Vancouver grabbed a 2-1 lead in the Western Conference first-round playoff series. Game 4 of the best-of-seven set is set for Sunday in Nashville.

DeSmith has been forced into action because of a lower-body injury to No. 1 goalie Thatcher Demko, who was only able to play in the series opener. Demko is likely to miss the remainder of the series.

J.T. Miller had a goal and an assist and Brock Boeser also scored for the Canucks. Defenseman Quinn Hughes had two assists.

Both goals came on the power-play goals after Vancouver went 0-for-6 with the extra man over the first two games of the series.

The Canucks blocked 30 shots in front of DeSmith, who spent the previous five seasons mostly as a backup for the Pittsburgh Penguins. It was only his third career playoff game.

"I cant say enough about the guys," DeSmith said postgame on TBS. "All the kills we had. ... The guys really earned that one. This is just a hard place to play."

Despite the win, Vancouver did not return much fire as Nashville goalie Juuse Saros faced only 12 shots, stopping 10.

Luke Evangelista scored with 3:12 remaining in the third period to pull the Predators within a goal, but the hosts could not manage an equalizer.

"Just to hang on at the end and hold on to that one-goal lead," DeSmith said. "That's hard to do."

Miller's power-play goal gave the Canucks a 1-0 lead at 13:23 of the first period. With Michael McCarron off for running over DeSmith, Miller scored on a screened wrist shot from above the left circle.

It was the first time Vancouver scored first in the series, and it was Miller's first goal of the postseason.

Boeser's power-play goal made it 2-0 at 4:33 of the second period. Stationed in front of the net, he fought off a check to tip in Miller's pass from the left corner. It was Boeser's first goal of the playoffs. Predators star defenseman Roma Josi was in the penalty box for tripping Conor Garland.

There were a couple of scrums between the teams in the first period.

Vancouver defenseman Tyler Myers returned after missing Game 2 with the flu.

Chris Kreider and Barclay Goodrow added goals, Mika Zibanejad had two assists and Igor Shesterkin made 28 saves for the Rangers, who lead the best-of-seven first-round series 3-0.

John Carlson scored for the Capitals. Charlie Lindgren made 19 saves.

Washington played with five defensemen for 2 1/2 periods after Trevor van Riemsdyk was injured at 12:08 of the first on a hit from New York forward Matt Rempe.

New York controlled the play early, building up a 5-1 shot advantage 3 1/2 minutes into the game.

However, the Capitals got on the board first.

Carlson gave the hosts a 1-0 lead at 5:34 of the first period. T.J. Oshie received a pass in the neutral zone and carried it inside the blue line before sending a short feed to Carlson in the middle, and the defenseman quickly snapped it in high on Shesterkin's blocker side.

The Rangers tied it 34 seconds later. Zibanejad held onto a Jack Roslovic pass and took it near the point before firing a shot that Kreider tipped in front at 6:08.

Goodrow scored short-handed to put New York ahead 2-1 two minutes later. Trocheck fed Goodrow on a partial two-on-one, and Goodrow beat Lindgren blocker side from the slot at 8:08.

The Capitals had their chances in the second period.

They hit the post 30 seconds into the frame in the final seconds of a carryover power play. Halfway through the period, Shesterkin robbed Max Pacioretty point blank from in front, getting into the splits to get his pad on the puck.

At the other end, Lindgren got across to deny Kaapo Kakko off a feed from Will Cuylle with just over five minutes remaining in the period.

Trocheck made it 3-1 Rangers with a power-play goal at 15:22 of the second. Zibanejad sent a pass through the legs of Capitals defenseman Dylan McIlrath to Trocheck driving toward the net, and the forward quickly deposited it short side past Lindgren's glove.

Tocchet added that Demko will miss the next few games due to the undisclosed injury he sustained in Vancouver's 4-2 win over the Predators in Game 1 of the Western Conference first-round series.

Casey DeSmith, who got the nod in a 4-1 loss in Game 2 on Tuesday, will remain the starter with Demko sidelined.

Demko, 28, missed 14 games due to a lower-body injury toward the end of the regular season, but Tocchet previously said the goalie's current injury is unrelated to the lower-body issue. Demko returned for one game before the playoffs began.

The San Jose Sharks own the best odds to land the No. 1 overall pick with an 18.5 percent chance.

The Sharks fired head coach David Quinn earlier this week after finishing an NHL-worst 19-54-9.

