The Stanley Cup Playoffs continued yesterday with four games. The Boston Bruins played the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Carolina Hurricanes played the New York Islanders. The Dallas Stars played the Vegas Golden Knights. Yesterday we got the first fight of the playoffs. The Edmonton Oilers played the Los Angeles Kings. There are four games coming up tonight. The New York Rangers take on the Washington Capitals. The Florida Panthers take on the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Winnipeg Jets Take On the Colorado Avalanche. The Vancouver Canucks take on the Nashville Predators.
The number four seed Boston Bruins played the number five seed Toronto Maple Leafs in the second game of their first round series. The Bruins had a 1-0 series lead going into this game after they won game one 5-1. The Bruins scored first halfway through the first period. #39 Morgan Geekie scored the first goal. It was assisted by #63 Brad Marchand and #74 Jake DeBrusk. Less than a minute later the Maple Leafs tied the game with a goal from #11 Max Domi. It was assisted by Austin Matthews. With eight seconds left in the first period, #88 David Pastranak scored to give the Bruins the lead. His goal was assisted by #18 Pavel Zacha and #73 Charlie McAvoy. The score was 2-1 Bruins after the first period.
With five minutes left in the second period their was a video review to see if the Maple Leafs had scored. after the review it was determined that the call of a no goal was right. With under two minutes to go #91 John Tavares scored for the Maple Leafs to tie the game on the powerplay. #34 Austin Matthews and #59 Tyler Bertuzzi got the assists. The second period ended with the score tied up at 2-2.
With seven minutes left in the game, #34 Austin Matthews scored for the Maple Leafs to take the lead. It was assisted by #11 Max Domi and #46 Ilya Lyubushkin. The final score was 3-2 Maple Leafs. The series is now tied 1-1 as it heads to Toronto.
This game was a lot closer than the first one. The Maple Leafs came ready to play this time. This will make game three much more competitive. The Bruins now no longer have a chance to sweep the Maple Leafs. I expect a lot of physical play in game three.
Game three of this series will be on Wednesday, April 24th. Puck Drop is set for 4:00 PM. That game will be in Toronto.
The number two seed Carolina Hurricanes played the number seven seed New York Islanders in game two of their first round series. The Hurricanes had a 1-0 series lead after winning game one 3-1. With six minutes to go and neither team scoring yet there was a fight. This was the first fight of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs. #23 Stefan Noesen took on #32 Kyle MacLean. They just got in each others faces and dropped the gloves. This one was more of a wrestling match than a fight with neither player getting too many good punches in. According to hockeyfights.com Stefan Noesen of the the Carolina Hurricanes won the fight. The Islanders took the lead during a four on four with under four minutes to go in the period. #21 Kyle Palmieri scored the go ahead goal with #2 Mike Reilly and #29 Brock Nelson getting the assists. With fifteen seconds to go in the first period the Islanders scored to get a two goal lead. #14 Bo Horvat scored. #13 Mathew Barzal and #53 Casey Cizikas got the assists. The Islanders had a 2-0 lead after the first period.
Four minutes into the second period, the Islanders scored again. #17 Anders Lee scored the goal. #44 Jean-Gabriel Pageau and #18 Pierre Engvall assisted the goal. With just under seven minutes left in the period, #86 Teavo Teravainen scored on the powerplay to get the Hurricanes back to within two goals. #59 Jake Guentzel and #24 Seth Jarvis got the assists. The Islanders had a 3-1 lead going into the third period.
#24 Seth Jarvis scored for the Hurricanes to bring the game within one goal. His goal was assisted by #11 Jordan Staal and #76 Brady Skjei. With under three minutes left in the game the Hurricanes tied it with a goal from #20 Sebastian Aho. His goal was assisted by #37 Andrei Svechnikov and #24 Seth Jarvis. On the next play the Hurricanes took the lead with a goal fromo #48 Jordan Martinook. His goal was assisted by #18 Jack Drury. The Islanders pulled their goalie. #59 Jake Guentzel scored on the empty net. #20 Sebastian Aho and Andrei Svechnikov got assists. There were three ten minute misconducts after the empty net goal. After a sopped shot with forty seconds to go, eight penalties were handed out including a few misconducts. With nine seconds to go, four more penalties would be handed out. The Final score was 5-3 Hurricanes. The Hurricanes now have a 2-0 series lead as the series shifts to New York.
This game was a huge comeback for the Hurricanes. It was an even bigger blow to the Islanders. It is going to be hard for the Islanders to come back in this series after this loss. The Hurricanes have all of the momentum going into game three. The Islanders lost their cool at the end of the game. The Islanders look like they are going to get more aggressive, take more chances, and make more mistakes. The Hurricanes are good enough to take advantage of that.
Game three of this series will be on Thursday, April 25th. Puck drop is set for 4:30 PM. The game will be in New York.
