotkaniemi.

Suzuki, who was drafted 13th overall by the Vegas Golden Knights in the 2017 NHL Draft before being sent to Montreal in the Max Pacioretty trade, has one goal and two assists in six games. However, his contributions are mostly subtle, extending beyond the boxscore.

The 21-year-old ranks second in ice time among Montreal forwards, skating for 19 minutes and 46 seconds per night. The coaching staff trusts Suzuki, just 77 games into his NHL career, to play in any and all situations: up a goal, down two goals, on the power play, on the penalty kill, at even strength, whatever.

"Suzy's starting to tap into playing some big minutes against some high-level talent on the other side," Domi said following Friday's win. "It takes a lot of confidence to do that. It's a tough job to do. He showed it in the first round and he's showing it again, tonight and in Game 1."

Suzuki has mainly faced off against difficult assignments in Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kevin Hayes thus far, yet he's been on the ice for just one goal against at even strength and has a plus-2 rating. A responsible pivot, he has terrific poise and above-average hand-eye coordination. He's already the rare NHLer that coaches never have to worry about - a master of the little things who is more than willing to, for instance, take a pounding body check to get the puck out of harm's way. And it doesn't hurt that he has some scoring touch, too, as evidenced by his 13 goals and 28 assists in 71 regular-season games.

Suzuki will be lucky to sneak into the top five in Calder Trophy voting. The 2020 rookie class was deep, starting with super studs Quinn Hughes and Cale Makar, and continuing with Dominik Kubalik, Adam Fox, John Marino, Elvis Merzlikins, and Victor Olofsson, plus a few others. But the probable top-five snub shouldn't discount what Suzuki has accomplished both during the regular season and his breakout postseason.

John Matisz is theScore's national hockey writer.

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Calgary Flames agitator Matthew Tkachuk is not in the lineup for Game 3 against the Dallas Stars due to an undisclosed injury.

Alan Quine was subsequently inserted into the lineup. Tobias Rieder took Tkachuk's spot on the second line with Mikael Backlund and Andrew Mangiapane.

Tkachuk led the Flames with 61 points during the regular season.

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Alain Vigneault has a bone to pick with Kirk Muller.

The Philadelphia Flyers head coach was not happy when the Montreal Canadiens' No. 1 power-play unit hopped over the boards with just over two minutes remaining in the third period with the Habs leading 5-0 in Friday's Game 2.

"We had embarrassed ourselves enough. I'm not sure we needed to be embarrassed more," Vigneault said postgame, according to Sportsnet's Chris Johnston.

Flyers captain Claude Giroux also took note.

"Yeah, I saw it, but ... no comment on that," he said.

Muller, the associate coach who's running the Canadiens in Claude Julien's absence, defended the decision.

"It's the playoffs," Muller said.

Muller added that Montreal's struggling power play needed the practice and said he wouldn't have done it in a regular-season game, according to TSN's John Lu.

The Canadiens held on to the 5-0 victory, evening the series at one game apiece.

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Another one of the CHL's member leagues is aiming to restart play in early October.

After discussing the matter with provincial governments and public health agencies, the QMJHL said Friday it hopes to begin its next season on Oct. 1, 2020. In Quebec, games will be played without fans in attendance, while talks are ongoing regarding the teams in the Maritime provinces.

The league contains clubs based in Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island.

Training camps will begin Aug. 30, with a maximum of 34 players per team. The league plans to hold a 60-game regular season, featuring only inter-divisional play between squads broken into three six-team groups. They will determine the playoff format in December.

The QMJHL canceled the rest of its regular season and its 2019-20 playoffs in March due to the coronavirus pandemic, as did the OHL and WHL.

The WHL said in June that it's aiming to resume play on Oct. 2. The OHL announced last week that it is pushing back the 2020-21 start until Dec. 1.

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Connor McDavid knows at least one area that the Edmonton Oilers must improve on this offseason.

"Teams that win are the teams that defend," McDavid said Friday, according to The Athletic's Daniel Nugent-Bowman. "We haven't figured that out yet."

After a promising regular season in which the Oilers finished with the fifth-best record in the Western Conference, Edmonton was unable to advance past the 12th-seeded Chicago Blackhawks in the qualifying round.

McDavid and teammate Leon Draisaitl, who finished first and second in the league in regular-season points, respectively, were on the ice for six goals for and five goals against at even strength during the qualifying series.

Edmonton finished the regular season with the 14th-best goal differential in the league at plus-8. Only Kailer Yamamoto, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, and Matt Benning managed a positive plus-minus rating.

Defenseman Darnell Nurse insisted the team as a whole has to improve next season.

"Everyone is pissed off about it," Nurse said, according to Sportsnet's Mark Spector. "You can beat yourself over the head with it for weeks. Is that going to bring you back in a better mind frame?"

He added, "There's a taste in everyone's mouth that no one likes. We've had it four out of five years here. We need to be better."

Despite a promising leap during the regular season, the Oilers have now failed to reach the round of 16 for the 13th time in their last 14 campaigns. They last made the playoffs in 2017, where they were eliminated in the second round.

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Minnesota Wild defenseman Matt Dumba, New Jersey Devils defenseman P.K. Subban, and New York Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist are the finalists for the King Clancy Memorial Trophy, the league announced Friday.

The award is handed out annually to the player "who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community." The winner will be revealed during the upcoming conference finals.

Dumba, along with several other current and former NHL players, recently co-founded the Hockey Diversity Alliance in response to the ongoing civil unrest across the United States. The 26-year-old also spearheaded a number of fundraising initiatives over the last year, including efforts to fight against COVID-19, aiding wildfire relief in Australia, and helping to rebuild Minnesota following riots and protests after the death of George Floyd.

Subban was one of the first major athletes to donate to a fundraiser for George Floyd's daughter. His $50,000 led to other contributions from athletes worldwide. Additionally, through the P.K. Subban Foundation, the 31-year-old initiated several charitable efforts this year. He continued his "Blueline Buddies" program, which brings together local police and youth to attend Devils games.

Lundqvist and his wife, Therese, have raised over $3.2 million since the creation of the Henrik Lundqvist Foundation in 2014. Their initiatives through the foundation continued this year during the fight against COVID-19. Lundqvist donated $100,000 to help feed New Yorkers, which provided 68,000 meals and aided 8,000 children and their families.

The winner of the award will receive a $25,000 donation from the NHL Foundation to benefit a charity of his choice. The two runners-up will receive $5,000.

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