NHL MORNING SKATE: STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS EDITION – JUNE 10, 2021 THREE HARD LAPS * Brock Nelson accounted for two of New York’s six goals to boost his career totals in potential series-clinching games and power the Islanders into the Stanley Cup Semifinals. * New York will face Tampa Bay in a rematch of the 2020 Eastern Conference Final, with both clubs set to go head-to-head in front of fans this time around. * The Golden Knights look to earn a series-clinching win at T-Mobile Arena tonight and reach the final four for the third time in their first four NHL seasons. NELSON NETS TWO GOALS TO POWER ISLANDERS INTO STANLEY CUP SEMIFINALS Brock Nelson scored twice while 2021 NHL Trade Deadline acquisitions Kyle Palmieri and Travis Zajac also had goals as the Islanders eliminated the Bruins to clinch a berth in the Stanley Cup Semifinals. New York reached the round before the Stanley Cup Final for the second time in as many years. * Nelson (9-6—15 in 12 GP) scored his eighth and ninth career goals in potential series- clinching games to move past Bobby Nystrom (7-15—22 in 37 GP), Bryan Trottier (7-31—38 in 39 GP) and Denis Potvin (8-16—24 in 41 GP) for sole possession of sixth place on the franchise’s all-time list. * Nelson scored the second series-clinching goal of his NHL career (also Game 4 of 2019 R1), which trails only Mike Bossy (6) and Clark Gillies (4) for the most among Islanders players. The only other skaters in franchise history with two series clinchers are Nystrom, Anthony Beauvillier, Garry Howatt and Ed Westfall. * Semyon Varlamov (23 saves) earned all four wins for the Islanders in the Second Round after Ilya Sorokin had the decision in each New York victory during the First Round. It marked the fourth instance in NHL history in which a team had a different goaltender account for all four wins in consecutive best-of-seven series within a playoff year, following Philadelphia in 1976 (Bernie Parent in QF & Wayne Stephenson in SF) and 1980 (Pete Peeters in QF & Phil Myre in SF) as well as Montreal in 1987 (Patrick Roy in DSF & Brian Hayward in DF). ISLANDERS TO FACE LIGHTNING IN REMATCH OF 2020 CONFERENCE FINALS The Islanders will face the Lightning in the Stanley Cup Semifinals, marking the second straight year the teams have met in the round before the Final after Tampa Bay earned a six-game triumph over New York in the 2020 Conference Finals. This year will be much different – rather than meeting in a bubble in Edmonton they will be going head-to-head in front of fan-filled arenas. * New York and Tampa Bay are the first pair of franchises to meet in the final four in consecutive postseasons since Chicago and Los Angeles in the 2013 and 2014 Conference Finals. The last set of teams to do so before the Blackhawks and Kings were the Avalanche and Stars in the 1999 and 2000 Conference Finals. QUICK CLICKS * Stanley Cup Playoffs Coverage * #NHLStats Live Updates: Thursday, June 10 * P.K. Subban of Devils debuts for ESPN as NHL analyst * Ray Shero joins Wild as senior adviser to general manager * Adam Fox, Victor Hedman, Cale Makar voted Norris Trophy finalists GOLDEN KNIGHTS CAN ADVANCE TO STANLEY CUP SEMIFINALS TONIGHT After dropping the first two games of their Second Round series against the Avalanche, the Golden Knights can earn their fourth consecutive win in Game 6 tonight to advance to the Stanley Cup Semifinals. It would mark the third time in the franchise’s first four seasons of existence that they were among the final four teams standing in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. * Vegas can become just the third team in NHL history to reach the final four in three of the franchise’s first four NHL seasons. The Rangers did so in a 10-team League in each of their first four seasons from 1926-27 to 1929-30, while the Blues made the Stanley Cup Final in each of the first three years of the expansion era (1967-68 to 1969-70). * Golden Knights goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury has a 15-21 record in 36 career games in which his team can clinch a series (2.61 GAA, .904 SV%, 4 SO), one such win behind Mike Vernon (16-10) for the seventh most series-clinching victories in Stanley Cup Playoffs history. Only Clint Benedict (5) and Chris Osgood (5) have more series-clinching shutouts than Fleury. * The Golden Knights have an all-time series record of 3-1 when they hold a 3-2 lead in a best- of-seven series – three of those series required a seventh-and-deciding game. The Avalanche trailed 3-2 in a series in the Second Round in both 2019 (4-3 L vs. SJS) and 2020 (4-3 L vs. DAL); in each of those series they forced a Game 7 but failed to advance. BURAKOVSKY HAS HISTORIC GOALS-PER-GAME RATE WHEN FACING ELIMINATION Avalanche forward Andre Burakovsky (9-4—13 in 13 GP) has scored nine career goals in potential elimination games, including three during the 2020 Second Round in which Colorado rallied from a 3-1 series deficit to force Game 7 against Dallas (3-3—6 in 3 GP). * Burakovsky’s nine goals when facing elimination trail only Alex Ovechkin (13-11—24 in 27 GP), Corey Perry (10-5—15 in 22 GP) and Chris Kreider (10-3—13 in 21 GP) for the most among active NHL players, while his goals-per-game rate under that criteria is the third highest in League history behind two Hockey Hall of Famers (min. 10 GP). .