Author: Buffalo Winter

Three overtimes last night

TOR 4 – TB 3 OT, The Maple Leafs come from behind last night as Awesome Matthews fought Mr. Stamkos, Mr. Samsonov out-dueled Mr. Vasilevskiy in net, Mr. Knies a pleasant surprise, Mr. Rielly, Mr. Marner, and Mr. Nylander contributing offensively, and Mr. O’Reilly blocking, scoring and assisting last minute goals for the tie and OT win.

COL 6 – SEA 4, Seattle scored on their sixth power play at the end of the game when it did not matter as Colorado early in the third period with the game tied three apiece scored twice in 88 seconds for the two-goal lead before tacking on a Happy Net Goal for the eventual win.

NJD 2 – NYR 1 OT, The second-best road team in the regular season needed to be last night and they were as the Devils scored their lone regulation goal on the power play as the Rangers failed on five power-play attempts against Mr. Schmid New Jersey’s 6’ 5” goalie in his first playoff game.

LV 5 – WIN 4 OT, A heartbreaker in Winnipeg after scoring three times on 17 SOG to forge a tie game with 22 seconds remaining in the third period and to survive into the second overtime period only to lose on an unlikely deflection to an open Knights player.

From early this afternoon until late this evening the Islanders, Panthers, Wild, and Oilers must win.

Foligno and Staal brothers prominent

The power play could not bail out Carolina through four attempts and even scoring short-handed could not spark any offense for the Hurricanes but the Islanders with 17 SOG in the third period opened up a tight one-goal game by scoring twice in succession early and late in the period. NYI 5 – CAR 1

Cherry picker Pasta’s score sent Florida’s newest net sensation Mr. Lyon to the bench with the game 3-0 on 23 SOG as Mr. Bobrovsky allowed only one goal in relief as Florida scored twice at the end of the third period. BOS 4 – FLA 2

In a game where each team could barely muster two dozen SOG total and Minnesota rotated their goaltenders again by playing their winning goalie Mr. Gustavsson who posted a .958 save percentage, and by allowing just one goal in the second period the Wild earned home ice advantage. MIN 5 – DAL 1

Mr. McDavid scored two laser pinpointed shots, one above the glove and the other above the blocker to forge Edmonton into a 2-1 lead in the second period but the Kings answered in only 18 seconds to tie the game and score in overtime. LAK 3 – EDM 2

This afternoon’s matchup has Winnipeg hosting the Knights, then the early evening games have Toronto endeavoring to keep their momentum going in Tampa Bay and New York fans with their brooms ready for New Jersey followed by the late game in Seattle as Colorado needs to win.

The Hurricanes and Rangers are Undefeated

Toronto took it to the Lightning as their top players scored at will on the power-play and at even strength enabling the Leafs to take back control of this series with a convincing victory as Tampa Bay had no answers, no goaltending, and no offense. TOR 7 – TB 2

New Jersey after scoring first on the power-play and winning most face-offs, took 14 penalties, their goaltender only posted a .818 save percentage, and Mr. Hughes was held pointless while taking six shots and giving the puck away four times, all of which contribute to their loss. NYR 5 – NJD 1

Seattle had it in the palm of their gloves up 2-0 after the first period but Colorado highlighted why they are the defending Stanley Cup Champions by taking more shots, winning more face-offs, hitting and blocking more, and coming from behind. COL 3 – SEA 2

Winnipeg dropped game two in sin city, but not until after they scored on the power play building a 1-0 lead in the first period that had the denizens contemplating the worst as the Knights eventually outshot and outscored the Jets in the third period for the win. LV 5 – WIN 2

Time for the Kings, Wild, and Panthers to take full advantage of their earned home-ice advantage tonight while the Islanders must prove they belong and can beat Carolina in games three and four in New York.

The Carolina Hurricanes are the only team with a 2-0 series lead and are worried because, in their first game, the power play bailed them out, in the second game New York scores on themselves or the game never goes to overtime, struggling to score 5v5 Carolina is looking shaky. CAR 4 – NYI 3 OT

Minnesota went with Mr. Fleury in net instead of their game-one winning goaltender and it cost them as Stars Mr. Hintz scored a Hat Trick one goal short-handed, one unassisted, and one on the power-play as the Wild struggled offensively averaging just over eight SOG per period. DAL 7 – MIN 3

Edmonton played a physical game hitting the Kings 60 times, in perspective Boston and Florida combined for 60 hits, Los Angeles no slouch hit back with 52 hits of their own, Mr. McDavid earned a primary assist, took six SOG, and even blocked a shot contributing to the victory. EDM 4 – LAK 2

After a tight first period and equally played the second period, Florida unleashed 10 SOG in the third period and four of them went in with the last one a happy net goal to seal the deal before Mr. Hall whiffs one in to score Boston’s last goal. FLA 6 – BOS 3

Will the second half of the opening round, game two for the next four series be as close?

High expectations in New Jersey were quickly brought back down to ice level as New York put forth an experienced workman-like effort and by the time Big Daddy Kane earned his secondary assist on the Rangers’ fourth goal and the 4-0 lead, the Devils were toast. Rangers 5 – Devils 1

The Seattle Kraken’s first Stanley Cup playoff game is a victory on the road versus the defending Cup Champions behind Grubauer’s Revenge, Colorado won a Cup with him and discarded him and in just two seasons he has come back to haunt them. Kraken 3 – Avalanche 1

Anticipation and hype previewed Jackie Vegas in his first Stanley Cup playoff game but disappointment and horror prevailed as sin city gets demolished at home by the Jets with Mr. Eichel blanking offensively as well as being on the ice for three of the Jets’ first four goals. Jets 5 – Knights 1

In a herculean effort Toronto withstood an onslaught of eight penalties, brought the game within one goal, top players began to produce, were better during face-offs, and out-hit Tampa Bay, but rarely can a team overcome penalty after penalty seemingly all night long. Lightning 7 – Leafs 3

Game two tonight for the initial four first-round matchups, can Florida, New York, Dallas, and Edmonton recover to split their series?