Stanley Cup playoffs takeaways: Hurricanes, Oilers move closer to punching conference finals tickets

The second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs continued on Monday with a pair of Game 4s.

Here are takeaways from the two games as the Carolina Hurricanes and Edmonton Oilers each moved one win away from advancing to their respective conference finals.

Luck turns toward the Hurricanes

After struggling to find the back of the net in Games 1 and 2, Hurricanes defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere, who opened the Game 4 scoring with a first-period goal, discussed his team only scoring three goals despite having 61 shots on goal (180 total shots) during the first two games.

"I'd say the luck isn't there, but we're not going to change a thing," Gostisbehere said.

Two games later, luck has started favoring Carolina following its 5-2 Game 4 win. Per Natural Stat Trick, the Capitals ended the game with an overwhelming advantage in high danger scoring chances, which takes into account the location and timing of each shot, 9-4.

Washington also led in expected goals, 2.15-2, but now finds itself in a 3-1 series hole and on the brink of elimination. The Hurricanes have found a groove offensively, scoring nine goals in the past two games after scoring three in the first two.

Golden Knights-Oilers is chippy

Now that's playoff hockey.

Game 4 of the West semis between the Vegas Golden Knights and Edmonton Oilers, a 3-0 Oilers win, featured the first fight of the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs.

Oilers forward Trent Frederic and Golden Knights defenseman Nicolas Hague sparred less than five minutes into the game, setting the tone for a chippy first period.