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Dallas at St. Louis – Game 4 – Eakin’s overtime winner levels the series for the Stars

First Star of the Game Cody Eakin’s first goal of the playoffs was a big one, as the Stars beat the Blues 3-2 in overtime to level the series at two-all.

Neither team was able to capitalize of their lone man-advantage in the frame, but Vladimir Tarasenko did find the back of the net with a wrister at the 10:17 mark, assisted by Jaden Schwartz. Schwartz completed a steal by Carl Gunnarsson along the near boards in Dallas‘ offensive zone and was able to find Tarasenko already streaking towards Third Star of the Game Kari Lehtonen’s net. The winger collected the pass near center ice with no defensemen in his path, allowing him to advance between the dots before going five hole on Lehtonen.

In addition to leading on the scoreboard, the Blues also owned the face-off dot (61%), blocks (three to one), giveaways (none to three) and hits (16 to 10).

Radek Faksa leveled the game 4:05 into the second period, with an assist from… Joel Edmundson (that’s a joke, just in case you were wondering). Edmundson was trying to find a teammate in the neutral zone, but Faksa easily intercepted that pass to advance on Brian Elliott’s crease and score on his five hole.

16 seconds after Faksa’s goal, David Backes found himself in the penalty box for tripping Mattias Janmark. It proved to be costly, as 53 seconds later Patrick Sharp scored the Stars‘ first power play goal of the series with a quick wrister past Elliott’s right skate. He was set up by Jamie Benn (his eighth helper of the playoffs) and Jason Spezza. John Klingberg passed the puck along the blue line to Spezza, who found Benn along the far side of the goal line. Benn was forced to the top of the crease, but he found a crashing Sharp to take the lead.

Backes earned himself another trip to the penalty box at the 11:11 mark, but he took Kris Russell with him this team, as both were charged with penalties (roughing and slashing, respectively). The four-on-four circumstances lasted only 1:27 before the Notes earned a four-on-three when Eakin took a seat for slashing Schwartz.

St. Louis converted on that infraction when Paul Stastny scored his first goal of the playoffs, a tip-in on Tarasenko’s initial shot to level the game at two-all. He was also assisted by Alexander Steen. Steen took a pass from Tarasenko near the blue line, but quickly returned the puck back to his possession outside the near face-off circle. Tarasenko fired a wrister right at Stastny’s stick at the top of the crease, which he angled just the right way to get the puck over Lehtonen.

Alex Goligoski sent the Blues right back to the playoffs at the 13:55 mark when he hooked Patrik Berglund, but Steen returned the ice to four-on-four after only 24 seconds when he interfered with Faksa’s advance on the puck. Dallas was unable to convert on their end of the 24 second power play when Goligoski returned to the ice.

Although an exciting second period, this game certainly needed a third, as the score was two-all after 40 minutes. St. Louis continued to lead the game in face-off wins (53%), blocks (four to three) and hits (25 to 19).

Unlike the first two periods, there were no goals or penalties committed in the final 20 minutes. Elliott and Lehtonen deserve credit for forcing overtime, as they both saved all seven shots they faced. Through regulation, St. Louis continued to lead in face-offs (56%), blocks (seven to four), giveaways (four to six) and hits (34 to 30).

Only 2:58 into overtime, Eakin scored the winner with his first goal of the postseason, assisted by Sharp and Benn. Benn collected a pass at his defensive blue line and advanced the puck to center ice before passing to Sharp along the far boards. Eakin received a cross-ice pass at the near face-off dot, which he wristed over Elliott’s glove shoulder to level the series at two-all.

Lehtonen earns the win after saving 24 of the 26 shots he faced (92.3%), while Elliott takes the overtime loss after saving 25 of 28 (89.3%).

With the win, the Stars reclaim home ice for the now effectively three game series. The important Game 5 will occur Saturday at 1 p.m. eastern in the American Airlines Center, and may be viewed on NBC, SN or TVAS.

May 5, 2016
Washington at Pittsburgh – Game 4 – Hornqvist scores in OT, Pens on brink of Eastern Finals

No Kris Letang, no problem for the Penguins, as they beat Washington 3-2 in overtime to take a 3-1 lead in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

At puck drop, Washington continued their surge from the third period of Game 3 and were rewarded with a Jay Beagle backhander only 2:58 into play (his third tally of the playoffs), assisted by Tom Wilson and Taylor Chorney, to give them an early 1-0 lead. After receiving a pass from Chroney to get the puck out of the zone, Wilson flipped a pass into the far corner of the offensive zone for Beagle to collect. The rebound off the boards sent the puck back across the goal line and allowed Beagle to fire the short angle top shelf over Matt Murray’s glove hand.

The Capitals‘ goal awakened the Penguins, as there was a noticeable increase in offensive efforts after the ensuing face-off made evident by the quickly tied shots on goal totals (three apiece). Trevor Daley leveled the game 6:18 after Beagle’s tally with his first goal of the postseason, assisted by First Star of the Game Patric Hornqvist and Sidney Crosby (his sixth helper of the playoffs). Hornqvist brought the puck into the offensive zone, but quickly dumped off to Daley, who fired a wrister from the far face-off zone. Karl Alzner tried to made the block, but instead he redirected the puck through Braden Holtby’s legs for a five-hole goal.

Carl Hagelin committed the first penalty of the game with 4:30 remaining in the frame for a late hit against T.J. Oshie, but the Pens‘ penalty kill stood strong to maintained the tied score. In fact, the ensuing Pittsburgh surge when Hagelin exited the box resulted in a power play of their own when Matt Niskanen was caught hooking on the streaking winger.

The Penguins‘ power play was short-lived though, as Hornqvist tripped Daniel Winnik with 51 seconds remaining to earn a trip to the penalty box. The four-on-four became a four-on-three for six seconds when Jason Chimera tripped Crosby along the boards, but Niskanen returned to the ice to even the sides until the final horn of the frame sounded.

