NHL 2020 Playoffs - Second Round Day 6

We're back with three games today, beginning with...

The Boston Bruins versus the Tampa Bay Lightning. Andrei Vasilevskiy and Jaroslav Halak are the goalies. Tampa Bay kicked off the scoring in the first period with an Ondrej Palat goal, his third of the postseason, made possible by Brayden Point. The Lightning added on in the second period with another Palat goal, his second of the game and fourth of the playoffs, via Anthony Cirelli and Nikita Kucherov. Tampa Bay extended the lead as Victor Hedman scored his fourth of the postseason on the power play, powered by Tyler Johnson and Nikita Kucherov. Boston got on the board in the third period with a Jake DeBrusk power play goal, his fourth of the playoffs, with assists provided by Charlie Coyle and Matt Grzelcyk. This only made it 3-1, the final, with the three stars going to Palat, Kucherov, and Vasilevskiy (29 for 30 in saves). The Lightning hold a 3-1 series lead. 

Also in the east, the New York Islanders take on the Philadelphia Flyers. Carter Hart and Semyon Varlamov are the masked men. Philadelphia opened in the first period with a Tyler Pitlick goal, his second of the postseason, coming off of Scott Laughton and Matt Niskanen. New York tied it in the second period on a Matt Martin goal, his third of the playoffs, via Mathew Barzal and Jordan Eberle. The Islanders took the lead on a Leo Komarov goal, assisted by Derick Brassard. New York added on in the third period with an Anders Lee power play goal, his sixth of the postseason, powered by Eberle and Ryan Pulock. This made it 3-1, the final, with the three stars going to Varlamov (26 for 27 in saves), Eberle, and Komarov. The Islanders moved ahead 2-1 in the series. 

Finally, the Vancouver Canucks face the Vegas Golden Knights. Robin Lehner and Jacob Markstrom man the nets. Vegas started in the first period with an Alex Tuch goal, his seventh of the postseason, helped along by Nicolas Roy and Alec Martinez. The Golden Knights added on with a Zach Whitecloud goal, his second of the playoffs, going in unassisted. Vegas extended the lead on a Mark Stone power play goal, his sixth of the postseason, powered by Shea Theodore and Reilly Smith. The final stood at 3-0, with the three stars awarded to Lehner (32 save shutout), Tuch, and Whitecloud. The Golden Knights gained a 2-1 series lead. 

Follow me on Twitter @OutsiderSports0.

NHL 2020 Playoffs - Second Round Day 5

There's three games on for today, beginning with...

The Philadelphia Flyers versus the New York Islanders. Semyon Varlamov and Carter Hart man the nets. Philadelphia led off in the first period with a Kevin Hayes goal, his second of the postseason, coming off of Travis Konecny and Justin Braun. The Flyers added on with another Hayes goal, his second of the game and third of the playoffs, fueled by Joel Farabee. Philadelphia extended the lead as Sean Couturier scored, thanks to Claude Giroux and Travis Sanheim. Thomas Greiss replaced Varlamov in goal. New York got on the board in the second period with an Anders Lee power play goal, his fifth of the postseason, powered by Mathew Barzal and Nick Leddy. The Islanders got closer in the third period with an Anthony Beauvillier goal, his seventh of the playoffs, guided in by Josh Bailey. New York tied it on a Jean-Gabriel Pageau goal, his sixth of the postseason, courtesy of Adam Pelech. The Flyers won 4-3 in overtime with a Philippe Myers goal, his third of the playoffs, set up by Couturier. The three stars were Couturier, Hayes, and Myers. The series is tied at 1. 

