Sean Couturier's five-point game is even more impressive now, despite being in a losing effort.

The Philadelphia Flyers forward revealed Sunday after being eliminated from the playoffs that he played with a torn MCL, according to Dave Issac of the Courier-Post.

Couturier said he won't need surgery, but it would have required a four-week recovery if it had occurred during the regular season.

The talented two-way center notched a hat trick and added a pair of helpers in the Flyers' season-ending 8-5 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 6 on Sunday, after scoring the eventual winning goal in Philadelphia's 4-2 victory in Game 5 on Friday.

Couturier went down in practice on Tuesday after a nasty collision with teammate Radko Gudas, and missed Game 4 of the first-round series before returning for Games 5 and 6.

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The Pittsburgh Penguins have won the Battle of Pennsylvania.

A 8-5 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday sealed the victory for the Penguins, who took the series in six games.

The Flyers held a 4-3 lead late in the second period before Penguins forward Jake Guentzel scored late in the frame. He then added three straight goals in the closing period.

The Penguins will face either the Washington Capitals or the Columbus Blue Jackets in the second round.

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Claude Giroux destroyed Carl Hagelin on Sunday with a huge hit.

The Philadelphia Flyers center's thunderous check on the Pittsburgh Penguins winger midway through the second period forced Hagelin to the dressing room.

Giroux wasn't assessed a penalty, but Penguins forward Phil Kessel immediately went after him and took a roughing minor in the aftermath.

Hagelin did not emerge for the start of the third period.

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The Pittsburgh Penguins will be without superstar forward Evgeni Malkin in Game 6 against the Philadelphia Flyers due to an undisclosed injury, the team announced.

Malkin appeared to injure his leg in the first period of Game 5 as he got tangled up with Jori Lehtera and went down awkwardly. He did play the rest of the game, however.

The good news for the Penguins is that Patric Hornqvist returns to the lineup after missing the past two games with an upper-body injury. He will play alongside Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel on the team's top line.

As for the rest of the lineup, Riley Sheahan will take Malkin's place between Carl Hagelin and Phil Kessel, while the third line of Conor Sheary, Derick Brassard, and Bryan Rust remains intact. Zach Aston-Reese, Carter Rowney, and Tom Kuhnhackl make up the fourth line.

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Vancouver Canucks' Brock Boeser, New York Islanders' Mathew Barzal, and Arizona Coyotes' Clayton Keller were named the three finalists for the 2018 Calder Trophy.

More to come.

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If you're a Toronto Maple Leafs fan, you've likely tried everything you possibly can to erase the memory of the first-round playoff collapse against the Boston Bruins in 2013: A series Toronto seemingly had in the bag with a 4-1 lead in the third period in Game 7.

Everyone knows how that played out, with the Buds blowing the game and, in turn, the series. So, on Saturday night, when the Leafs built another late 4-1 lead, some Toronto players like Jake Gardiner couldn't help but think back. "We had a lead similar to the one we had five years ago," Gardiner said with a smile, according to TSN's Mark Masters.

"Glad we got over that curse so that’s out of our minds now."

While there is no telling what will happen in Game 6 (or a possible Game 7), Gardiner already feels the Leafs are a more composed team than the one that coughed up that juicy lead five years ago.

"During that series it was pretty tense on the bench when they scored to make it 4-3," said Gardiner, per Masters. "It was a lot more tight on the bench (while) last night we just tried to relax and stay calm and keep playing."

Curse or not, the Leafs will try and push the series to a seventh and deciding game with a victory on Monday night.

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Guarantees are nice. Heck, winning streaks in the playoffs are even better.

Related: Ovechkin: We're going back to Washington tied

But, for Washington Capitals head coach Barry Trotz, he knows exactly what he wants out of his club on Monday night if it hopes to knock off the Columbus Blue Jackets in six games and advance to the second round.

"If you have a chance to eliminate a team, you have to have that killer instinct," Trotz told the media on Sunday, according to Tarik El-Bashir of NBC Sports. "And it's the toughest game to win because the other team is desperate. Their backs are against the wall"

"They're going to have their max effort tomorrow. We've got to make sure that we've got a max effort, and if we do that, then we have a chance to win in Columbus. We've won there a couple of time already."

He's not wrong about that last part, as Washington won both Game 3 and 4 on the Blue Jackets' home ice. And following their Game 5 overtime victory on Saturday, the Capitals head back to Columbus with a chance to end their opponent's season.

Puck drop is set for Monday at 7:30 p.m. ET from Nationwide Arena.

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Naslund. Backstrom. Forsberg. Sedin. Pettersson.

Yup, you can pencil in Elias Pettersson's name in with some of Sweden's all-time players.

Fresh off a regular season in which he set the SHL (Sweden's top professional league) record for points by a U20 player, the Vancouver Canucks prospect has not slowed down in the playoffs.

Pettersson has 10 goals and 19 points in 13 playoff games, setting another SHL record for points in a single postseason by a U20 player, according to Elite Prospects.

When you combine the regular season and the postseason, the numbers are that much more impressive.

He also appears to have the clutch gene, showing incredible poise with a defender draped all over him to score the SHL Championship-winning goal. He was named SHL Playoff MVP for his efforts.

Drafted fifth overall by the Canucks in 2017, Pettersson - who turned 19 last November - could announce his presence in North America with authority next season.

Canucks fans have every reason to be giddy about this kid.

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