Bruins and Oilers stave off elimination

The NHL playoffs are still very much in the messy part. Boston and Edmonton were both one loss from going home, and both pushed their series forward instead. That matters because the first round looked ready to snap into place — then two elimination games turned into resets. Boston beat Buffalo 2-1 in overtime on April 28, and Edmonton handled Anaheim 4-1 later that night. (nhl.com) ### How did Boston stay alive? Boston got the exact kind of game it needed — tight, low-event, and carried by stars at the key moments. Buffalo went up first on a Rasmus Dahlin power-play goal, Elias Lindholm tied it in the second, and David Pastrnak ended it 9:14 into overtime on a breakaway. Jeremy Swayman stopped 24 shots, and the Bruins dragged the series back to TD Garden for Game 6. (nhl.com) ### Why did that goal feel so big? Because it came after Boston had looked close to finished. Buffalo had won Game 4 in a 6-1 blowout and carried a 3-1 series lead into Game 5. Then one busted rush and one clean pass from Hampus Lindholm flipped the night. Instead of a Sabres handshake line setup, the Bruins now have a home game with a chance to force Game 7. (espn.com) ### What about Edmonton? Edmonton’s version was less dramatic and more blunt. The Oilers scored three times in the first period, chased Anaheim goalie Lukas Dostal early, and never let the Ducks turn the game into a scramble. Leon Draisaitl scored twice, Connor McDavid had two assists, and Calvin Pickard — sorry, Calvin Ingram in this game — stopped 29 of 30 shots as Edmonton won 4-1. (nhl.com) ### Why was the fast start the whole story? Because Anaheim had been controlling the shape of the series. The Ducks led 3-1 coming in and had already won an overtime game and a high-scoring blowout. Edmonton needed a game where it played from ahead instead of chasing mistakes. Getting up 3-0 in the first period changed everything — shot volume stopped mattering as much because the Oilers could sit on the score and wait for their stars to punish openings. (nhl.com) ### So are these series actually turning? Maybe — but not yet. Boston still trails Buffalo 3-2, and Edmonton still trails Anaheim 3-2. That means neither underdog has solved the series problem. They just solved the immediate survival problem. The pressure now shifts to the higher seed or better-positioned team to close the door in Game 6 instead of letting a single escape become a real collapse. (espn.com) ### Why does this matter beyond two games? Because the bracket is staying crowded. ESPN’s playoff tracker showed Carolina as one of the few teams already through, while several other first-round matchups were still alive heading into the end of April. When elimination games stop ending series, the whole round stretches out — more travel, more goalie decisions, more chances for momentum to get weird. (espn.com) ### What should fans watch next? For Boston, it’s whether the offense can create anything besides one-goal survival hockey. For Edmonton, it’s whether the Oilers can repeat that first-period control on the road in Game 6 on April 30. Both teams have done the hard first part — they refused to die. The catch is that staving off elimination once is drama; doing it twice is how a comeback becomes real. (espn.com) ### Bottom line Boston and Edmonton didn’t flip their series. They bought time. But in the first round, that’s often how the swing starts — one overtime dagger, one early avalanche, and suddenly the favorite has to answer instead of advance. (nhl.com)