Results for: Eastern Conference First Round

The Cleveland Cavaliers will look to push the Orlando Magic to the brink of elimination when they face off in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference first-round series on Thursday night in Orlando. Donovan Mitchell has led the Cavaliers to two victories at home to start the best-of-seven series, but the Magic will be hoping to turn things around in front of their home crowd. Orlando will need a faster start in Game 3, having fallen behind by the end of the first quarter in 13 of their last 15 games.

Florida Panthers forward Sam Bennett will miss at least one week due to an upper-body injury sustained during Game 2 of the Eastern Conference first-round series against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Bennett, who opened the scoring and assisted on another goal in the Panthers’ 3-2 overtime victory, has 41 points in 69 games this season. The injury, initially feared to be more severe, will keep Bennett out of action for Game 3 on Thursday in Tampa.

Toronto Maple Leafs’ star forward Auston Matthews, the 2021-22 Hart Trophy recipient, played a key role in securing a road split against the Boston Bruins in the first two games of their Eastern Conference first-round series. Matthews scored the go-ahead goal in the third period of Game 2, adding two assists, eight shots, six hits, and winning 69.6% of his faceoffs. His standout performance helped Toronto snap an eight-game losing streak to the Bruins. The Maple Leafs will now look to build on this momentum in Game 3, which shifts to Toronto on Wednesday.

The Carolina Hurricanes rallied from a 3-0 deficit to beat the New York Islanders 5-3 in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference first-round series on Monday night. Sebastian Aho and Jordan Martinook scored the tying and go-ahead goals nine seconds apart with just over two minutes remaining in the game.