By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 
Every second-round series in the Stanley Cup Playoffs is now through four games, setting the tone for what is to come in the next week when four teams will advance to the Conference Finals.
For two teams, advancing could come as soon as their next game. Both the Nashville Predators and Pittsburgh Penguins hold 3-1 series leads, leaving them just one win away from the Conference Finals.
Here’s an update on each playoff series.
Pittsburgh Penguins-Washington Capitals
No Sidney Crosby, no problem. The Penguins have been dealt their blows by the injury bug, but it hasn’t changed the results.
Justin Schultz scored the game-winning goal in Game 4 on Wednesday, putting the Penguins up 3-1 in the series on Washington. Despite Washington’s overtime win in Game 3 that made it a series again, the Capitals are once again experiencing the second-round woes that have plagued them for years.
Washington also had the best record in the regular season, another mark against their overall lack of playoff success.
Game 5 is on Saturday night.
Nashville Predators-St. Louis Blues
The hottest team in hockey right now is the Nashville Predators. After sweeping out the Chicago Blackhawks in the first round, they now hold a 3-1 series lead on St. Louis after a 2-1 win in Game 4.
Two third-period goals by Ryan Ellis and James Neal broke the ice for the Predators in Game 4.
The star of the team remains Pekka Rinne, who in eight games in the playoffs has a 7-1 record with a 1.38 GAA and .953 save percentage.
The Predators attempt to close out the series on Friday night in St. Louis in Game 5.
Edmonton Oilers-Anaheim Ducks
The Oilers jumped out to a 2-0 series lead as the series shifted back to Edmonton for Games 3 and 4. But that’s when things went in the Ducks favor.
Anaheim grabbed a 3-0 lead in Game 3 before the Oilers rallied to tie the game, only to surrender the lead again shortly after, this time for good in the 6-3 Anaheim win.
In Wednesday night’s Game 4, the Oilers took a 2-0 lead before the Ducks responded with three unanswered goals in the second period. The Oilers forced overtime with a late goal by Drake Caggiula. Just 45 seconds into overtime, Jakub Silfverberg scored the game-winning goal on a one-timer off a Ryan Getzlaf feed to even the series going back to Anaheim for Game 5 on Friday night.
Ottawa Senators-New York Rangers
J.G. Pageau’s four-goal game, including the double-overtime game-winner, put the Senators up 2-0, but the Rangers dominated Game 3 with a 4-1 win to make the series interesting.
That set the stage for Game 4 on Thursday night, where the Rangers again used home-ice advantage to take another 4-1 decision and even the series, backed by two goals from Oscar Lindberg and 22 saves from Henrik Lundqvist.
Game 5 is on Saturday afternoon in Ottawa.
