Updated 2026 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs Bracket, Schedule and Top Highlights from April 22

The first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup playoffs continued with two Game 3 matchups and one Game 2 battle on Wednesday.

The Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers started the action at 7 p.m. ET, as the Flyers looked to take a 3-0 series lead.

Here are the results from Wednesday's games as well as the upcoming playoff schedule.

Wednesday Round 1 Results, Schedule

Philadelphia Flyers 5, Pittsburgh Penguins 2 (Flyers lead series 3-0)

Anaheim Ducks 6, Edmonton Oilers 4 (Series tied 1-1)

Dallas Stars 4, Minnesota Wild 3 (Stars lead series 2-1)

Thursday Round 1 Schedule

Buffalo Sabres at Boston Bruins, 7 p.m. ET (Series tied 1-1)

Carolina Hurricanes at Ottawa Senators, 7:30 p.m. ET (Hurricanes lead series 2-0)

Colorado Avalanche at Los Angeles Kings, 10 p.m. ET (Avalanche lead series 2-0)

Wednesday Highlights

Flyers 5, Penguins 2

The Penguins struck first on Wednesday, as Evgeni Malkin's wrist shot gave them a 1-0 lead less than five minutes into the first period.

A scrum broke out in the second period that started with Philadelphia's Travis Konecny and Pittsburgh's Bryan Rust, resulting in 11 penalties.

The Flyers gained momentum following the altercation, as Trevor Zegras scored a power-play goal to tie the game shortly afterwards.

Philadelphia wasn't finished, scoring two more goals before the second period came to a close to take a 3-1 edge heading into the third.

The Penguins cut the deficit to 3-2 following a slap shot from Erik Karlsson midway through the final period.

Noah Cates gave the Flyers some more breathing room with a goal roughly three minutes later before Owen Tippett sealed the win for Philadelphia after scoring on an empty net.

The Penguins are now on the verge of being swept for the first time since 2019.

Ducks 6, Oilers 4

Both teams got on the board during the first period, as Edmonton's Leon Draisaitl scored with 11 minutes left before Anaheim's Cutter Gauthier found the back of the net on a power play roughly four minutes later.

The Ducks extended their lead to 3-1 in the second with goals from Jacob Trouba and Alex Killorn.

The Oilers responded with a goal from Connor Murphy, but Anaheim went back up 4-2 following Ryan Poehling's shorthanded goal.

A tip-in goal from Zach Hyman cut the Ducks' lead to 4-3 heading into the third.

Edmonton later tied the game due to Josh Samanski, as he scored in his playoff debut.

A wrist shot by Cutter Gauthier eventually put the Ducks back in front before Poehling scored to cement the victory.

The series will now head back to Anaheim for Game 3 and Game 4.

Stars 4, Wild 3

The momentum of arguably the most tightly contested series of the first round thus far swung significantly in favor of the Dallas Stars on Wednesday night.

After playing to a 3-3 deadlock in regulation, the Stars and Minnesota Wild went to overtime in Game 3, but one OT wasn't enough to decide a winner.

However, 12:10 into the second overtime, Wyatt Johnston netted the game-winning goal for the Stars, giving them the all-important 2-1 series lead:

Dallas came out of the gates hot on Wednesday with Mikko Rantanen scoring just 1:25 into the game, and Jason Robertson adding a second goal later in the first period:

The Wild roared back, though, as Marcus Johansson, Joel Eriksson Ek and Michael McCarron scored three consecutive goals to give them a 3-2 lead entering the third period:

The Stars tied the game about midway through the third period on a power-play goal by Matt Duchene:

Special teams were undoubtedly the difference in the game, as the Stars scored on three of their eight opportunities with the extra man, while Minnesota went just 1-for-7.

The Stars and Wild will return to action in Game 4 on Saturday, as Minnesota looks to tie the series, while Dallas attempts to push the Wild to the brink of elimination.