The number one seed Dallas Stars played the number eight seed Vegas Golden Knights. The Dallas Stars come into the playoffs with the best record in the Western Conference and won the Central Division. The Vegas Golden Knights come into the playoffs as the defending Stanley Cup Champions. This is a rematch of last years Western Conference final. There is a lot of pressure on both teams in these playoffs. The Golden Knights wasted no time as they scored just over a minute into the game. #61 Mark Stone scored their first goal of these playoffs. #15 Noah Hanifin anf #19 Jack Eichel got the assists. Halfway through the first period the Golden Knights took a two goal lead. #81 Jonathan Marchessault scored the goal. #49 Ivan Barbashev got the assist. With under four minutes to go in the first period the Stars scored. #14 Jamie Benn scored the goal. #53 Wyatt Johnston got the assist. Just over a minute later the Golden Knights scored to regain their two goal lead. #48 Tomas Hertl scored the goal. #15 Noah Hanifin got the assist. About thirty seconds later the Stars scored to bring the lead back down to one goal. #21 Jason Robertson scored the goal. #11 Logan Stankoven got the assist. The score after the first period was 3-2 Golden Knights.
Just over a minute into the second period the Golden Knights scored again. #3 Brayden McNabb scored with #9 Jack Eichel getting the assist. The score was 4-2 heading into the third period.
The Stars scored with eight minutes to go in the game. #27 Mason Marchment scored the goal. #4 Miro Heiskanen and #29 Jake Oettinger got the assists. The Golden Knights would hold onto their one goal lead to win the game. The final score was 4-3 Golden Knights. The Golden Knights now have a 1-0 series lead.
The Golden Knights scored early and kept their lead. Now they have an early series lead. It was a solid game for the Golden Knights. It was a close good battle. The Stars defense let them down early and they just could not recover. This is a good setup for a game two. The Dallas Stars are the first home team so far in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs to not win a game.
Game two of this series will be on Wednesday, April 24th. Puck Drop is set for 6:30 PM. That game will be in Dallas.
The number five seed Edmonton Oilers played the number seven seed Los Angeles Kings. This is the third season in a row these two teams have met in the first round of the playoffs. There is a history now between these two teams and a lot of animosity. There is also a lot of pressure on the Oilers this season. Seven minutes into the game the Oilers took the lead. #18 Zach Hyman scored with #97 Connor McDavid and #2 Evan Bouchard getting the assists. The Oilers took a two goal lead two minutes later with a goal from #19 Adam Henrique. His goal was assisted by #18 Zac Hyman and #2 Even Bouchard. The first period ended with the Oilers up 2-0.
Five minutes into the second period the Oilers took a three goal lead. #18 Zac Hyman scored his second goal of the game. #97 Connor McDavid and #19 Adam Henrique got assists. About halfway through the second period the Oilers scored again to take a four goal lead. #93 Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored with #29 Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid getting assists. With nine minutes to go in the second period the Kings fonally got on the scoreboard with a goal from #44 Mikey Anderson. His goal was assisted by #8 Drew Doughty and #33 Viktor Arvidsson. With just over two minutes to go in the period the Kings scored again. #9 Adrian Kempe scored with #55 Quinton Byfield getting the assist. The score was 4-3 Oilers heading into the third period.
#29 Leon Draisaitl scored just over a minute into the third period to give the Oilers a three goal lead again. #97 Connor McDavid and #2 Evan Bouchard got assists. With thirteen minutes left in the game, #18 Zac Hyman scored his third goal of the game for the first hat trick of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs. His hat trick goal was assisted by #97 Connor McDavid and #2 Evan Bouchard. With three minutes to go the Kings scored. #80 Pierre-Luc Dubois scored with #9 Adrian Kempe and Vladislav Gavrikov getting the assists. With just over a minute to go #12 Trevor Moore scored to get the Kings back within two goals. #78 Alex Laferriere got the assist. With under thirty seconds to go #37 Warren Foegele scored and unassisted empty net goal to get the Oilers back up by three. The final score was 7-4 Oilers. the Oilers now have a 1-0 series lead.
There was no lack of offense in this game. This series looks like it will be another one where both teams try to outscore each other while not playing much defense. If the Kings fall into the trap of just trying outscore the Oilers, the Oilers will win this series quickly. The Kings could not keep up in this game and it will be interesting to see if they can keep up as the series goes on. The Oilers can put up seven goals all series. The Kings won’t be able to keep up with that.
Game two of this series will be on Wednesday, April 24th. Puck drop is set for 7:00 PM. The game will be in Edmonton.
Todays first game is game two of the New York Rangers and Washington Capitals series. The Rangers have a 1-0 series lead after winning game one 4-1. This game is in New York. Puck drop is set for 4:00 PM. Will the Rangers continue to dominate the Capitals? Will the Capitals bounce back in game two?
The Florida Panthers take on the Tampa Bay Lightning in game two of their series. The Panthers have a 1-0 series lead after a 3-2 win in game one. This game is in Florida. Puck drop is set for 4:30 PM. Will the Panthers find a way to win again? Will the Lightning bounce back for a game two win?
The Winnipeg Jets are playing the Colorado Avalanche in game two of their series. The Jets have a 1-0 series lead after a 7-6 game one win. This game will be in Winnipeg. Puck drop is set for 6:30 PM. Will this game have a lot of scoring again? Will the Jets prevail again? Will the Avalanche bounce back for a game two victory?
The Vancouver Canucks and Nashville Predators are playing in game two of their series. The Canucks took a 1-0 series lead after winning game one 4-2. This game will be in Vancouver. Puck drop is set for 7:00 PM. Will the Canucks win again? Will the Predators find a way to win?
Zac Electrifly 