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Five things to know about the National Hockey League playoffs

The Flames are searching for a better performance despite scoring nine goals in their last game, the Oilers are going with their usual starter in net and the Avalanche have finally lost a game.

The Flames are searching for a better performance despite scoring nine goals in their last game, the Oilers are going with their usual starter in net and the Avalanche have finally lost a game.

Here are five things to know as we head into Friday's post-season action:

FLAMES LOOKING TO BE BETTER

The Calgary Flames took Game 1 of their Battle of Alberta second-round series with the Edmonton Oilers Wednesday 9-6 in a wild, entertaining affair.

Well, fun for the fans, that is.

After their Game 1 victory, Calgary wasn't quite as amped up about their performance as most watching them were.

"Not good. Not good at all," Matthew Tkachuk, who scored a hat trick in the game, told reporters of the team's performance. "Probably our worst game of the playoffs so far. We got super-lucky."

A win is still a win, but by the sounds of things, the Flames will be hoping to tighten things up much more in Game 2 Friday.

SMITH TO GET THE START FOR OILERS

Mike Smith will get the start for the Oilers in Game 2 despite a rough go of things in the series opener.

Smith got yanked from Game 1 just 6:05 into the game after allowing three goals, including a couple within the first 51 seconds of the game.

Mikko Koskinen came in relief and looked much better, despite giving up five more goals, as he stopped 32 shots.

On Thursday, Oilers coach Jay Woodcroft dismissed any notion of a goalie controversy by announcing Smith as his man to begin the game between the pipes on Friday.

HURRICANES HOPE TO KEEP UP HOME COOKING

The Carolina Hurricanes are 5-3 in the post-season so far after they took Game 1 of their second-round matchup with the New York Rangers 2-1 in overtime.

All five of Carolina's wins have come in the friendly confines of PNC Arena as its taken full advantage of finishing atop of the Metropoliton Division this season so far.

The Canes are back at it Friday night for Game 2 in Raleigh, N.C., and will be looking to keep this hot streak they've been on at home going.

BLUES HANDS AVS FIRST LOSS OF POST-SEASON

David Perron scored twice as the St. Louis Blues evened up their second-round series with the Colorado Avalanche at a game apiece.

With the win, the Blues snapped a five-game win streak Colorado was on to begin its 2022 post-season.

The Avalanche couldn't just keep winning forever, but having their home-ice advantage stolen from them in their first defeat of the playoffs was unideal.

The two teams will play Game 3 in St. Louis on Saturday.

LIGHTNING STRIKE TWICE TO TAKE COMMAND

The Tampa Bay Lightning have taken command of their second-round series with the Florida Panthers after a 2-1 victory Thursday to go up 2-0 in the series and heading back home to Amalie Arena for the next couple games.

Ross Colton scored his fifth goal of the post-season to break a 1-1 tie with just 3.8 seconds remaining in regulation to stun the Presidents' Trophy-winning Panthers.

The two-time defending champion Lightning have to be feeling good about themselves heading into Sunday's Game 3.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 20, 2022.

The Canadian Press