Boston University forward Macklin Celebrini, the Hobey Baker Award winner, is the projected No. 1 pick.

The lottery will be held at NHL Network's studio in Secaucus, N.J.

--2024 NHL Draft Lottery, odds of landing No. 1 pick:

San Jose Sharks, 18.5 percent

Chicago Blackhawks, 13.5 percent

Anaheim Ducks, 11.5 percent

Columbus Blue Jackets, 9.5 percent

Montreal Canadiens, 8.5 percent

Utah, 7.5 percent

Ottawa Senators, 6.5 percent

Seattle Kraken, 6 percent

Calgary Flames, 5 percent

New Jersey Devils, 3.5 percent

Buffalo Sabres, 3 percent

Philadelphia Flyers, 2.5 percent

Minnesota Wild, 2.0 percent

Pittsburgh Penguins, 1.5 percent

Detroit Red Wings, 0.5 percent

St. Louis Blues, 0.5 percent

The Maple Leafs trail 2-1 in the series after losing 4-2 in Game 3 on Wednesday in Toronto.

Maple Leafs forward William Nylander appears ready to make his playoff debut after missing the first three games reportedly with migraine issues. Nylander was second on the team with 40 goals and 98 points while playing all 82 games in the regular season.

Nylander was the first skater on the ice at practice Friday, skated on the third line with Pontus Holmberg and Calle Jarnkrok and took repetitions with the top power-play unit.

Nylander said he doesn't expect any challenges when he returns from the three-game absence.

"I've been skating and everything." he said.

Nylander led Toronto with 24 power-play assists during the regular season and was second with 11 power-play goals, so he should help a power-play unit that is just 1-for-11 in the series so far.

The Maple Leafs scored on 24 percent of their power plays during the regular season.

"We're getting our looks," Toronto forward Mitch Marner said. "I think we really are. I think we've done a good job of entering (the zone). It's just staying confident in it, knowing we have the people in here to make it successful."

The Bruins suffered a key blow in Game 2 when defenseman Andrew Peeke injured his hand blocking a shot. He is listed as week-to-week.

Boston had acquired Peeke from the Columbus Blue Jackets on March 8 in exchange for defenseman Jakub Zboril and a third-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft.

Parker Wotherspoon slid into Peeke's spot in Game 3 and contributed three hits and three blocked shots while playing 19:10.

Mason Lohrei also was called up from Providence of the American Hockey League to serve as a backup.

Bruins captain Brad Marchand is one playoff goal away from passing Hall of Famer and current team president Cam Neely for the most in Bruins history. He scored two goals in Game 3, including an empty-netter that gave him 55 career playoff goals.

"Those are things that you kind of look at down the road and look back upon and get excited about," Marchand said. "Hopefully, there is plenty more in the tank, but to be in the company of a guy like that who is one of the most gifted goal-scorers in the history of our franchise and the game, it's pretty special."

Jeremy Swayman and Linus Ullmark have alternated starts through the first three games, but Boston coach Jim Montgomery would not reveal who would start Game 4.

"We're following the plan we had in place," he said after practice on Friday.

Toronto defenseman T.J. Brodie also appears in line to make his playoff debut after being a healthy scratch the first three games. He was paired with Joel Edmundson during practice on Friday.

Brodie led Toronto defensemen in games played (78) during the regular season. He also played an average of 21:43, second-most on the team behind fellow defenseman Morgan Rielly (23:44).

Brodie, 33, has played 55 playoff games in his NHL career with the Maple Leafs and Calgary Flames.

The New York Islanders might have learned too late that Semyon Varlamov is their only option in net.

The Hurricanes will look to complete a four-game sweep of their Eastern Conference first-round series on Saturday afternoon when they play Game 4 against the Islanders in Elmont, N.Y.

Anderson made 11 of his 29 saves in the third period to lift Carolina to a 3-2 victory over New York on Thursday. The win gave the Hurricanes a commanding 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.

Andersen made his most impressive save with 5:45 remaining in the third period. He was clipped by Islanders captain Anders Lee and fell to the ice yet still managed to reach up and glove a shot by Alexander Romanov.

Andersen has stopped 71 of 77 shots this series for a save percentage of .922. He is the first goaltender in franchise history to win his first three starts in a postseason since Mike Liut led the Hartford Whalers to four straight wins to open the 1986 playoffs.

