The second round of the NHL playoffs began Monday night because there was no sweep and two series distances.

Dallas stood out from a seven-game series against Colorado, with Edmonton down 2-0 to eliminate Los Angeles and continue to move forward to the Western Conference gloves. Neither easy, with the stars facing the league's best Winnipeg or Red Hot St. Louis and Connor McDavid, while the Oilers took over Vegas, which had a Home-Ice advantage.

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In the East, defending Stanley Cup champion Florida faces Toronto - trying to compete in its first conference finals since 2002 - while Alex Ovechkin and Washington play Carolina in a series that won't get the attention of the Panthers but could be a must-see entertainment.

This may be a little different from the fast and rich, rough first round.

"I think it's just settled down at the start of the playoffs (afterwards)," said Capitals coach Spencer Carbery. "It's going to be super competitive, it's going to be physical, and it's playoff hockey. But I think it's going to be the team where the team is and it's very, very focused on what they need to do to get the opponent against the opponent."

After dispatching cross-country rival Tampa Bay in five games, it was repeated with a more than 4-1 difference on Betmegit Sports Betting, followed by the Oilers, Hurricanes and Stars. Edmonton loved winning the West and played a Cup final in June, but there were a lot of hockey to play first.

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Western Semi-Finals: Dallas vs Winnipeg or St. Louis

It is expected to start Wednesday night in Texas or Manitoba, the result of Game 7 later Sunday night. Given the depth of legitimate competitors, it is no surprise that the central division brackets have produced two longest series.

Celebrities once avalanche outstanding Mikko Rantanen beat the avalanche storybook with historic performances. Rantanen became the first player in league history to win a third cycle hat-trick in Game 7.

“When you go through a game like this, you get numb,” coach Peter Deboer said. “It’s hard to deal with what’s really going on.”

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Now they are ready to get top defensive player Miro Heiskanen and leading goal-scorer Jason Robertson, back at some point in the second round after a second round against Colorado State. Heiskanen has been on the field since surgery on his left knee in early February, while Robertson was injured in the final game of the regular season and was immediately considered a week.

Dallas also aimed at the form of rival goalkeeper Jake Oettinger. He stopped 25 of 27 shots in Game 7 and thought he and his teammates might have survived their toughest tests.

"I'm hard to believe there is any team that is much better than Colorado," Oettinger said. "Maybe try to win Game 1."

Western Semi-Finals: Edmonton vs. Las Vegas

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Starting Tuesday night at the "Fortress" on the street, the Oilers and the Golden Knights met in the playoffs for the second time in the playoffs. Vegas won the series on his way to winning the Stanley Cup in the franchise’s seventh season.

A lot has changed since then, including Edmonton fired Jay Woodcroft and hired Kris Knoblauch as coach and reached Game 7 of the finals before losing to Florida last year. The Oilers still have McDavid and MVP finalist Leon Draisaitl.

"They changed the head coach and they used their depth players more," said Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy. "Obviously, they still rely on two big men, but they won the game in depth against Los Angeles."

The Golden Knights ranked first in centers Jack Eichel and William Karlsson, with a huge success against Captain Mark Stone in the first round of the game against Minnesota 4-2. They hope to have more objections to Edmonton.

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“These two teams have some pretty high-end talent,” Echelle said. “We know it’s going to be a tough series.”

Eastern Semi-Finals: Toronto vs. Florida

Starting into their series Monday night in Toronto, the Panthers and Leaf cores were big when they met the second round of 2023, although neither really played out. Toronto has three players - defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson, forward Steven Lorentz and goalkeeper Anthony Stolarz - who competed in the Cup with Florida last year.

The power of the leaves is the daunting, five-advance power force of Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander, Matthew Knies and John Tavares. The Panthers stressed that the growing intensity of fine killings on trade deadlines is one of many reasons why GM Bill Zito went out and got Brad Marchand and Nico Sturm.

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"You have a chance to play hockey in late April, May, and hopefully June," Sturm said. "I want to play meaningful games. These games make as meaningful as the best players in the world."

Eastern Semi-Finals: Carolina vs. Washington

There were two battles in the Capital Hrich game game on April 2, eight misconducts and 142 minutes of free throw minutes. Jalen Chatfield's victory at the end of the game did not please Carbery and his players, while Brandon Duhaime dealt with Chatfield while playing nine nights.

The teams have not met in the playoffs since 2019, but played twice in the final weeks of the season, knowing each other well between division rivals and not particularly like each other.

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“We’re going to have to decide on the game and worry about our game and make sure we really focus and dial because there won’t be a lot of time and space there,” said Capital Winner Tom Wilson. "You'll have two fast large teams in the East. I think it's going to be high-paced, physically detailed hockey."

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AP sports writer Stephen Hawkins contributed in Dallas, Las Vegas' Mark Anderson and Tim Reynolds of Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

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AP NHL Playoffs: