Thursday, September 17, 2020

NHL 2020 Eastern Conference Finals - Tampa Bay Lightning v. New York Islanders

This post will contain the whole Eastern Conference Finals series. 

Game 1: The goalies are Thomas Greiss and Andrei Vasilevskiy. Tampa Bay began in the first period with a Brayden Point goal, his seventh of the postseason, coming off of Blake Coleman and Luke Schenn. New York tied it on a Jordan Eberle power play goal, his fourth of the playoffs, powered by Anders Lee and Mathew Barzal. The Lightning retook the lead with a Victor Hedman power play goal, his sixth of the postseason, with assists provided by Point and Nikita Kucherov. Tampa Bay added on with a Ryan McDonagh goal, courtesy of Kucherov and Mikhail Sergachev. Semyon Varlamov replaced Greiss in the Islanders' net. The Lightning extended the lead in the second period as Yanni Gourde goal, his fourth of the playoffs, thanks to Pat Maroon and Kevin Shattenkirk. Tampa Bay padded the lead on a Point power play goal, his second of the game and eighth of the postseason, assisted by Hedman and Kucherov. The Lightning struck again in the third period on a Kucherov goal, his fifth of the playoffs, fueled by Point and Shattenkirk. The Islanders got one back with a Nick Leddy goal, his third of the postseason, guided in by Lee and Eberle. Tampa Bay replied with an Ondrej Palat goal, his sixth of the playoffs, made possible by Point and Kucherov. The Lightning finished it at 8-2 with a Gourde power play goal, his second of the game and fifth of the postseason, passed from Shattenkirk and Hedman. The three stars were Point, Kucherov, and Gourde, while Hedman, Shattenkirk, Eberle, and Lee get the honorable mentions. The Lightning staked out a 1-0 series lead. 

Game 2: Semyon Varlamov and Andrei Vasilevskiy protect the nets. New York led off in the first period with a Matt Martin goal, his fifth of the postseason, made possible by Nick Leddy. Tampa Bay tied it on a Victor Hedman goal, his seventh of the playoffs, assisted by Barclay Goodrow. The Lightning won late in the third period with a Nikita Kucherov goal, his sixth of the postseason, passed from Ryan McDonagh. The three stars of the 2-1 game were Vasilevskiy (27 for 28 in saves), Kucherov, and Hedman. The Lightning lead the series 2-0. 

Game 3: Russians Andrei Vasilevskiy and Semyon Varlamov play in goal. New York opened in the first period with a Cal Clutterbuck goal, his second of the postseason, coming off of Ryan Pulock and Matt Martin. Tampa Bay tied it on a Mikhail Sergachev goal, his second of the playoffs, via Yanni Gourde. The Islanders retook the lead in the second on an Adam Pelech goal, passed from Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Mathew Barzal. New York added on with an Anthony Beauvillier goal, his ninth of the postseason, assisted by Brock Nelson and Devon Toews. The Lightning got one back in the third period on an Ondrej Palat power play goal, his seventh of the playoffs, powered by Nikita Kucherov and Sergachev. Tampa Bay tied it with a Tyler Johnson goal, his fourth of the postseason, guided in by Erik Cernak and Carter Verhaeghe. The Islanders reclaimed the lead on a Nelson goal, his eighth of the playoffs, helped along by Beauvillier and Josh Bailey. New York iced it at 5-3 with a Pageau empty net goal, his eighth of the postseason, set up by Bailey. The final held at 5-3, with the three stars being Nelson, Beauvillier, and Pageau, while Sergachev and Bailey get the honorable mentions. The Lightning remain ahead 2-1 in the series. 

Game 4: Andrei Vasilevskiy and Semyon Varlamov again start in goal. New York got going in the second period with a Brock Nelson goal, his ninth of the postseason, courtesy of Josh Bailey. Tampa Bay tied it on a Blake Coleman goal, his fourth of the playoffs, assisted by Yanni Gourde and the goalie Vasilevskiy. The Lightning pulled ahead with an Ondrej Palat goal, his eighth of the postseason, via Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point. Tampa Bay added on in the third period with a Point goal, his ninth of the playoffs, fueled by Palat and Kucherov. The Lightning iced it at 4-1 with a Pat Maroon empty net goal, set up by Gourde and Cedric Paquette. The three stars were Vasilevskiy (26 for 27 in saves), Palat, and Point, while Kucherov and Gourde get the honorable mentions. The Lightning pushed their series lead up to 3-1. 