"It was an unbelievable save," Hurricanes right winger Andrei Svechnikov said of Andersen's stop of Romanov. "I don't even know what to say. Just so important. He's been the best player for us out there and we believe in him and we've got confidence (in him)."

The Islanders and head coach Patrick Roy will have little choice but to support Varlamov, who went 7-1-0 in his final eight regular-season starts and stopped 57 of 63 shots in the first two games against the Hurricanes before Ilya Sorokin drew the start on Thursday.

But Sorokin was pulled after allowing three goals in the first 27:14 of the game. Varlamov stopped all eight shots he faced for the Islanders, who pulled within a goal after Brock Nelson scored at 17:39 of the second. They failed to net the equalizer, however.

Roy said Friday afternoon that Varlamov will start Game 4.

"I'm going to say this: We win and we lose as a team, so I'm not going to go there," Roy said Thursday night when asked about the decision to pull Sorokin. "What I'm going to say is we sometimes make a change as a coach because we feel like we just want to change the momentum of the game. And we did that."

The Hurricanes are aiming to reach the second round for the fourth straight season, Carolina is 7-2 in potential clinching games since the spring of 2019.

"We just play our game -- go on the forecheck hard and try to grind (to) make them tired and they're going to make mistakes," Svechnikov said. "We've got the talent in the locker room."

Only four NHL teams have won a best-of-seven series after falling into a 3-0 hole. The 1975 Islanders were the second to do so when they stormed back against the Pittsburgh Penguins in the quarterfinal round.

"There's been, obviously, teams that have overcome this in the past and I think we have such a resilient group here that everybody still believes we can do this," center Bo Horvat said of the Islanders, who were five points out of a playoff spot on March 31 before finishing the regular season on an 8-0-1 kick.

"Every time we've been counted out or down, we just find a way to kind of overcome that and prove people wrong and prove ourselves right. And I think we have a great opportunity again to do that."

Also not practicing ahead of Game 4 of the Leafs' first-round playoff series against the Boston Bruins is defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin, who announced Thursday that his wife, Diana, gave birth to the couple's third child, a girl.

The Bruins lead the Maple Leafs 2-1 in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference series. Game 4 is set for Saturday in Toronto.

Matthews, 26, recorded career bests in goals (69) and points (107) in the 2023-24 season. He has one goal and two assists in the series.

Lyubushkin, 30, has one assist in the series. Acquired from Anaheim at the trade deadline, he had four assists in 19 games for the Maple Leafs this season.

The Atlantic Division champions won 5-3 Thursday night over the Tampa Bay Lightning on the state's Gulf Coast and put themselves ahead 3-0 in the best-of-seven series.

The reigning conference champions will look to end the Sunshine State matchup Saturday afternoon in Game 4 in Tampa.

While Matthew Tkachuk's two goals -- giving him 29 points in his past 23 postseason matches -- made headlines, it was Florida's fourth line of Nick Cousins, Steven Lorentz and Kyle Okposo that was game-changing.

The trio had a goal and three assists in the victory and was also on the ice after hemming in their rivals when Brandon Montour put Florida ahead 3-2 late in the second period.

Drawing in to the lineup with second-line center Sam Bennett absent with an upper-body injury, Lorentz netted the game-winning tally after Cousins chipped a pass off a puck that circled around the offensive zone.

With just one goal in 38 outings this season, Lorentz found the net for the first time in 18 career playoff games.

"Everybody's got to take a step forward and raise their game a little bit," said Lorentz, who also posted an assist for his first playoff point since 2021 with the Carolina Hurricanes. "The points aside, that's nice, but just putting that dagger in them tonight and taking that third game really means a lot. We know the job's not finished."

Okposo's assist on the Montour marker was his first postseason point in eight years as a member of the New York Islanders.

The Lightning had three power plays in the first but trailed 1-0 after Tkachuk's goal. Jon Cooper's club had another to end the second but failed again, while Florida never found itself on the man advantage.

Across the first three games, Tampa Bay's vaunted power-play unit, which was tops in the NHL at 28.6 percent, is 2-for-12 (16.7 percent) and has not made a dent in shifting momentum.

A goal-scorer in all three defeats, Steven Stamkos said the 0-for-4 showing was costly.

"In a game that we got that many opportunities and they didn't, that's probably the difference in the game," he said.

In losing for the sixth straight time on home ice in the postseason, Cooper said a sense of dejection set in after Sam Reinhart and Montour scored to put the visitors up 3-2 after 40 minutes.

