The Stanley Cup playoffs started last night. They got off to a huge start. It was the opening game of the first round for every team. There was four games with a lot of action. In the Eastern Conference, the Carolina Hurricanes played the New York Islanders. The Boston Bruins played the Florida Panthers in the other Eastern Conference game. In the Western Conference the Dallas Stars played the Minnesota Wild. In the other Western Conference game the Los Angeles Kings played the Edmonton Oilers. While the Eastern Conference games were good, the Western conference games were insane.
The Stanley Cup Playoffs continue tonight with four more games.
In game one of their best of seven series Carolina Hurricanes scored first. They took a 1-0 lead after the first period. Sebastian Aho scored the opening goal on the powerplay. It was not just the opening goal for this game but for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Stefan Noesen would make it 2-0 for the Hurricanes on the powerplay in the second period. Ryan Pulock would score for the Islanders cutting the lead in half within a minute of the Hurricanes going up by two goals. Neither team would score in the third period. The Hurricanes would win the game 2-1. With that win they take a 1-0 series lead.
It was a close game. Most of the stats are close. This is how I see the series going. It might be close but the Hurricanes will have the edge.
Game two will be on Wednesday April 19th at 4:00pm PST.
The question going into game one of the Boston Bruins vs the Florida Panthers is do the Panthers have what it takes to stand up to the Bruins? David Pastrnak would score the games opening goal to give the Bruins a 1-0 lead. They would take that 1-0 lead into the second period. Brad Marchand would would score to increase the Bruins lead to 2-0. Matthew Tkachuck would score for the Panthers to make the score 2-1 Bruins. Jake DeBrusk would score for the Bruins to give them a 3-1 lead heading into the third. The Bruins would score in the third period but the goal would be disallowed after the Bruins player tapped the goalie. The Bruins would win 3-1 to take a 1-0 series lead.
This was physical game. There was a lot of hard hits. I think it will be a very physical series. There wasn’t much in this game that made me think that the Panthers could take this series.
Game two of this series will be on Wednesday April 19th at 4:30pm PST.
Game one of the Dallas Stars vs Minnesota Wild was crazy. Kirill Kaprizov scored the opening goal for the Minnesota Wild. The Wild would take a 1-0 lead after the first period. Roope Hintz would score for the Dallas Stars to tie the game at 1-1. Shortly after Jason Robertson would score to give the Stars the lead. Sam Steel would score for the Wild to tie the game late in the second period. The score was tied at 2-2 heading into the third period. For the third game in a row neither team would score in the third period. The game would head to overtime. This was the first playoff game to head to overtime this season. Despite plenty of chances the game would need to go to double overtime. With under 8′ minutes to go Ryan Hartman of the Minnesota Wild would score in double overtime to win the game. The final score was 3-2 Wild. That win gives the Wild a 1-0 series lead.
The Wild got the upset over the stars in game one. Double overtime is rare. I think it is crazy. This game was very entertaining. After this game it looks like it is going to be a close series.
Game two will be on Wednesday April 19th at 6:30pm PST.
The last game of the night was game one between the Edmonton Oilers and the Los Angeles Kings. Early in the game the Oilers would have a goal disallowed. Leon Draisaitl would then score to give the Oilers a 1-0 lead. Even Bouchard would score on the powerplay to give the Oilers a 2-0 lead. The Oilers would have a 2-0 lead after the first period. Neither team scored in the second period. The score was still 2-0 going into the third period. Adrian Kempe would score for the Kings to cut the Oilers down. Leon Draisaitl would score again to put the oilers back up by two goals. Adrian Kempe would score again to cut the lead back down to one goal. With under a minute to go in regulation time, with their goalie pulled, Anze Kopitar would score to send the game to overtime. The third period would end with the score tied 3-3. In overtime the Oilers would have a goal disallowed due to a high stick. The Kings would eventually go on the powerplay. Alex Iafallo would score on the powerplay to win the game for the Kings. The final score was 4-3 Kings. The Kings now have a 1-0 series lead.
What everyone is talking about following this game is that the Oilers fans were throwing stuff on the ice. They started doing that before the game even ended. It’s stupid and shouldn’t happen but it does. The Oilers lost after outshooting the Kings. I can see why the Oilers fans were blaming the refs and upset after the game. Majority of the calls were in the Kings favor. The Oilers were also penalized two to one. The last call that pretty much gave the Kings the game was pretty soft. Yes it was tripping but under the circumstances I don’t think it should have been called. It was overtime in a close game. The Kings player took out the Oilers player and the Kings player fell over as a result. It was a physical play that resulted in both players falling. The Kings two powerplay goals sent the game to overtime and won the game plus their was two disallowed goals. I get how why the Oilers fans see that as the officials handing the game to the Kings. On the other side the Oilers did lose a two goal lead twice. This also does prove the Oilers still have some issues they need to work out.
Game two will be on Wednesday April 19th at 7:00pm PST.
Tonight will be more round one game ones. The New York Rangers vs New Jersey Devils should be a good physical game. Will the Tampa Lightning beat the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round again? Do the Maple Leafs have what it takes to get out of the first round? Will the Vegas Golden Knights dominate the Winnipeg Jets? Do the Winnipeg Jets have what it takes to stand up to the Vegas Golden Knights. Will the defending champions Colorado Avalanche dominate the Seattle Kraken? What will the Seattle Kraken do in their first playoff appearance?
Zac Electrifly 