It’s day five of the 2022 National Hockey League playoffs. Of the games that were played last night, Two were kind of close and two kind of were not. The Pittsburgh Penguins played the New York Rangers. The Washington Capitals played the Florida Panthers. The Nashville Predators played the Colorado Avalanche. The Dallas Stars Played the Calgary Flames.
Today is game three in some series. For some teams, if they don’t win tonight their season could be over quickly. Going down 3-0 in a series is bad. It wont eliminate a team, but it will make it almost impossible for that team to win the series.
Pittsburgh Penguins vs New York Rangers. Round one. Game two. In New York. Game one of this series went into triple overtime. The question was who would be in net for the Penguins? Louis Domingue would start in net after he was put in during the second overtime in the last game. This would be his sixth ever NHL appearance. The Rangers would score first. The Penguins would tie the game up a few minutes later. The score was 1-1 going into the second period. The Rangers would take the lead back early in the second period. They would then add to that to make it 3-1 Rangers. The Penguins would get one back at the end of the period. The score was 3-2 heading into the third period. The Rangers would score two more in the third to win the game 5-2. The series is now tied at 1-1. The next game in this series will be in Pittsburgh on Saturday.
The Rangers had more energy later in the game and thats what got them the win. The Penguins got the split in New York. The thought from the broadcast guys was that that was win for the Penguins. While it is good for the Penguins and may give them an advantage moving forward, I don’t think that they went into game two complacent that they won game one. I think they still wanted to win game two. The Penguins also have a lot of experience and leadership when it comes to the playoffs. I don’t think they are scared or nervous about the series being tied. I think they have the talent and ability that this loss doesn’t faze them. On the other hand, the Rangers are happy to get a win. Now the Rangers have to go into Pittsburgh and try to win. I am sure that it is in the back of their mind that they won’t have the home advantage for the next couple of games.
Washington Capitals vs Florida Panthers. Round one. Game two. In Florida. The panthers scored first and took a 2-0 lead into the second period. The Capitals would get one back early in the second on the powerplay. The Panthers would score again less than a minute after the Capitals goal. The Panthers would score two more in the second to take a 5-1 lead into the third period. Neither team scored in the third period. The final score was 5-1 Panthers. The series is now tied at 1-1. The next game will be Sunday in Washington.
The Panthers got over their first game hurtles. Will they be able to continue their success? This game could be the a sign of the Panthers taking over the series. The question is how will the Capitals respond having the home crowd behind them?
Nashville Predators vs Colorado Avalanche. Round One. Game two. In Colorado. The Avalanche scored first. The Predators tied it up. The score was 1-1 after the first period. No one scored in the second period. No one scored in the third period. 8 minutes into overtime the Avalanche would score. The Final score was 2-1 Avalanche. The Avalanche now have a 2-0 series lead. The Next game is Saturday in Nashville.
The Avalanche almost doubled the amount of shots by the Predators. Other then that neither team really had an advantage on the stats sheet. As the series moves to Nashville, the Avalanche have a chance to put the Predators in a really bad situation.
Dallas Stars vs Calgary Flames. Round one. Game two. In Calgary. The Stars scored first. They took a 1-0 lead into the second period. Neither team scored in the second period. The Stars scored late in the third period. The final score was 2-0 Stars. This series is now tied at 1-1. The next game will be on
The Stars won what was a close game. This proves that they can keep up with the Flames. This also shows their ability to win close games. The next game will be in Dallas. We will see how Calgary responds not only to this game but to playing in Dallas.
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 Hurricanes win tonight and then sweep the Bruins? Will the Bruins avoid a possible sweep with a win tonight or in game 4? Will the Lightning take game 3 at home? Will the Maple Leafs have what it takes to win in Tampa Bay? Will the wild take game 3 on the road? Will the Blues take the series lead on home ice? Will the Oilers roll through the Kings again? Will the Kings be able to take the series lead at home?
Zac Electrifly 