Western Quarterfinal Nightly Recap

Western Quarterfinal

Arizona Coyotes - 3 @ Edmonton Oilers - 1

• Arizona wins series 4-3

Connor Hellebuyck bookended the series with 3-1 victories on the road and the Coyotes advanced to the second round.

A series that featured solid goaltending, game 7 was no different. Both teams finished the game with 32 shots on net, but Hellebuyck was the difference maker, finishing with 31 saves on the night compared to 29 for Juuse Saros.

Edmonton's top line struck first when Evander Kane hammered the puck past Hellebuyck and the lead nearly held before the period ended, but Blake Comeau tied things up with 7 seconds left. After that, Tyson Jost provided the rest of the offence potting the game-winner late in the second for his first of the series and adding another in the third.

The Coyotes will now face Pacific champs the Anaheim Ducks in the second round.

Dallas Stars - 2 @ Winnipeg Jets - 3 (OT)

• Winnipeg wins series 4-3

The Jets needed overtime but outlasted the Stars enroute to a Game 7 victory.

Winnipeg thought they had things wrapped up in regulation but Dallas wouldn't go down easily. The Stars pulled Chris Driedger with 1:46 left for the extra attacker, but Anton Stralman accidentally iced the puck and Dallas was forced to send Driedger back out. Upon regaining possession, Driedger got back to the bench. Living up to his nickname, Kirill "the Thrill" Kaprizov quieted the MTS Center when he found the back of the net off a slick freed from Alex DeBrincat with 36 seconds to play. 

But for the second time in this series, Winnipeg got the job done in overtime. With the play in Dallas' zone, the Stars won the faceoff cleanly but couldn't clear the zone. The Jets fourth line were on the ice to give their stars a rest, and it was Curtis Lazar he slid a pass right in the wheelhouse of Mattias Ekholm who made no mistake and sent a seeing-eye shot through a maze of bodies and past Driedger to seal the deal.

Winnipeg will host the Colorado Avalance in games 1 and 2 to begin round 2.

THREE STARS

Connor Hellebuyck (ARI): 31 saves, .969 SP%
Tyson Jost (ARI): 2 goals, +1, 2 hits, 3 shots, 1 SB, 1 TA, 16:04 TOI
Kirill Kaprizov (DAL): 1 goal, +1, 3 hits, 5 shots, 4 giveaways, 23:02 TOI