The NHL announced the schedule for the Western Conference's second round after the Dallas Stars' Game 7 triumph over the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday.

Dallas moves on to face the Colorado Avalanche, while the Vancouver Canucks clash with the Edmonton Oilers in the other conference semifinal.

Dallas Stars (C1) vs. Colorado Avalanche (C3)

The Avalanche have been idle since eliminating the Winnipeg Jets on April 30. Meanwhile, the Stars come into the series with nearly no downtime after going to seven games against the Golden Knights.

Vancouver Canucks (P1) vs. Edmonton Oilers (P2)

The Oilers took care of business against the Los Angeles Kings in five games and will have a week's rest between series. The Canucks knocked off the Nashville Predators in a low-event battle that ended with Vancouver winning 1-0 in Friday's Game 6.

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The defending Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights staved off elimination with a 2-0 victory in Friday's Game 6 against the Dallas Stars.

Vegas forced a decisive Game 7 in Dallas on Sunday at 7:30 p.m. ET.

"We're a group that rises to the occasion," Golden Knights defenseman Alex Pietrangelo said, according to The Athletic's Jesse Granger.

The tight-checking affair was scoreless until the halfway mark of the third period when Noah Hanifin tallied his second goal of the playoffs. Mark Stone added an empty-netter.

"Ever since I got traded here, I was super excited about the opportunity coming to a team with guys that have won," Hanifin told The Associated Press. "It's a great culture here and I'm fortunate to be a part of it. I feel good about my game and I'm trying to contribute whichever way I can."

Adin Hill stopped all 23 shots he faced in his second start of the series. It's the first shutout for a Golden Knights goaltender while facing elimination.

"You need to make big saves at big times in big games," Hill said. "That's how you win playoff games. I think our team learned that last year, and any team that's won, their goalies had to catch fire at times."

Jake Oettinger made 28 saves. He's allowed two or fewer goals in each contest since Game 2.

Stars head coach Peter DeBoer is 7-0 in Game 7s over his career. Two of those do-or-die victories came when he was Vegas' bench boss in 2020 and 2021.

"There's nothing better than Game 7s," DeBoer said. "That's what you grew up dreaming about playing and the second-best thing is coaching in them."

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The defending Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights staved off elimination with a 2-0 victory in Friday's Game 6 against the Dallas Stars.

Vegas forced a decisive Game 7 in Dallas on Sunday at 7:30 p.m. ET.

"We're a group that rises to the occasion," Golden Knights defenseman Alex Pietrangelo said, according to The Athletic's Jesse Granger.

The tight-checking affair was scoreless until the halfway mark of the third period when Noah Hanifin tallied his second goal of the playoffs. Mark Stone added an empty-netter.

Adin Hill stopped all 23 shots he faced in his second start of the series. It's the first shutout for a Golden Knights goaltender while facing elimination.

Jake Oettinger made 28 saves. He's allowed two or fewer goals in each contest since Game 2.

Stars head coach Peter DeBoer is 7-0 in Game 7s over his career. Two of those do-or-die victories came when he was Vegas' bench boss in 2020 and 2021.

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The Dallas Stars won 3-2 in Wednesday's Game 5 to put the defending Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights on the verge of elimination.

The Stars have won three straight contests after going down 0-2 to start the series. Dallas is the first to win on home ice in the series.

Jake Oettinger denied Chandler Stephenson on a breakaway late in the third period to preserve the Stars' lead. He finished the game with 25 saves. Adin Hill made 22 stops in his first start of the series.

The Golden Knights have made the conference finals in four of five playoff appearances. Vegas lost in the 2019 first round against the San Jose Sharks in seven games.

Game 6 is set for Friday at Vegas' T-Mobile Arena.

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The Dallas Stars won 3-2 in Wednesday's Game 5 to put the defending Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights on the verge of elimination.

The Stars have won three straight contests after going down 0-2 to start the series. Dallas is the first to win on home ice in the series.

Jake Oettinger denied Chandler Stephenson on a breakaway late in the third period to preserve the Stars' lead. He finished the game with 25 saves. Adin Hill made 22 stops in his first start of the series.

The Golden Knights have made the conference finals in four of five playoff appearances. Vegas lost in the 2019 first round against the San Jose Sharks in seven games.

Game 6 is set for Friday at Vegas' T-Mobile Arena.

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Mikko Rantanen scored twice in the third period as the Colorado Avalanche won 6-3 in Tuesday's Game 5 to eliminate the Winnipeg Jets.

The Avalanche will play either the Dallas Stars or Vegas Golden Knights in the second round. Colorado is the first lower seed to advance in the Stanley Cup Playoffs this year.

"We came in really humble this year," star forward Nathan MacKinnon told Sportsnet's Scott Oake. "We were really bad down the stretch. We got beat by these guys 7-0 at home, and for whatever reason, it just kind of woke us up that we really needed to fix some things. Right now, we've got every guy playing really hard and playing the right way."

