Superato a fatica l'insidioso test Boston, i Carolina Hurricanes di Nino Niederreiter conoscono adesso il nome della loro seconda sfidante nella corsa al titolo NHL. Trattasi dei New York Rangers, i quali - sotto per 3-1 dopo i primi quattro atti della serie - hanno completato il ribaltone ai danni dei Penguins, mandati definitivamente al tappeto dal 4-3 del Madison Square Garden. Determinante, dopo 4'46" di overtime, il punto di Panarin in powerplay: a cinque anni dall'ultima volta, i Rangers possono così nuovamente festeggiare l'approdo alle semifinali di Conference.
Semifinali di Conference che, ad Ovest, sono realtà pure per Calgary, l'ultima in ordine di tempo ad essersi assicurata il passaggio del turno. Ciò al termine di un'estenuante gara-7 con Dallas, decisa dal punto di Gaudreau al 15'09" del primo supplementare. I Flames sono ora attesi dal derby canadese con Edmonton; tutto pronto anche per Avalanche-Blues e Panthers-Lightning, i duelli dai quali scaturiranno le altre due delle migliori quattro.
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