The Boston Bruins and New York Islanders will kick off Round 2 of the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs on Saturday at 8 p.m. ET, the NHL announced Thursday.

Additionally, the Colorado Avalanche will take on the winner of Game 7 between the Vegas Golden Knights and Minnesota Wild on Sunday at 8 p.m. ET.

The start dates of the Central and North Division second-round series are still unknown. The Tampa Bay Lightning and Winnipeg Jets have already advanced, but their opponents aren't yet decided.

Tampa Bay will face either the Predators or the Carolina Hurricanes - who hold a 3-2 series lead over Nashville - while the Jets will clash with the Toronto Maple Leafs or the Montreal Canadiens. Toronto currently holds a 3-1 lead over Montreal.

Both the Hurricanes and Maple Leafs can punch their tickets to Round 2 with a win Thursday, while Game 7 between the Golden Knights and Wild is scheduled for Friday.

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Michigan defenseman Owen Power leads Central Scouting's final North American skater ranking prior to the 2021 NHL Draft.

The latest lists for North American and international players were released Thursday.

Here's the top 10 from each location:

North American skaters

Power recorded 16 points over 26 games as a freshman this season, and he's currently suiting up for Canada at the world championship in Latvia. The Wolverines continue to churn out quality NHL prospects, as two Michigan teammates join Power in the top 10.

Hughes is the younger brother of Jack and Quinn. The New Jersey Devils drafted the former first overall in 2019, while the Vancouver Canucks selected the latter seventh in 2018.

International skaters

The entire rankings can be seen here.

The first round of the NHL draft goes July 23.

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Minnesota Wild goaltender Cam Talbot is happy with the officials' decision to overturn a goal against him in the third period of a 3-0 win over the Vegas Golden Knights.

"If that one stood, I probably wouldn't be here right now," Talbot said postgame, according to The Athletic's Michael Russo. "I probably would just be getting fined."

With the Wild up 1-0, Vegas appeared to get the equalizer past Talbot with around half of the third period still to play. The goal was quickly waved off due to goaltender interference, with Alex Tuch standing in the crease.

The Golden Knights challenged the ruling and lost, and were handed a two-minute delay of game penalty as a result. Kevin Fiala scored on the ensuing power play to put Minnesota up 2-0 before Nick Bjugstad potted Minnesota's third marker to seal the contest.

Head coach Dean Evason noted that his team was on the other end of similar calls earlier in the series.

"What comes around goes around," Evason said.

He added: "You want consistency, and they gave it to us."

Minnesota entered Game 6 trailing 3-2 in the series. Game 7 is set for 9 p.m. ET on Friday night.

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In a perfect world, a rare playoff series between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens would go the distance. Yet, unless something unforeseen occurs in the next 24 hours, we probably won't even see a Game 6.

The first four games of the North Division matchup have left no doubt the Habs are in way over their heads against the significantly deeper and more balanced Leafs. With Toronto up 3-1 heading into Thursday's Game 5 at Scotiabank Arena, a series victory for the home team feels inevitable.

Here's why the Leafs appear primed to win a playoff series for the first time since 2004 - and also a few glimmers of hope for the Habs and their fans:

Leafs' attack overwhelming

Anybody who's watched William Nylander relatively closely knows he's been building toward this moment. So his four goals in four games - including the openers in Games 3 and 4 - shouldn't register as some shocking development. What's notable instead is the energetic lead-up to his tallies.

By controlling possession in transition, blazing to the net with no fear, and putting absolutely everything into his wrist shot, Nylander's been driving a second line that lost center John Tavares to injury 10 minutes into Game 1 and was short left-winger Nick Foligno for Games 3 and 4. Nylander's been doing these things off and on throughout his entire career, but rarely has it all come together so seamlessly and consistently over a string of physically demanding games.

"To me, he's competing a lot harder, he's really engaged, and with that, offense comes," Keefe told reporters following Game 3. "You look at losing Tavares and then you lose Foligno, two guys that Will started out with on a line, and he's just continued on and produced and played hard and given us real good shifts."

Meanwhile, the ageless Jason Spezza has been brilliant in his own right, looking closer to 27 than 37 as he bolts up the right wing, handles the puck in tight spaces, and engages in battles in the corner. He ranks second on the Leafs in goals with two, and there are six others with one - Auston Matthews, Morgan Rielly, Alex Galchenyuk, Rasmus Sandin, Joe Thornton, and Alex Kerfoot. That's the team's first-line center, first-pairing defenseman, second-line winger who was scratched for Game 1, third-pairing defenseman who was scratched for Game 4, fourth-line winger, and third-line center who was elevated to the 2C spot after Tavares went down, respectively.

