Saturday, August 15, 2020

NHL 2020 Playoffs - First Round Day 5

We've got four games on for today, beginning with...

The Carolina Hurricanes facing the Boston Bruins. Jaroslav Halak and Petr Mrazek make the starts in goal. Boston got going in the second period with a Charlie Coyle power play goal, his second of the postseason, powered by Brad Marchand and David Krejci. The Bruins added on with a Sean Kuraly shorthanded goal in the third period, set up by Coyle and Charlie McAvoy. Carolina got on the board with a Nino Niederreiter power play goal, going in unassisted. Boston iced it at 3-1 with a Marchand empty net goal, his second of the playoffs, set up by Krejci. The three stars were Halak (29 for 30 in saves), Coyle, and Marchand, while Krejci gets an honorable mention. The Bruins have a 2-1 series lead. 

Out west, the Arizona Coyotes meet the Colorado Avalanche. Pavel Francouz and Darcy Kuemper are the goalies. Arizona led off in the first period with a Derek Stepan goal, assisted by Clayton Keller and Taylor Hall. Colorado tied it in the second period on an Andre Burakovsky goal, his third of the postseason, made possible by Samuel Girard. The Coyotes retook the lead with a Brad Richardson goal, his second of the playoffs, guided in by Conor Garland and Jason Demers. Arizona added on with an unassisted empty net goal by Hall, his second of the postseason, in the third period. The Avalanche got one back on a Mikko Rantanen goal, his second of the playoffs, fueled by Cale Makar and Nathan MacKinnon. The Coyotes iced it at 4-2 with a Lawson Crouse empty net goal, his second of the postseason, set up by Niklas Hjalmarsson and Demers. The three stars belonged to Kuemper (49 for 51 in saves), Hall, and Demers. The Avalanche's series lead was trimmed to 2-1.

In the east, the Columbus Blue Jackets take on the Tampa Bay Lightning. Andrei Vasilevskiy and Joonas Korpisalo are in the blue paint. Tampa Bay began in the first period with an Alex Killorn goal, his second of the postseason, made possible by Anthony Cirelli and Zach Bogosian. Columbus tied it in the second period with a Riley Nash goal, passed from Gustav Nyquist. The Lightning retook the lead on a Brayden Point goal, his fourth of the playoffs, assisted by Ryan McDonagh and Nikita Kucherov. Tampa Bay added on with a Victor Hedman goal, coming off of Carter Verhaeghe and Cedric Paquette. The Blue Jackets got one back in the third period on an Eric Robinson goal, courtesy of Nash and Alexander Wennberg. This only made it 3-2, the final, with the three stars being Hedman, Nash, and Point. The Lightning lead the series 2-1.

Closing the day, the Chicago Blackhawks oppose the Vegas Golden Knights. Marc-Andre Fleury and Corey Crawford tend the twines. Vegas struck first in the first period with a William Karlsson shorthanded goal, his second of the postseason, set up by Mark Stone. The Golden Knights added on with a Patrick Brown goal, via Alex Tuch and Nate Schmidt. Chicago got on the board in the third period with an Olli Maatta goal, his third of the playoffs, guided in by Drake Caggiula and Patrick Kane. This only made it 2-1, the final, with the three stars being Fleury (26 for 27 in saves), Brown, and Karlsson. The Golden Knights are on the brink of advancing with a 3-0 series lead. 

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