Updated 2026 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs Bracket, Schedule and Top Highlights from May 1

The first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup playoffs continued to wind down on Friday.

A trio of Game 6 matchups highlighted the action, as teams looked to punch their ticket to the second round.

The Buffalo Sabres secured a six-game series win over the Boston Bruins with a 4-1 victory, while the Tampa Bay Lightning forced Game 7 against the Montreal Canadiens following a 1-0 overtime win.

The Vegas Golden Knights also wrapped up a series victory against the Utah Mammoth with a 5-1 win in Game 6.

Here's a look at the results from each game as well as the upcoming playoff schedule.

Friday Round 1 Results, Schedule

Buffalo Sabres 4, Boston Bruins 1 (Sabres win series 4-2)

Tampa Bay Lightning 1, Montreal Canadiens 0 (Series tied 3-3)

Vegas Golden Knights 5, Utah Mammoth 1 (Golden Knights win series 4-2)

Saturday Round 2 Schedule

Philadelphia Flyers at Carolina Hurricanes, 8 p.m. ET (Game 1)

Friday Highlights

Sabres 4, Bruins 1

Buffalo struck first in the matchup, as Rasmus Dahlin assisted on Alex Tuch's short goal just under four minutes into the first period.

The Sabres extended their advantage to 2-0 later in the period, with Mattias Samuelsson finding the back of the net.

Boston finally responded early in the second, as Pavel Zacha connected with David Pastrnak for a slap shot that cut the deficit in half.

The Sabres gained some more breathing room in the third period, as Josh Doan beat a pair of Bruins to the puck and fired a pass to Zach Benson for his second goal of the playoffs.

Buffalo eventually put the game out of reach for Boston after a goal on an empty net by Josh Norris.

With the victory, the Sabres won their first playoff series since 2007.

Lightning 1, Canadiens 0

Game 6 between the Canadiens and Lightning was a defensive showcase, as both teams were scoreless through three periods.

Tampa Bay was on the verge of breaking the 0-0 tie early in the second, but Montreal forward Phillip Danault saved a shot just before it entered the goal.

Later in the period, the Canadiens had multiple opportunities to get on the board before Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy recorded a pair of impressive saves.

Just over halfway into the third period, a scuffle broke out following a save by Montreal goaltender Jakub Dobeš.

Gage Goncalves' late heroics gave the Lightning the win, as he scored roughly nine minutes into overtime.

The series now heads back to Tampa Bay for Game 7 on Sunday.

Golden Knights 5, Mammoth 1

Vegas found success early on Saturday, taking a 1-0 lead in the first period following a wrist shot from Brett Howden.

Just before the second period came to a close, Mitch Marner's slap shot gave the Golden Knights a 2-0 edge.

Utah finally started to gain momentum early in the third period, as Kailer Yamamoto scored off a slick feed from Mikhail Sergachev.

The excitement was short-lived, with Vegas' Colton Sissons scoring off a rebound to put his team up 3-1.

Marner later recorded his second goal of the game on a power play and Cole Smith scored on an empty net shortly afterwards, helping secure the series win for the Golden Knights.

Vegas goaltender Carter Hart finished with 21 saves in the victory.