Next up, the Boston Bruins face the Tampa Bay Lightning. Andrei Vasilevskiy and Jaroslav Halak are the goalies. Tampa Bay began in the first period with an Ondrej Palat power play goal, his second of the postseason, powered by Mikhail Sergachev and Nikita Kucherov. The Lightning added on with a Yanni Gourde goal, his third of the playoffs, via Blake Coleman and Erik Cernak. Tampa Bay extended the lead as Sergachev scored on the power play in the second period, with the help of Kucherov and Brayden Point. Boston got on the board with a Brad Marchand power play goal, his seventh of the postseason, with helpers from Torey Krug and David Pastrnak. The Lightning responded on an Alex Killorn power play goal, his third of the playoffs, assisted by Palat and Kucherov. Dan Vladar relieved Halak in goal. Tampa Bay padded the lead on a Point goal, his sixth of the postseason, coming off of Killorn and Sergachev. The Lightning continued with a Killorn goal, his second of the game and fourth of the playoffs, helped along by Gourde and Zach Bogosian. Tampa Bay kept going in the third period with a Kucherov goal, his fourth of the postseason, with a lone helper from Point. This made it 7-1, the final, with the three stars awarded to Kucherov, Killorn, and Point, while Sergachev, Gourde, and Palat get the honorable mentions. The Lightning retook the series lead at 2-1.

Finally, the Dallas Stars taken on the Colorado Avalanche. Pavel Francouz and Anton Khudobin patrol the creases. Dallas struck first in the first period with a Tyler Seguin goal, his second of the postseason, assisted by Jamie Benn and Miro Heiskanen. Colorado tied it on a Nikita Zadorov goal, his second of the playoffs, courtesy of Nazem Kadri. The Avalanche took the lead on an Andre Burakovsky goal, his fourth of the postseason, passed from Cale Makar and Zadorov. Colorado added on with a Gabriel Landeskog goal, his second of the playoffs, coming off of Makar and Nathan MacKinnon. The Stars got one back in the third period with a Denis Gurianov goal, his seventh of the postseason, fueled by Roope Hintz and Corey Perry. Dallas tied it on a Blake Comeau goal, his second of the playoffs, going in unassisted. The Stars gained the lead with a Benn goal, his third of the postseason, with a lone helper from Esa Lindell. The Avalanche retied it on a Mikko Rantanen goal, his fifth of the playoffs, guided in by MacKinnon. Colorado pulled ahead again with a Kadri goal, his seventh of the postseason, made possible by Kevin Connauton and Makar. The Avalanche capped it at 6-4 with a Pierre-Edouard Bellemare empty net goal, set up by Rantanen. The three stars belonged to Rantanen, Kadri, and Makar, while Zadorov, Benn, and MacKinnon get the honorable mentions. The Stars' series lead is down to 2-1. 

Follow me on Twitter @OutsiderSports0.

NHL 2020 Playoffs - Second Round Day 4

We're set for another pair of games today, beginning with...

The Tampa Bay Lightning against the Boston Bruins. Jaroslav Halak and Andrei Vasilevskiy are the goalies. Boston led off in the first period with a Nick Ritchie goal, coming off of Anders Bjork. Tampa Bay tied it on a Blake Coleman goal, his second of the postseason, via Zach Bogosian and Barclay Goodrow. The Bruins took the lead with a Brad Marchand power play goal in the second period, his fifth of the playoffs, powered by David Pastrnak and Torey Krug. The Lightning tied it again with a Nikita Kucherov goal, his third of the postseason, made possible by Kevin Shattenkirk and Brayden Point. Tampa Bay took the lead in the third period with a Coleman goal, his second of the game and third of the playoffs, with a lone helper from Victor Hedman. Boston retied it on a Marchand goal, his second of the game and sixth of the postseason, courtesy of Sean Kuraly and Pastrnak. The Lightning won 4-3 in overtime with an Ondrej Palat goal, passed from Yanni Gourde and Pat Maroon. The three stars were Coleman, Marchand, and Pastrnak. The series is tied at 1.

Out west, the Vegas Golden Knights face the Vancouver Canucks. Jacob Markstrom and Robin Lehner are the masked men. Vancouver began in the first period with a Tyler Toffoli goal, coming off of Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes. The Canucks added on with a Bo Horvat power play goal, his seventh of the postseason, powered by Toffoli and Pettersson. Vegas got on the board in the second period with an Alex Tuch goal, his sixth of the playoffs, via Nicolas Roy and Shea Theodore. Vancouver replied on a Pettersson goal, his fifth of the postseason, assisted by Alexander Edler and Toffoli. The Canucks extended the lead in the third period as Horvat scored his second of the game and eighth of the playoffs, thanks to Brock Boeser and Edler. The Golden Knights got one back with a Max Pacioretty power play goal, his third of the postseason, with helpers from Theodore and Paul Stastny. Vancouver iced it at 5-2 with a Tanner Pearson empty-net goal, his fourth of the playoffs, set up by J.T. Miller. The three stars belonged to Pettersson, Toffoli, and Horvat, while Edler and Theodore get the honorable mentions. The series is tied at 1. 

