NHL Playoffs 2023: Top Storylines for May 11 Schedule

The Carolina Hurricanes can become the first team to clinch a spot in the conference final round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs on Thursday.

Carolina enters Game 5 against the New Jersey Devils on home ice with a 3-1 advantage in the Eastern Conference second-round series.

Carolina rebounded with a 6-1 win in Game 4 after it conceded on eight occasions in Game 3.

The Hurricanes have been the most consistent team in the NHL postseason, as they allowed two goals or fewer in six of their seven victories.

New Jersey needs to find its Game 3 form on the road to keep the series alive. The Devils find themselves in a similar position as the Toronto Maple Leafs, who won while facing elimination on Wednesday.

The Dallas Stars are just looking for some separation on home ice against the Seattle Kraken in Thursday's second game.

Dallas and Seattle alternated wins in the series so far. The second-round matchup followed the exact pattern from Dallas' first-round win over the Minnesota Wild.

Dallas used three straight wins in Games 4-6 to eliminate Minnesota. It set itself up for another three-game winning run with a Game 4 win in Seattle.

May 11 Stanley Cup Playoffs Schedule

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SEATTLE, WA - MAY 09: Dallas Stars center Luke Glendening (11) gets ready for a face-off during an NHL playoff game between the Dallas Stars and the Seattle Kraken on May 9, 2023 at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, WA. (Photo by Jeff Halstead/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Game 5: New Jersey at Carolina (7 p.m. ET, TNT)

Game 5: Seattle at Dallas (9:30 p.m. ET, TNT)

Carolina Will Try to Close out Series at Home

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NEWARK, NJ - MAY 09: Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Brent Burns (8) celebrates with Carolina Hurricanes center Jesperi Kotkaniemi (82) after scoring a goal during Game 4 of an Eastern Conference Second Round playoff game between the Carolina Hurricanes and the New Jersey Devils on May 9, 2023, at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Andrew Mordzynski/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Carolina put itself in a tremendous position with its Game 4 win in New Jersey.

The Hurricanes have to win one of their next three potential games with the Devils to appear in the Eastern Conference Final.

Carolina scored in bunches and limited its opponent's top attackers in most of its playoff victories. The Hurricanes have a 17-3 winning margin in their three second-round triumphs over the Devils.

In Game 4, Carolina produced six unanswered goals, five of which came in the second period, to down the Devils. New Jersey scored in the first two minutes through Jack Hughes and then never found the back of the net again.

Carolina has two easy keys to follow to eliminate New Jersey on Thursday: It has to score early and then contain the Devils' star players.

That happened in Games 1 and 2 on home ice, as the Devils did not score in either opening period and produced one goal in each contest.

Carolina has six players with at least four points in the series. Hughes is the only New Jersey player with more than three points. The Hurricanes also have seven different players with multiple tallies against the Devils.

Jordan Martinook leads Carolina with nine points, but this is not a team that has one skater who carries it.

Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Martin Necas and Jordan Staal are among the players who have come up with important goals for the Hurricanes.

Carolina has the perfect formula for winning playoff games down, and there is a good chance that shows on Thursday night as it books a spot in the next round.

Dallas Looking to Take Series Lead at Home

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SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - MAY 09: Roope Hintz #24 of the Dallas Stars celebrates his goal during the second period against the Seattle Kraken in Game Four of the Second Round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Climate Pledge Arena on May 09, 2023 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

Dallas won Games 4-6 to close out Minnesota in the first round.

The Stars took the first step to replicating that process in the second round with a Game 4 road win in Seattle on Tuesday.

For Dallas to win Games 5 and 6 in succession again, its defense needs to contain Seattle's top scorers better.

Dallas held Minnesota to three goals in the final trio of first-round contests. Seattle scored three times in Game 4.

Seattle owns a one-goal advantage over Dallas in the series, so the Stars have to figure out how to stop the Kraken to take full control of the series after Thursday night.

The Kraken have four road victories in the postseason. Two of the first three came in Games 5 and 7 against the Colorado Avalanche.

The second-year side will not show much fear in Texas, so Dallas may have to score in bunches again to prevent Seattle from jumping back in front.

Scoring has not been a problem for the Stars, who had 10 players find the back of the net against Seattle, led by Joe Pavelski's six.

Pavelski can once again be the difference-maker in front of goal for the Stars, but he needs more scoring help. Jamie Benn, Roope Hintz and Jason Robertson combined for two goals on 35 shots on target in the series.