Cale Makar had a goal and two assists for the Colorado Avalanche in an 8-6 win against the Edmonton Oilers in Game 1 of the Western Conference Final at Ball Arena on Tuesday.

J.T. Compher scored twice, and Mikko Rantanen, Nathan MacKinnon, and Gabriel Landeskog each had a goal and an assist for the Avalanche, the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference.

The New York Rangers defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 6-2 in Game 7 on Monday night, advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals to face the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Goaltender Igor Shesterkin made 36 saves for this second win in a Game 7 during the playoffs. Forward Chris Kreider scored twice, while defenseman Adam Fox, center Ryan Strome, center Filip Chytil and forward Andrew Copp added goals.

It's the first trip to the Stanley Cup semifinals for the Rangers since 2015, when they, too, faced the Lightning.

Sakari Manninen scored on a power play at 6 minutes, 42 seconds of 3-on-3 overtime and Finland beat Canada 4-3 on Sunday for its fourth world hockey championship title.

Darren Helm scored with 5.6 seconds remaining in the third period, and the Colorado Avalanche eliminated the St. Louis Blues with a 3-2 win in Game 6 of the Western Conference Second Round at Enterprise Center on Friday.

Helm won it on a slap shot from the left circle for his first goal of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The Avalanche won the best-of-7 series 4-2 and will face the Edmonton Oilers in the conference final, beginning with Game 1 on Tuesday.

Edmonton Oilers coach Jay Woodcroft thought his team needed a boost.

The Oilers were one goal away from closing out a second-round Stanley Cup playoff series against the Calgary Flames in Game 5 on Thursday night. Woodcroft went with his gut and swapped Zach Hyman for Evander Kane on Edmonton's top line with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.

The gamble paid off. That line ignited and Draisaitl set up McDavid for the overtime game winner that sent Edmonton to its first Western Conference finals appearance since 2006.

"I thought we were a little sluggish as a group," Woodcroft said after his team's 5-4 victory. 

Vincent Trocheck buried a short-handed goal, Teuvo Teravainen had a rare power-play score for Carolina and the Hurricanes beat the New York Rangers 3-1 on Thursday night to take a 3-2 lead in the second-round playoff series.

Andrei Svechnikov also scored, beating Igor Shesterkin with a backhander on a breakaway midway through the third period as the Hurricanes protected their Game 5 lead.

Tyler Bozak scored 3:38 into overtime and the St. Louis Blues fended off elimination in Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinals, overcoming a three-goal deficit in a 5-4 victory over the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday night.

Bozak unleashed a shot from near the blueline that got past Darcy Kuemper, capping a remarkable comeback for St. Louis.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored his second goal of the game with 3:27 left in regulation, and the Edmonton Oilers beat the Calgary Flames 5-3 on Tuesday night to take a 3-1 lead in the second-round playoff series.

Evander Kane scored his NHL-leading 11th and 12th goals of the postseason, and Zach Hyman added a goal for Edmonton. Leon Draisaitl added two assists and Mike Smith made 29 saves.

Andrew Copp had a goal and two assists, and Frank Vatrano and Adam Fox each had a goal and an assist as the New York Rangers beat the Carolina Hurricanes 4-1 in Game 4 Tuesday night, evening the second-round series.