As a team devoting half of its annual payroll to four stud forwards, the Leafs don't necessarily need production from all four lines to win games. However, these past four contests have demonstrated how overwhelming Toronto can be when the bulk of its forward group - which is filled with guys boasting offensive chops - is weaponized.

Of course, the Habs were supposed to be the team in this series that leaned on its depth. What Montreal lacks in elite finishers, it makes up for in uniformity from lines one through four. That just hasn't been the case so far, though, with the squad recording a grand total of four goals in four games. At five-on-five, the Habs trail the Leafs in shot attempts, shots on goal, scoring chances, high-danger chances, and expected goals, according to Natural Stat Trick. In Game 4, specifically, Montreal chased the game, and the Leafs, most of the night.

A glimmer of hope? In theory, the reins will be loosened in Thursday's do-or-die setting. Defenseman Jeff Petry, who has zero points this series after 42 in 55 regular-season games, should have the green light to join the rush early and often. Cole Caufield, the organization's purest goal-scorer, should skate more than 17:41 a night (the fact he didn't draw into the lineup for Games 1 and 2 is another story). Power forward Josh Anderson, who's failed to mark up the scoresheet following a fantastic Game 1, should be encouraged to fly the defensive zone to create odd-man opportunities the other way. Overall, the Habs need to throw something different at the Leafs.

Goaltending's a wash

We heard it before the 2020 postseason, and before this series: the Habs' playoff success largely hinges on Carey Price's work between the pipes.

Price has played well against the Leafs, turning aside 115 of 125 shots for a cool .920 save percentage. You can't expect much more from the 33-year-old former superstar, especially considering the high volume of quality looks he's faced thus far. Arguably, Price is to blame for only two of Toronto's 10 non-empty-net goals (Spezza's in Game 2 and Rielly's in Game 4). Too often a Leafs player has gone uncovered in premium scoring areas, leading to an easy goal.

Jack Campbell has gone save for save with Price, posting an eye-popping .965 save percentage on 114 shots. Though, on aggregate, the Leafs' new No. 1 goalie hasn't faced scoring opportunities as dangerous as Price has, Campbell's reliable play has basically minimized the Montreal goaltender's impact on the series.

"We've got to find a way to get to the inside," Petry told reporters after Game 4. "A lot of our shots are coming from the outside and he's sucking up the puck and not allowing rebounds. So we've got to find a way to get in his eyes, get tips, get some sort of greasy goals here to get us going."

At the end of the day, Price has proven he's capable of keeping the Leafs to two or fewer goals per game in a best-of-seven series. Yet, if you were to replay this series 100 times, the Habs wouldn't win four of seven many times with the woeful goal support they've offered Price.

Put another way, can Montreal win 1-0 on Thursday? Yes. There's always a real possibility of that final score with Price in net, even this late in his career. But to what end if it's an unsustainable brand of hockey? Based on what we've seen, the Leafs will just outscore the Habs in Game 6 and/or Game 7.

Habs' power-play drought

In the regular season, Montreal's power play generated 5.1 expected goals per 60 minutes to rank 29th in the league. It led to the NHL's 17th-ranked power play (19.2%). Somehow, the Habs have been worse in the playoffs, at 4.4 xG per 60 and zero goals on 14 power-play opportunities.

Entering the zone with possession has become a struggle, and zipping the puck around the 1-3-1 setup in the Leafs' end has been an even rarer sight. The Toronto penalty kill deserves credit but, mostly, the Habs' power play, whether it's the top unit or second, has simply looked out of sync.

An optimist might suggest it couldn't get any worse for the Habs' power play and the table is set for a breakout in Game 5. This isn't a delusional thought, either. Power plays go cold, and all it takes sometimes is a clear lane and the puck on the stick of the right shooter (say, Caufield or Tyler Toffoli) for the floodgates to open. Montreal fans can only hope.

John Matisz is theScore's senior NHL writer. You can follow John on Twitter (@MatiszJohn) and contact him via email (john.matisz@thescore.com)

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Edmonton Oilers defenseman Ethan Bear has been the victim of racist behavior on social media since his costly giveaway led to the Winnipeg Jets' tying goal during Monday's Game 4 triple-overtime loss, which ended Edmonton's season.

Bear, who is from the Ochapowace First Nation, responded with a powerful video message on Wednesday.

The NHL also backed Bear and denounced racism in a statement of its own.

Oilers general manager Ken Holland also discussed the racism on Wednesday, saying he feels "sick" for Bear and called the behavior "disgusting."

The hashtag #IStandWithEthan has been trending on social media in support of Bear.

Edmonton selected Bear in the fifth round of the 2015 NHL Draft.

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