And then there were eight.
Overtime wins by the Ottawa Senators and Washington Capitals on Sunday rounded out the conference semifinal matchups for this year’s Stanley Cup playoffs.
A surprising first round saw favorites swept, overtime games galore and not a single Game 7.
Here are the upcoming matchups and schedules for each series:
Eastern Conference
Ottawa Senators (No. 2 Atlantic) vs. New York Rangers (No. 1 wild card)
Game 1: Thursday, April 27 – New York @ Ottawa, 7 p.m. (CNBC)
Game 2: Saturday, April 29 – New York @ Ottawa, 3 p.m. (NBC)
Game 3: Tuesday, May 2 – Ottawa @ New York, 7 p.m. (NBCSN)
Game 4: Thursday, May 4 – Ottawa @ New York, 7:30 p.m. (NBCSN)
Game 5*: Saturday, May 6 – New York @ Ottawa, TBD
Game 6*: Tuesday, May 9 – Ottawa @ New York, TBD
Game 7*: Thursday, May 11 – New York @ Ottawa, TBD
The Rangers defeated the Montreal Canadiens in six games behind Mats Zuccarello and Henrik Lundqvist’s heroics:
Ottawa downed the Bruins in six games as well and punched their ticket to the second round when Clarke MacArthur punched home a rebound in overtime.
Washington Capitals (No. 1 Metro) vs. Pittsburgh Penguins (No. 2 Metro)
Game 1: Thursday, April 27 – Pittsburgh at Washington, 7:30 p.m. (NBCSN)
Game 2: Saturday, April 29 – Pittsburgh at Washington, 8 p.m. (NBC)
Game 3: Monday, May 1 – Washington at Pittsburgh, 7:30 p.m. (NBCSN)
Game 4: Wednesday, May 3 – Washington at Pittsburgh, 7:30 p.m. (NBCSN)
Game 5*: Saturday, May 6 – Pittsburgh at Washington, TBD
Game 6*: Monday, May 8 – Washington at Pittsburgh, TBD
Game 7*: Wednesday, May 10 – Pittsburgh at Washington, TBD
The President’s Trophy winners received a bit of a scare from Auston Matthews and the Toronto Maple Leafs. Of the six games, five went to overtime including Game 6, which was ended by Marcus Johansson.
For the defending Stanley Cup-winning Penguins, they made light work of a Columbus Blue Jackets team that gave them fits during the regular season.
Western Conference
St. Louis Blues (No. 3 Central) vs. Nashville Predators (No. 2 wild card)
Game 1: Wednesday, April 26 – Nashville at St. Louis, 8 p.m. (NBCSN)
Game 2: Friday, April 28 – Nashville at St. Louis, 8 p.m. (NBCSN)
Game 3: Sunday, April 30 – St. Louis at Nashville, 3 p.m. (NBC)
Game 4: Tuesday, May 2 – St. Louis at Nashville, 9:30 p.m. (NBCSN)
Game 5*: Friday, May 5 – Nashville at St. Louis, TBD
Game 6*: Sunday, May 7 – St. Louis at Nashville, TBD
Game 7*: Tuesday, May 9 – Nashville at St. Louis, TBD
Neither of these two teams was expected to get this far.
The Predators stunned the hockey world by sweeping the Chicago Blackhawks, whom many tabbed to win the Stanley Cup this season.
St. Louis dominated a promising Minnesota Wild club that finished second in the West behind the Blackhawks.
Anaheim Ducks (No. 1 Pacific) vs. Edmonton Oilers (No. 2 Pacific)
Game 1: Wednesday, April 26 – Edmonton at Anaheim, 10:30 p.m. (NBCSN)
Game 2: Friday, April 28 – Edmonton at Anaheim, 10:30 p.m. (NBCSN)
Game 3: Sunday, April 30 – Anaheim at Edmonton, 7 p.m. (NBCSN)
Game 4: Wednesday, May 3 – Anaheim at Edmonton, 10 p.m. (NBCSN)
Game 5*: Friday, May 5 – Edmonton at Anaheim, TBD
Game 6*: Sunday, May 7 – Anaheim at Edmonton, TBD
Game 7*: Tuesday, May 9 – Edmonton at Anaheim, TBD
The Ducks used defense to sweep the Calgary Flames during the first round. In three of their four wins, Anaheim allowed two or fewer goals.
In one of the most anticipated first-round series, Connor McDavid’s Oilers outlasted the defending Western Conference champion San Jose Sharks in six games where the 20-year-old phenom proved he could succeed on the big stage.