Game 5: Semyon Varlamov and Andrei Vasilevskiy patrol the creases. New York started in the first period with a Ryan Pulock power play goal, his second of the postseason, powered by Nick Leddy and Mathew Barzal. Tampa Bay tied it on a Victor Hedman goal, his eighth of the playoffs, via Blake Coleman and Luke Schenn. The Islanders won 2-1 in double overtime with a Jordan Eberle goal, his fifth of the postseason, coming off of Anders Lee. The three stars were Eberle, Pulock, and Varlamov (36 for 37 in saves). The Islanders stay alive, but trail 3-2 in the series. 

Game 6: Andrei Vasilevskiy and Semyon Varlamov are in the blue paint. New York struck first in the first period with a Devon Toews goal, his second of the postseason, coming off of Anders Lee and Mathew Barzal. Tampa Bay tied it on a Victor Hedman goal, his ninth of the playoffs, via Erik Cernak and Nikita Kucherov. The Lightning won 2-1 in overtime with an Anthony Cirelli goal, his third of the postseason, assisted by Barclay Goodrow. The three stars were Vasilevskiy (26 for 27 in saves), Varlamov (46 for 48 in saves), and Cirelli. The Lightning won the series 4-2 and will face the Dallas Stars for the Stanley Cup. 

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Monday, September 14, 2020

NHL 2020 Western Conference Finals - Vegas Golden Knights v. Dallas Stars

This post will contain the entire Western Conference Finals series. 

Game 1: The goalies are Marc-Andre Fleury and Anton Khudobin. Dallas led off in the first period with a John Klingberg goal, his third of the postseason, assisted by Jamie Benn and Radek Faksa. This stood for the 1-0 win. The three stars were Khudobin (25 save shutout), Klingberg, and Fleury (24 for 25 in saves). The Stars have a 1-0 series lead. 

Game 2: Robin Lehner and Anton Khudobin start in goal. Vegas got going in the second period with a Paul Stastny goal, his third of the postseason, via Max Pacioretty and Brayden McNabb. The Golden Knights added on with a William Karlsson power play goal, his fourth of the playoffs, powered by Shea Theodore and Stastny. Vegas extended the lead as Tomas Nosek scored his second of the postseason, with the help of Chandler Stephenson and Nicolas Roy. Jake Oettinger replaced Khudobin in goal in the third period. The final stood at 3-0 with the three stars given to Lehner (24 save shutout), Stastny, and Karlsson. The series is tied at 1. 

Game 3: Anton Khudobin and Robin Lehner draw the starts in goal. Dallas dented the scoreboard in the second period with a Jamie Oleksiak goal, his fourth of the postseason, via Miro Heiskanen and Blake Comeau. Vegas tied it on a Shea Theodore power play goal, his seventh of the playoffs, powered by Mark Stone and Jonathan Marchessault in the third period. The Stars took the lead back with a Jamie Benn goal, his sixth of the postseason, helped along by Tyler Seguin and Joel Hanley. The Golden Knights tied it again on an Alex Tuch goal, his ninth of the playoffs, guided in by William Karlsson. Dallas won 3-2 in overtime with an Alexander Radulov goal, his eighth of the postseason, made possible by Joe Pavelski and Benn. The three stars were Radulov, Benn, and Khudobin (38 for 40 in saves). The Stars are up 2-1 in the series. 

Game 4: Anton Khudobin and Robin Lehner occupy the creases. Vegas drew first blood in the second period with an Alec Martinez power play goal, his second of the postseason, powered by Nate Schmidt and Paul Stastny. Dallas tied it on a Joe Pavelski goal, his ninth of the playoffs, via Andrew Cogliano. The Stars took the lead on a Jamie Benn power play goal, his seventh of the postseason, with assists provided by John Klingberg and Alexander Radulov. This stood for a 2-1 win, with the three stars given to Khudobin (32 for 33 in saves), Benn, and Pavelski. The Stars now lead the series 3-1. 

Game 5: Robin Lehner and Anton Khudobin are the goalies again. Vegas began in the first period with a Chandler Stephenson goal, his third of the postseason, made possible by Shea Theodore and Alex Tuch. The Golden Knights added on in the third period with a Reilly Smith goal, his fifth of the playoffs, guided in by Paul Stastny. Dallas got on the board with a Jamie Benn goal, his eighth of the postseason, coming off of Alexander Radulov and Esa Lindell. The Stars tied it with a Joel Kiviranta power play goal, his fourth of the playoffs, powered by John Klingberg and Denis Gurianov. Dallas won 3-2 in overtime on a Gurianov power play goal, his ninth of the postseason, with assists provided by Klingberg and Roope Hintz. The three stars were Gurianov, Klingberg, and Benn. The Stars won the series 4-1 and they're headed to the Stanley Cup Finals. 

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