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The first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs continues Friday with a couple of underdogs trying to scrap for new life in their rivalry series to start the postseason.

On Wednesday, things got underway with the defending champion Pittsburgh Penguins rolling all over the Philadelphia Flyers, the Vegas Golden Knights shutting out the Los Angeles Kings and the Minnesota Wild falling at the young hands of the Winnipeg Jets. Thursday, with the rest of the series kicking off, we got big nights from the Boston Bruins and Tampa Bay Lightning, an overtime collapse by the Washington Capitals and a physical 3-0 victory by the San Jose Sharks over the hot Anaheim Ducks.

The Penguins sputtered after a blazing hot start to their postseason, getting beat up by the Flyers 5-1 to level the series at a game apiece. The Jets, meanwhile, beat up on Wild 4-1 to take a 2-0 series lead to Minnesota. For the night shift, the Golden Knights are taking a 2-0 series lead to Los Angeles after a double-overtime thriller ended with Vegas winning 2-1.

Here, we have everything you need to follow along. Keep on scrolling for Friday night's schedule, game-by-game updates and odds/predictions for the entire postseason.

Friday's full schedule

Golden Knights beat Kings in double-OT marathon

It took nearly 100 minutes, but the Golden Knights finally took Game 2 from the Los Angeles Kings in a 2-1 marathon. Even without some of LA's best defensemen, their ability to keep the puck out of the back of the net was commendable -- although perhaps most of that credit should go to goalie Jonathan Quick, who finished with an insane 54 saves on 56 shots. Things weren't quite as stressful for Vegas' Marc-Andre Fleury, who saved 29 of 30 over the course of almost five periods.

It was a goal by Erik Haula that broke the 1-1 tie and made a comeback look even more difficult for the Kings moving forward. The Golden Knights will take a 2-0 lead into Los Angeles in their first ever playoff series, as the Kings try to bounce back and level the series.

Quick showed some frustration towards the end of this game, but to have the game he had and still find himself in a heated battle who wouldn't be? The Kings' goal-scorers have been non-existent, with only Paul LaDue finding the back of the net in two games. Without Quick's amazing play, this game likely doesn't even go to an extra frame.

It's a devastating way to lose for the Kings, but now they need to shake it off. They'll be getting Drew Doughty back for Game 3, and they'll need to win the next two to give themselves a fighting chance in this series. It's a tall order, but first thing's first: Figure out where the goals are, and find a way to get players like Anze Kopitar on the scoreboard. If they can't do that, this series is all but over.

Vegas jumps ahead of L.A. in first period with PP goal

The Los Angeles Kings hadn't given up a power play goal to the Golden Knights all year ... until the 14:47 mark in the first period of Game 2. Alex Tuch took a careening puck that ricocheted off the back glass and put a shot over a hapless Quick to give the Golden Knights a 1-0 lead.

It wasn't as quick as Game 1, but once again the Kings find themselves down after the first period. The Golden Knights have now had 80 minutes of scoreless hockey in this series. The onus is on the Kings to break that stretch moving forward.

Jets put Wild in a 2-0 hole with another big night for offense

Zach Parise got on the board for the second time in Minnesota's series against Winnipeg, but that was about all the Wild had for the younger, faster and more productive Jets. Patrik Laine was pretending to play the violin to the Wild bench as the seconds wound down on Friday night's clock, and that was an accurate depiction of Minnesota's start to the playoffs without Ryan Suter. In fact, there may have been more fight from Bruce Boudreau's unit after the game had already been wrapped up than during the Game 2 contest, in which Laine showcased his talent once again amid more than 40 shots on goal.

Flyers exact revenge, take Game 2 vs. Pens 5-1

So much for the Penguins wiping out the Flyers on their two-game home stand to start the Metropolitan Division showdown. On a night that saw Pittsburgh get plenty of power-play opportunities and thoroughly out-shoot their bitter rivals, it was Philly's top line that delivered with the help of Nolan Patrick off the bench. While Sidney Crosby, two days removed from a hat trick, came up short despite a breakaway shot and two opportunities right next to the net, five different Flyers lit the lamp, first forcing Matt Murray off the ice with 4:28 still left in the game and putting their stagnant Game 1 outing in the rear-view mirror.

Kris Letang exits the ice after a nasty collision

The biggest blow between the Flyers and Penguins in Game 2 of the divisional showdown may not have been intentional at all. With Philadelphia up 2-0 about halfway into the second period, Kris Letang was forced to leave the ice, and it had everything to do with him running right into the back of Claude Giroux -- a nasty collision, but an accidental one, it seemed.

Boarding call leads to Flyers' first goal of the playoffs

Just about 18 minutes into Game 2 of the Pens-Flyers matchup, Pittsburgh's Zach Aston-Reese found himself in the penalty box for boarding, with Philly's Ivan Provorov doing a little acting to seal the deal. And that led to the Flyers' first goal of the playoffs -- a deep shot from Shayne Gostisbehere.

Radko Gudas trolls Sidney Crosby before Pens-Flyers game

It isn't Flyers vs. Penguins without some intrastate back-and-forth, and Philly's Radko Gudas did his best to get under Sidney Crosby's skin before the start of Friday's rematch. As Sportsnet pointed out, it's Crosby's tradition to touch center ice during his pre-game skate, and Gudas made sure to plant himself -- you guessed it -- on center ice during No. 87's ritual.

Kings' Drew Doughty suspended for Game 1 hit

Los Angeles played without Norris Trophy-caliber defenseman Drew Doughty, who served a one-game suspension for his hit to the head of Vegas' William Carrier in Game 1. Doughty has already called the punishment "BS" and had been dealing with shoves from Carrier for much of his 28:02 on the ice Wednesday, but his disregard for the puck during the fateful check will leave an already depleted Kings blue line even more vulnerable.

How to watch all the Stanley Cup playoff games

Just look here for a complete TV and game schedule.

Who should you be cheering for this postseason?

If you find yourself without a team, we have reasons that you should root for and reasons you should root against every single playoff contender.

Odds for each series

The experts at SportsLine have run simulations and have your betting odds for the eventual Stanley Cup champions. Both conferences have genuinely interesting sleepers and matchups. You can find all of those odds here.