MONTREAL, April 23 (UPI) -- With the number of potential Stanley Cup winning teams trimmed to eight, the NHL playoffs resume Thursday.
The Detroit Red Wings and Montreal Canadiens, who posted the best regular-season record in their conferences, will both be in action on the opening night of the semifinals.
Montreal will host Philadelphia, which survived a Game 7, overtime contest against Washington Tuesday, and Detroit will be at home against Colorado.
Philadelphia's Daniel Briere leads the NHL playoffs in goals (6), power-play goals (4) and points (11). It was Joffrey Lupul, however, who scored the game-winning goal in the overtime triumph over the Capitals.
Detroit reached the second round thanks, in large part, to a goaltending change made in the midst of the Red Wings' six-game victory over Nashville. With Dominik Hasek struggling, Chris Osgood was called upon to slow down the Predators.
Nashville scored eight goals in the third and fourth games of the series to even things at 2-2, but Osgood allowed just one goals during the fifth and sixth games.
The other two series will begin Friday with Pittsburgh, which will have had a nine-day layoff, hosting the New York Rangers and Dallas traveling to San Jose.
