Month: April 2024

The Florida Panthers are advancing to the second round after defeating the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 5 with a score of 6-1 on Monday night, winning the best-of-7 series in five games.  Aleksander Barkov and Carter Verhaeghe each scored twice in the win, with Evan Rodrigues also scoring for the Panthers.

Florida will next face the winner of the first-round series between the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs; currently, the Bruins lead their series 3-1, with Game 5 scheduled for Tuesday night.

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The Dallas Stars beat the defending champion Vegas Golden Knights 4-2 on Monday to even their first-round NHL playoffs series, 2-2.  Roope Hintz  sealed the Stars’ victory, while Evgenii Dadonov, Wyatt Johnston and Ty Dellandrea also scored, and Dallas goalie Jake Oettinger made 33 saves.

Game 5 will take place on Wednesday night in Dallas.

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The Oklahoma City Thunder have swept the New Orleans Pelicans in their opening-round playoff series with a 97-89 win in Game 4 on Monday.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams scored 24 points each to help the Thunder earn their first series win since the 2015-16 season, when they made the Western Conference Finals. The Thunder will face the winner of the Dallas Mavericks-Los Angeles Clippers series in the second round; that series is currently tied 2-2.

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The Boston Celtics beat the Miami Heat 102-88 in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference playoffs, bringing them one win away from advancing to the next round. The Celtics’ Derrick White scored 38 points, marking a new career-high while , shooting 15 of 26 from the field and eight 3-pointers; meanwhile, Kristaps Porzingis was forced to leave the game with a leg injury, with further evaluation set for Tuesday.

Game 5 will take place in Boston on Wednesday.

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The Denver Nuggets will advance to the second round after defeating the LA Lakers in Game 5 with a score of 108-106. Jamal Murray finished with 32 points, including the game-winning basket, with Michael Porter Jr. and Nikola Jokic combining for 51 points.

Denver will face the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Western Conference semifinals.

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The Minnesota Timberwolves completed their first-round sweep of the Phoenix Suns with 122-116 win in Game 4 of their playoff series. Timberwolves’ Anthony Edwards scored 31 of his 40 points in the second half, while Karl-Anthony Towns added 28 to bring Minnesota the win.

The Wolves will face either the Denver Nuggets or Los Angeles Lakers in the second round playoff series.

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The NY Knicks defeated the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday with a score of 97-92 to take a 3-1 lead in their first-round playoff series. The Knicks’ Jalen Brunson scored a career playoff-high 47 points and added 10 assists, while OG Anunoby added 16 points and 14 rebounds.

The Knicks will try to advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals when they face-off against the 76ers on Tuesday night in NY.

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The LA Clippers won their Game 4 matchup against the Dallas Mavericks with a 116-111 victory after blowing a 31-point lead, evening their first-round playoff series 2-2.  Paul George and James Harden each scored 33 points to help the LA seal the win, despite being without Kawhi Leonard again due to right knee inflammation.

The series returns to Los Angeles for Game 5 on Wednesday.

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The Indiana Pacers beat the Milwaukee Bucks 126-113 in Game 4 of the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs, giving them a 3-1 series lead.

Indiana center Myles Turner led the team in scoring (29) and rebounding (9), and point guard Tyrese Haliburton added 24 points, 4 assists, and 4 rebounds, including five 3-pointers.

The Pacers will seek to eliminate the Bucks when they face-off in Game 5 at Fiserv Forum in  Milwaukee on Tuesday.

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The NY Rangers swept the Washington Capitals with a 4-2 victory in Game 4 on Sunday night to advance to the second round of the playoffs. Artemi Panarin scored the go-ahead goal on the power play early in the third period, while Igor Shesterkin made 23 saves to bring New York the win.

The Rangers will next face either the Carolina Hurricanes or New York Islanders in the Eastern Conference finals; the Hurricanes currently lead that series 3-1.

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The Colorado Avalanche defeated the Winnipeg Jets with a score of 5-1 in Game 4 at Ball Arena on Sunday, giving them a 3-1 lead in their Western Conference First Round series.

Colorado’s Valeri Nichushkin recorded his first career hat trick with Artturi Lehkonen and Cale Makar also scoring, while goalie Alexandar Georgiev stopped 26 shots to help bring the Avalanche to victory. Nichushkin’s empty-netter with 13 seconds left earned him his first hat trick, which occurred in game No. 580 of his NHL career, including regular season and postseason.

Game 5 will be held on Tuesday night in Winnipeg at 9:30 p.m. ET.

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The Vancouver Canucks beat the Nashville Predators 4-3 in overtime on Sunday night in Game 4 of the Western Conference First Round series.  Brock Boeser scored a hat trick for the Canucks (the seventh of his career), who got a goal from Elias Lindholm at 1:02 of overtime as Vancouver rallied in OT to defeat Nashville.

The Canucks now hold a 3-1 series lead, with the chance to advance if they win Game 5, set to take place on Tuesday in Vancouver.

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The Edmonton Oilers topped the Los Angeles Kings in Game 4 at Crypto.com Arena on Sunday with a 1-0 score, giving the Oilers a 3-1 series lead.  Goaltender Stuart Skinner stopped 33 shots for his first postseason shutout.

Game 5 will take place on Wednesday at Rogers Place in Edmonton, where the Oilers will attempt to eliminate the Kings and advance to the Western Conference Second Round.

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