NHL Playoffs 2017: Updated Schedule, Predictions for Remaining 2nd-Round Series

There's a certain anger professional teams feel from time to time, and when they do, the results can be spectacular.

The Edmonton Oilers felt that anger Sunday night when they hosted the Anaheim Ducks in Game 6 of their NHL Western Conference semifinal series.

The Oilers had played more than 56 minutes of brilliant hockey in Game 5 at Anaheim Friday night. They built a 3-0 lead and just had to hold on to take a 3-2 series advantage home with them.

Instead, the Ducks played as if their lives depended on it and scored three goals with goaltender John Gibson pulled in favor of an extra skater. The game remained tied until the second overtime, when Corey Perry beat Cam Talbot with a couple of clever feints and slipped the puck in the back of the net.

Instead of leading the series 3-2, the Oilers went home trailing by that deficit.

They played with a vengeance-fueled anger Sunday night, scoring five goals in the first period and pounding the Ducks by a 7-1 margin. The series is tied at 3-3, and the two teams will play a seventh and deciding game at Honda Center Wednesday night.

Leon Draisaitl scored the first two goals of the game for the Oilers, and he ended with a hat trick in the victory. Mark Letestu added a pair of goals.

Series	Standings	Next Game, Date	Time (ET)	TV
Washington-Pittsburgh	Pittsburgh 3-2	at Pittsburgh, May 8	7:30 p.m.	NBCSN
Ottawa-N.Y. Rangers	Ottawa 3-2	at New York, May 9	7:30 p.m.	NBCSN
Anaheim-Edmonton	Series tied 3-3	at Anaheim, May 10	TBD	NBCSN
St. Louis-Nashville	Nashville won 4-2	--	--	--

There was a relentlessness to Edmonton's game, and the Ducks could not come close to matching it. They also had to contend with a poor game from Gibson, who gave up three goals in the first nine minutes before head coach Randy Carlyle pulled him for Jonathan Bernier.

Veteran Milan Lucic, who gained an extensive playoff resume earlier in his career with the Boston Bruins, said the Oilers would not relax in the game.

"We knew we had to keep our foot on the gas pedal, and the hockey gods gave us a chance in Game 7," Lucic said, per the Canadian Press (h/t CBC Sports).

The Ducks will try to win the decider at home, but they have been eliminated in Game 7 in each of the past four years.

The Pittsburgh Penguins will try to take out the Washington Capitals when those two teams meet in Game 6 at PPG Paints Arena Monday night.

The Pens dropped Game 5 Saturday night in Washington, where the Capitals erupted for three third-period goals in a 4-2 victory. That allowed the Presidents' Trophy winners to remain alive in the series, but they still trail by a 3-2 margin and will have to find a way to win on the road if they are going to force a seventh game at home.

Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

While Pittsburgh goalie Marc-Andre Fleury was vulnerable in the third period Saturday night, he has had a solid playoff performance this year. Going into Game 6, Fleury has a 2.56 goals-against average and a .929 save percentage.

The Penguins have tremendous firepower in Sidney Crosby (returned from a concussion in Game 5), Evgeni Malkin, Phil Kessel and Jake Guentzel.

The Capitals need goalie Braden Holtby to pick up his game and come through with a stellar road effort. Head coach Barry Trotz is also counting on Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and T.J. Oshie to score clutch goals to keep Washington's season alive.

The New York Rangers will try to even their series with the Ottawa Senators when the two teams meet at Madison Square Garden Tuesday night. The Senators tied the score late in Game 5 and defeated the Rangers 5-4 in overtime when Kyle Turris fired a wrist shot past Henrik Lundqvist.

The Nashville Predators advanced to the Western Conference Final after beating the St. Louis Blues 3-1 Sunday. That win gave the Predators a 4-2 series win.

The Preds are a remarkable 8-2 in the postseason, having swept the Chicago Blackhawks in the first round before eliminating the Blues.

Nashville will face the winner of the Anaheim-Edmonton series, and that series' victor will have home-ice advantage.

Predictions

Look for Pittsburgh to take care of business at home against the Capitals in Game 6. The Penguins held a 2-1 advantage over Washington in Game 5 after the second period and could have eliminated the Caps with a solid third period.

Pittsburgh was somewhat loose, and Washington took advantage. Crosby & Co. will make no mistake Monday night. They will build an advantage and keep the Caps at bay in the third period. Pittsburgh moves on to the Eastern Conference Final.

Look for the Rangers to play their best game of the series in Game 6 at Madison Square Garden. That should be enough to force a seventh game unless Ottawa goalie Craig Anderson stones New York.

Once the two teams go back to Ottawa for Game 7, we like Erik Karlsson and the Sens to advance.

The Oilers made a big mistake in letting Game 5 get away. However, they have wrested the momentum in their series and the Ducks must be thinking about their Game 7 home problems.

Edmonton will use its speed and clutch scoring to get the road win and advance to the Western Conference Final.