The Jets dropped four straight games after winning the series opener 7-6. Winnipeg became the first team in NHL history to allow five or more goals in five consecutive contests to commence a postseason, according to Sportsnet Stats.

Vezina Trophy favorite Connor Hellebuyck ends the series with an .864 save percentage and a 5.23 goals-against average.

Colorado lost to the Seattle Kraken in Round 1 last season after winning the Stanley Cup in 2022. It's the second straight first-round exit in five games for the Jets, who lost to the eventual champion Vegas Golden Knights last year.

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The Carolina Hurricanes eliminated the New York Islanders with a 6-3 victory in Tuesday's Game 5.

The Hurricanes will face the Presidents' Trophy-winning New York Rangers in the second round.

More to come.

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Tampa Bay Lightning head coach Jon Cooper made his opinion on pending unrestricted free agent Steven Stamkos clear after his team's elimination from the postseason Monday.

"He belongs here," Cooper said, according to team reporter Chris Krenn. "We know it. He knows it."

Cooper added: "He's also, I suppose, in control of his own destiny. I don't know what's going to happen. He feels like a Bolt for life, but only he and (general manager Julien BriseBois) can answer that one."

Stamkos tallied 40 goals and 81 points in 79 games this season. He backed it up by netting five goals and six points in five postseason contests.

The 34-year-old said he wasn't thinking about the uncertainty around his future as the game winded down.

"No, no, that never crossed my mind," Stamkos said, per Bally Sports Sun. "I'm out there battling to try to help our team win, regardless. At the end of the game, we're trying to score, and there's some pride on the line for our group."

Stamkos has played his entire 1,082-game career with Tampa Bay. He's racked up 555 goals and 1,137 points to go with two Stanley Cups and two Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophies.

BriseBois said in October that he'd wait until the season ended before making any decisions about Stamkos' future. He added at the time that he hoped the forward would finish his career with Tampa Bay.

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The Florida Panthers pulled away in the third period to win 6-1 in Monday's Game 5 and eliminate the Tampa Bay Lightning.

It's the Panthers' first playoff series victory over their in-state rivals. Florida will play either the Boston Bruins or Toronto Maple Leafs in the second round.

"We knew this was a big game for us, coming back home," captain Aleksander Barkov said, per Bally Sports Florida. "We got a big steal in Tampa. ... Today, I think we showed up."

He added, "Of course, we know there's a history between us two. We know Tampa has won Cups and been in the finals. And they're so close to us, one-hour flight, that it almost pisses me off. At the same time, huge respect to them, they've been an unreal franchise for a long time. But this time we got the best of them."

The Panthers scored twice to make it 4-1 in the final frame before adding two empty-netters. Barkov and Carter Verhaeghe each notched two goals.

Tampa Bay saw two goals called back due to goaltender interference.

The Lightning have now seen their campaign end in the first round in consecutive years. The Maple Leafs eliminated Tampa in six games last season.

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The Boston Bruins stifled the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-1 in Saturday's Game 4 to move one win away from the second round.

Maple Leafs superstar Auston Matthews didn't return after the second period. Head coach Sheldon Keefe said Matthews' absence was related to an illness and that "the doctors pulled him," per The Athletic's Joshua Kloke.

Toronto has lost six consecutive games on home ice in the playoffs dating back to last year and has been outscored 21-11 in that span.

April 20, 2023 - Game 2 of the first round against the Tampa Bay Lightning - is the Maple Leafs' last playoff win at Scotiabank Arena.

"Nothing wrong with our effort level here tonight," Keefe said, according to The Hockey News' David Alter. "Guys are competing. It's physical hockey. Guys are trying. It's a good team over there. It's limiting us.

"You can question a lot of things, can't question the effort."

Matthews, Mitch Marner, and William Nylander - who made his series debut - were visibly frustrated on the bench during the second period.

"We're not yelling at each other because we hate each other," Marner told reporters. "We just want to be all on the same page to help each other out."

Keefe reiterated that the interaction came from a good place.

"I don't sense any frustration," he said, according to Alter. "Guys are pushing one another, guys are competitive, guys want to win. You know, it's all part of it."

Morgan Rielly said the Maple Leafs' approach hasn't been the issue.

"It's always come down to execution, work ethic," Rielly told reporters when asked if Toronto needs to change their game plan, according to Kloke.

James van Riemsdyk, Brad Marchand, and David Pastrnak found the back of the net for the Bruins. Marner scored Toronto's only goal.

Jeremy Swayman made 25 saves in the victory. He's a perfect 3-0 in his starts in the series. Ilya Samsonov allowed three goals on 17 shots and was replaced by Joseph Woll for the third frame. Woll made five stops in relief.

Game 5 is Tuesday in Boston.

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