Colorado Avalanche star Nathan MacKinnon did not shy away from the reality facing his side in the Western Conference Finals – calling Edmonton Oilers poster boy Connor McDavid "the best".

To advance through to the Western Conference Finals, the Avalanche swept the Nashville Predators in the first round, and then handled the strong challenge of the St. Louis Blues to win the series 4-2.

For the Oilers, they were forced to go seven games against the Los Angeles Kings in the first round, before making it look easier against the Calgary Flames, winning their second-round series 4-1.

MacKinnon is a star in his own right, seventh in the league in points per game (1.35), and the best player on the Western Conference's best team – but when asked about his side's plan to deal with reigning MVP McDavid, he said it would take more than one man.

"I'm not really thinking about [McDavid] a whole lot, but obviously I see that stuff," he said.

"I think he's the best, I've said it. I think he's been the best for a little bit now, and it's going to take a full team effort to stop him."

McDavid led the league in total points (123) and points per game (1.54), and has been named to the NHL First All-Star Team in four of his six seasons.

When he was asked about his side's plan to deal with MacKinnon, he opted to not mention his opposing star by name.

"They're a good team over there," he said. "I've learned that over the last couple of years. 

"This year is no different. They've got some real good players, and they're really good all around."

Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar was willing to dive a little deeper into what he thinks of the two stars.

"There's a lot of similarities between MacKinnon and McDavid," he said. "But at the same time, they're very different playing styles. 

"McDavid's very good off the rush, and very fast, and he's got the quick steps right at the beginning. 

"They're both such electric players, and McDavid's been the driving force for them as well as their other top guys.

"He'll be a good test, but we're all excited."

The man in charge of keeping McDavid off the scoresheet – Avalanche goaltender Darcy Kuemper – said he was also looking forward to testing himself against the best.

"It's a fun challenge for sure," he said. "[McDavid] is an electric, dynamic player. 

"He's creating every time he's on ice. Like [Makar] said, there's similarities between their games, but at the same time, they're different players. It's a fun challenge. 

"You want to face the best players in the world, and we're looking forward to it."

Blake Coleman was left questioning his own understanding of the rules after his go-ahead goal against the Edmonton Oilers was controversially disallowed as the Calgary Flames' season came to an end.

Coleman looked to have given the Flames a 5-4 lead in Game 5 of the second-round series when he followed in after Mikael Backlund's effort was initially repelled by Mike Smith.

However, a video review ruled Coleman had deliberately kicked the puck into the net.

The game was subsequently sent to overtime, with Connor McDavid scoring the winning goal for the Oilers as they clinched a 4-1 series victory to progress to the Western Conference Finals.

NHL rule 49.2 says a player cannot use "a deliberate kicking motion" to divert the puck into the net, however, Coleman appeared to turn his skate to help himself stop before making contact with the puck. Additionally, Backlund's effort looked set to cross the line despite Smith's block.

Yet the officials still ruled against Coleman, who could only express his bemusement after the game.

"I don't think I understand the rule," he said. "Getting pushed, just trying to keep my foot on the ice, I haven't watched it enough but in live speed, felt like I was in a battle.

"My understanding is you can direct the puck, you just can't kick it. I didn't feel like I kicked it but can't go back and change it now. It is what it is.

"It's unfortunate that was such a big part of the game and happened the way to influence the way it all went down. Aside from that, proud of our team, we fought hard, I wish that would've helped put us over to another game.

"There's no intent, just trying to get there, my understanding is you can redirect the puck off your foot as long as you're not lifting it and kicking it into the net.

"I'll go watch it again, maybe it's glaringly obvious and I just didn't feel like I did what it looks like."

Interim Edmonton Oilers head coach Jay Woodcroft praised his team's resilience in difficult circumstances after defeating the Calgary Flames 5-4 in overtime to reach the NHL's Western Conference final.

In a Battle of Alberta that saw an extraordinary 46 goals in five games, Connor McDavid scored at 5:03 in the extra period as the Oilers won their series 4-1.

The Edmonton captain scored his seventh goal of the playoffs, beating Jacob Markstrom off a pass from Leon Draisaitl to score the winner, while Zach Hyman contributed a goal and two assists.

Taking over from Dave Tippett in February, Woodcroft asserted his belief in the Oilers locker room post-game.

