It’s day four of the 2022 National Hockey League playoffs. Only one of the games was within two goals. One of the games was a blowout. The Boston Bruins played the Carolina Hurricanes. The Tampa Bay Lightning played the Toronto Maple Leafs. The St Louis Blues played the Minnesota Wild. Lastly the LA Kings played the Edmonton Oilers.
Boston Bruins vs Carolina Hurricanes. Round one. Game two. In Carolina. The Hurricanes had a 2-0 lead after the first period. They would expand that lead 4-1 After the second period. Both teams would score one in the third period. The Hurricanes would win the game 5-2. The Hurricanes have a 2-0 series lead as the series heads to Boston. The Hurricanes have won both games by at least three goals. The Bruins need to find a way to keep it close.
The Hurricanes have won both games by at least three goals. The Bruins need to find a way to keep it close. The Bruins are outshooting and outhitting the Hurricanes. Giving up 9 powerplays and going 1 for 5 on the powerplayer isn’t going to win this series. If they stopped giving up as many penalties I think that would help. The Bruins are getting enough shots, they just need to find the back of the net. On the other hand, if Carolina has a good chance to put Boston in a choke hold. If the Hurricanes manage to get at least one win in Boston, they will win the series. I do not see the Bruins being able to win a game in Carolina.
Tampa Bay Lightning vs Toronto Maple Leafs. Round one. Game two. In Toronto. The Lightning scored first. They took a 1-0 lead into the second period. The Lightning would expand their lead to 2-0 before the Maple Leafs would score. The score was 3-1 Lightning heading into the third period. The Lightning would make it 4-1 and then 5-1 before the Maple Leafs would score again. The Maple Leafs would get a couple back but it would not be enough. The final score was 5-3 Lightning. The series is now tied at 1-1.
This series has a chance to go to 7 games. Both teams have a lot of talent. As the series heads to Tampa Bay, it is only going to get harder for the Maple Leafs to win games. If the Maple Leafs do not win a game in Tampa Bay, the Lightning will have a 3-1 series lead as the series will come back to Toronto for game 5. The Maple Leafs have to win in Tampa Bay now. If they do not, they will not make it past the first round. I think the Maple Leafs will win at least one game in Tampa Bay. I think that because I do think this series could go to 7 games.
St Louis Blues vs Minnesota Wild. Round one. Game two. In Minnesota. After a game one loss, the Wild come in and show that they are not going out without a fight. The wild took a 3-0 lead in the first period. Less then a minute into the second period they would make it a 4-0. The Blues would get one back but the Wild had a 4-1 lead going into the third period. St Louis would make it 2-4, giving themselves a chance. The wild would score two more. The final score was 6-2 Wild. With that the wild have tied up the series. This series will go to five games.
Despite being outshot Minnesota was able to score four more goals. This is a big problem for St Louis.
LA Kings vs Edmonton Oilers. Round one. Game two. In Edmonton. Both teams went scoreless after the first period. The Oilers would score the first goal less than two minutes into the second period. Edmonton never stepped off of the gas. They scored three in the second period. Then they scored three in the third period. the final score was 6-0 Oilers. The Oilers shut out the Kings for the first shutout of the 2022 NHL playoffs. With an Oilers win the series is tied at 1-1 as it heads to LA.
First off, it wasn’t the officiating. Kings fans were quick to point fingers at the refs. Both teams got the same amount of powerplay time. How are they going to blame the officals when the Kings were letting in easy goals too. Goal number 4 should have been an easy save for Jonathan Quick. The puck was in the air after getting deflected by the Kings defender, and instead of sliding over to that side of the net he just watches it go in. If the Kings keep playing like this they don’t have a chance at beating the Oilers.
So what happens next? Well the series will head to LA. Since the series is not tied at 1-1 there will be at least 5 games. There will be at least one more game in Edmonton. All of the momentum is on the Oilers side right now. This is the playoffs. One bad game and your season is over. The Kings still have a chance but all signs after last night point to the Oilers winning the next three games. The Oilers have a lot of young talent and are hungry for some playoff wins.
Here are the upcoming games:
Will the Penguins/Rangers need overtime again? When will fatigue set in? Who can take advantage of it. Who will be in net for Pittsburgh? Will the Panthers bounce back after their disappointing game one loss? Will the Capitals stay in command of that series? Will the Predators be able to get anything going against the Avalanche? Will the Avalanche sweep the Predators? Will the Stars be let the Flames run away with their series? Will the Flames take 2-0 series lead to Dallas?
Zac Electrifly 