The Sabres and Golden Knights advance to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Lightning force Game 7 with the Canadiens, the Jack Adams Award nominees are announced, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.

RECAPPING FRIDAY’S STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS ACTION

NHL.COM: The Buffalo Sabres picked up their first playoff series win since 2007 by defeating the Boston Bruins 4-1 in Game 6 to win their best-of-seven first-round series four games to two. Tage Thompson, Rasmus Dahlin, and Zach Benson each had two points, Mattias Samuelsson scored the winning goal, and Alex Lyon stopped 25 shots for the Sabres, who await the winner of the Tampa Bay Lightning-Montreal Canadiens series. David Pastrnak replied for the Bruins.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Buffalo’s speed and scoring depth made the difference in this series against the defensive-minded Bruins. Alex Lyon also stabilized the goaltending for the Sabres, replacing a struggling Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen as the starter after Game 2 and winning three of the next four games.

Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy was ejected from the game late in the third period for slashing Benson after the latter slewfooted him to the ice. Following the game, Bruins defenseman Nikita Zadorov told reporters he played through a torn MCL suffered during Game 3 of this series.

Vegas Golden Knights winger Mitch Marner (NHL Images).

Vegas Golden Knights winger Mitch Marner scored twice and collected an assist to lead his club to a series-winning 5-1 victory in Game 6 of their first-round series against the Utah Mammoth. Brett Howden extended his goal streak to three games while Carter Hart made 22 saves for the Golden Knights, who took this series in six games and will face the Anaheim Ducks in the second round. Kailer Yamamoto scored for the Mammoth.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Marner silenced critics of his playoff performance with a clutch effort in this contest. It was a heartbreaking lopsided loss for the young Mammoth, who had played well through the first five games, but the Golden Knights’ experience and solid defensive play tilted this series in their favor.

The Tampa Bay Lightning nipped the Montreal Canadiens 1-0 in Game 6 of their first-round series, forcing a seventh and deciding game back in Tampa Bay on Sunday. Gage Goncalves scored in overtime while Andrei Vasilevskiy had a 30-save shutout for the Lightning. Jakub Dobes stopped 32 shots for the Canadiens.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: This has been the best series of the opening round. This physical, fast-paced, closely contested tilt between these evenly matched teams should be going the distance. Every game has been decided by one goal, with four of them requiring overtime. Each contest could have gone either way.

HEADLINES

NBC SPORTS PHILADELPHIA: Game 1 of the second-round series between the Philadelphia Flyers and Carolina Hurricanes is Saturday in Raleigh at 8 pm ET.

THE HOCKEY NEWS: Carolina Hurricanes winger Nikolaj Ehlers and defenseman Alexander Nikishin are expected to play in Game 1 against the Flyers. Both players were injured during the Hurricanes’ first-round series against the Ottawa Senators.

NHL.COM: Jon Cooper of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Dan Muse of the Pittsburgh Penguins, and Lindy Ruff of the Buffalo Sabres are the finalists for the Jack Adams Award as NHL Coach of the Year, as voted by the National Broadcasters’ Association.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Congratulations to three worthy finalists. Cooper has never won this award despite his many years of success with the Lightning. Muse is a finalist in his first-ever season as an NHL head coach. Ruff won the award in 2005-06 during his first tenure with the Sabres.

TRIBLIVE.COM: Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby said he hasn’t thought about signing a contract extension this summer. The 38-year-old superstar has completed the first season of his two-year contract. “I haven’t thought that far ahead, but we’ll wait and see,” Crosby said.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Crosby likely wants to find out what general manager Kyle Dubas’ offseason roster plans will be, and whether they include negotiating an extension.

PITTSBURGH HOCKEY NOW: Evgeni Malkin said he’ll sign with another NHL team if the Penguins don’t re-sign him this summer. The 39-year-old forward is completing a four-year contract with an average annual value of $6.1 million.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: It’ll be interesting to see how Crosby reacts if his long-time teammate ends up signing elsewhere this summer.

THE ATHLETIC’s Josh Yohe reported Penguins goaltender Arturs Silovs was dealing with a knee injury during the first-round series against the Flyers.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: As Yohe observed, you’d never know Silovs was playing hurt based on his performance in that series.

SPORTSNET: Dallas Stars winger Mikko Rantanen was fined $5,000 for cross-checking Minnesota Wild winger Kirill Kaprizov in Game 6 of their first-round series on Thursday. The Wild won that game and eliminated the Stars.

THE HOCKEY NEWS: The St. Louis Blues signed winger Dylan Holloway to a five-year contract worth an average annual value of $7.75 million.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Holloway signed a two-year offer sheet with the Blues two years ago that went unmatched by the Edmonton Oilers. It was a costly loss for the Oilers, as the speedy 24-year-old winger has been a good fit with the Blues. He netted a career-high 63 points in 77 games last season, and had 51 points this season despite missing 23 games with an ankle injury.

CHICAGO HOCKEY NOW: Blackhawks center Connor Bedard won’t be playing for Canada in the upcoming IIHF World Championship. The 20-year-old center is currently rehabbing a shoulder injury.

SPORTSNET: The Toronto Maple Leafs had hoped to interview Tampa Bay Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois as part of their ongoing search for a new GM. However, the Lightning denied them permission.

NEW JERSEY HOCKEY NOW: The Devils announced they are parting ways with assistant general manager Dan MacKinnon and senior advisor Chuck Fletcher.

THE ATHLETIC: Jed Ortmeyer is out as the New York Rangers’ director of player development.