The Stanley Cup first round is heating up and, with all series poised at 2-1 heading back to the venue of their first two games, we take a look at the current state of play in each.

McDavid fires but Kings win

Connor McDavid scored twice for the Edmonton Oilers in Game 3 of their Western Conference first round series, but it wasn't enough as the Los Angeles Kings took a 2-1 series lead with a 3-2 overtime victory at Crypto.com Arena.

Trevor Moore was LA's hero scoring at 3.24 in overtime on the powerplay, which was their second on the man advantage.

Both of McDavid's goals also came on the powerplay and leaves the Oilers searching for answers of how to break down a well-organised Kings side five-on-five.

Edmonton are -165 to find an answer and level the series at home in Game 4.

Islanders back in series with late surge

The New York Islanders scored the four fastest goals in Stanley Cup Playoff history to get back into their Eastern Conference First Round series with Carolina Hurricanes.

Kyle Palmieri broke a tie on a powerplay with 3.51 remaining in the third period, and just 2.18 later, the Islanders found themselves 5-1 up to get themselves on the board on the best-of-seven series (2-1).

The Hurricanes played without Teuvo Teravainen, who broke a hand in Game 2 and further depletes their forward lines, which are already missing Max Pacioretty and Andrei Svechnikov.

The Islanders are -125 to level the series in Game 4 at Carolina, however the Hurricanes are 9-1-0 in their last ten playoff games at home.

Bruins bounce back with victory

The Boston Bruins bounced back from a rare defeat at TD Garden to beat the Florida Panthers 4-2 on the road to take a 2-1 series lead in the Eastern Conference first round.

Boston's response was made more impressive considering they did it without Captain Patrice Bergeron and forward David Krejci.

Bergeron is yet to play in the series due to illness and injury and Krejci was a late scratch, also because of an injury.

The Bruins won the Presidents' Trophy with the most wins (65) and points (135) in regular season history and they are the +275 favourites to end the season as Stanley Cup Champions.

Hartman leads Wild to series lead

Minnesota Wild forward Ryan Hartman scored the overtime winner in Game 1 and had a goal and two assists in a 5-1 Game 3 win to help his side to a 2-1 series lead against Dallas Stars in the Western Conference first round.

Filip Gustavsson made 23 saves to record a second win for the Wild in the series.

His performance came after veteran Marc-Andre Fleury struggled in a 7-2 Game 2 defeat and it will be interesting to see if coach Dean Evason continues with his rotation policy or sticks with the hot hand of Gustavsson for Game 4 at American Airlines Centre on Sunday.

Dallas are -105 to use home ice to tie the series, while the Wild are -115 to grab a road win and make it 3-1 in the series.

Reilly gives Leafs advantage

Defenseman Morgan Reilly scored at 19.15 in overtime to earn the Toronto Maple Leafs a 4-3 win and a 2-1 series lead against the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference first round at Amalie Arena.

Toronto’s game-winner came via a wrist shot from the point following a face-off win by Ryan O'Reilly, who tied the game 3-3 with a minute remaining.

The Leafs were able to take a 3-1 series lead against the Lightning in the first round last season, before Tampa Bay stormed back to win in a Game 7.

Related NHL News

NHL Playoff update: Edmonton Oilers hit back

NHL Playoff update: Kings, Wild win in OT thrillers

MacKinnon leads Avs past Kraken

Nathan MacKinnon was the star of the show, scoring twice for the Colorado Avalanche in a 6-4 win against the Seattle Kraken in Game 3 of the Western Conference first round at Climate Pledge Arena.

Seattle were playing their first ever playoff game at home, and came from 3-1 down to make it 3-3 before MacKinnon and the reigning Stanley Cup Champions took over in the third period to take a 2-1 series lead.

MacKinnon joint-led the playoffs with 13 goals last season, and the big game player is +550 to guide the Avalanche to a back-to-back championship.

Jets suffer Morrissey blow

Despite taking a 4-1 lead into the third period, the Western Conference top seeds Vegas Golden Knights needed second overtime to put away the Winnipeg Jets 5-4 and take a 2-1 series lead.

After the game, the Jets suffered a further blow to their chances with news that number-one defenseman Josh Morrissey will be out for the rest of the series after sustaining an upper body injury in the first period.

With a career-high 76 points (16 goals, 60 assists), Morrissey had the second most points for Jets in the regular season and led Winnipeg with an average of 24.14 ice time.

The Jets are +280 to overcome his absence to win the series and the Golden Knights are -360 to take advantage and progress.

Schmid steps up for Devils

Rookie netminder Akira Schmid made 35 saves to lead the New Jersey Devils to their first win in their Eastern Conference First Round series with New York Rangers.

Schmid replaced Vitek Vanecek who had dropped the first two games 5-1 each, and his composed performance allowed the Devils to grab a 2-1 overtime road win to take the series back home down 2-1.

The Devils are +220 to turn the series around and win and the Rangers are -270 to re-gain their dominance and get into round two.

bet365 News Team

• Edmonton Oilers
• NHL Playoffs
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