The Stanley Cup Playoff first round Game 2s took place at the end of this week, with the New York Rangers and Carolina Hurricanes taking control of their respective series.

All the others are tied at one and as each shifts away from the venue of the first two games, we review what's happened so far.

Draisaitl leads Oilers to victory

Leon Draisaitl had a goal and two assists as the Edmonton Oilers defeated the Los Angeles Kings 4-2 to level up their Western Conference First Round series at Rogers Place.

Draisaitl has three goals and five points over the two games played so far and he has been important as the Kings have done well to limit the regular season's top goal and point scorer Connor McDavid to a single assist.

The Oilers allowed the Kings to come back from two goals down for the second straight game and will need to better manage leads as the series heads to Los Angeles for Game 3.

Draisaitl is -125 to finish as the top scorer in the series while, despite being kept quiet so far, McDavid who scored 64 in the regular season is an intriguing +750.

Hintz shines for Stars

After losing Game 1 in double overtime, the Dallas Stars responded with an emphatic 7-3 win against the Minnesota Wild in Game 2 of the Western Conference First Round at American Airlines Centre.

Roope Hintz had a hat-trick for the Stars who also enjoyed four helpers from Miro Heiskanen.

The Stars are -115 to take a 2-1 series lead in Minnesota while the Wild are -105 to respond with a win on home ice.

Hurricanes double lead

Jesper Fast scored at 5.03 in overtime to give the Hurricanes a 4-3 win against the New York Islanders in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference First Round at PNC Arena.

The victory doubles the Hurricanes' lead in the series after they won 2-1 in Game 1 on Monday.

New York, who feel unfortunate to have narrowly lost both games so far, will aim to use home ice to get back into the series on Friday which they are -115 to do.

Carolina are -105 to win at UBS Arena and +225 to eliminate the Islanders within five games.

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Panthers topple Bruins

The Florida Panthers managed a very rare feat by beating the Boston Bruins at TD Garden on Monday 6-3 to even their Eastern Conference First Round series.

Brandon Montour scored twice and rookie Alex Lyon made 34 saves for Florida who was outperformed by Boston's Linus Ullmark in the opening game of the series, a 3-1 Bruins win.

Florida went 2-2-0 against Boston in the regular season, with both wins coming after a loss in the previous game and the Wild Card have shown that they aren't going to be an easy pushover for the record-breaking Presidents' Trophy winners.

The Bruins were without captain Patrice Bergeron for the second straight game, first through illness and second due to an upper-body injury and his status is unclear for Game 3 in Florida on Friday.

Boston are -155 to win at FLA Live Arena and the Panthers +135.

Leafs have emphatic response

The Toronto Maple Leafs responded to a heavy 7-3 defeat in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference First Round meeting with Tampa Bay Lightning in perfect fashion, demolishing their opponents 7-2 in Game 2.

John Tavares scored a hat-trick, Morgan Rielly had four assists and Mitch Marner had two goals and an assist taking advantage of a Tampa Bay defence without Victor Hedman and Erik Cernak who were each injured in Game 1.

The Leafs are +125 on a game and series double to be victorious in Game 3 at Tampa Bay and win their first series since 2004.

Avs rally for victory

The Colorado Avalanche rallied from 2-0 down to defeat Seattle Kraken 3-2 and tie their Western Conference First Round at Ball Arena.

The reigning Champions lost 3-1 in Game 1 and found themselves in trouble against the Wild Card Kraken who are making their playoff debut. 

Colorado's three-goal response makes them -260 to now win the series while Seattle are +215 to put that behind them and cause an upset.

Vegas even series

The Western Conference's top seed, Vegas Golden Knights, have also found it tough against a Wild Card in Winnipeg Jets, but a late rally in Game 2 saw them win 5-2 to tie their first round series at one.

Golden Knights Captain Mark Stone had two goals and an assist after he missed the final 39 games of the regular season with a back injury.

Vegas had 39 shots on goal after being limited to 17 in a 5-1 loss in Game 1 and the improved performance makes them -145 to get past the Jets who are +125 to prevail.

Rangers too much for Devils

The powerhouse Rangers are so far proving too much for the young New Jersey Devils, winning each of the first two games of their Eastern Conference First Round meetings 5-1.

With both defeats for New Jersey coming at home and the series moving to New York's Madison Square Garden on Saturday, the Devils find themselves in trouble and are +215 to be swept in four games.

New Jersey finished third in the overall regular season standings and qualified for the playoffs for the first time in four seasons.

But they have had no answer to the Rangers who made the Eastern Conference Final last season and are +390 to go a step further and win it this season.

bet365 News Team

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