Although tied, Washington led the period’s shot totals by four attempts, as well as hits (17-15, respectively). The even nature of the contest extended beyond the scoreboard though, as both squads were level in face-off wins, blocks and giveaways.

The second period began under four-on-four conditions for 52 seconds, followed by a Pittsburgh power play for 44 seconds. After the 1:36 of atypical circumstances, the score still read 1-1, due in part to Washington‘s 22nd straight penalty kill.

A quick breakaway was all the Penguins needed to go up a goal. At the 3:07 mark, Second Star Matt Cullen scored his third goal of the postseason with a wrister, assisted by Tom Kuhnhackl and Brian Dumoulin. Dumoulin received a pass from the center face-off dot and passed to Kuhnhackl at the red line along the far boards. Just before he was hit, he dumped the puck into the offensive zone to a streaking Cullen, who beat Holtby five-hole, his second such goal of the game.

The Penguins almost struck again around the six minute mark on another fast break by Ian Cole, but Holtby was there to make the pad save.

Penalty No. 1 of the frame was courtesy of Ben Lovejoy, a hooking infraction against Justin Williams at the 8:31 mark, but as was theme of the night, the Capitals leveled the ice again when Oshie cross checked Daley after 1:16 of the advantage. It was a poor power play for Washington anyways, as it was actually the Penguins with the puck on their stick for most of its duration.

Although the Penguins continued their pressure on Holtby with their man-advantage, the goal differential remained at a lone goal.

Third Star John Carlson leveled the game with 3:41 remaining in the frame with a wrister over Murray’s glove side (his fourth tally of the playoffs), assisted by Williams, the score that held into the second intermission. Williams stole the puck from Derrick Pouliot along the near boards and centered a pass to Carlson, who scored over Murray’s glove hand. Just like the Penguins‘ forwards, Washington‘s attackers have heeded the scouting report on how to beat the young net-minder.

Pittsburgh fired the puck three more times than the Capitals, due in part more so to their defense, as well as played a slightly more physical game along the boards (18-15, respectively).

Crosby left the ice approximately a quarter of the way through the period after receiving a stick check to the hands from Alex Ovechkin, but eventually returned after receiving attention in the dressing room.

With 3:38 remaining in regulation, Alzner was sent to the box for hi-sticking Crosby. The Penguins entered the night not scoring a power play goal against the Capitals in the previous three games, and they could not even manage a shot on goal to change that statistic. Since neither team was able to break the tie, Game 4 entered sudden death overtime.

Only 16 shots were fired during the third (Washington led by two attempts), and Washington also led the face-off dot (52%) and giveaways (two to 11). Pittsburgh led regulation with two more blocks, three more takeaways and five more hits.

Hornqvist ended an exciting 2:34 of back and forth hockey with a game-winning wrsiter to give the Penguins a 3-1 lead in the series, assisted by Conor Sheary and Dumoulin. Dumoulin saved an attempted clear from exiting the offensive zone and passed to Sheary near the far boards. Sheary tried to center a pass to Crosby, but it was deflected by Mike Weber… right onto Hornqvist’s stick, who won the game over Holtby’s stick shoulder.

Murray earned the win after saving 34 of 36 shots faced (94.4%), while Holtby takes the overtime loss after saving 30 of 33 (90.9%).

The Penguins‘ first chance to advance to the Eastern Conference Championship will occur at 7:15 p.m. eastern this Saturday at the Verizon Center. That game may be viewed on CBC, NBC or TVAS.

May 4, 2016
Dallas at St. Louis – Game 3 – Steen headlines St. Louis’ 6-1 victory

Three goals in the second period proved to be too much for the Stars, as St. Louis won 6-1 to take a 2-1 lead in the series.

Until approximately the 2:15 mark, the beginning of the game took place almost entirely in the neutral zone before the Blues finally registered a shot on net. Any momentum they tried getting off those attempts ended though, but it wasn’t due to anything the Stars did – the same pane of glass damaged in Game 7 of the Chicago series proved to be an issue.

In fact, that delay in play actually benefited Dallas, who quickly fired two quick shots following the return to play. Soon after, they scored the first goal of Game 3 – a Colton Sceviour wrister at the 4:44 mark. His second tally of the postseason was assisted by Jason Spezza (his sixth helper of the playoffs) and Johnny Oduya.

Fifty-seven seconds later, First Star of the Game Alexander Steen leveled with a wrister of his own, assisted by Paul Stastny and Troy Brouwer.

Scottie Upshall committed the first penalty of the night when he hi-sticked Oduya in front of Antti Niemi’s net with 6:52 remaining in the period. Dallas entered the night 0 for seven on the power play in the Western Semifinals, and once again the Blues completed the kill.

Thirty-seven seconds after completing the kill, Vernon Fiddler and the Stars returned the favor by committing a slashing penalty against Jaden Schwartz, which St. Louis converted not even half a minute later when Third Star David Backes connected on a tip-in to give the Blues a 2-1 lead, assisted by Kevin Shattenkirk and Second Star Vladimir Tarasenko.

The Stars almost tied the game again with 1:19 remaining in the period when Jason Demers collected the rebound of an Elliott save, but the puck hit the crossbar and did not cross the red line, leaving the Blues with the one-goal differential going into the dressing room.

Not only did St. Louis end the frame with the lead on the scoreboard, but they were also winning the dot (58%), blocked shots (eight to four), takeaways (three to two) and, most importantly for their game, hits (19 to eight).

2:34 after returning to the ice for the second period, Brouwer scored his third goal of these playoffs on a wrister, assisted by Jay Bouwmeester and Alex Pietrangelo (his sixth helper of the postseason). That tally is the one that chased Niemi, who was replaced by Kari Lehtonen for the remainder of the game.

