The NHL record-setting Boston Bruins and the defending Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche are hosting Game 7s on Sunday, and the momentum of their series couldn’t be more different.
Game 6: New Jersey Devils center Jack Hughes falls down in front of New York Rangers center Mika Zibanejad.
Game 6: Edmonton Oilers defenseman Cody Ceci and Los Angeles Kings center Quinton Byfield reach for a loose puck.
Game 6: Tampa Bay Lightning center Steven Stamkos attempts to stuff the puck in the net against Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Ilya Samsonov.
Game 6: Carolina Hurricanes forward Paul Stastny’s overtime shot slides past New York Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokin. The Hurricanes advanced to the second round with a 2-1 victory.
Game 6: Colorado Avalanche left wing Artturi Lehkonen scores an empty net goal as Seattle Kraken defenseman Justin Schultz tries to stop him.
Game 6: Florida Panthers center Aleksander Barkov (16) celebrates his goal against Boston Bruins goalie Linus Ullmark.
Game 6: Minnesota Wild goaltender Filip Gustavsson reacts after giving a goal to the Dallas Stars during the first period.
Game 5: New York Rangers center Mika Zibanejad (93) interferes with New Jersey Devils goaltender Akira Schmid (40) during the third period.
Game 5: Vegas Golden Knights center William Karlsson celebrates after scoring against the Winnipeg Jets. Vegas won 4-1 to advance to the second round.
Game 5: Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy makes one of his 28 saves in a 4-2 victory against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Game 5: Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon skates on the ice after a 3-2 loss to the Seattle Kraken.
Game 5: The Florida Panthers celebrate their victory against the Boston Bruins on Matthew Tkachuk’s overtime goal.
Game 5: The Edmonton Oilers’ Kailer Yamamoto (56) jumps in an attempt to screen Los Angeles Kings goaltender Joonas Korpisalo during the first period at Rogers Place on April 25. The Oilers won the game, 6-3, to take a 3-2 series lead.
Game 5: Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger (29) stops a shot by Wild left wing Marcus Johansson (90) during the second period as Dallas blanked Minnesota 4-0 on Apri 25.
Game 5: The Islanders celebrate a second-period goal by Brock Nelson as Carolina Hurricanes center Sebastian Aho, far left, lies on the ice after being struck in the face by the puck during New York’s 3-2 win.
Game 4: Toronto Maple Leafs center Alexander Kerfoot celebrates his overtime goal against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Game 4: Seattle Kraken forward Morgan Geekie shoves Colorado Avalanche forward Logan O’Connor.
Game 4: New Jersey Devils center Nico Hischier slides into New York Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin.
Game 4: The Los Angeles Kings’ Matt Roy (3) shoots on goal against Edmonton Oilers goaltender Jack Campbell during the second period at Crypto.com Arena on April 23. The Oilers won the game, 5-4, in overtime to even the series at two games apiece.
Game 4: The Minnesota Wild’s Ryan Hartman (38) skates with the puck against the the Dallas Stars’ Jani Hakanpaa in the second period at Xcel Energy Center on April 23. The Stars won the game, 3-2, to even up the series at two games apiece.
Game 4: The Florida Panthers’ Aleksander Barkov (16) controls the puck away from the Boston Bruins’ Brad Marchand (63) during the first period at FLA Live Arena on April 23. The Bruins won the game, 6-2, to take a 3-1 series lead.
Game 4: Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Antti Raanta (32) makes a save on New York Islanders center Bo Horvat (14) while defended by Hurricanes defenseman Jaccob Slavin (74) during Carolina’s 5-2 win on April 23.
Game 3: Colorado Avalanche defenseman Devon Toews checks Seattle Kraken left wing Brandon Tanev.
Game 3: Toronto Maple Leafs right wing Mitchell Marner (16) and defenseman Luke Schenn (2) and Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Mikhail Sergachev (98) mix it up in the third period.
Game 3: New Jersey Devils right wing Timo Meier (96) and New York Rangers center Mika Zibanejad (93) get into an altercation in the first period.
Game 3: Vegas Golden Knights players celebrate the double overtime goal by right wing Michael Amadio (22) against the Winnipeg Jets.
Game 3: Los Angeles Kings left wing Trevor Moore (12) celebrates with right wing Gabriel Vilardi (13) and center Quinton Byfield (55) after scoring the game-winning goal in overtime against the Edmonton Oilers.