"There were some things that we could clean up heading into overtime," he said.

"We talked about that, but I think with our group there is a measure of calm and composure, and a strong belief that we have the people in the room that can get us through any type or circumstance, so we felt good about our chances.

"When I walked into that room at the beginning of February, I was bullish on our players because I saw a sincere desire to win and not just the desire to win, but I saw people willing to pay the price to win.

"We always felt that we had the ability to score. For us it's sometimes not just about what we're getting but also what we're giving up and as the series went on we got better at that."

McDavid now sits fifth in NHL history for playoff points per game at 1.45, while Draisaitl's 17 goals over the five games beat Wayne Gretzky's 1983 record for most points in a playoff series between the two teams.

The New York Rangers are feeling confident about their prospects of reaching the NHL Stanley Cup Finals after fighting back from 2-0 to square their series with the Carolina Hurricanes, earning a 4-1 win on Tuesday.

The Hurricanes have had the wood over the Rangers in recent times, winning eight out of their previous nine encounters prior to the past two meetings in this heated series.

Rangers center Andrew Copp, who scored a goal with two assists in the Game 4 win, said the momentum was with his side after winning 3-1 in Game 3.

"We're confident," Copp told reporters. "We get two games where we win, we play well, we give up two goals total.

"Now the reverse of the talk of you guys is on them now. We just got to kind of block all that out and stay with our game.

"Guys are feeling better about themselves and we got to ride this momentum into Carolina."

Rangers goal tender Igor Shesterkin stopped 30 shots but had his shutout bid spoiled by Teuvo Teravainen's third-period goal.

Earlier, goals to Frank Vatrano and Adam Fox earned the Rangers a 2-0 first-period lead, with Mika Zibanejad extending that advantage 16:48 into the second. Teravainen made it 3-1 before Copp rounded it out from Ryan Strome's assist 11:10 in the third period.

Rangers head coach Gerard Gallant was delighted with his team's display after a tight series, where the Hurricanes won Game 1 in over-time 2-1, before triumphing 2-0 in Game 2.

"Really, you look at the four games," Gallant said. "It's not just the two at home, but the four games have been pretty much one-goal games most of the way through.

"We are two teams that are close and battling. I just think it's been outstanding hockey by both teams."

The result means the Hurricanes are 0-5 on the road in the playoffs, while they are 6-0 at home ahead of Game 5 in Carolina.

Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour said: "You've got to keep getting the chances. I'm happy that we're at least creating some offense.

"[Shesterkin] played well, you've got to give him tons of credit. But to me, the start is what did it to us."

Elsewhere, the Edmonton Oilers took a 3-1 lead in their second round series against the Calgary Flames, winning 5-3 in Game 4 after blowing a 3-0 first-period lead.

Nick Paul scored twice, including a stunning individual goal late in the second period, as the Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 2-1 in Game 7 on Saturday.

The two-time defending Stanley Cup champions came from a goal down in the previous two games, and had to do it again on the road at the Scotiabank Arena after Thursday's overtime win to level the series.

Morgan Reilly scored for Toronto but Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped an eventual 29 shots to keep the Lightning in the game, before Paul's brace secured the series win.

The Leafs were condemned to their seventh consecutive playoff series loss, and have not made the second round since 2004. After the match, Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe commended the reigning champions on their series win.

"They [Tampa Bay] don’t get a lot of credit because you don’t really think of them this way, but we knew coming into this series that going into third periods down against this team was going to be a challenge," he said post-game.

"They are the number-one team in the NHL when it comes to limiting chances against when up a goal in the third period. All regular season, they were that.

"That is sort of the hallmark of their success. That is championship hockey. They didn’t give us a great deal in that third period tonight. Those are the things I take away - just how hard they defend and how they prioritise defending."

In Saturday's other results, the Carolina Hurricanes won their series-deciding game at home to the Boston Bruins 3-2, while the Edmonton Oilers claimed Game 7 against the Los Angeles Kings with a 2-0 win.

Brayden Point scored the winning goal in overtime and forced a Game 7, as the Tampa Bay Lightning secured a thrilling 4-3 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday.

Ondrej Palat, Anthony Cirelli and Nikita Kucherov also scored for the reigning Stanley Cup champions, but they had to battle until 1:56 remaining in overtime for Point's sealer.