St. Louis continued the onslaught 1:16 later when Tarasenko scored a wrister assisted by Patrik Berglund and Robby Fabbri (his seventh helper of the playoffs).

Jamie Benn began taking his frustrations out Blues skaters, and was sent to the box after tripping Bouwmeester at the 4:47 mark. The ensuing power play did not go St. Louis‘ way, so the score remained at 4-1 when Benn returned to the ice.

The Blues returned to the power play at the 8:47 mark when two Stars (Demers and Fiddler) were sent to the box, but it was a five-on-four due to Ryan Reaves also earning two minutes in the sin bin for responding with a roughing penalty of his own against Fiddler. St. Louis‘ power play fell to one for three in the game as they were unable to score with the advantage.

Those penalties are just one example of how Fiddler and the Stars have been trying to get under Reaves’ skin since he has entered the series. Known for being an aggressive enforcer, When he entered play, an opposing physical Dallas skater was usually quick to follow, and almost every stoppage was followed by a skirmish along the boards. Even when Fiddler wasn’t on the ice, Reaves was still a focus for the Stars, hoping for any attempt to get their first power play goal of the series.

Antoine Roussel made his fourth trip to the penalty box in the last two games for a delay of game penalty, and the Blues made sure to make him pay. Only 10 seconds after the infraction at the 17:53 mark, Steen scored his second goal of the night with a power play wrister to set the score at 5-1, assisted by Tarasenko and Schwartz.

Bouwmeester earned himself a break with 63 seconds remaining in the second period when he tripped Spezza in the corner, but the period ended with the Blues leading 5-1.

After two periods, the Blues still led on shots (26-19), as well as face-offs (59%), blocks (12 to five), takeaways (seven to four) and hits (28-17).

St. Louis killed the remaining 57 seconds of the power play at the beginning of the third period to continue their streak of penalty kills at eight straight over the Stars.

Benn committed the first penalty of the final period at the 9:07 mark when he cross checked Pietrangelo, and the Blues followed suit 3:35 later when Colton Parayko was caught roughing Radek Faksa. Dallas ended their power play 41 seconds early when Cody Eakin hooked Shattenkirk. After all of that, neither team altered the 5-1 score.

Reaves finally got tired of the Stars late in the third and scrapped with Curtis McKenzie with three minutes to go. After his bout, he blew a kiss to the Dallas bench before heading to the dressing room, probably not making many friends in the process.

Backes’ fifth goal of the playoffs and second of the game was a shorthanded wrister, due to a Brouwer slash against Faksa, with 1:54 remaining in the game to seal the deal at 6-1. He was assisted by Carl Gunnarsson.

Elliott earns the win after saving 25 of the 26 shots he faced (96.2%), while Niemi takes the loss, saving nine of 12 (75%). The goaltending questions continue for Dallas, as Niemi’s replacement saved 24 of 27 (88.9%) for no decision.

After taking a 2-1 lead in the series, the Blues will once again host the Stars Thursday at 8 p.m. eastern. That contest can be viewed on CBC, NBCSN or TVAS.

May 4, 2016
An All Around Team Effort Helps Nashville Earn a Giant Win at Home.

The Nashville Predators took down the San Jose Sharks easily by the score of 4-1 after scoring four straight unanswered goals. Nashville played a great all-around game and easily won in front of their home crowd. This loss was San Jose’s first road loss of the playoffs.

The Predators looked to use home ice advantage in their favor to get back in the series. They even had Tennessee Titans superstar quarterback Marcus Mariota appear before the game on the ice to get the crowd pumped up. Nashville made a major lineup change prior to Game 3. Preds center Mike Ribeiro was a healthy scratch after having only one point and a minus-three in nine playoff games this year. Nashville replaced Ribeiro with rookie Pontus Aberg who made his NHL debut tonight. Aberg recorded 40 points, 25 of them goals, in 73 games with their AHL affiliate Milwaukee Admirals.

Nashville applied major pressure early and just 1:11 into the game the pressure resulted in the game’s first penalty. Sharks winger Melker Karlsson took down Preds star Roman Josi with a hook and earned a two-minute trip to the sin bin. This sent the Predators to their awful man advantage. Nashville is a horrendous 2/31 on the PP in the playoffs. The penalty resulted in no big chances as they only managed 2 shots and San Jose killed it off.

The games first goal came with 6:47 remaining in the first period. This goal resulted from pure skill and speed. San Jose vet Patrick Marleau kicked the puck to himself at his own blue line but kicked it so far even I thought the play was going to result in nothing. I and probably every fan in the arena was wrong. Marleau was able to split Predators defender, Shea Weber, and Roman Josi and beat them to the puck in the Preds zone. Nashville goaltender Pekka Rinne tried to come out and perform a diving poke check but completely missed the puck after Marleau pulled the puck back onto his stick. Marleau then had a wide open net and slammed the puck home to open up the Sharks tab. This goal was the first 1st-period goal of the series between these two teams.

With a little of five minutes left in the first period, Predators D-man Anthony Bitetto crossed check Sharks center Joe Thornton. After the penalty was called, a major scrum ensued which resulted in a roughing minor for Sharks defender Brent Burns and Predators defender Barret Jackman. These two calls canceled each other out and sent San Jose to their first PP of the game from the Bitetto cross-check call. The Preds were able to kill this PP of with poise. Then with 55 seconds left in the first, Preds winger Viktor Arvidsson gets the call for slashing Sharks defenseman Brendan Dillon sending San Jose to their second PP of the game and the first period ended with them on the man advantage.

