The two most beautiful words in sports? Game 7. Lucky for hockey fans, Saturday will be filled with plenty of excitement as the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs first round sees three Game 7s on the same day.
Tampa Bay got an extra game after pushing Game 6 into overtime and eventually winning 4-3 against the Toronto Maple Leafs thanks to goal by Brayden Point. This series has been a close one with neither team winning two in a row so far. Toronto is coming in hungry and with something to prove as the Maple Leafs have not won a playoff series in 18 years. Meanwhile, the Lightning are chasing a Stanley Cup three-peat. Their winner-take-all matchup is set for 7 p.m. ET on TNT.
The Los Angeles Kings and the Edmonton Oilers will close the night with a 10 p.m. ET face-off on ESPN and fuboTV (try for free). There have been blowouts and close games in both arenas, but the main trend is that the team who scores first has walked away with the win. Edmonton made a Game 7 possible with a 4-2 win on Thursday. Evander Kane scored two goals in that game, and will likely continue being the key for the Oilers offense moving forward. The left wing has registered seven goals in this series, which ties him with Minnesota’s Kirill Kaprizov and Pittsburgh’s Jake Guentzel for the NHL lead in this year’s playoffs.
Boston and Carolina opened Saturday’s action at PNC Arena, and like the series’ first six games, the home team prevailed. The Hurricanes punched their ticket to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs with a 3-2 victory over the Bruins. Max Domi led the way for Carolina with three points, including two goals in the second period. The Hurricanes have now won six consecutive Game 7s and will next play the winner of the Rangers-Penguins series, which will conclude Sunday in another Game 7.
Follow along as CBS Sports provides live updates throughout Saturday’s action.
