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The first round of the 2021 NHL Playoffs is almost entirely complete with two series remaining. While the Golden Knights-Wild and Maple Leafs-Canadiens wrap up in the coming days, the second round starts up this weekend in a pair of series. The Bruins and Islanders get going on Saturday, May 29 and then the top-seeded Carolina Hurricanes and third-seeded Tampa Bay Lightning will open their second round series on Sunday, May 30 in Raleigh, North Carolina.
The puck drops for Game 1 of the Canes-Lightning series at 5 p.m. ET and will air on NBC Sports Network with a live stream available at NBCSports.com/live. The rest of the series has not yet been scheduled out because the league is awaiting the rest of the playoff bracket finalizing.
The Hurricanes advanced to the second round after beating the Nashville Predators in six games, with the last four all going to overtime. Sebastian Aho led the team’s first round performance with five goals and seven points. Goalie Alex Nedeljkovic started all six games and had a 2.22 GAA.
The Lightning advanced to the second round after beating the Florida Panthers in six games. Nikita Kucherov led the way with 11 points including a team-high eight assists in the first round. Alex Killorn and Brayden Point each scored four goals against Florida. Goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy started all six games and had a 2.64 GAA.