TALBOT, FLAMES BLANK JETS AND ADVANCE TO THE FIRST ROUND

Dillon Dube’s goal 3:21 into the first period stood as the series-clinching goal and Cam Talbot turned aside all 31 saves he faced to backstop the Flames past the Jets and into the First Round. Calgary secured its fifth win in a best-of-five series in franchise history (also 1986 DSF, 1984 DSF, 1983 DSF & 1981 PRLM).

* Talbot - who stopped 104 of 110 shots he faced in the series - became the second goaltender in Flames history to post a series-clinching shutout, joining franchise icon Miikka Kiprusoff who posted a 38-save shutout in Game 6 of the 2004 Conference Semifinals against the Red Wings.

* Dube, one of 11 different goal scorers for the Flames in the qualifying round, registered the earliest series-clinching goal in franchise history. Calgary featured 11 or more different goal scorers in a single postseason series for the fifth time in 30 years. The others: 2004 Conference Quarterfinals (11 vs. VAN), 1993 Division Semifinals (11 vs. LAK), 1991 Division Semifinals (13 vs. EDM) and 1990 Division Semifinals (11 vs. LAK).

BLUE JACKETS STUN MAPLE LEAFS AS DUBOIS CAPS HAT TRICK IN OVERTIME
Pierre-Luc Dubois (3-0—3) tied the game with 9:11 remaining in regulation and completed his hat trick with 1:36 left in overtime to help the Blue Jackets rally from a three-goal deficit to shock the Maple Leafs in Game 3.

* Dubois, taken two picks after Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews in the 2016 NHL Draft, netted his first career playoff hat trick and the first by any Blue Jackets skater in postseason play. In the process, he became the 10th player in the last 27 years to complete a playoff hat trick with an overtime goal and first since Jake Guentzel with the Penguins in Game 3 of the 2017 First Round.

* Notably, Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored four goals for the Senators in Game 2 of the 2017 Second Round but completed his hat trick prior to tallying his overtime goal.

* The Blue Jackets completed their third comeback win of three or goals in a postseason game and account for three of the last nine instances among all NHL teams since 2014. Wednesday’s rally came 485 days after Columbus also erased a three-goal deficit to beat Presidents’ Trophy-winning Tampa Bay in Game 1 of the 2019 First Round.

HUGHES SETS, TIES FRANCHISE RECORDS AS CANUCKS TAKE SERIES LEAD

Quinn Hughes notched an assist on all three goals and Jacob Markstrom made 27 saves to record his first career playoff shutout as the Canucks moved within one win of advancing past the opening round.

* Hughes set a franchise record for points in a playoff game by a rookie defenseman and also tied the Canucks benchmark for points in a playoff game by any defenseman. The 2019-20 Calder Trophy finalist joined Pavel Bure (2x) and Trevor Linden as the third rookie – of any position – to record at least three points in a postseason game for Vancouver.

* Markstrom became the fourth goaltender to record a playoff shutout for Vancouver and first since Roberto Luongo in Game 5 of the 2011 Stanley Cup Final (1-0 W vs. BOS).

* Brock Boeser (1-1—2) opened the scoring for the Canucks with his second goal in as many games. He is the first Canucks player to total two or more goals through his first three career postseason games since Todd Bertuzzi in 2001 (2 in 3 GP).

* Boeser pointed skyward after the goal to honor close friend Ty Alyea, who died in a car accident on Aug. 6, 2014.

WINS BY GOLDEN KNIGHTS, FLYERS SET STAGE FOR SATURDAY SHOWDOWNS

The No. 1 seed in each conference will be decided in head-to-head matchups Saturday after the Golden Knights and Flyers each improved to 2-0-0 in the round robin. Vegas will face Colorado on Saturday for the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference, while Philadelphia will battle Tampa Bay the same day for the top spot in the Eastern Conference.

* Vegas and St. Louis each scored three goals in the second period, but Golden Knights defenseman Zach Whitecloud tied the game with his first career playoff goal and Mark Stone netted the game-winner as Vegas overcame a multi-goal deficit to win for the second straight game.

* The Golden Knights now have 13 multi-goal comeback wins to their credit, including the two recorded this week (their only such victories in the postseason). The only other time they won consecutive games after trailing by multiple goals in each was in 2017-18, their inaugural season (Dec. 17 and Dec. 19).

* Vegas has overcome a multi-goal deficit to defeat St. Louis three times since the start of the 2019-20 regular-season. Prior to the Golden Knights, the last time a team staged three multi-goal comeback wins against the same team in a season, including playoffs, was in 2014-15 when both the Blackhawks (vs. NSH) and Avalanche (vs. DAL) did so.

* The trio of Scott Laughton (2-1—3), Kevin Hayes (0-3—3) and Travis Konecny (0-2—2) combined for eight points as the Flyers won for the 11th time in their past 12 games dating to Feb. 18 (including a 9-1-0 finish to the regular season).

* Hayes became the first Flyers player to record at least three assists in a playoff game since Jaromir Jagr in Game 3 of the 2012 Conference Quarterfinals against the Penguins. Hayes’ teammate Claude Giroux also had a three-assist game for the Flyers in that 2012 series (Game 2 at PIT).

Quick Clicks

* Phase 2 of Draft Lottery on Monday, to be broadcast on NBCSN, NHL Network
* Inside the Bubble Blog: Medical teams real all-stars in Edmonton, Toronto
* Dougie Hamilton returns to practice with Hurricanes
* Jacob Larsson signs two-year contract with Ducks
* Hurricanes embrace two-goalie plan in Cup Qualifiers

PREVIEW OF TODAY’S ACTION

Six teams will play for their postseason lives today as all six games on today’s schedule feature a team on the brink of elimination on the seventh day of Stanley Cup Qualifiers. Only one day in NHL history has featured more than six elimination games: April 13, 1985, when there were seven.

* The highest number of series to actually end on a single day is six, witnessed once in NHL history: April 12, 1986, when six matchups concluded to wrap the Division Semifinals (and the last set of best-of-five series until this year).

Thanks to the NHL PR department for the information above.