"It was tough to come out of that period down a goal," the 12th-year Lightning coach said. "I felt we deserved a better fate. They weren't in our end much, and the two times they were, it was a couple of seeing-eye singles that went in the net. Don't get me wrong -- two good players shooting pucks.

"(Montour's) from 60-something feet, it was a bullet, no doubt ... and that kid can shoot a puck. (Reinhart's) through a screen and there's nowhere to put it and he puts it somewhere. But there's a reason he's got north of 50 goals.

"It was probably on the two guys' wrong sticks at the wrong time."

The frontrunner for the Hart Trophy as the NHL MVP, Nikita Kucherov has only three assists so far and performed vastly below the expectations from his amazing 144-point season.

Game 4 is scheduled for Saturday afternoon in Elmont. Only four NHL teams have lost a best-of-seven series after going ahead three games to none.

Brent Burns and Dmitry Orlov scored in the first for the Hurricanes, who are attempting to advance beyond the first round for the fourth straight season. Goalie Frederik Andersen made 29 saves.

Pierre Engvall and Brock Nelson scored in the second for the Islanders, who haven't been swept since Carolina eliminated them in the second round in 2019. Ilya Sorokin, starting for the first time this series, was pulled after allowing three goals on 14 shots. Semyon Varlamov recorded eight saves in relief.

The Hurricanes led 2-0 after the first despite being outshot 15-9.

Burns opened the scoring at the 4:46 mark, when his shot from the right faceoff circle went beyond New York's Mathew Barzal and Mike Reilly and under Sorokin's stick arm.

Andersen turned back two prime opportunities by the Islanders -- first by deflecting a shot by Barzal and then gloving the rebound by Noah Dobson, who was firing into a wide-open corner of the net -- less than a minute before Orlov doubled the lead.

Kyle Palmieri's pass eluded Nelson and was picked up in the neutral zone by Andrei Svechnikov. The right winger dished to Orlov, who avoided Palmieri and sent a shot that went around Reilly and beyond Sorokin's stick with 9:35 left.

The Islanders cut the gap in half 2:48 into the second when Engvall took a pass from Anders Lee and beat Andersen from point-blank range.

The Hurricanes chased Sorokin 4:26 later after Aho's shot from the slot sailed past his stick.

Nelson again pulled the Islanders within a goal with 2:21 left when he put back the rebound of Palmieri's shot.

The Islanders outshot the Hurricanes 11-3 in the third. Andersen robbed Alexander Romanov by grabbing his shot out of the air as he fell with 5:45 left. Varlamov was pulled with 2:00 left but New York didn't mount a serious threat.

After Nick Paul cut the Lightning's deficit to 4-3 with 5:10 remaining, they pulled goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy with 1:45 left for the extra skater.

Tkachuk put the game away with an empty-netter with 32 seconds remaining for his third playoff goal as the Atlantic Division champions beat the Lightning for the fourth straight time in Tampa.

Brandon Montour had a goal and an assist, and Sam Reinhart and Steven Lorentz tallied. Goalie Sergei Bobrovsky made 26 saves for the Panthers, who are 5-1-0 against Tampa Bay this season.

Steven Stamkos, Tyler Motte and Nick Paul hit the net for the Lightning, while Vasilevskiy stopped 26 shots.

In the first period, Florida's penalty-kill unit, which clicked at 82.5 percent this season to rank sixth in the league, shut down both of their rival's man advantages.

Florida used the momentum of the two successful kills to take a 1-0 lead when its second line -- which produced Carter Verhaeghe's Game 2-winning overtime goal -- cashed in. A wide-open Tkachuk tallied from in close after a feed from Anton Lundell at 10:39.

Anthony Cirelli scored for Tampa Bay late in the period on its third power play, but Florida challenged that Brandon Hagel was offside on the entry. A quick review revealed that he was, and the score remained 1-0.

In the second, the Lightning finally took their first lead of the series by scoring twice in a span of 2:12 -- first on a deflection by Stamkos for his third playoff goal, then a high-slot wrister for Motte's first. But Reinhart tied it 2-all with a shot from the right circle at 9:58, his second goal of the series.

Following a strong Florida push in the offensive zone, Montour fired a long shot that found its way through for his first goal and a 3-2 lead at 16:30.

