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Two more teams were shown the door Tuesday. The Avalanche are the first Western Conference club to advance, and our first second-round series is set, with the Hurricanes taking on the Rangers. Meanwhile, the Maple Leafs and Predators assured the hockey world there won't be a dark night on the NHL schedule this week.

Wednesday features the league's best chance for a seven-game series. The home team is still looking for its first victory in the Golden Knights-Stars matchup, while a Stanley Cup contender seems ready to join the list of squads for Round 2.

Game 5: Golden Knights (+135) @ Stars (-155)

The most fascinating series of the first round can be broken down as follows:

• Game 1: Jake Oettinger (minus-2.2 goals saved above expected) was terrible in an otherwise close game. Stars lose 4-3.
• Game 3: Stars dominate even strength (ES), 23-4 high-danger chances (HDC). The Stars win in overtime 3-2.

Games 2 and 4 were nearly identical to each other.

The last column is the difference-maker. Vegas scored on two high-danger chances in Game 2, but Dallas didn't and lost a contest that was tied late in the second period. However, the Stars converted once in Game 4 and won a matchup also tied late in the second period.

Games 2 and 4 were more competitive, but Dallas drove the play at a 65% rate across those matchups. That's particularly notable since two of the regular season's least penalized teams are rarely putting each other on the power play in this series.

If you equate play-driving percentage to a moneyline, the Stars' 65% rate would be just shy of -200. While we'll never see Game 1's price of -130 again, -155 is still a valuable bet on Dallas snapping the road team's streak.

Best bet: Stars moneyline (-155)

Game 5: Kings (+165) @ Oilers (-195)

Who's to blame for Game 4's rare under in a Kings-Oilers playoff matchup?

That's a question worth asking after a streak of three straight overs to start the series was snapped with Sunday's 1-0 Oilers win. It's especially worth considering since Edmonton and L.A. have combined for six-plus goals in 10 of the last 13 playoff games between them.

Strangely, given that the Kings were shut out, the blame rests on the Oilers for a low-scoring Game 4. Edmonton mustered just four even-strength high-danger chances. And while the team's lone goal was on the power play, it drew just one opportunity on the man advantage.

Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner was also at fault. With 2.6 GSAx, Skinner backstopped Edmonton in a game in which Los Angeles should win 76% of the time. It was a well-timed outlier performance by Skinner, given that he posted a minus-2.15 GSAx over the first three contests. What version of him should we expect in Game 5?

David Rittich was an improvement from Cam Talbot (minus-3.08 GSAx in the series) for the Kings but was still replacement-level in Game 4 (minus-0.06). Going forward, we should expect average goaltending for both sides.

If the Oilers get back to their customary offensive production, more penalties will get called than the two in Game 4, and the Kings should finally score their first power-play goal in the series. This matchup should return to its offensive ways, especially if Edmonton, as expected, has a lead late and the Kings are compelled to pull the goalie earlier than usual.

Best bet: Over 6.5 (+105)

Matt Russell is the lead betting analyst for theScore. If there's a bad beat to be had, Matt will find it. Find him on social media @mrussauthentic.

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Josh Morrissey wants the Winnipeg Jets' series loss to the Colorado Avalanche to resonate with his teammates and inspire them going forward.

"Right now it's just disappointing, it's frustrating, it feels like a missed opportunity ... but the only way that there's any good from this is that we learn from it," the Jets defenseman said following a 6-3 defeat in Game 5 of their first-round matchup that ended Winnipeg's season Tuesday night.

"They brought the Stanley Cup-winning class to this series, and we didn't return it for three or four of those games," Morrissey added. "So we have levels that we need to find this offseason, and I hope it stings for all of us into the summer, and we use it as motivation."

The Avalanche outscored the Jets 28-15 in the series, including 5-2, 6-2, and 5-1 wins alongside the aforementioned 6-3 victory over the final four contests.

