The Vancouver Canucks beat the St. Louis Blues 4-3 in Game 5 on Wednesday to put the defending Stanley Cup champions on the brink of elimination.

Down 3-1 midway through the game, Vancouver struck for three unanswered goals in the second period to take a lead they wouldn't surrender.

More to come.

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Philadelphia Flyers forward Sean Couturier struggled to control his emotions during the final moments of his club's Game 5 loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday.

Just seconds after Phillip Danault buried an empty-netter to cement the Habs' 5-3 victory, Couturier levelled an unsuspecting Artturi Lehkonen away from the play.

The Canadiens took exception to the hit, and a subsequent melee ensued.

Couturier was assessed a game misconduct and a two-minute minor for cross-checking. Flyers forward Jakub Voracek and Canadiens captain Shea Weber were also handed a game misconduct for their roles in the dustup.

Montreal staved off elimination with the win. The Flyers will get another chance to advance in Game 6 on Friday.

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Colorado Avalanche forward Nazem Kadri is putting his poor playoff history behind him as he continues to shine this summer.

Kadri was suspended in each of the previous two postseasons while with the Toronto Maple Leafs, but the 29-year-old believes he's turned a corner.

"Just reflecting on the time I spent in Toronto ... you want to learn from your mistakes," Kadri said following the Avalanche's 7-1 series-clinching win over the Arizona Coyotes, according to Colorado Hockey Now's Scott MacDonald.

"I'm more valuable on the ice than I am in the penalty box or the press box," he said, per NHL.com's Mike Zeisberger.

With his second straight two-goal game on Wednesday, Kadri paces Colorado with six tallies this postseason. The dynamic pivot had mustered 10 career playoff points prior to 2019-20, and has already racked up 11 in eight games this summer.

Acquired by the Avalanche last offseason, Kadri said he's grateful for the seamless transition after spending the previous 10 seasons with the Maple Leafs.

"I'm just fortunate and lucky to come into such a great dressing room with such great teammates and a great organization that just gave me a chance to be who I can be," he said, per MacDonald.

"They've believed in me since I stepped in the door. I'm just trying to not let them down."

Kadri will now play beyond the first round of the playoffs for the first time in his career.

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Montreal Canadiens forward Jesperi Kotkaniemi was handed a five-minute major and a game misconduct for boarding Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Travis Sanheim during the second period of Game 5 on Wednesday.

Sanheim, who ranks third among Flyers players in average ice time per game this postseason (19:56), remained in the contest despite being shaken up on the play.

Philadelphia converted twice on the ensuing power play with a pair of goals from Jakub Voracek.

The Flyers own a 3-1 series lead over Montreal and will advance to the second round with a win Wednesday.

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Columbus Blue Jackets head coach John Tortorella wasn't interested in finding the silver lining after his club was eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs on Wednesday.

"You know what, guys? I'm not going to get into the touchy-feely stuff and the moral victories and all that," Tortorella said before cutting his postgame press conference short after two questions.

He added: "You guys be safe."

The Blue Jackets fell behind 2-0 early in their must-win game but rallied back with four unanswered goals. Their lead was short-lived, though, as the Tampa Bay Lightning scored twice in the third period before Brayden Point ended the series in overtime.

Columbus played its most complete game of the first round but wasn't able to find a way to win. The Blue Jackets recorded 53.6% of the shot attempts, 61.54% of the scoring chances, and 65.12% of the expected goals at five-on-five Wednesday, according to Natural Stat Trick.

This is the second instance Tortorella has been particularly blunt during the 2020 postseason. Columbus' coach repeatedly answered, "Toronto was really good. We sucked," when asked to dissect what went wrong in the club's Game 2 qualifying-round loss to the Maple Leafs.

Tortorella has been the Blue Jackets' head coach since 2015-16 and has led the team to the playoffs in each of the past four seasons. He's currently a finalist for the Jack Adams Award.

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Boston Bruins superstar David Pastrnak is back in action for Wednesday's Game 5 versus the Carolina Hurricanes.

Pastrnak has been sidelined since Game 1 with an undisclosed injury. He racked up a goal and an assist in his only appearance of the series.

The 24-year-old winger was tied for the league lead in goals with 48 when the regular season was shut down in March, and he had already established a new career high with 95 points.

Boston holds a 3-1 series lead over Carolina and can advance to Round 2 with a win.

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The Vegas Golden Knights' series-clinching victory over the Chicago Blackhawks was especially meaningful for Robin Lehner.

The goaltender, whom the Blackhawks traded to the Golden Knights at the deadline, expressed appreciation for his former club following Vegas' 4-3 win over Chicago on Tuesday night. The victory ended their first-round matchup in five games.

"This was a huge win for our team, it felt really nice for me to close this out, because it's a bit weird playing your old team, especially that group," Lehner told reporters postgame. "That group is a hell of a group. They treated me really well. (I've) got a lot of friends on that team and (nothing) but love for that organization, but (it was a) huge win for us and I thought it was a really good series for us to move forward here."

Lehner appeared emotional as he embraced his former teammates in the handshake line.

Golden Knights head coach Peter DeBoer, who was standing right behind Lehner in line, said afterward he could tell how much of an impact the goalie had on his former squad.

"Some of the comments to him really were filled with respect and admiration for his journey and where he's going and what he's been through," the bench boss told reporters. "You can tell when an ex-teammate is talking to guys he played with whether it's genuine or not, and it was genuine across the board there.

"He made a real impression on those guys, I think, even though he was only there for less than a year."

Lehner revealed in 2018 that he had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and had overcome substance abuse.

The 29-year-old played 33 regular-season games with the Blackhawks, who signed him as a free agent last July. Lehner went 16-10-5 with Chicago in 2019-20, posting a .918 save percentage and 10.17 goals saved above average.

The Blackhawks dealt Lehner to the Golden Knights in late February, receiving netminder Malcolm Subban, defensive prospect Stanislav Demin, and a second-round pick in return.

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