Centering the fourth line, Lorentz, who scored once in 38 games in his first season with Florida, found a puck that bounced into the slot and rang his first career playoff goal off the post at 9:41 of the third for the two-goal lead.

Paul brought it to 4-3 with his first goal as time was winding down, but Verhaeghe used his second assist to find Tkachuk to put Florida within a win of sweeping its rival.

The Kings evened the best-of-seven series at a game apiece Wednesday when they took a pair of two-goal leads, weathered an Oilers comeback and won the game 5-4 a mere two minutes into overtime on the most fortunate of goals from Anze Kopitar.

If there was anybody that knew hope remained after a 7-4 defeat in the series opener, it was Kings veterans Kopitar and Adrian Kempe. An 18-year Kings stalwart, Kopitar added a pair of assists, both on first-period goals from eight-year mainstay Kempe as Los Angeles dictated the early play.

"We've talked about that before in the playoffs, there's usually ups and downs within the series, within the game, so you just have to be prepared for that and just kind of go about it the next shift and try to make the most of it," Kopitar said.

One of those downs could have been the Oilers' two-goal second period in Game 2 that tied the score 3-3. But the Kings took the lead again on a goal from Kevin Fiala only for Edmonton's Dylan Holloway to send another ominous sign by tying the score again 97 seconds later.

Los Angeles' game-winning goal was pure fate after Mikey Anderson sent the puck from the Kings' zone toward the left boards near center ice. Quinton Byfield tipped the puck with his stick, and a fortuitous deflection sent it toward the Oilers' goal and straight into the path of Kopitar, who was on the rush.

Kopitar beat Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner with the game-winner just inside the right post.

"Let's say I was intending to pass it to Kopi," Byfield said with a grin on the Bally Sports broadcast. "No, I was just trying to get a touch on it so it wasn't icing. Kopi, as he always does, was supporting the puck and he was in the right place at the right time and it worked out."

While the Oilers have lost home-ice advantage, in some ways, the series has proceeded just as expected. Edmonton's mighty power play, fourth-best in the NHL during the regular season, is an efficient 4-for-7 in the series, while Los Angeles is 0-for-5.

While the Oilers' Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid combined for three assists in Game 2, neither scored a goal. In Game 1, the productive duo combined for a goal and six assists.

Zach Hyman followed his Game 1 hat trick with a goal on the power play in Game 2 and delivered a big hit on the Kings' Phillip Danault midway through the third period.

But Edmonton is now forced to steal a game at Los Angeles, where it went 1-1 during the regular season while getting outscored 6-3.

"In the first period, we dug ourselves a big hole ... but after that I thought we played a lot better, especially in the second period," Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch said. "I felt like if we were ever able to get the lead we could have finished the game, but we were never quite able to do that."

That gave them home-ice advantage for their Western Conference first-round series, but that lasted just two games. Colorado stole home ice with a 5-2 win in Game 2 on Tuesday and hosts the next two games, starting with Game 3 on Friday night.

The Avalanche had the second-best home record in the NHL regular season but lost two games against Winnipeg, including a 7-0 drubbing on April 13. Then the Jets scored seven in the series opener on Sunday night and appeared in control with Colorado goaltender Alexandar Georgiev looking shaky in net after allowing all seven goals on just 23 shots.

Georgiev's teammates didn't lose confidence in him and he showed why with a 28-save performance in Game 2, including a couple of stops on point-blank chances.

"A very rough first game, obviously," Georgiev said. "I just felt so much trust in the room from everybody and I appreciate it so much. It helped me reset, to know that they have got my back. I know I'll help them out as well during this playoff. It was huge from them. I appreciate it."

The biggest help was cleaning up some of the missed defensive assignments from the first game and continuing to score on Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, who had a 2.39 goals-against average in the regular season but has been torched for 10 of Colorado's 11 goals.

He also misplayed a dump-in late in the second period, scrambled back to his crease to make an initial save on Zach Parise but Parise scored on the rebound. Then Josh Manson scored on a breakaway through the five-hole with seven seconds left in the period.

Colorado coach Jared Bednar made an adjustment in the second period Tuesday, double-shifting Nathan MacKinnon until he could get him the right matchup. He has the last line change for the next two games and can put more pressure on the Jets.

Winnipeg can counter that by spending more time in the Avalanche zone.

"They are throwing a lot of pucks in there, just throwing them at the net," Jets coach Rick Bowness said. "We're not getting enough of that. We can spend more time in their zone, and the only way we're going to do that is to win some battles low and get our defense more involved. And we're still passing up chances. We have to fix that."