Follow me on Twitter @OutsiderSports0.

NHL 2020 Playoffs - Second Round Day 3

Another pair of games is on today, beginning with...

The Philadelphia Flyers against the New York Islanders. Semyon Varlamov and Carter Hart are the goalies. New York opened in the first period with an Andy Greene goal, via Brock Nelson. The Islanders added on in the third period with a Jean-Gabriel Pageau goal, his fifth of the postseason, assisted by Leo Komarov and Adam Pelech. New York extended the lead as Anders Lee scored his fourth of the playoffs, thanks to Mathew Barzal and Jordan Eberle. The Islanders iced it at 4-0 with a Devon Toews empty net goal, going in unassisted. The three stars were Varlamov (29 save shutout), Greene, and Komarov. The Islanders hold a 1-0 series lead. 

Out west, the Colorado Avalanche face the Dallas Stars. Anton Khudobin and Pavel Francouz are the Russian goalies. Colorado started in the first period with a Nathan MacKinnon power play goal, his seventh of the postseason, powered by Mikko Rantanen and Cale Makar. The Avalanche added on in the second period with a Rantanen power play goal, his fourth of the playoffs, with assists provided by MacKinnon and Gabriel Landeskog. Dallas got on the board with a Joe Pavelski power play goal, his seventh of the postseason, made possible by Alexander Radulov and Tyler Seguin. The Stars tied it on a Radek Faksa power play goal, his second of the playoffs, coming off of Denis Gurianov and Corey Perry. Dallas took the lead with a Radulov goal, his fifth of the postseason, passed from Jamie Benn and Miro Heiskanen. The Stars extended the lead as Esa Lindell scored, going in unassisted. Dallas iced it at 5-2 with a Jamie Oleksiak empty net goal, his third of the playoffs, set up by Jason Dickinson. The three stars were Radulov, MacKinnon, and Rantanen. The Stars have a 2-0 series lead 

Follow me on Twitter @OutsiderSports0.

NHL 2020 Playoffs - Second Round Day 2

We're back with two games on day two of the second round. First up...

The Tampa Bay Lightning face the Boston Bruins. Jaroslav Halak and Andrei Vasilevskiy are the goalies. Boston began in the first period with a Charlie Coyle goal, his third of the postseason, assisted by Brandon Carlo and Brad Marchand. The Bruins added on with a David Pastrnak power play goal, his second of the playoffs, powered by David Krejci and Torey Krug. Boston extended the lead Marchand scored his fourth of the postseason in the third period, thanks to Pastrnak and Patrice Bergeron. Tampa Bay got on the board with a Victor Hedman goal, his second of the playoffs, coming off of Brayden Point and Ondrej Palat. The Lightning got closer with a Hedman goal, his second of the game and third of the postseason, via Kevin Shattenkirk and Tyler Johnson. This only made it 3-2, the final, with the three stars being Pastrnak, Marchand, and Hedman. The Bruins have a 1-0 series lead. 

Out west, the Vegas Golden Knights take on the Vancouver Canucks. Jacob Markstrom and Robin Lehner are the goalies. Vegas led off in the first period with a Jonathan Marchessault goal, his third of the postseason, courtesy of Reilly Smith and Shea Theodore. The Golden Knights added on in the second period with a Smith power play goal, his fourth of the playoffs, powered by Alex Tuch and Alec Martinez. Vegas extended the lead as Mark Stone scored his fifth of the postseason, with the help of Nate Schmidt and William Karlsson. The Golden Knights padded the lead on a Tuch goal, his fifth of the playoffs, fueled by Nick Cousins and Theodore. Vegas chased Markstrom in the third period with a Max Pacioretty goal, his second of the postseason, made possible by Stone and Chandler Stephenson. The final held at 5-0, with the three stars being Lehner (26 save shutout), Smith, and Tuch, while Stone gets an honorable mention. The Golden Knights are up 1-0 in the series. 

Follow me on Twitter @OutsiderSports0.