Vegas Golden Knights Advance to Second Round of Stanley Cup Playoffs

August 20, 2020
After the Vegas Golden Knights became the first team to advance to the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs on Tuesday, four teams had the chance to follow their lead yesterday. Only three did.
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Vegas Golden Knights Advance to Second Round of Stanley Cup Playoffs
TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING/TWITTER

The GIST: After the Vegas Golden Knights became the first team to advance to the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs on Tuesday, four teams had the chance to follow their lead yesterday. Only three did.

Who advanced?: We’ll break it down for you real quick. First the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 5–4 in overtime, then the Boston Bruins took the Carolina Hurricanes 2–1 and the Colorado Avalanche absolutely embarrassed the Arizona Coyotes with a 7–1 win.

  • All three teams won their series 4-1 (eerie) to advance to the second round (which should start early next week), but the Philadelphia Flyers broke the trend, losing to the Montreal Canadiens last night to make the series 3-2.

What’s next?: Four series remain undecided, so every game really counts now. The New York Islanders and Dallas Stars can both advance to round two if they win tonight, and the St. Louis Blues and Vancouver Canucks, and the Flyers and Canadiens will all have to hash it out tomorrow.

  • Even with so many decided series, the pairings for the second round matchups will be reseeded, so advancing teams won’t know who their opponent will be until this round is over. Check out the full playoff bracket here.