Vezina Trophy finalist and favorite Connor Hellebuyck struggled mightily throughout the five games, finishing with a .864 save percentage and 24 goals allowed. However, Hellebuyck has also faced the most shots and made the most saves among all netminders in these playoffs, so Morrissey wasn't interested in singling him out for the team's fate.

"I'm not going to put any blame on Helly, that's for sure," the blue-liner said. "We wouldn't be where we're at right now if it weren't for him, the way he's played all year. Go through a lot of those goals and tell me if he could've stopped them."

Morrissey notched three goals and an assist while averaging 24:35 of ice time in the series. He collected 10 tallies and 59 helpers while averaging 24:11 over 81 regular-season games.

The 29-year-old has worn an "A" for Winnipeg for the last five campaigns. He's spent nine seasons with the Jets, who drafted him 13th overall in 2013.

Copyright © 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Josh Morrissey wants the Winnipeg Jets' series loss to the Colorado Avalanche to resonate with his teammates and inspire them going forward.

"Right now it's just disappointing, it's frustrating, it feels like a missed opportunity ... but the only way that there's any good from this is that we learn from it," the Jets defenseman said following a 6-3 defeat in Game 5 of their first-round matchup that ended Winnipeg's season Tuesday night.

"They brought the Stanley Cup-winning class to this series, and we didn't return it for three or four of those games," Morrissey added. "So we have levels that we need to find this offseason, and I hope it stings for all of us into the summer, and we use it as motivation."

The Avalanche outscored the Jets 28-15 in the series, including 5-2, 6-2, and 5-1 wins alongside the aforementioned 6-3 victory over the final four contests.

Vezina Trophy finalist and favorite Connor Hellebuyck struggled mightily throughout the five games, finishing with a .864 save percentage and 24 goals allowed. However, Hellebuyck has also faced the most shots and made the most saves among all netminders in these playoffs, so Morrissey wasn't interested in singling him out for the team's fate.

"I'm not going to put any blame on Helly, that's for sure," the blue-liner said. "We wouldn't be where we're at right now if it weren't for him, the way he's played all year. Go through a lot of those goals and tell me if he could've stopped them."

Morrissey notched three goals and an assist while averaging 24:35 of ice time in the series. He collected 10 tallies and 59 helpers while averaging 24:11 over 81 regular-season games.

The 29-year-old has worn an "A" for Winnipeg for the last five campaigns. He's spent nine seasons with the Jets, who drafted him 13th overall in 2013.

Copyright © 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Josh Morrissey wants the Winnipeg Jets' series loss to the Colorado Avalanche to resonate with his teammates and inspire them going forward.

"Right now it's just disappointing, it's frustrating, it feels like a missed opportunity ... but the only way that there's any good from this is that we learn from it," the Jets defenseman said following a 6-3 defeat in Game 5 of their first-round matchup that ended Winnipeg's season Tuesday night.

"They brought the Stanley Cup-winning class to this series, and we didn't return it for three or four of those games," Morrissey added. "So we have levels that we need to find this offseason, and I hope it stings for all of us into the summer, and we use it as motivation."

The Avalanche outscored the Jets 28-15 in the series, including 5-2, 6-2, and 5-1 wins alongside the aforementioned 6-3 victory over the final four contests.

Vezina Trophy finalist and favorite Connor Hellebuyck struggled mightily throughout the five games, finishing with a .864 save percentage and 24 goals allowed. However, Hellebuyck has also faced the most shots and made the most saves among all netminders in these playoffs, so Morrissey wasn't interested in singling him out for the team's fate.

"I'm not going to put any blame on Helly, that's for sure," the blue-liner said. "We wouldn't be where we're at right now if it weren't for him, the way he's played all year. Go through a lot of those goals and tell me if he could've stopped them."

Morrissey notched three goals and an assist while averaging 24:35 of ice time in the series. He collected 10 tallies and 59 helpers while averaging 24:11 over 81 regular-season games.

The 29-year-old has worn an "A" for Winnipeg for the last five campaigns. He's spent nine seasons with the Jets, who drafted him 13th overall in 2013.

Copyright © 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.