The Vancouver Canucks avoided elimination on Tuesday with their 2-1 victory in Game 5 against the Vegas Golden Knights.

Despite being outshot 43-17, the Canucks held on for the win on the back of Thatcher Demko's incredible playoff debut. He's the first rookie goaltender since Jose Theodore in 1997 to win his NHL playoff debut when facing elimination, according to Sportsnet Stats.

"You never know what’s going to happen, so I’ve just been working in practice and been staying mentally sharp in case I was called upon," Demko said. "This is what I’ve wanted to be a part of since I was a kid. This is super special and I want to help the team any way I can."

Vancouver didn't do Demko many favors early, taking over 10 minutes in the opening frame to record its first shot on goal. Vegas outshot Vancouver 10-6 while registering four high-danger scoring chances to the Canucks' one, but the game remained without a goal after the first period.

Vegas held the puck and maintained the pressure for much of the second stanza, too. Demko made several key saves, helping to keep Vegas off the board for as long as he could while Vancouver failed to record a shot on goal for the first 12:28 of the period.

The Golden Knights finally scored with under five minutes remaining in the second when Shea Theodore weaved his way through the offensive zone. However, seconds later Brock Boeser tipped one past Robin Lehner to tie the game.

"They didn't have many shots but they had some chances," Lehner said, according to NHL.com's Danny Webster. "It would've been nice to come up with the save (on Boeser) and go into the third up 1-0. We've just got to look at the next one."

Despite the equal score through two, Vegas dominated in every facet of the game. At all strengths, the Golden Knights held a 66.67 Corsi For percentage while outshooting Vancouver 28-10.

Elias Pettersson tipped another shot past Lehner just minutes into the third, and Vancouver held on for the rest of the game. Demko finished with 42 saves, while Lehner stopped 15 of the 17 he faced.

Game 6 takes place Thursday at 9:45 p.m. ET.

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Vancouver Canucks goaltender Thatcher Demko is between the pipes with his team's season on the line in Game 5 against the Vegas Golden Knights, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.

Jacob Markstrom is not dressed, as Louis Domingue is backing up, Friedman added.

It marks the first career playoff start for Demko. Other than a brief relief appearance in Game 1 of the series, the 24-year-old hasn't seen meaningful game action since March 10.

More to come.

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Welcome to the heater, folks. Yet another perfect night extends our winning run to 6-0 and I never want to lose again.

How about we turn 6-0 into 8-0 tonight?

New York Islanders (-130) @ Philadelphia Flyers (+110)

The Flyers' decision to start Brian Elliott in Game 4 was baffling. You're seriously telling me a 22-year-old Carter Hart can't start back-to-back games with no travel in between? Alain Vigneault's move was puzzling, to say the least, and it cost Philadelphia dearly.

It's a shame, too, because the Flyers had one of their best efforts of the series in Game 4. They were especially dangerous in the second period, generating seven high-danger scoring chances while holding the Islanders to zero. They outchanced them all game at five-on-five. Yet Philadelphia got caught with the contest tied 1-1 in the third period. Jean-Gabriel Pageau snuck behind the defense, Elliott let in a goal he shouldn't have, and the rest is history. The Isles took the lead and never looked back.

On the brink of elimination, expect a spirited response from Philadelphia, led by Hart. The young netminder has a point to prove after sitting Game 4 and will do his part to give the Flyers - who finally showed signs of life at five-on-five Sunday night - a chance to extend this series.

Pick: Flyers (+110)

Vancouver Canucks (+190) @ Vegas Golden Knights (-230)

Any hope the Canucks have of forcing Game 6 hinges on Jacob Markstrom. Vancouver was right in Game 4 up until a third-period collapse, but the contest would have been over long before that had the goaltenders been reversed.

Markstrom's excellent performance, coupled with an inconsistent Marc-Andre Fleury outing, kept things close despite another dominant display from the Knights, who have been the vastly superior team all series. Now, Robin Lehner will be back in for Game 5 as Vegas looks to close things out. Lehner's got sensational career numbers against the Canucks and he's already blanked them twice in this series.

Look for the Knights to again control the pace and balance of play, with Markstrom doing his best to keep the Canucks' playoff hopes alive in a tight elimination game.

Pick: Under 6 (-110)

Alex Moretto is a sports betting writer for theScore. A journalism graduate from Guelph-Humber University, he has worked in sports media for over a decade. He will bet on anything from the Super Bowl to amateur soccer, is too impatient for futures, and will never trust a kicker. Find him on Twitter @alexjmoretto.

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Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby underwent successful arthroscopic wrist surgery Monday, the team announced Tuesday. He is expected to recover in three-to-four weeks.

Crosby, 33, tallied two goals and three points while averaging 20:46 of ice time over four contests during the club's qualifying-round loss to the Montreal Canadiens.

The Penguins captain missed 41 games during the regular season after undergoing core muscle surgery in November.

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The Boston Bruins lost their series to the Tampa Bay Lightning after a 3-2 defeat in double overtime on Monday, and forward David Krejci took the loss to heart, knowing the end of an era could be near.

"It just hit me after the game," an emotional Krejci said with his head bowed down, according to the Boston Globe's Matt Porter. "... The core group, we have one or two or three years left."

"It's just kind of a little sad (right) now," he added.

Krejci is 34 years old and scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent after next season. Fellow forwards Patrice Bergeron (35) and Brad Marchand (32) are also aging.

"You never know how many opportunities you'll have to win a Cup," Marchand said.

Boston's blue line might look much different as early as next season. Torey Krug is a pending unrestricted free agent. As is Zdeno Chara, who could retire at 43 years old.

"I haven't made that decision," Chara said. "I just finished the game. I'm going to be open-minded."

Krejci, Bergeron, Marchand, and Chara were all members of the Bruins' 2011 Stanley Cup-winning team, and the 2013 and 2019 squads that lost in the finals.

However, there's still plenty of youth on Boston's roster. The best years are likely ahead for Charlie McAvoy (22), Brandon Carlo (23), Jake DeBrusk (23), and David Pastrnak (24).

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Nathan MacKinnon has been on a mission this postseason.

With his first-period goal on Monday night against the Dallas Stars, the Colorado Avalanche superstar extended his point streak to 13 games to open the playoffs, putting him in some elite company.

Only three players in NHL history have put together longer point streaks to begin a postseason, and all of them are in the Hall of Fame, according to NHL Public Relations.

MacKinnon is also the first player to start the playoffs with a 13-game point streak since Messier did so in 1994, according to Sportsnet.

The 24-year-old entered Monday with an NHL-leading 21 playoff points - four more than second-place Elias Pettersson.

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Boston Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy was helped off the ice in Monday's Game 5 against the Tampa Bay Lightning after being drilled from behind by Cedric Paquette.

McAvoy appeared to be shaken up but returned later in the period.

No penalty was assessed on the play.

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