The second period started with the Sharks on the power play. Nashville was once again up to the task and didn’t allow a shot and killed off the penalty. Then just 2:19 into the second period, San Jose youngster Joonas Donskoi received a four-minute high-sticking call after he caught Preds winger James Neal up high. Nashville went to their second manpower advantage of the game, looking for some major momentum and even a goal to tie the game.

That is exactly what Nashville did thanks to a very good power play. Predators Mattias Ekholm gathered the puck on the left-hand side, skated the puck across the blue line and drove right into the slot. Ekholm spotted Preds winger James Neal low on the right-hand side and fed him a nifty pass. Neal took the pass and HAMMERED a one-timer from almost the goal line and beat San Jose goalie Martin Jones high short side to tie the game up at 1-1 on the power play.

Nashville would then get another glorious chance to take the lead just 3:21 later. Predators defender Roman Josi corralled the puck high in the left-hand slot and ripped a wrister looking to beat Jones high glove side. Martin Jones had other plans and robbed Josi with a stellar glove save to keep the game knotted at 1 goal a piece.

San Jose went back on the penalty kill after Sharks winger Matt Nieto hooked Preds Ryan Johansen. Nashville went back to the power play for the third time looking to take the lead again. Sadly, their power play did not last long because Nashville winger Craig Smith caught Sharks winger Nick Spalling with a stick up high and we then played 4 on 4 hockey.

Just 44 seconds later of four aside hockey, Nashville would take the lead thanks to Shea Weber. Predators Ryan Johansen carried the puck in on the right side and tried dancing around the defenseman. Johansen got the puck poked right off his stick and went right to Shea Weber sitting in the slot. Weber unleashed a HOWITZER of a slap shot that beat Martin Jones high glove side and went bar down to give them a 2-1 lead. This goal was Weber’s 13th career playoff goal, tieing the franchise record for goals in the playoffs with David Legwand (no longer on the team).

San Jose went back on the power play with their fourth chance of the game. This time, Nashville defenseman Barret Jackman got called for hooking Sharks defender Brent Burns. The Sharks look to tie the game up on their power play which is usually very strong. San Jose managed to fire four shots on Pekka Rinne, but Rinne was very effective and shut down every opportunity. The second period would end with Nashville up 2-1, but San Jose still looking to tie the game.

Just like the second period started, the third period started with the Sharks back on the power play for 21 seconds. Nashville killed off that penalty once again, especially thanks to Pekka Rinne and blocked shots. The two teams would then trade a couple of decent scoring chances, but again, the duo of Rinne and Jones would turn them away.

Then with 13:51 left in the third period, Predators youngster Colton Sissons went on a mini breakaway looking to score. Sissons would then get knocked off the puck and taken down. He went flying into the post banging his knee right off the post. Sissons would then need help to get off the ice and went right into the locker room. Hope he can return quickly!

Then just 46 seconds later the Predators would strike again to go up 3-1 with 13 minutes remaining. Nashville winger Colin Wilson grabbed the puck on the goal line and slid a beautiful pass to pinching defender Ryan Ellis. He then threw a snap shot on net that was immediately saved by Jones’ left pad. The puck went off the boards and right to Wilson who was sitting in the same spot. Wilson corralled the loose puck on the goal line and shot it off the right post and in to give the Preds their first two-goal lead of the series. Wilson now has points in four straight games.

San Jose would then start applying some more pressure in the hope of getting back into the game. Although, once again Pekka Rinne was able to stone the Sharks on back to back chances to keep his team’s two-goal lead.

With 8:52 left in the contest we would get more 4 on 4 hockey. Nashville D-man Roman Josi collects a slashing call against Sharks center Joe Thornton and Joe Thornton getting two minutes for slashing Roman Josi right back. San Jose looked to take a page out of Nashville’s book and score a goal while playing 4 on 4 just like the Preds did earlier in the game, but this never happened.

Nashville winger Craig Smith would then be sent on a mini breakaway off a nice pass. San Jose D-man Brenden Dillon would slash Smith on his BA causing his shot to go wide. This sent the Preds to their fifth PP of the game looking to convert for another goal. Just 47 seconds into the power play, Mike Fisher would have another amazing chance to add to the lead. Fisher got the puck in the high slot and fired a laser that was calmly gloved down by Jones to still give his team a glimmer of hope.

Then 1:48 into the Predators fifth power play, Nashville would strike again. Preds winger Filip Forsberg, who was in the right-hand corner, passed the puck up to Preds D-man Roman Josi at the point. Josi passed the puck right back to Forsberg who grabbed the puck, curled back and drove right to the top of the right faceoff circle. Forsberg then rifled a NASTY wrist shot that, once again, beat Martin Jones high glove side and went bar down to increase the lead to 4-1. This would end up being the final score of the game as the Predators would hold on for a huge win.

Nashville’s goalie Pekka Rinne would end the game saving 24 out of 25 shots for a .963 SV%. While San Jose’s tendy Martin Jones would save 21 out of 25 shots for a measly .840 SV%.

Nashville would lead faceoffs (35-26), hits (37-28), and giveaways (6-5). San Jose would lead in shots (27-25) and penalty minutes (14-12). The teams would tie in blocked shots (19-19). The Sharks went a terrible 0/4 on the power play and the Predators went 2/5.

Nashville would earn a huge win and also a huge momentum builder with tonight’s win. Thier win would cut San Jose’s series lead to 2 games to 1. These two teams will meet again on Thursday night at 9 pm back here in Nashville, Tennesee. The game can be seen on CNBC, SN, or TVAS2.

May 4, 2016
Tampa Takes one in New York

The Tampa Bay Lightning beat the New York Islanders 5-4 in overtime to take game 3 on the road. Brian Boyle scored the game winning goal in overtime. Josh Bailey had a strong game in his return scoring 2 goals in a losing effort.