Game 3: Mats Zuccarello (36) celebrates a goal in the Minnesota Wild’s 5-1 win against the Dallas Stars.
Game 3: Boston Bruins goaltender Linus Ullmark (35) makes a save on Florida Panthers center Anton Lundell (15) as Bruins defenseman Derek Forbort (28) looks on during Boston’s 4-2 on April 21.
Game 3: New York Islanders center Kyle Palmieri (21) and Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Brett Pesce (22) fight during the Islanders’ 5-1 win on Aprill 21.
Game 2: Vegas Golden Knights forward Mark Stone celebrates after scoring a goal against the Winnipeg Jets.
Game 2: Toronto Maple Leafs center John Tavares (91) watches the puck go into the net for his third goal against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Game 2: Colorado Avalanche right wing Valeri Nichushkin scores in the second period against the Seattle Kraken.
Game 2: New York Rangers defenseman Adam Fox (23) ties up New Jersey Devils defenseman Kevin Bahl (88) during the third period.
Game 2: Edmonton Oilers forward Klim Kostin celebrates after scoring a goal during the third period against the Los Angeles Kings.
Game 2: Dallas Stars right wing Evgenii Dadonov (63) and left wing Jamie Benn (14) celebrate after Dadonov scored his second goal against the Minnesota Wild.
Game 2: Florida Panthers center Sam Bennett (9) pokes his stick at Boston Bruins left wing Tomas Nosek (92), who is exchanging words with Panthers left wing Matthew Tkachuk.
Game 2: Carolina Hurricanes forward Jesper Fast celebrates his game-winner in overtime against the New York Islanders.
Game 1: Colorado Avalanche left wing Artturi Lehkonen collides with Seattle Kraken goaltender Philipp Grubauer.
Game 1: New York Rangers defenseman Ryan Lindgren (55) celebrates his goal against New Jersey Devils goaltender Vitek Vanecek.
Game 1: Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck clears the puck away from Vegas Golden Knights center Ivan Barbashev.
Game 1: Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy makes a save against the Toronto Maple Leafs
Game 1: Dallas Stars center Joe Pavelski is helped off the ice after he was hit by Minnesota Wild defenseman Matt Dumba.
Game 1: Edmonton Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner (74) skates away as the Los Angeles Kings celebrate their overtime win.
Game 1: Florida Panthers goaltender Alex Lyon makes a save against Boston Bruins left wing Tyler Bertuzzi.
Game 1: Carolina Hurricanes forward Jack Drury screens New York Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokin during the second period.
46/46 SLIDES
The Avalanche are riding high after winning Game 6 in Seattle against the second-year Kraken. But the Bruins have lost two in a row against the Florida Panthers and looked sloppy in doing so.
Both teams have questions. Can Bruins goalie Linus Ullmark, who gave up 10 goals over the last two games, find the form that made him a Vezina Trophy favorite? Can the Avalanche overcome injuries, including a fractured neck for Andrew Cogliano?
Who will win Sunday’s games? USA TODAY Sports NHL experts weigh in:
Florida Panthers at Boston Bruins
Time, TV: 6:30 p.m., TNT
Bruins 4, Panthers 3. Florida’s Matthew Tkachuk will be hard to shut down, but the Bruins will benefit from David Pastrnak regaining his form after getting two goals in Game 6. If the Bruins can limit their turnovers, they should be able to win against a team that finished 43 points below them in the standings. — Mike Brehm
Bruins 4, Panthers 2. The Stanley Cup playoffs are almost always a random enterprise, but still – posting the best regular season of all time should mean something. The Bruins only lost seven games in Boston all year. Are the Panthers really going to beat them three times at TD Garden in one series? Never say never … but I would be really surprised if it happens. — Jace Evans
Seattle Kraken at Colorado Avalanche
Time, TV: 9:30 p.m., TNT
Avalanche 4, Kraken 2. The Avalanche might be missing some key players from last season’s run, but the core knows what it takes to win a big game. Cale Makar returned from a one-game suspension in Game 6 and played a big role in that Avalanche victory. Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen and Makar will give the Avalanche enough offense to win. — Brehm
Avalanche 3, Kraken 1. Credit the Kraken: I never expected this series to reach this point but they’ve been extremely game, and at this point I won’t be shocked if they win. But with their backs against the wall Friday, the defending champs pumped Seattle, outshooting the Kraken 39-23 on the way to a 4-1 road victory. With their championship experience leading the way I think the Avs dig deep and win on home ice. — Evans