The Lightning had to fight their way back from 3-2 down in the final period with their season on the line, after Leafs captain John Tavares scored twice in the second period's closing 34 seconds.

With his side dropping a lead for the second straight game, Tavares said the focus is now on regrouping as the series heads back to Toronto for the decider.

"We worked hard all year to earn home ice and we've got a great opportunity going home in front of our fans to try to close this thing out," he said.

"So just regroup here, and look forward to the opportunity. This is what the game's all about."

The Boston Bruins also forced a Game 7 after they defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 5-2, while the St. Louis Blues advanced to the second round, beating the Minnesota Wild 5-1 in Game 6.

In Thursday's final game, the Edmonton Oilers evened their series up with the Los Angeles Kings in Game 6, winning 4-2.

Auston Matthews says his game-winner was "pretty special" after the Toronto Maple Leafs battled back from two goals down to win 4-3 over the Tampa Bay Lightning in the NHL playoffs on Tuesday.

The Maple Leafs trailed 2-0 after the first period but rallied with Matthews settling the contest with their third goal in the third period.

The win means Toronto lead 3-2 in the best-of-seven series against the reigning Stanley Cup champions.

"It was pretty special," Matthews told reporters, speaking about the goal. "To battle back from down two goals, and never losing hope and competing, that was big."

Matthews led the NHL across the regular season with 60 goals but he had not scored in the playoffs since Game 1 of the series.

Teammate John Tavares, who pulled one back during the second-period power play, praised the NHL's back-to-back Rocket Richard Trophy winner Matthews, who was also credited with seven hits.

"His whole game is all just really good," Tavares said. "When you score 60 goals, that's going to get [discussed], and how he scores it in different ways and the uniqueness of his shot in his abilities, but his all-around game is as good as anybody's in the league.

"He's going to play hard and compete because they're making it hard on him to earn his ice and opportunities, so good for him to play them hard."

The victory means Toronto are one win away from the franchise's first playoff series victory since 2004.

"I just think we needed to possess the puck a little bit more," Matthews said. "Get on top of them and be forechecking and not giving them as much time and space. We were on top of them and had our heads up to make plays."

Elsewhere, Adrian Kempe's over-time goal earned the Los Angeles Kings a 5-4 win over the Edmonton Oilers, having blown a 3-1 lead.

The goal was Kempe's second of the game, as he finished with a three-point performance. The result puts the Kings up 3-2 in the series.

The Carolina Hurricanes also moved up 3-2 in their series against the Boston Bruins with an emphatic 5-1 win after losing their past two.

Rookie Seth Jarvis scored twice and Antti Raanta finished with 34 saves.

The St Louis Blues piled on three third-period goals, all from a Vladimir Tarasenko hat-trick, to secure a 5-2 win over the Minnesota Wild to lead their series 3-2.

Evander Kane said it is "nice to turn the page" after a "lot of trials and tribulations" as he starred in the Edmonton Oilers' 8-2 hammering of the Los Angeles Kings on Friday.

The forward registered a first career playoff hat-trick as the Oilers took a 2-1 lead in their first-round Western Conference series, celebrating a couple of rebound finishes in the second period and adding a third with 20 seconds remaining.

Kane only joined the Oilers after being waived by the San Jose Sharks in January. The 30-year-old had been suspended for 21 games by the NHL for providing a fake COVID-19 vaccination card, then broke health and safety protocols when representing San Jose Barracuda in the American Hockey League.

That followed a tumultuous offseason in which Kane was embroiled in plenty of off-rink controversy, but he feels like he is getting back on track with the Oilers.

"The beginning of the year was very tough, with a lot of different things going on in my life. It's a real credit to my family, helping me through everything – my uncle is actually in the hospital, and we wanted to have a big game for him," Kane said after the game.

"There's been a lot of trials and tribulations, but it's nice to turn the page and move forward in a positive way.

"[This is the best I've felt since joining the Oilers] for sure – I started to feel good around the 20-game mark, and I'm back to my old self."

Kane now has at least two goals in two straight games and is the 12th different Oilers player to celebrate a playoff treble.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Zach Hyman scored two goals apiece as well and Kane talked up the team's abilities.