Going into game 3, Josh Bailey was a game time decision after missing the past few games. It proved to be a great choice as 8 minutes into the game Josh Bailey opened the scoring of the game. Travis Hamonic dumped the puck into the offensive zone and Nikolay Kulemin got in on the fore-check and managed to get the puck to Bailey in front of the net and made no mistake to beat Ben Bishop.

The Islanders continued to pressure Tampa as they threw puck after puck at the net, but Bishop was up to the task. Bishop had a great first period making 16 saves on 17 shots. It looked like the Islanders were going to take the lead into the second period, but with 1:30 left in the period Casey Cizikas took a tripping penalty. Tampa made no mistake on the power-play as Alex Killorn’s slap shot from the point was deflected by Ryan Callahan past Thomas Greiss with just 13 second left in the period.

The second period started with the Islanders throwing their weight around and no one felt it more than Jonathan Drouin who was hammered by Thomas Hickey crossing over the blue line. It was a little questionable with a lot of contact to Drouin’s head. It was also pointed out that Drouin lowered his head and Hickey had no option but make contact with his head. Drouin didn’t return until halfway thru the 3^rd period.

A few minutes later Tampa took its first lead of the game, Tyler Johnson won an offensive zone faceoff back to Victor Hedman who stepped into a slap shot and hammered it past Greiss. The lead lasted for about six minutes until the 4^th line for New York was out grinding. Cal Clutterbuck got the puck back to Nick Leddy who let a slap shot go with big Matt Martin in front of the net and the puck beat Bishop. The 2^nd period finished with both teams tied at 2 going into the final 20 minutes of the game.

The 3^rd period got underway and Jason Garrison took a high sticking penalty, giving the Islanders their 4^th powerplay of the game. This time they were able to capitalize on the man advantage as Josh Bailey scored his second goal of the game after a great pass from Thomas Hickey making the game 3-2 just 2 minutes into the game.

This lasted 58 seconds as Tampa answered with a goal of their own. Valtteri Filppula was behind the net and made a great pass to find Vladislav Namestnikov who’s one timer hit the back of net. Alex Killorn also picked up an assist on the goal. The game slowed down a little as both teams began to play conservative hockey.

With 8 minutes left in the period the Islanders’ 4^th line struck again as they won a battle along the boards and found Cal Clutterbuck in the high slot who buried his shot past Bishop to retake the lead.

Tampa was looking to tie the game, so with just over 2 minutes left in the game they pulled Bishop for the extra attacker. It proved to be a great decision as Nikitia Kucherov receives a pass from Drouin to tie the game with 38 seconds left in the game. This meant overtime was needed to decide a winner.

Overtime lasted a whole 2:48 as Brian Boyle scored his first ever playoff winning goal. Victor Hedman took a shot that missed the net and came off the boards to Boyle who made no mistake in finding the net with Greiss down and out.

The next game will be Friday, May 6^th at 7pm eastern standard time in New York.

May 3, 2016
Washington at Pittsburgh – Game 3 – Murray saves 49, earns 2-1 series lead

First Star of the Game Matt Murray saved 47 of 49 shots faced (95.9%) to earn a 3-2 Game 3 victory.

The first major occurrence of the game was actually an injury to Bryan Rust. Only 19 seconds into his opening shift, he blocked a shot hard enough to require him to head to the dressing room. He did not return for even the second period.

Although Washington fired four shots on goal in the first 6:37 of play, it was the Penguins who scored the first goal – on their first shot on net, in fact. Patric Hornqvist is the responsible party with his tip-in on Trevor Daley’s initial attempt, with another assist from Conor Sheary. Shear collected a deflected Sidney Crosby shot from the far corner to Daley at the point. Daley fired a slap shot from the blue line that Hornqvist tipped past Braden Holtby.

Exactly a minute later, Tom Kuhnhackl completed a breakaway attempt by Matt Cullen and Kris Letang (his sixth assist of the postseason) with a scoring wrister to give the Pens an early 2-0 lead. After receiving the first pass off the face-off, Letang connected with Cullen on a long pass from the defensive zone to the offensive zone. Cullen crossed a pass across the crease for Kuhnhackl to redirect into net past Holtby’s left skate.

The Capitals continued their mini-implosion when Justin Williams committed an interference penalty against Derrick Pouliot, but Pouliot returned the favor with a hooking penalty against Jay Beagle with about half a minute remaining on the penalty to end the power play. When Washington received their 90’ish seconds of the man-advantage, they were as effective as the Penguins, leaving the score at 2-0 when the sin bins completely emptied.

Letang threw a questionable late hit on or near Marcus Johansson’s head with 4:19 remaining in the period that was generously ruled only a two-minute interference call, but Letang did seem to leave his feet. Luckily for Pens fans, the penalty kill once again stood tall to neutralize the Caps‘ ensuing power play. Unlike Rust, Johansson did return to the game before the second period.

Daniel Winnik took offense to Letang’s hit, so with 1:51 remaining in the frame, he slashed the defenseman, giving the Pens a power play for the remainder of the period. Just like Pittsburgh‘s first man-advantage, they ended it early when Phil Kessel knocked T.J. Oshie’s stick out of his hands with a slash.

Although Pittsburgh was leading on the scoreboard, Washington had the lead in shots (14-9, respectively), face-off winning percentage (59%-41%, respectively) and hits (19-nine, respectively). The quickest stat to attribute Pittsburgh’s success was their four takeaways, especially compared to the Caps‘ goose egg.

Washington would return to the ice with a 1:13 power play after nine seconds of four-on-four hockey. With another kill, the Penguins‘ set their penalty kill rate at 89.7%, the fourth best of the playoffs.

The lone penalty of the second period belonged to Justin Williams at the 6:30 mark, a tripping call against Eric Fehr. But, just like all the other power plays in the contest, the score was the same 2-0 after those two minutes.

