The Stanley Cup Playoffs continued yesterday with two games. The Florida Panthers were looking to close out their series with the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Dallas Stars were looking to tie their series with the Vegas Golden Knights. There are four games going on tonight. Four teams are facing elimination tonight. The Boston Bruins will look to eliminate the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Carolina Hurricanes have the chance to eliminate the New York Islanders. The Colorado Avalanche can eliminate the Winnipeg Jets. The Vancouver Canucks can eliminate the Nashville Predators.
The Florida Panthers played the Tampa Bay Lightning in game five of their first round series. The Panthers were leading the series 3-1 going into the game. The Panthers could have swept the Lightning in game four but the Lightning forced game five. Neither team scored in the first period of game five. The score was tied at 0-0 going into the second period.
Forty five seconds into the second period, the Panthers took the lead with a goal from #23 Carter Verhaeghe. His goal was assisted by #16 Aleksander Barkov and #77 Niko Mikkola. With seven minutes left in the second period, #16 Aleksander Barkov scored to give the Panthers a two goal lead. His goal was assisted by #5 Aaron Ekvlad and #42 Gustav Forsling. About a minute later, the Lightning got on the board with a goal from #77 Victor Hedman. His goal was assisted by #86 Nikita Kucherov and #38 Brandon Hagel. The score was 2-1 Panthers going into the third period.
With just under nine minutes to go in the game, #13 Aleksander Barkov scored his second goal of the game. His goal was assisted by #19 Matthew Tkachuk and #23 Carter Verhaeghe. #17 Evan Rodrigues scored for the panthers with just under six minutes to go in the game. His goal was assisted by #82 Kevin Stenlund and #10 Vladimir Tarasenko. #23 Carter Verhaeghe scored for the Panthers. His goal was assisted by Matthew Tkachuk. #77 Niko Mikkola also scored for the Panthers. His goal was assisted by #15 Anton Lundell and #27 Eetu Luostarinen. The final score was 6-1 Panthers. The Florida Panthers have won this series 4-1. The Tampa Bay Lightning have been eliminated from the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Panthers took over in the third period of this game to win the series. After not sweeping the Lightning the Panthers had a huge response in game five to win the series. This series was closer than the last game makes it seem. The first two games could have gone either way with the Panthers just finding the edge. The panthers only got a two goal lead in game three because of a late goal. To their credit the Lightning came back for a huge game four win to force a game five and avoid the sweep. They just did not follow that up in game five. The Panthers found another gear in the third period of game five.
The Florida Panthers will take on the winner of the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs series.
The Dallas Stars played the Vegas Golden Knights in game four of their first round series. The Golden Knights were leading the series 2-1 going into the game. This game was in Las Vegas. The Golden Knights opened up the scoring with five minutes left in the fist period. #22 Michael Amadio scored the goal. #3 Brayden McNabb and #21 Brett Howden got the assists. With two minutes left in the first period, #63 Evgenii Dadonov scored for the Stars to tie the game. His goal was assisted by #20 Ryan Suter. The score was tied at 1-1 after the first period.
Four minutes into the second period, #9 Jack Eichel scored for the Vegas Golden Knights to take the lead. #81 Jonathan Marchessault and #49 Ivan Barbashev got the assists on that goal. Halfway through the second period, #53 Wyatt Johnston scored for the Dallas stars ti tie the game. His goal was assisted by #95 Matt Duchene and #91 Tyler Seguin. With less than two minutes to go in the second period, #10 Ty Dellandrea scored for the stars to take the lead. His goal was assisted by #16 Craig Smith and #18 Sam Steel. The score was 3-2 Stars going into the third period.
#24 Roope Hintz scored an unassisted goal to give the Stars a two goal lead. His goal came with less than two minutes left in the game. The final score was 4-2 Stars. The series is now tied up at 2-2.
The Stars came back to tie the game twice. Then they held onto their lead after a late goal in the second period. The Golden Knights could not hold onto their leads. The Golden Knights offense was no where to be found in these last two games. Neither team has won a home game yet in this series. The Golden Knights struggled at home in these two games. Now with the series tied it will go to at least six games. Game five is a must win for both teams. This series might go to seven games. The Golden Knights have plenty of talent. Who is going to step up to help them win the series?
Game five of this series will be on Wednesday, May 1st. Puck drop is set for 4:30 PM. The game will be in Dallas.
The Boston Bruins take on the Toronto Maple Leafs in game five of their first round series. The Bruins lead the series 3-1. This game will be in Boston. Puck drop is scheduled for 4:00 PM. If the Bruins win they will win the series and advance to the second round. If the Maple Leafs win they will force a game six in Toronto. Will the Bruins continue their tradition started in 1969 of beating the Maple Leafs in the playoffs? Will the Maple Leafs survive to play another game?
The Carolina Hurricanes take on the New York Islanders in game five of their series. The Hurricanes lead the series 3-1. The game will be in Carolina. Puck drop is scheduled for 4:30 PM. If the Hurricanes win they will win the series and advance to the second round. If the Islanders win they will force a game six. Will the Hurricanes finish the series? Will the Islanders force another game.
The Winnipeg Jets take on the Colorado Avalanche in game five of their first round series. The Avalanche lead the series 3-1. This game is in Colorado. Puck drop is scheduled for 6:30 PM. If the Avalanche win they will win the series and advance to the second round. If the Jets win they will force a game six. Will the Avalanche win four games in a row to win the series? Will the Jets be able to land this game and force game six?
The Vancouver Canucks take on the Nashville Predators for game five of their first round series. The Canucks lead the series 3-1 heading into the game. This game is in Vancouver. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 PM. If the Canucks win they will win the series and advance to the second round. If the Predators win they will force a game six. Will the Canucks finish off the Predators tonight? Will the Predators hold off elimination for one more game?
Zac Electrifly 
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