The Stanley Cup Playoffs continued yesterday with the final game of the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs series. It was game seven of that series. The winner would move onto round two while the loser would be eliminated. There are two games going on today. The New York Rangers are taking on the Carolina Hurricanes in game one of their second round series. The Dallas Stars are taking on the Vegas Golden Knights in game seven of their first round series.
The Boston Bruins took on the Toronto Maple Leafs in game seven of their first round series. The series was tied at 3-3 going into the game. The winner would move onto the second round while the loser would be eliminated. This game was going to be historic. If the Bruins lost, they would be the first team in any major league to lose back to back playoff series after leading the series 3-1. If the Bruins won, it would be the seventh time in a row where they defeated the Maple Leaf when meeting in the playoffs. If the Maple Leaf won, it would be the first time they defeated the Bruins in the playoffs since 1959. Neither team scored in the first period. The score was tied at 0-0 after the first period.
No one scored in the second period either. The score was 0-0 going into the third period. With just under eleven minutes left in the game, #88 William Nylander scored for the Maple Leafs to take the lead. His goal was assisted by #34 Austin Matthews and #59 Tyler Bertuzzi. A minute and a half later, the Bruins tied the game with a goal from #27 Hampus Lindholm. His goal was assisted by #21 James Van Riemsdyk and #55 Justin Brazeau. The score was still tied after three periods. The score was 1-1 after the third period. The game went into overtime.
Two minutes into overtime, #88 David Pastrmak scored to give the Bruins the win. His goal was assisted by #37 Hampus Lindholm and #25 Brandon Carlo. The final score was 2-1 Bruins. The Boston Bruins defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-3 in this series. The Boston Bruins have advanced to the second round. The Toronto Maple Leafs have been eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
For the third 2024 Stanley Cup Playoff game in a row neither team scored in the first two periods. This was a very close game. For about a minute it did look like the Maple Leafs might win the series. They didn’t hold onto their lead very long though. This was a close game that capped off a close series. Four games in this series were decided by one goal. The last three games of this series were all had a 2-1 scoreline with two of those games going to overtime. They split the first two games of the series. Then the Bruins won back to back games. Then the maple leafs won back to back games. The Bruins finally won the series with this win. Once again it is not the Toronto Maple Leafs year to win it all.
The Boston Bruins advance to the second round. They will take on the Florida Panthers in a rematch from last season.
The Washington Capitals, Tampa Bay Lightning, New York Islanders, Winnipeg Jets, Los Angeles Kings, Nashville Predators, and Toronto Maple Leafs have been eliminated from the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The New York Rangers, Florida Panthers, Carolina Hurricanes, Colorado Avalanche, Edmonton Oilers, Vancouver Canucks, and Boston Bruins have advanced to the second round.
So far everyone I have predicted all of the first round winners. I just need the Vegas Golden Knights to win their series to maintain a prefect bracket.
The Dallas Stars take on the Vegas Golden Knights for game seven of their first round series. The Series is tied at 3-3. The winner will advance to the second round. The loser will be eliminated from the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs. This game will be in Dallas. Puck Drop is scheduled for 4:30 PM. Will the Dallas Stars get their revenge from last season by defeating the reigning champions? Will the Vegas Golden Knights beat the Dallas Stars in back to back playoffs to advance to round two?
The Number one seed New York Rangers will take on the number two seed Carolina Hurricanes. The New York Rangers won the Presidents trophy for having the best record during the regular season. The Rangers are currently the only still undefeated team in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Hurricanes easily made the playoffs. The Hurricanes finished the regular season with a .634 win percentage. The Rangers finished their season with a .671 win percentage. The Rangers went 2-1-0 against the Hurricanes this season. Their last meeting was on March 12th. The Rangers won that game 1-0.
The New York Rangers swept the Washington Capitals to reach the second round. The Hurricanes failed to sweep the Islanders but still won their first round series in five games. Neither one of these team had a strong first round opponent. They didn’t face too much of a challenge getting into the second round. This will be the first real test for both teams. It should be a strong series. The Rangers were the better team during their regular season series but the Hurricanes did show some strong play during the regular season.
2024 regular season head to head record:
| GP | W | L | OTL | PTS | GF | GA | GD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rangers | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 7 | -3 |
| Hurricanes | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 4 | +3 |
2024 regular season record:
| GP | W | L | OTL | PTS | GF | GA | GD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rangers | 82 | 55 | 23 | 4 | 114 | 282 | 229 | +53 |
| Hurricanes | 82 | 52 | 23 | 7 | 111 | 279 | 216 | +63 |
2024 playoff record:
| GP | W | L | OTL | GF | GA | GD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rangers | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 7 | +8 |
| Hurricanes | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 16 | 11 | +5 |
Game one of this series is today. Game one will be in New York. Puck drop is set for 1:00pm PST. The winner of this series will play the winner of the Florida Panthers vs Boston Bruins series int eh Eastern Conference Final.
Zac Electrifly 
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