With 4:57 remaining in the second period, Second Star Carl Hagelin fired a pure wrist shot after assists from Nick Bonino (his eighth helper of the playoffs) and Kessel to set the differential at three goals, which held to the final horn of the frame. Kessel intercepted a Capitals pass near the blue line and passed into the crease to Bonino. Bonino had to move to Holtby’s glove side to control the puck and took advantage of the aggressive goaltender advancing out of the crease to squeeze the puck into the crease, allowing Hagelin to finish the score.

Once again, the Capitals led the period’s shot totals by eight attempts, but the Penguins took advantage of the face-off dot (54%), blocks (11 to five, respectively) and takeaways (six to two). Washington proved to bring the heat along the boards, as through only 40 periods, they had accumulated 41 hits on the home team.

Washington finally got on the board at the 8:02 mark of the final frame with a wrister from Third Star Alex Ovechkin, who was assisted by Matt Niskanen and Nicklas Backstrom (his sixth helper of the postseason). After the Penguins cleared the puck to the neutral zone, Niskanen brought the puck back past the blue line before passing to the trailing Ovechkin, who fired his top shelf wrister over Murray’s glove shoulder.

Hagelin committed the first penalty of the final period with a tripping penalty against John Carlson at the 6:41 mark. Just like they had all night, Murray and the Penguins‘ penalty kill completed their fourth infraction neutralization.

With a little over two minutes remaining, Holtby was called to the bench for an extra attacker. It paid off with 54 seconds remaining in regulation when Williams scored his first goal of the playoffs, a wrister assisted by Ovechkin and Carlson (his sixth helper of the postseason), but the Caps were unable to level.

Holtby ended the night with the loss, saving 20 of 23 (87%).

Game 4 between these squads will occur Wednesday at 8 p.m. eastern. That game can be viewed on CBC, NBCSN and TVAS.

May 2, 2016
San JO(E)se duo leads Sharks to 3-2 win over Predators

By: Nick Lanciani

Joe Pavelski put the San Jose Sharks ahead 2-1 before Joe Thornton scored an empty net goal to make it 3-1 (before Nashville scored a goal with 3.6 seconds left to make it 3-2), as the Sharks beat the Nashville Predators in Game 2 of their 2016 Stanley Cup Playoff Second Round matchup on Sunday night at SAP Center in San Jose, California.

That’s a long winded way of saying that the Sharks have a 2-0 series lead over the Predators after winning 3-2 on Sunday night, but hey, I forced the pun in the title to work, so I forced everything to work in the lede.

Martin Jones made 37 saves on 39 shots faced for a .949 SV% en route to the win, while Pekka Rinne made just 22 saves on 24 shots on goal for a .917 SV% in the loss.

No goals were scored in the first period, but both teams got a chance to test out their power play units as Roman Josi took the game’s first penalty 6:24 into the first period for cross checking San Jose’s, Chris Tierney. Joel Ward later tripped Craig Smith at 13:38 of the first period and gave Nashville their first power play opportunity of the night.

Heading into the first intermission scoreless, the Predators were outshooting the Sharks 10-7, as well as leading in hits (19-7), giveaways (9-5) and blocked shots (10-5). San Jose led in faceoff wins (11-8) and takeaways (4-1) after twenty minutes of play.

To his credit, Rinne made a series of spectacular saves early in the second period, including one where we brushed the puck aside with nearly the blade of his skate.

The Sharks were caught with too many men on the ice at 15:16 of the 2^nd period and Joonas Donskoi served the bench minor as San Jose successfully made the kill. A few minutes later, the Predators were guilty of having too many men on the ice and sent Victor Arvidsson to the box to serve the bench minor.

Thirty-three seconds into the ensuing power play, Logan Couture found the back of the net for his 4^th goal of the postseason and gave the Sharks a 1-0 lead on a power play goal. Couture’s slap shot beat Rinne and was assisted by Brent Burns (9) and Joe Thornton (3) at 18:36 of the 2^nd period and was enough to give San Jose a lead heading into the second intermission.

Brenden Dillon was sent to the box a little over six-and-a-half minutes into the third period for roughing and gave Nashville a chance on the extra man advantage. A Shea Weber rocket on the ensuing power play caught Sharks defenseman, Marc-Eouard Vlasic right in the visor between the eyes and stopped play for a minute or two as Vlasic gathered himself, stood up and skated off on his own power, in what was clearly another example of why helmets and visors are important in hockey at the NHL level.

The Predators were unable to convert on their final power play of the night and the Sharks continued to lead 1-0 as the third period marched on.

Mattias Ekholm tied the game, 1-1, on a snap shot that beat San Jose goaltender, Martin Jones, at 12:56 of the 3^rd.

Ekholm’s 3^rd goal of the playoffs was assisted by Colin Wilson (5) and Roman Josi (5).

But it didn’t take long before Joe Pavelski found a way to beat Rinne for his 6^th goal of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs to put the Sharks back into the lead, 2-1. Pavelski received a pass from Matt Nieto and slapped the puck past Rinne at 17:20 of the 3^rd period, sending the fans at SAP Center into a frenzy as their captain came in clutch once again. Nieto (1) and Thornton (3) assisted on the goal.

The Predators promptly pulled their goalie for an extra skater with around two minutes remaining in the game.

Thornton received a pass from Couture and fired a wrist shot into the empty net to put the Sharks ahead by two and give San Jose a 3-1 lead with under a minute remaining in regulation. Thornton’s 2^nd goal of the postseason was assisted by Couture (6) and Pavelski (4) at 19:04 of the 3^rd period. Pavelski earned his third point of the night and thus had his 6^th career three-point game in the postseason— the most in San Jose Sharks playoff history, per Elias Sports.

