Author: Buffalo Winter

Second Schmid Shutout

NJD 4 – NYR 0, The New Jersey Devils earned home-ice advantage for the opening round and the seven-game series with the New York Rangers was everything fans could hope for as one team for three games crushes the other offensively while the other team for three games suffocates the other defensively.

Game Seven went to HC Ruff and his overall defensive style supported by two shutouts from an AHL/NHL starter/backup goaltender, a defenseman referred to as the “old man”, Mr. Hughes and Mr. Hischier racking up points and the Rangers scoring twice in four of the games.  

Tonight’s opening of the Conference Semi-Finals highlights a strong offensive Toronto team hosting the current surprise of the playoffs in Florida a team that stunned the “greatest regular season NHL team in history”.

The Stars at night are big and bright, (clap, clap, clap) deep in the heart of Texas, or so they sing as Seattle visits Dallas tonight to open the second round as the Conference’s second-seeded team hosts the top Western wild card team.

The Bruins and Avalanche are excused

Nothing is etched into ice forever and the greatest team in NHL regular season history just got bounced in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs by the second-seeded wild card team from their Conference.

When the number one team in the entire NHL won game four and took a 3-1 series lead in the opening round of the playoffs only the most maniacal fan could believe that Florida would win three straight and eliminate Boston.

With Boston and Colorado both dropping the puck and not advancing we now for the first time in years have a Stanley Cup that is literally up for grabs, fans and players from each team remaining now have a legitimate reason to believe they can win.

Scoring twice and having one called back for being offsides was not enough Avalanche offense to defeat the two goals that did count for the Kraken and the Panthers literally 60 seconds from elimination tie the game in the third period then win it in overtime.

FLA 4 – BOS 3 OT and SEA 2 – COL 1

One series remains and Game Seven is tonight at eight in New Jersey as the Rangers must win on the road to advance, who will be in the net for the Devils, and can the top guns in New York score five goals?

Los Angeles and Tampa Bay are dismissed

TOR 2 – TB 1 OT, The Maple Leafs beat the Lightning in six games as Toronto won each game in Tampa Bay with overtime goals and have earned advancement to the second round to battle either Boston or Florida.

A great game for Awesome Matthews who literally pointed to where he required the puck before he spun and shot the puck past Mr. Vasilevskiy for the game’s first goal, his fifth of the series as well as blocking four shots.

EDM 5 – LAK 4, The Kings took 33 SOG just in the first two periods and scored three times, unfortunately, their goaltender could barely play at a .800 save percentage as he let in four goals on 19 SOG and Edmonton headed into the third period up by one.

In the third period, Los Angeles poured on 11 more SOG and even scored shorthanded to tie the game but with a few minutes remaining in the game Edmonton gets the game-winner, the series, and advancement to the second round.

NYR 5 – NJD 2, New Jersey won three consecutive games, one in OT, a shutout, and the other a 3-1 decision, New York in their three victories demonstrated offensive effectiveness by scoring five times in each win.

The Schmid streak has stopped as the Devils had to pull their new favorite goalie, so it will be interesting to see who will start in net for New Jersey this upcoming game seven.

Two more teams are advancing to the second round tonight as Boston and Colorado once heavily favored to advance are hosting game seven with the excitement beginning at 6:30pm EST with Panthers roaring at Bruins and then an Avalanche endeavoring to overtake a sea creature three hours later.

The Islanders and Wild are Eliminated

CAR 2 – NYI 1 OT, In a game where 71 SOG total were taken only two regulation goals were scored with the Hurricanes surviving a first-round goaltending duel that could have gone either way, unfortunately for Islanders fans…the dream is over.

FLA 7 – BOS 5, Who would have thought, currently in a series where most fans expected a possible sweep the historic Bruins are on the cusp of making Hockey history of the most dreaded kind.

Together Florida and Boston scored one dozen goals in last night’s game with the last one scored on a beautiful billiards bank shot from Mr. Reinhart for the Happy Net goal as the Panthers force a game seven.  

DAL 4 – MIN 1, The Stars’ offense was the eventual deciding factor as Minnesota opened the series by winning a double overtime game and gaining the split in Dallas, and taking a 2-1 series lead after winning their first home game but dropping game four and missing an opportunity to possibly advance.

The Dallas Stars scored four times in each of the last two games whereas the Minnesota Wild scored once in the third period of the last game to continue an eight-consecutive season stretch of not advancing past the first round.

COL 4 – SEA 1, Stanley Cup champions rise to certain occasions and in game six on the road facing elimination the Colorado Avalanche did just that after Seattle took the late first-period 1-0 lead evoking euphoria in most of their fans.

The Avalanche outshot the Kraken 14 to 4 and scored twice in the second to carry a 3-1 lead into the third period. And the 9 SOG taken by Seattle in the third period produced nothing offensively and one Happy Net goal later there is a 4-1 Colorado victory and game seven in Denver.

There are three elimination games tonight as Toronto, New Jersey, and Edmonton look to advance to the second round by winning on the road.

Two Shutouts and one expulsion

The Winnipeg Jets sadly are done for this season as everything that could go against them did in a game they needed to win, with poor goaltending and little scoring, the Jets found themselves being pushed out of the playoffs.

New Jersey wins at home to take a 3-2 series lead and now goes to New York to eliminate a team that was not supposed to be this close to elimination this soon.  Mr. Schmid who after half a season in the AHL has become a better backup and now with a shutout over the Rangers has solidly become the Devils’ starter.

An odd bounce provided an easy Happy Net goal for a desperate Lightning team that is playing for their very playoff lives, the only knock against the Leafs game last night was the power play came up empty, otherwise a well-played game.

There are four game sixes tonight as the Hurricanes, Bruins, Stars, and unbelievably the Kraken can eliminate their opponents and advance to the second round.