Colorado has outshot Winnipeg 78-53 in the first two games and seemed to have solved something with Hellebuyck, who was much stingier in the regular season. He was in net for all three wins over the Avalanche and gave up just four goals.

But the playoffs are different, and the Jets are well aware of that fact.

"That's the fun part of the playoffs," Winnipeg forward Mark Scheifele said. "We weren't expecting this to be an easy series. They're a great team over there. We've just got to continue to roll with the punches."

Demko sustained a lower-body injury in backstopping the Canucks to a 4-2 win in the opener on Sunday, and the team announced on Monday that he would miss Game 2 Tuesday and might be out for the remainder of the series.

Nashville tied the series with a 4-1 win with backup Casey DeSmith in goal for the Canucks. It was his second career playoff game and he made 12 saves.

"Obviously bummed for (Demko) but excited to play," DeSmith said on nhl.com "Playoffs, it's a different animal and it's fun to be out there."

DeSmith will start on Friday, but there was no word on veteran defenseman Tyler Myers, who missed Tuesday's Game 2 because of the flu. He was replaced in the lineup by Noah Juulsen.

Meanwhile, it was a block party for Nashville in Game 2. The Predators blocked 30 shots and only 18 got through to goalie Juuse Saros, who had to make only 17 saves.

"Maybe (we) weren't quite as committed to the pain," Nashville coach Andrew Brunette said Tuesday of the series-opening loss on nhl.com, "and tonight, with the blocked shots and the things that we did sacrificing our body, we learned and we're still growing.

"We're not where we want to be, but we're getting better and today was a good step."

Vancouver missed great opportunities and struggled on the power play, going 0-for-4.

"We had some chances, some looks on the (power play), some empty nets we didn't capitalize on," Canucks coach Rick Tocchet said. "Maybe we got a little frustrated, but we threw a lot of rubber around that area. We've got to keep doing that. I think the game plan is there, we've just got to start executing."

Predators sniper Filip Forsberg said they may have relied too much on blocked shots in the third period.

"We defended well, but the third period is definitely not a recipe that we necessarily want to repeat for the whole series," he said on nhl.com. "But at the same time, they're doing a lot of good things. You've got to give them credit. They're a great team, and at the end of the day, I think the sacrifice and the shot blocking was the reason, and phenomenal goaltending as well."

Saros is looking forward to playing in front of the home crowd with the series shifting to Nashville.

"Really excited to play in front of them.," he said. "We love the crowd there and they really get us going."

Vancouver forward Teddy Blueger talked about being the visitors in playoff games in raucous environments, such as at Bridgestone Arena.

"It's going to be loud, they're going to be on top of you," Blueger said. "... just kind of keeping your composure in these environments. If you don't, you just lose your game and you're not playing your best."

With it shifting to the nation's capital, Ovechkin and his teammates look to get going in Game 3 on Friday.

New York leads the series 2-0.

"I thought the first two games, he's looked a little bit off," Capitals coach Spencer Carbery said after the 4-3 loss in Game 2 on Tuesday. "He's struggling. He should, on a nightly basis, get four or five looks, whether they go in or not. He's not getting those looks.

"Whether that's a product of his matchup, whether that's a product of his line combination, whether he's playing a role in that, we got to find a way to get him in spots where it's him and (Rangers goalie Igor) Shesterkin and he's within the top of the circles."

Ovechkin had seven shot attempts in Game 1, but none were on goal (five blocked, two missed). In Game 2, he got one on goal, two were blocked and one missed.

Despite the hole the Capitals find themselves in, Carbery saw improvement in his squad Tuesday. The team knows it has to take that to the next level.

"I feel like we fought back well," center Dylan Strome said. "We bounced back. I feel like we're right in the series. Obviously, they've got to come to our rink now, and we've got to find a way to win one here at some point."

The Rangers can take a stranglehold on the best-of-seven series with a win. But while they're halfway to advancing, they know they can't look too far ahead.

"I think it's really important just for us to go slow," Rangers coach Peter Laviolette said. "We go game by game. We don't talk about anything like that, with regard to outcomes. I think we focus more on the process of making sure that we're trying to do the right things. ...

"(The Capitals) played a big game (Tuesday night), it was definitely more of a spirited game, and I would expect the same thing going into their building."