"I think our five-on-five game has gotten a lot better. Obviously our special teams has been good throughout these three games, but it's that time of year where you want to raise your game to a different level, and I think there's a lot of guys doing that right now. I like to think [I am one of them]," Kane added.

"We got up 5-0, and they came with a bit of a push in the second and scored two. You know, there's a lot of hockey left to be played. 

"They got their fans back in the building, they got some energy on the bench, but we came out and stuck with it. We had a strong third period, and we continued to push the pace, and not sit back. 

"I think that's the real key to winning – when you get leads, it's about what you do with them. Do you sit back and get comfortable, or do you continue to push, and I think we're doing a good job of that."

Tony DeAngelo saved special praise for rookie goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov after the Carolina Hurricanes defeated the Boston Bruins 5-2 on Wednesday.

Kochetkov was thrust into the spotlight for his playoff debut as the Hurricanes took a 2-0 lead in what is becoming a fiery series.

With Frederik Andersen already down, tempers boiled over as the Canes had to turn to Kochetkov after Antti Raanta was struck in the head by David Pastrnak's glove as he skated past.

The two teams traded words and big hits throughout, and defenseman DeAngelo made it clear where the Hurricanes stand with the Bruins in this series.

"We're not going to get pushed around, I guarantee you that," he said.

DeAngelo was glowing of Kochetkov's demeanour after the first-period change and his ability to keep it simple in a heated environment, making 30 saves.

"I think he's real calm," his team-mate said. "You don't see any jitters, at least in my eyes. I don't know what he's feeling inside. I'm sure he's a little nervous. Anybody would be, right?

"But I thought he was real calm in the net. He made a lot of saves, wasn't trying to do too much. He was calm. Coming into goal in the first period in a playoff game as a rookie after coming here a few weeks ago, he was really good."

Elsewhere on Wednesday, the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Minnesota Wild tied up their respective series against the Toronto Maple Leafs and the St. Louis Blues with wins.

The Edmonton Oilers also tied up their series, smashing the Los Angeles Kings in a 6-0 shutout.

The NHL's leading goal-scorer and MVP candidate Auston Matthews slotted home two more in the Toronto Maple Leafs' 5-0 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 1 of their playoff series.

Matthews – who is first player since 2011-12 to score 60 goals in a season – got on the scoresheet early in the second period to make it 2-0 for Toronto after Jake Muzzin's opener to close the first frame.

Mitchell Marner assisted the first Matthews goal and also set up David Kampf to make it 3-0, before he got on the scoresheet himself to make it four, capping off a brilliant second period.

Matthews scored his second goal of the game to round out the rout in the last period, with Morgan Reilly collecting his second assist in the process.

Speaking to post-game media, Matthews gave plenty of credit to the Maple Leafs' penalty-killing unit after the Lightning failed to score from five power-play attempts, as well as his running-mate Marner.

"I thought we played fast, we played through the contact," he said. "Our penalty-kill [unit] was huge tonight, I thought that brought us a lot of momentum.

"I thought [Marner] was incredible. He was all over the puck – so much poise – he's just doing his thing out there. 

"It's fun to watch, and fun to be out there with him. I know he's going to continue to elevate, so we've got to look for everybody to do that as well.

"We were able to capitalise on some chances, so I thought it was a really good effort by us. But it's a series – it's going to be a long series – and there's a really good team on the other end. 

"They'll be ready to go next game, so we've got to watch this one, learn from it, and move on to the next one."

Matthews also highlighted the energy inside the building as the Toronto crowd tries to will their team to their first series win since 2004.

"It was humming here tonight," he said. "It was just electric through all 60 minutes.

"I think that's what playoff hockey is all about, the atmosphere and everything. 

"It's been a while since we've been in front of our fans in front of a full arena in the playoffs, so there's a lot of excitement, and the guys fed off the energy."

It was a similarly dominant showing for the Carolina Hurricanes, as they beat the Boston Bruins 5-1 at home.

There were five individual goal-scorers for the Hurricanes as Seth Jarvis, Nino Niederreiter, Teuvo Teravainen, Vincent Trocheck and Andrei Svechnikov put in one each.

The St Louis Blues collected an important road win against the Minnesota Wild, scoring twice in the opening period on the way to a 4-0 result.

