Hockey

Florida Panthers (52-24-6, first in the Atlantic Division) vs. Boston Bruins (47-20-15, second in the Atlantic Division) Boston; Friday, 7 p.m. EDT BETMGM SPORTSBOOK : LINE Panthers -146, Bruins +123; over/under is 5.

Dallas Stars (52-21-9, first in the Central Division) vs. Colorado Avalanche (50-25-7, third in the Central Division) Denver; Friday, 10 p.m. EDT BETMGM SPORTSBOOK : LINE Avalanche -119, Stars +100; over/under is 6.

VANCOUVER — Rick Tocchet challenged his Vancouver Canucks to up their game.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Chris Kreider had a third-period hat trick to help the New York Rangers erase a two-goal deficit and beat the Carolina Hurricanes 5-3 in Game 6 on Thursday night to advance to the Eastern Conference Final.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — J.T. Miller scored with 33 seconds remaining to lead the Vancouver Canucks to a 3-2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday night that put them a win away from the Western Conference Final.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The New York Rangers went from cruising through the NHL playoffs with an unbeaten record to suddenly struggling to close out a second-round series despite having a huge lead.

Boston Bruins captain Brad Marchand wasn't too outraged over the disputed hit he took that's sidelined him for the past two games. Because in his view, hurting players comes with the territory in the postseason.

The Colorado Avalanche live to see another day after a win on Wednesday, while the Vancouver Canucks and Edmonton Oilers battle for an edge on Thursday.

DALLAS (AP) — Colorado finally got to play with the lead against the Dallas Stars, though the Avalanche are still behind in the series.

VANCOUVER — Edmonton Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch is undecided on who will be starting in net in Thursday night's Game 5 tilt against the Vancouver Canucks.