New York scored twice in two and a half minutes in the second period of Game 2, snapping a 2-2 tie before ultimately skating away with a 4-3 win.

The Rangers, who owned the third-best power play (26.4 percent) in the NHL in the regular season, scored their first two on the man advantage in Tuesday's victory.

Center Mika Zibanejad provided one of those, giving him three points (one goal, two assists) in the two games. That brought him to 50 career playoff points in 60 games.

His solid start to the playoffs is a carry-over from the end of the regular season, when the 31-year-old had eight points (two goals, six assists) in a six-game point streak to close out the campaign.

"I think he's been really good," Laviolette said. "He's been playing in high gears. ... That's obvious to me. There were times down the stretch before the playoffs started where he was hitting that level, but for me I think it's nice to see that he has walked it right into the playoffs."

Okposo, 36, last competed in the playoffs on May 8, 2016. He is drawing into the lineup with Ryan Lomberg ruled out due to illness.

"He's very excited about the game," Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. "He will relish this, the opportunity. Serious pro, very detailed guy. He's going to be all wired in for the game but there's also going to be a piece of him that understands that there's not 15 more seasons of playoffs ahead of him. This is something he needs to enjoy."

Florida is enjoying a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.

Okposo has been held off the scoresheet in all six games this season with the Panthers. Florida acquired him on March 8 from the Buffalo Sabres, with whom he had 22 points (12 goals, 10 assists) in 61 games.

Okposo has 614 points (242 goals, 372 assists) in 1,051 career games with the New York Islanders (2007-16), Sabres (2016-24) and Panthers. The Islanders selected Okposo with the seventh overall pick in the 2006 NHL Draft.

Vlasic could have become a restricted free agent on July 1.

"Alex made enormous strides this year and proved he is a legitimate top-four defenseman in the NHL," Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson said Thursday. "In his first full season in the NHL, Alex established himself as an important piece of our young core, and we're excited to have him with us for the next six years."

Vlasic, 22, is a local product from Wilmette, Ill., about 20 miles north of United Center.

The Blackhawks selected him in the second round (43rd overall) of the 2019 NHL Draft. He went on to play three seasons at Boston University, then spent time between with the Rockford IceHogs of the American Hockey League and the Blackhawks before becoming a fixture in Chicago in the 2023-24 season.

In 76 games, he posted 16 points (two goals, 14 assists) with an average ice time of 21:29 -- second on the team.

Vegas holds a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference first-round playoff series while heading home for Game 3 on Saturday.

Noah Hanifin also scored and Logan Thompson made 20 saves for Vegas, which extended its winning streak against the Stars to six games dating back to Game 6 of the 2023 Western Conference finals.

Jason Robertson scored for Dallas, the top seed in the West after finishing with 113 points in the regular season. Stars goalie Jake Oettinger finished with 23 saves.

Kings 5, Oilers 4 (OT)

Anze Kopitar scored in overtime to cap a three-point game and give Los Angeles a victory at Edmonton, leveling the teams' first-round Western Conference playoff series at one win apiece.

Adrian Kempe scored twice while Drew Doughty and Kevin Fiala tallied once apiece for the Kings, who recovered after surrendering leads of 3-1 and 4-3. Cam Talbot made 27 saves. Quinton Byfield posted two assists, including one on the game-winner.

Dylan Holloway scored twice while Brett Kulak and Zach Hyman tallied once each for the Oilers. Leon Draisaitl and Mattias Janmark both posted two assists and Stuart Skinner stopped 21 shots.

Bruins 4, Maple Leafs 2

Brad Marchand scored the go-ahead goal with 8:07 remaining in the third period, lifting visiting Boston to a victory over Toronto and a 2-1 edge in their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series.

Marchand, who added a late empty-net goal, notched an assist on Jake DeBrusk's third power-play goal of the series. Trent Frederic also scored and Jeremy Swayman made 28 saves for the Bruins, who rebounded from a 3-2 setback in Game 2.

Matthew Knies and Tyler Bertuzzi each scored a goal for the Maple Leafs, and Mitch Marner had an assist to post his first point of the series. Ilya Samsonov turned aside 30 shots.

Their best-of-seven Western Conference first-round playoff series is tied 1-1, with Game 3 set for Friday in Los Angeles.

