NHL Playoffs 2023: Top Storylines for May 10 Schedule

The two remaining Canadian teams in the Stanley Cup Playoffs are in dire straits.

The Toronto Maple Leafs are on the verge of elimination after losing the first three games of their second-round series to the Florida Panthers.

The Edmonton Oilers are down 2-1 to the Vegas Golden Knights after Vegas thumped them inside their own arena on Monday night.

Edmonton and Toronto need to provide strong responses to their Game 3 defeats, or their chances of winning the Stanley Cup could dwindle even more, or be taken away completely.

Toronto is under the most pressure to win on Wednesday night because of its situation. A win is required to stay alive in the series for at least two more days.

An argument can be made that Edmonton's situation is as tenuous as Toronto's since Vegas has been tough to beat for most of the postseason. Vegas has two losses in eight playoff contests.

May 10 Stanley Cup Playoffs Schedule

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EDMONTON, CANADA - MAY 8: Chandler Stephenson #20 of the Vegas Golden Knights celebrates after his second period goal against the Edmonton Oilers with his teammates at the bench in Game Three of the Second Round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Rogers Place on May 8, 2023, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Andy Devlin/NHLI via Getty Images)

Game 4: Toronto at Florida (7 p.m. ET, ESPN)

Game 4: Vegas at Edmonton (10 p.m. ET, ESPN)

Toronto Needs Win to Avoid Sweep

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SUNRISE, FL - MAY 7: Mark Giordano #55 of the Toronto Maple Leafs skates with the puck against the Florida Panthers in Game Three of the Second Round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs at the FLA Live Arena on May 7, 2023 in Sunrise, Florida. The Panthers defeated the Maple Leafs 3-2 in overtime. (Photo by Joel Auerbach/Getty Images)

Toronto and its fans have gone through the full range of emotions in the last week.

The Leafs finally broke through with a first-round series victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning, but then dropped three straight games to the Florida Panthers.

Toronto will be in must-win mode for each of the next four games, if it is lucky to extend the series that long.

Florida shut down Toronto's explosive offense, as it held the Leafs to two tallies in each of the first three games.

The Panthers are on a six-game playoff winning streak, and they allowed an opponent to score more than three goals in one of their victories once.

Florida's game plan is simple. It has to keep Toronto's offense at bay yet again and dictate the pace of the contest.

Toronto needs to get pressure on net from the start to energize its bench and try to bring the series back home.

The Leafs could use some goals from their top players. Auston Matthews, Mitchell Marner and John Tavares have all been held scoreless in the series. The trio combined for four points, three of which belong to Matthews.

The top skaters must deliver on Wednesday night, and their target should be to score at least four goals.

Florida is 1-2 this postseason when it conceded four or more goals. The Game 4 hosts scored over four times twice in 10 games.

Toronto has the firepower to outscore Florida and finally get on the board in the series, but there is some doubt that its top players will show up given the Panthers' dominance in the matchup.

Edmonton Must Bounce Back from Game 3 Defeat

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EDMONTON, CANADA - MAY 8: Leon Draisaitl #29 of the Edmonton Oilers skates against Alex Pietrangelo #7 of the Vegas Golden Knights in Game Three of the Second Round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Rogers Place on May 8, 2023, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Andy Devlin/NHLI via Getty Images)

Edmonton is not in Toronto's situation yet.

The Oilers can win Game 4 on Wednesday night to level the series with Vegas, but if they lose, they will face three must-win contests in a row just to make the Western Conference Final.

Edmonton appeared to be in control of the series after its Game 2 road triumph, but it gave the momentum right back to Vegas with a 5-1 defeat in Game 3.

Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid were held to six combined shots on goal in Game 3. They combined for four goals on seven attempts on target in Game 2.

Vegas also did a good job of keeping the Oilers off the power play. Edmonton had two power-play opportunities on Monday compared to the six it had in Game 2.

Draisaitl and McDavid are difficult to stop with the man advantage, as they proved in Game 2 with one power-play goal each.

Vegas needs to keep Game 4 as a five-on-five affair, and it must have the same defensive showing against Edmonton's two stars.

Edmonton is due to win based on how the first three games in the series have played out, and if that is the case, we could be set up for a trio of fascinating contests to finish out the series.