There was no "last shot wins" drama on Wednesday. No overtime thriller. No Cinderella victory.

Instead, we got something akin to a tennis blowout: 5-1, 5-1. Both the Devils and Avalanche -- the top seeds -- advanced to the third round by the same score. In fact, they each finished their gutty opponents -- the Leafs and Kings -- with four-goal explosions.

In Jersey, the drama lasted just one period. Down 1-0, the defending champs turned up the heat and the hard-working Leafs finally wilted. A soft backcheck by Toronto's big, young forward Nik Antropov, allowed Jersey vet Sergei Nemchinov to slide down the slot unchecked and push a backhand pass from Alexander Mogilny past Curtis Joseph.

A few minutes later, with Antropov in the box for high sticking, Patrik Elias one-timed a perfect Petr Sykora feed into the roof of the cage. Devils 2, Leafs fading.

Like any star performer, Elias didn't wait long for an encore. In fact, he struck again just 119 seconds later. This time, it was Scott Stevens making the picture perfect pass to Elias, who buried it. On the play, Stevens' cross ice pass from the left point barely missed hitting the back skate of Leafs defenseman Cory Cross. (Yes, it can be a game of centimeters.) Also, Mats Sundin was an instant too late in picking up the dangerous Elias, who always seems to find the small cracks in the defense.

Captain Stevens completed the four-goal second period, beating Joseph with a seeing-eye slapper from the left point.

Up 4-1, the Devils finally had a good grip on things. Unlike in Game 2, they didn't let go.

In Denver, things were a little more dramatic. The teams were tied, 1-1, after two periods. The Kings had just missed taking a 2-1 lead in the dying seconds of the period when Bryan Smolinski's shot clanged off the post behind Patrick Roy.

The ringing post seemed to swing fate in the direction of the home team. Early in the third, Chris Drury launched a wrister from the slot that caromed off the glove of L.A. defender Mattias Nordstrom and past goalie Felix Potvin.

Minutes later, another tricky deflection went against the Kings. With defenseman Mathieu Schneider in the penalty box for tripping, Avs rookie LW Ville Nieminen stepped over the blue line and ripped a slapper toward Potvin. The blast ticked off the stick blade of defenseman Aaron Miller and rocketed over Potvin's shoulder, off the crossbar, and into the net. Avs 3, Kings in deep trouble.

Shjon Podein and Milan Hejduk completed the four-goal onslaught for the Avs, who received another strong performance from Roy. Colorado also benefited from the play of a healthier Joe Sakic, who recorded eight shots and seemed less bothered by his sore right shoulder.

So not much drama on Wednesday. The Avs and Devils advanced, just as most had predicted. (I, of course, picked the Kings, and thus must go down with that much-improved ship.) Maybe the Devs and Avs are on a collision course for the Cup Final, after all. Certainly, it would be a heck of series. The red-hot Blues, though, may want to spoil the party. They're rested and ready

And, there's the Sabres and Penguins, who play their Game 7 on Thursday. Let's hope Mario and the Dominator give us a bit more tension. How about an overtime penalty shot to decide it? Now, that would be drama, baby!

E.J. Hradek covers hockey for ESPN The Magazine. E-mail him at ej.hradek@espnmag.com.