Adrian Kempe scored twice while Drew Doughty and Kevin Fiala tallied once apiece for the Kings, who recovered after surrendering leads of 3-1 and 4-3. Goalie Cam Talbot made 27 saves. Quinton Byfield posted two assists, including one on the game-winner.

Right after Talbot made a stop, Kopitar was sent on a partial breakaway and whipped a top-corner, glove-side shot at 2:07 of the extra period for his first goal of this year's playoffs.

Dylan Holloway scored twice while Brett Kulak and Zach Hyman tallied once each for the Oilers. Leon Draisaitl and Mattias Janmark both posted two assists and goalie Stuart Skinner stopped 21 shots.

After dropping the series opener 7-4, the Kings were looking for a quick start and received it when Kempe tallied at the 3:19 mark with the game's first shot, which came from the slot.

Kempe doubled the lead at 14:57 of the frame by smacking a bounding puck out of the air and into the cage for his second of the night and third of the series.

Kulak provided a much-needed offensive jolt for the Oilers when he unloaded a one-timer from the high slot into the top corner at 17:33 of the first frame, but Doughty replied 29 seconds later when he converted a breakaway.

Then the roller coaster really took off. Holloway made it a one-goal game at 7:51 of the second period with a shot off a rush for his first ever playoff goal, and Hyman's power-play goal, his fourth tally of the series, evened the score at 10:33 of the period.

Fiala restored the Los Angeles lead 1:46 into the third period by wiring a sharp-angled slap shot, but Holloway replied 97 seconds later with a top-corner shot from inside the top of the right circle.

Vegas holds a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference first-round playoff series while heading home for Game 3 on Saturday.

Noah Hanifin also scored and Logan Thompson made 20 saves for Vegas, which extended its winning streak against the Stars to six games dating back to Game 6 of the 2023 Western Conference finals. It was also the fifth straight road victory over the Stars for the Golden Knights.

Jason Robertson scored for Dallas, the top seed in the West after finishing with 113 points in the regular season. Stars goalie Jake Oettinger finished with 23 saves.

Dallas took a 1-0 lead on a power play at the 16:47 mark of the first period. Robertson fired a wrist shot from the top of the right circle past a Jamie Benn screen and through Thompson's pads for his second goal of the playoffs and the seventh in eighth career playoff games against the Golden Knights.

Vegas tied it just 1:22 later. Marchessault finished an odd-man rush with Eichel by scoring his second goal of the playoffs, tapping Eichel's crossing pass into a wide-open right side of the net. It was Marchessault's 36th career playoff goal and extended his playoff point streak to 12 games.

The Golden Knights took a 2-1 lead at 18:53 of the second period. Hanifin, who had two assists in the opener, crept in from the left point and picked up a loose puck and fired a wrist shot past Oettinger's glove side and inside the far post for his first career playoff goal.

The Stars pulled Oettinger for an extra attacker with 1:50 remaining but didn't manage a shot on goal before Eichel sealed it with an empty-netter off a Marchessault pass with 33.8 seconds to go.

The Bruins lead the best-of-seven series 2-1.

Marchand sealed the win by scoring into the empty net with 36 seconds left in the period. The Boston captain has 55 career goals in the playoffs, tying Hall of Famer and current team president Cam Neely for the most in franchise history.

Marchand notched an assist on Jake DeBrusk's third power-play goal of the series. Trent Frederic also scored and Jeremy Swayman made 28 saves for the Bruins, who rebounded from a 3-2 setback in Game 2.

Game 4 is Saturday in Toronto.

Toronto's Matthew Knies and Tyler Bertuzzi each scored a goal and Mitch Marner had an assist to notch his first point of the series. Ilya Samsonov turned aside 30 shots for the Maple Leafs.

Toronto tied the score 2-2 at 11:25 of the third period after defenseman Morgan Rielly's shot deflected off two Bruins and into the net. Boston responded 28 seconds later as Marchand's wrist shot from the right circle sailed over the left shoulder of Samsonov.

DeBrusk, who scored twice with the man advantage in 80 games during the regular season, gave Boston a 2-1 lead at 1:07 of the third period. He deftly used his skate to kick the puck to his stick and clean up the rebound after a shot from Marchand.

Marner found Knies on the left doorstep for a tap-in goal as Toronto opened the scoring with 6:50 remaining in the second period.

Boston leveled the contest at 1-1 with 2:23 remaining in the first period after Frederic fired a shot from the left circle that sailed under Samsonov's blocker and inside the near post for his second goal of the series.