Islanders beat Panthers in overtime to advance to second round for the first time since 1993

John Tavares tied it in the final minute of regulation and scored the winner at 10:41 of the second overtime, leading the New York Islanders past the Florida Panthers, 2-1, Sunday night in Game 6 and into the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time since 1993.

Tavares skated in and fired an initial shot that Roberto Luongo saved, but the New York captain got the rebound, wrapped around the net and stuffed the puck in to end the longest home game in Islanders history. The Islanders will next face Tampa Bay in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Thomas Greiss finished with 41 saves in the teams’ second straight two-overtime game and third in the series to go past regulation. The Islanders won Game 3 in New York, 4-3 in the first extra period, and took Game 5 in Florida, 2-1 at 16 minutes of the second OT.

Jonathan Huberdeau scored late in the first period for Florida, and Luongo stopped 49 shots for the Panthers.

On the tying goal with just under 54 seconds left in the third period, Islanders defenseman Nick Leddy took the puck behind his own empty net, skated all the way down the right side and sent a centering pass from behind the Panthers’ goal. Nikolay Kulemin tried to tip it in, but Luongo dived to his left on top of it. But the puck trickled out from underneath him to his right, and Tavares swooped in and put it in for his fourth of the series.

Washington 1, at Philadelphia 0: Nicklas Backstrom scored, Braden Holtby made 26 saves, and the Capitals won their Eastern Conference series with the Flyers in six games. They will play the Pittsburgh Penguins, setting up a marquee matchup of Alex Ovechkin vs. Sidney Crosby, in the second round.

Ovechkin had an assist on Backstrom’s second-period goal that was easily enough against the punchless Flyers.

Riding the momentum of Michal Neuvirth in net, the Flyers won two straight to force an unlikely trip home. Neuvirth was sensational again, but the Flyers were ultimately doomed by a power play that could not cash in against Holtby. The Flyers wasted nearly two minutes of a five-on-three power play in the second period that made a critical difference. Philadelphia was one for 21 with the man advantage in the series.

Backstrom helped Washington break Neuvirth’s shutout streak that stretched nearly 110 minutes when he scored on a one-timer just below the circle with 8:59 left in the second period.

Dallas 5, at Minnesota 4: Jason Spezza scored his fourth goal of the series and added three assists, and goalie Kari Lehtonen and the Stars needed every last one of them to hold off the Wild to wrap up the Western Conference series in six games.

Jared Spurgeon scored two of Minnesota’s four third-period goals, both on the power play, and the Wild came within a fraction of an inch of tying the score with 34 seconds remaining when Nino Niederreiter whacked at a loose puck in the crease. Freeze-frame replays showed it in the net, but not quite fully across the goal line as it connected with Lehtonen’s right pad, a call that was upheld by review. Jason Demers was there trying to pounce on the puck, too.

John Klingberg, Patrick Sharp, Jamie Benn and Alex Goligoski also scored for the Stars, who led 4-0 after the second period. They play face the winner of the Chicago-St. Louis series in the second round. The Blues host the Blackhawks in a Game 7 on Monday night.

The Wild’s intensely up-and-down season ended with a fury, metaphorically squeezing months of drama into one final period after waking up from a figurative afternoon nap during the first 40 minutes of the game. Spurgeon and Jonas Brodin scored 16 seconds apart, pulling the Wild to 4-2 with 15-plus minutes to play.