With the clock winding down and a mad battle for the puck in front of Jones, Ryan Johansen found a gap and pushed the puck to the twine with a slap shot for his 3^rd goal of the playoffs at 19:56 of the 3^rd period. Johansen’s goal pulled the Predators to within a goal as the Sharks lead was cut to 3-2. Josi (6) and Mike Fisher (1) assisted on the goal.

At the final horn the Sharks had won Game 2 by a score of 3-2 and finished the night leading in faceoff wins (32-30), takeaways (9-5) and blocked shots (25-24). Nashville ended the night leading in shots on goal (39-25), hits (46-26) and giveaways (20-13). The Preds finished the night 0/3 on the power play, while the Sharks ended the night 1/2 on the man advantage.

San Jose now has a 2-0 series lead heading into Game 3 on Tuesday night at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. The game will be on USA Network in the United States at 9:00 PM EST and on SN360 and TVA Sports in Canada.

May 2, 2016
St. Louis at Dallas – Game 2 – Backes and the Blues make it a five game series

The St. Louis Blues may have only managed 25 shots on goal, but they were able to level their series against the Dallas Stars by beating them 4-3 in overtime, thanks to Captain David Backes.

Only 3:36 into Game 2, Cody Eakin collected a puck along the near boards and passed to Second Star of the Game Jamie Benn, who was positioned behind Brian Elliott’s net. He set up a centering pass towards the left face-off dot for Alex Goligoski, who top shelfed his slap shot into the back of the net.

The Blues took offense to that, and 35 seconds later Third Star Backes carried the puck into the neutral zone before passing to Patrik Berglund, who completed the advance into the attacking zone before passing off to Robby Fabbri. Fabbri dumped back to the attacking Berguland, who scored a slap shot past Kari Lehtonen’s glove hand to level the game at a goal apiece.

At the 7:02 mark, First Star Troy Brouwer and Scottie Upshall connected with Joel Edmundson to give him his first goal of the playoffs, and more importantly, a St. Louis lead.

With 80 seconds remaining in the opening frame, Brouwer scored the Blues‘ final goal of regulation on a power play wrister, assisted by Kevin Shattenkirk and Fabbri.

At the beginning of the second period, it was not Lehtonen in Dallas‘ net, but instead Antti Niemi, who did not yield a goal on 10 shots faced in his opening 20 minutes of work. Similarly, Elliott saved all six shots he faced, holding the score at 3-1 going into the final frame.

The fifth goal of the game wasn’t scored until the 4:35 mark of the final frame, courtesy of Mattias Janmark, his first of the playoffs. His wrister was assisted by Eakin and Colton Sceviour. Eakin dumped the puck out of the defensive zone to Janmark, who had only one Blue to beat on his way to the crease before sneaking the puck past Elliott’s left skate.

Dallas‘ offensive push was certainly made evident 13 seconds later, when a Dallas power play shot was fired so hard it broke Elliott’s mask, but he made the save to maintain the one-goal differential.

With 2:36 remaining in regulation, Benn scored a wrister to level the game, assisted by Eakin and Kris Russell. Eakin won the face-off from the far dot, which he sent back to the blue line for Russell to collect and fire on net. Elliott made the save, but Benn collected the rebound to slide the puck past the sprawling goaltender’s glove hand.

Neither team was able to break the draw before the clock struck zeroes, so the game required 10:58 of overtime before Backes’ power play wrister proved to be the winner. After providing the screen on Alexander Steen’s initial shot and literally jumping over the puck, he collected the rebound and scored behind Niemi’s left skate.

Elliott earns the win after saving 31 of 34 shots faced (91.2%), while Niemi takes the overtime loss, saving 19 of 20 (95%). Lehtonen takes credit for the poor first period, where he saved only two of five (40%).

Now a best-of-five series, the locale shifts to Scottrade Arena in St. Louis, MO. Game 3 will occur on a busy Tuesday, May 3 at 9:30 p.m. eastern and can be viewed on NBCSN, SN or TVAS.

May 1, 2016
Johnson and Drouin lead Lightning to 4-1 victory in Game 2

By: Nick Lanciani

Tyler Johnson and Jonathan Drouin led the charge in the Tampa Bay Lightning’s 4-1 victory over the New York Islanders in Game 2 of their 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs Second Round matchup on Saturday afternoon at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida.

Ben Bishop made 19 saves on 20 shots against for a .950 SV% in the win, while Thomas Greiss stopped 27 shots out of 30 shots faced for a .900 SV% in the loss. Drouin’s game winning goal came shortly past the halfway mark of the first period after a successful penalty kill by the Lightning. Tampa has now tied the series at 1-1.

The Islanders failed to secure a 2-0 series lead in what would have been their first 2-0 series lead since the 1983 Stanley Cup Final. The Lightning, meanwhile have now won their last six Game 2s in recent playoff history.

Ondrej Palat took the game’s first penalty at 3:12 of the first period for interference, sending New York on their first power play of the afternoon. After failing to get much generated on the power play, the Islanders surrendered the first goal of the game at 6:03 of the first period when Tyler Johnson received a pass from Palat that he sent past Greiss on a backhand to give Tampa a 1-0 lead.

Johnson’s goal was his 3^rd of the postseason and was assisted by Palat (1) and Victor Hedman (3).

After killing off Ryan Callahan’s holding penalty, the Lightning capitalized on a surge in momentum after a successful penalty kill, 11:55 into the 1^st. Drouin received a pass from Valtteri Filppula that he then sent through Greiss’s five-hole with a backhand shot to give Tampa a 2-0 lead.

Brian Boyle sent the puck over the glass for a delay of game penalty 13:32 into the first period and sent New York on a power play. Nikolay Kulemin scored the lone Islanders goal on the ensuing man advantage at 15:15 of the first period to make it a 2-1 game. Thomas Hickey (3) and Alan Quine (4) assisted on Kulemin’s first goal of the playoffs.

