The first round of the 2021 NHL playoffs was as exciting of an opening round as we’ve seen in a while. It had everything that makes playoff hockey great -- sweeps, upsets, Game 7s, lots of overtime and plenty of hatred to go around between foes.
With Round 1 over and an interesting Round 2 over as well, the field of teams vying for the Stanley Cup is down to four -- the New York Islanders, Tampa Bay Lightning, Vegas Golden Knights and Montreal Canadiens. The Islanders will battle the Lightning in one Stanley Cup Semifinal while the Golden Knights and Canadiens will square off in the other.
Here is how the second round of the 2021 NHL playoffs played out:
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EAST
No. 4 New York Islanders vs. No. 3 Boston Bruins -- livestream for the series
Islanders win 4-2
Game 1: Saturday, May 29 -- Bruins 5, Islanders 2
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Game 2: Monday, May 31 -- Islanders 4, Bruins 3 (OT)
Game 3: Thursday, June 3 -- Bruins 2, Islanders 1 (OT)
Game 4: Saturday, June 5 -- Islanders 4, Bruins 1
Game 5: Monday, June 7 -- Islanders 5, Bruins 4
Game 6: Wednesday, June 9 -- Islanders 6, Bruins 2
CENTRAL
No. 3 Tampa Bay Lightning vs. No. 1 Carolina Hurricanes -- livestream for the series
Lightning win 4-1
Game 1: Sunday, May 30 -- Lightning 2, Hurricanes 1
Game 2: Tuesday, June 1 -- Lightning 2, Hurricanes 1
Game 3: Thursday, June 3 -- Hurricanes 3, Lightning 2 (OT)
Game 4: Saturday, June 5 -- Lightning 6, Hurricanes 4
Game 5: Tuesday, June 8 -- Lightning 2, Hurricanes 0
NORTH
No. 3 Winnipeg Jets vs. No. 4 Montreal Canadiens -- livestream for series
Canadiens win 4-0
Game 1: Wednesday, June 2 -- Canadiens 5, Jets 3
Game 2: Friday, June 4 -- Canadiens 1, Jets 0
Game 3: Sunday, June 6 -- Canadiens 5. Jets 1
Game 4: Monday, June 7 -- Canadiens 3, Jets 2 (OT)
WEST
No. 2 Vegas Golden Knights vs. No. 1 Colorado Avalanche -- livestream for the series
Golden Knights win 4-2
Game 1: Sunday, May 30 -- Avalanche 7, Golden Knights 1
Game 2: Wednesday, June 2 -- Avalanche 3, Golden Knights 2 (OT)
Game 3: Friday, June 4 -- Golden Knights 3, Avalanche 2
Game 4: Sunday, June 6 -- Golden Knights 5, Avalanche 1
Game 5: Tuesday, June 8 -- Golden Knights 3, Avalanche 2 (OT)
Game 6: Thursday, June 10 -- Golden Knights 6, Avalanche 3