The 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs start the weekend with a pair of enticing Game 5s, as the Maple Leafs hope to stave off elimination against the Panthers while the Golden Knights look to secure a 3-2 series lead against the Oilers at home.
Florida had a chance to sweep the Maple Leafs at home in Game 4, but the fans at FLA Live Arena were instead subjected to a 2-1 Toronto win. The Maple Leafs can extend the series even further by pulling out a victory at Scotiabank Arena tonight, but home ice hasn't exactly been their advantage this postseason as they've gone 1-4 in Toronto. Maple Leafs goalie Joseph Woll, who recorded 24 saves in his first career playoff start in Game 4, will get the start again as Ilya Samsonov continues to recover from an upper-body injury.
The Oilers and Golden Knights continue their pendulum of a series after Edmonton cruised to a 4-1 series-evening home victory in Game 4. Edmonton shouldn't rest on its laurels, however, as neither team has been able to win back-to-back games this series, and every meeting has been decided by two or more goals. Each team will be missing a key player in Game 5 as the NHL handed out one-game suspensions to Edmonton's Darnell Nurse and Vegas' Alex Pietrangelo for incidents that took place the preceding game. Nurse instigated a fight in the final five minutes of Game 4, while Pietrangelo hit Oilers star Leon Draisaitl with a two-handed slash.
Follow this page for updates on Friday's games, and here's a look at all the scores for the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
