We are now fifteen days into the Stanley Cup Playoffs. There was only one game last night. The New Jersey Devils and New York Rangers played game seven of their series. The Stanley Cup playoffs continue tonight with two games. Round two starts tonight. We are one more round closer to the Stanley Cup Finals.
The New Jersey Devils and New York Rangers series went to seven games. It was winner take all last night. Neither team scored in the first period. The score was tied at 0-0 after one period.
The Devils broke the tie midway through the second period with a short handed goal. Michael McLeod would get the goal. Tomas Tartar scored to put the Devils up by two. The score was 2-0 Devils heading into the third period.
Erik Haula scored to put the Devils up by three. Jesper Bratt scored the final goal of the game to put the Devils up by four goals. The final score was 4-0 Devils. The Devils have won the series 4-3. The New Jersey Devils have advanced to round two. The New York Rangers have been eliminated from the playoffs.
No the most spectacular way to end a series. The Devils had control of the game and didn’t let up. The Rangers didn’t do anything in this game. They just let the Devils win. The Rangers didn’t score on four different powerplays despite out shooting the Devils. The Rangers offense just was not there. So the New Jersey Devils will move on to play the Carolina Hurricanes.
Recapping the series the Rangers won game one 5-1. The Rangers won game two 5-1. The Devils won game three 2-1 in overtime. The Devils won game four 3-1. The Devils won game five 4-0. The Rangers won game six 5-2. The Devils won game seven 4-0. The Devils shutout the Rangers twice in this series. Outside of the first two games and game six the Rangers offense was no where to be found.
The New Jersey Devils will play the Carolina Hurricanes in round two.
The number four seed Toronto Maple Leafs will play the number eight seed Florida Panthers in round two. The Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning in round one to reach round two. The Florida Panthers defeated the Presidents Trophy winning Boston Bruins in seven games to advance to the second round. Maple Leafs finished the regular season with a .677 win percentage. The Panthers finished the regular season with a .561 win percentage. The Maple Leafs had a regular season record of 3-0-1 against the Panthers. Their last meeting was on April 10th. Toronto won that game 2-1.
The Maple Leafs have now proven that they can win a playoff series. They however are not looking like the stronger team coming into this series. The Panthers defeated what is arguably one of the best NHL teams of all time. The Panthers have a lot of momentum and are playing very well. It can also be argued that despite the Maple Leafs first round win they barely won against a team that they should have beaten easily. Don’t underestimate the Panthers. Don’t count them out. The question for the leafs is can they handle a team that is coming off of a huge series win? The question for the Panthers is can they maintain their momentum?
2023 regular season head to head record:
| GP | W | L | OTL | PTS | GF | GA | GD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toronto | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 15 | -5 |
| Florida | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 15 | 10 | 5 |
2023 regular season record:
| GP | W | L | OTL | PTS | GF | GA | GD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toronto | 82 | 50 | 21 | 11 | 111 | 279 | 222 | 57 |
| Florida | 82 | 42 | 32 | 8 | 92 | 290 | 273 | 17 |
2023 playoff season record after round one:
| GP | W | L | OTL | GF | GA | GD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toronto | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 23 | 21 | 2 |
| Florida | 7 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 26 | 27 | -1 |
Game one of this series will be on Tuesday, May 2nd, 2023. Game one will be in Toronto. Puck drop is set for 4:00pm PST. The winner of this series will play the winner of the Carolina Hurricanes vs New Jersey Devils series.
The number four seed Dallas Stars will play the number seven seed Seattle Kraken in round two. The Dallas Stars defeated the Minnesota Wild to reach round two. The Seattle Kraken defeated the defending champions the Colorado Avalanche to reach round two. The Stars finished the regular season with a .659 win percentage. The Kraken finished the regular season with a .610 win percentage. The Dallas Stars were 2-0-1 versus the Seattle Kraken in the regular season. Their last meeting was on March 21st. The Kraken won that game 5-4 in overtime.
The Stars did alright in their series with the Wild. A lot of those games were close (including a double overtime). The Stars took over and dominated the last two games of the series. I think they have what it takes to do well in this series. The Kraken did defeat the defending champions. The Kraken aren’t going to fly under the radar anymore. I think Seattle has a lot of momentum coming into this series but so does Dallas. I think the Stars can do a better job against the Kraken than the Avalanche did. I think the Stars will be able to contain the Krakens offense unlike the Avalanche. The question for the stars is can they do what the defending champions could not? The question for the Kraken is can they keep it going? How long can they sustain playing at the level we saw against the Avalanche? Will it be enough to take down the Stars?
2023 regular season head to head record:
| GP | W | L | OTL | PTS | GF | GA | GD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dallas | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 13 | 10 | 3 |
| Seattle | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 13 | -3 |
2023 regular season record:
| GP | W | L | OTL | PTS | GF | GA | GD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dallas | 82 | 47 | 21 | 14 | 108 | 285 | 218 | 67 |
| Seattle | 82 | 46 | 28 | 8 | 100 | 289 | 256 | 33 |
2023 playoff season record after round one:
| GP | W | L | OTL | GF | GA | GD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dallas | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 21 | 14 | 7 |
| Seattle | 7 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 18 | 19 | -1 |
Game one of this series will be on Tuesday, May 2nd, 2023. Game one will be in Dallas. Puck drop is set for 6:30pm PST. The winner of this series will play the winner of the Vegas Golden Knights vs Edmonton Oilers series.
Round two game ones start tonight. Will the Maple Leafs continue to win? Will the Panthers be too much for the Maple Leafs? Will the Stars do what the defending champions could not? Will the Kraken continue to upset higher ranked teams?
The Vegas Golden Knights, Carolina Hurricanes, Dallas Stars, Toronto Maple Leafs, Edmonton Oilers, Florida Panthers, Seattle Kraken, and New Jersey Devils have advanced to round two. The Winnipeg Jets, New York Islanders, Minnesota Wild, Tampa Bay Lightning, Los Angeles Kings, Boston Bruins, Colorado Avalanche, and New York Rangers have been eliminated.
The Vegas Golden Knights will play the Edmonton Oilers in round two. The Carolina Hurricanes will play the New Jersey Devils in round two. The Dallas Stars will play the Seattle Kraken in round two. The Toronto Maple Leafs will play the Florida Panthers in round two.
Zac Electrifly 