Travis Hamonic closed off the end of the period with a cross checking minor heading into the first intermission.

The Islanders led in shots on goal (12-5), giveaways (4-3) and takeaways (3-2) after twenty minutes, while the Lightning led in hits (16-12) and faceoff wins (10-7) after one period of play.

Drouin tripped Cal Clutterbuck early into the second period and gave the Islanders another power play, which they were unable to capitalize on. Marek Zidlicky took a trip to the sin bin for interference at 5:40 of the 2^nd period, but the Lightning were unable to convert on the man advantage.

When Clutterbuck was sent to the box for goaltender interference at 11:11 of the 2^nd period, Tampa went on the aggressive on the ensuing power play opportunity. Their quick puck movement and possession management led to a rocket of a slap shot from Hedman that beat Greiss to put the Bolts up 3-1 at 11:59 of the 2^nd. Hedman’s goal, his first of the postseason, was assisted by Tyler Johnson (6) and Jonathan Drouin (6).

Alex Killorn was penalized for elbowing John Tavares at 18:59 of the second period, but it was not enough to get Tavares to enact revenge on the scoreboard like he did in Game 1. Less than a minute later, Frans Nielsen was sent to the box for holding and the game witnessed its first 4-on-4 action that would extend into the third period.

The third period began with Jonathan Marchessault and Ryan Strome both being sent to the box and forcing 4-on-4 play at 6:33 of the 3^rd period. Marchessault went to the box for slashing, while Strome was sent to the box for roughing.

When full strength hockey resumed, both teams remained rather disciplined and nobody could figure out how to beat either goalie. Then with under four minutes to go in the game Greiss vacated the Islanders net for an extra attacker, but it was to no avail.

At 17:42 of the 3^rd period, Johnson pocketed his 4^th goal of the postseason on an empty net goal. Johnson’s goal was assisted by Jason Garrison (4) and put Tampa on top of New York by a score of 4-1.

Matt Martin was penalized for charging Victor Hedman at 18:20 of the period and Cal Clutterbuck had a part in creating a 5-on-3 power play for the Lightning at 19:22 of the 3^rd period. Marchessault was also penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct and with 20 seconds to go in the game, tempers between Killorn and Hickey flared enough for Killorn to receive two minutes for roughing and Hickey to receive two minor penalties— one for interference and the other for slashing.

At the final horn the Tampa Bay Lightning had even the series at 1-1 with a 4-1 rout of the New York Islanders on home ice in Game 2 of their series. The Bolts finished the game leading in shots on goal (31-20), faceoff wins (30-26), giveaways (8-7) and takeaways (12-3), while the Isles led in hits (33-31) and blocked shots (14-7). Both teams finished the afternoon 1/5 on the power play.

Game 3 is scheduled for Tuesday night in Brooklyn, New York at the Barclays Center. Puck drop is set for a little after 7:00 PM EST and the game can be viewed on NBCSN in the United States and on CBC and TVA Sports in Canada.

May 1, 2016
Pittsburgh at Washington – Game 2 – Letang and Murray lead Pens to Game 2 victory

Behind some incredible defensive play, the Pittsburgh Penguins stole home ice from the Capitals with a 2-1 Game 2 victory.

Ex-Penguin Brooks Orpik certainly doesn’t have any love for his old club, as he caused the first power play of the game at the 4:13 mark with a serious interference penalty against Olli Maatta. The hit seemed to be directed towards Maatta’s head and was severe enough to leave him dazed and require a Pittsburgh trainer to help him to the dressing room, but he only served two minutes in the box, which the Capitals‘ penalty kill easily neutralized. Maatta did not return to the ice.

The other infraction of the period belonged to Ben Lovejoy, as he was found guilty of a slashing penalty on Evgeny Kuznetsov with 3:31 remaining in the frame. Just like Washington, the Penguins‘ penalty kill was up to the task and kept the game scoreless.

Although they were unable to score, the Pens seemed to win the first period, as they almost tripled Washington‘s shot production (14 to five, respectively). That being said, the Capitals absolutely owned the face-off dot, winning 70% of restarts.

1:20 after returning to the ice, Kuznetsov was caught holding Matt Cullen, but once again the Penguins‘ power play yielded nothing.

Carl Hagelin finally scored the first goal of Game 2 at the 7:08 mark. His wrister, which he fired from point blank over First Star of the Game Braden Holtby’s glove hand, was assisted by Nick Bonino from behind the net (his seventh of the postseason) and Ian Cole.

Not only was it the first goal of the game, but it was also the lone tally of the frame. Once again, the Pens led the Caps in shots, 14 to five, but they still had yet to connect on any of their five power plays. Washington still maintained the lead in hits (23 to 14), as well as face-off wins (25 to 20).

2:56 after returning to the ice, Kris Letang earned a trip to the penalty box for tripping Nicklas Backstrom. 1:12 later, Washington leveled with a Marcus Johansson power play wrister, assisted by John Carlson (his fifth playoff helper) and Kuznetsov.

With 4:28 remaining in regulation, Second Star Eric Fehr, an ex-Capital, gave the Penguins the go-ahead goal on a tip-in of Evgeni Malkin’s initial shot. He was also assisted by Chris Kunitz.

Washington‘s most significant offensive threats occurred in the third period, but Matt Murray stood tall to level the series at one-all. Letang deserves special credit for the victory, as his five blocks led a team that held Washington to only 24 shots on goal.

Murray earns the victory after saving 23 of 24 shots faced (95.8%), while Holtby takes the loss after saving 33 of 35 (94.3%).

Game 3 will be Monday at 8 p.m. eastern in Pittsburgh. It can be viewed on CBC, NBCSN or TVAS.

April 30, 2016