David Perron was the man of the hour for the Blues, capping off his hat-trick with the final goal of the game, while Torey Krug had three assists.

The most competitive game of the night was the Los Angeles Kings' trip to take on the Edmonton Oilers, escaping with a 4-3 road win.

After two action-packed periods the sides were tied at 3-3 going into the last, with a late Phillip Danault goal proving to be the difference.

Two weeks after scoring what may have been the NHL's goal of the season, Connor McDavid turned in a near replica on Thursday. 

Just 28 seconds after the Winnipeg Jets had taken the lead with the first goal of the game, the Edmonton Oilers' captain weaved through the Jets defence before flicking a shot past goaltender Connor Hellebuyck for the game-tying goal with 5:35 to play in the third period. 

That tally was enough to send the game to overtime at 1-1, and Edmonton eventually prevailed in the shoot-out as McDavid put another shot past the man who won the Vezina Trophy as the NHL's top net-minder two seasons ago. 

Afterward, the Oilers were left to try and describe something that even players at the highest level of the sport could not quite wrap their minds around. 

"It's surreal, right?" said centre Kyle Turris, who put home the clinching shot in the shoot-out. "It's the NHL -- everybody's a good player. I mean, you don't see that happen.

"He's just so fast and so quick in his movements and for him to pull things off like that in key, clutch times, that's what makes him the best in the world.

"It's a lot of fun to watch and you know it's always a possibility. So you're surprised but you're also not surprised because we see it everyday practice, too."

The rest of the world also saw it November 5 against the New York Rangers in an eerily similar situation, McDavid darting through the defence like a ghost to score the game-tying goal before Edmonton prevailed in overtime. 

"He scores big goals in big times in the game and takes the game into his own hands. Not many people can do that," said Oilers winger Zach Hyman. "And it's great to score crazy goals like that, but I think it's more impressive to score them in the timely manner that he's been doing it to give our team a chance to win. Special player, obviously."

Special is one word. Team-mate Cody Ceci went with "phenomenal", while Turris called it "magic".

McDavid's 11th goal this season gave him a point in all 16 games as the Oilers sit atop the Western Conference with a 12-4-0 record. 

"He can make something out of nothing," said Edmonton head coach Dave Tippett. "He's going through there and he's coming with such speed, and his agility is unbelievable. He's just hard to defend and if he can get a step on a guy he can get himself free and that's what he did today."

Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid became just the second unanimous MVP in the 97-year history of the NHL award.

McDavid received each of the 100 first-place votes to join Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky (1981-82) as the only other unanimous winner of the Hart Trophy.

Oilers star McDavid beat Nathan MacKinnon (Colorado Avalanche) and Auston Matthews (Toronto Maple Leafs) to his second MVP honour after being crowned the league's best in 2017.

McDavid posted a league-best 105 points (33 goals and 72 assists) – 21 more than next-closest player and team-mate Leon Draisaitl as the Oilers reached the playoffs for the second consecutive season.

The 24-year-old also topped the NHL for assists, power-play assists (28) and power-play points (37), while he recorded a league-leading 1.88 points per game – the most by a player since 1995-96.

"My team-mates are everything," McDavid said. "I really wouldn't be anywhere without them. … We had a special group this year, and obviously we didn't do what we wanted to do, but still so fun to be a part of and get Edmonton and the fans of Edmonton excited again for what's to come.

"Obviously not possible without [my team-mates] and so lucky to be part of a great group."

McDavid become the fifth player in NHL history to claim the award multiple times before his 25th birthday (age as of final day of regular season), after Gretzky (six), Bobby Orr (three), Gordie Howe (two) and Alex Ovechkin (two).

"Our team is just getting better as we go along here," added McDavid, who also won the Ted Lindsay Award as the most outstanding player in voting by the NHL Players' Association.

"We just had so many guys take the next step and I'm just a part of that. Obviously if we're all continuing to do that, we're going to go and do some special things in this league."

The Oilers are the first team with different Hart Trophy winners in consecutive seasons since the Boston Bruins in 1968-69 (Phil Esposito) and 1969-70 (Bobby Orr).

Meanwhile, Ryan Nugent-Hopkin signed an eight-year contract extension with the Oilers on Tuesday.