Thursday, May 20, 2021

NHL 2021 - Playoff Day 6

Four games on as the playoffs are now truly unencumbered as the focus of the NHL. First up today...

The Tampa Bay Lightning host the Florida Panthers. Chris Driedger and Andrei Vasilevskiy are the masked men. Florida led off in the first period with a Sam Bennett goal, assisted by Jonathan Huberdeau and Owen Tippett. The Panthers added on with a Radko Gudas goal, via Gustav Forsling and Huberdeau. Tampa Bay got on the board in the second period with an Anthony Cirelli goal, guided in by Victor Hedman and Alex Killorn. The Lightning tied it on a Ross Colton goal, fueled by Blake Coleman. Tampa Bay took the lead with a Steven Stamkos goal, his second of the postseason, coming off of Ryan McDonagh. Florida tied it with an Alex Wennberg power play goal, powered by MacKenzie Weegar and Tippett. The Lightning retook the lead with a Brayden Point power play goal, his third of the playoffs, with assists provided by Nikita Kucherov and Hedman. Tampa Bay extended the lead as Killorn scored on the power play, with the help of Hedman and Point. Sergei Bobrovsky replaced Driedger in goal for the third period. Florida got one back in the third period with a Patric Hornqvist power play goal, with helpers from Huberdeau and Aleksander Barkov. The Panthers tied it with a Forsling goal, passed from Wennberg and Hornqvist. The Panthers won 6-5 in overtime with a Ryan Lomberg goal, made possible by Frank Vatrano and Gudas. The three stars were Gudas, Huberdeau, and Wennberg, while Hornqvist, Forsling, Tippett, Point, Killorn, and Hedman get the honorable mentions. The Panthers cut the Lightning's series lead to 2-1.

Up in New York, the Islanders welcome the Pittsburgh Penguins. Tristan Jarry and Semyon Varlamov protect the nets. Pittsburgh began in the first period with a Kris Letang power play goal, going in unassisted. New York tied it in the second period on a Scott Mayfield goal, fueled by Mathew Barzal and Jordan Eberle. The Penguins retook the lead with a Jeff Carter goal, his second of the postseason, assisted by Frederick Gaudreau and Marcus Pettersson. Pittsburgh added on with a Jason Zucker goal, courtesy of Evgeni Malkin and Letang. The Islanders got one back in the third period with a Cal Clutterbuck goal, coming off of Casey Cizikas and Mayfield. New York tied it on an Anthony Beauvillier power play goal, powered by Barzal and Noah Dobson. The Penguins retook the lead with a Carter power play goal, his second of the game and third of the playoffs, with an assist provided by Malkin. The Islanders tied it with another Clutterbuck goal, his second of the game, made possible by Mayfield. Pittsburgh regained the lead on a Brandon Tanev goal, via Letang. This stood for a 5-4 win, with the three stars handed to Letang, Carter, and Malkin, while Clutterbuck, Mayfield, and Barzal get the honorable mentions. The Penguins took the series lead at 2-1.

Further north, the Toronto Maple Leafs bring in the Montreal Canadiens. Carey Price and Jack Campbell are in the creases. Montreal opened in the first period with a Josh Anderson goal, courtesy of Eric Staal and Tyler Toffoli. Toronto tied it in the second period with a William Nylander goal, guided in by Morgan Rielly and Justin Holl. The Canadiens took the lead in the third period with a Paul Byron shorthanded goal, set up by Joel Armia. The final held at 2-1, with the three stars being Byron, Price (35 for 36 in saves), and Anderson.

Finally, the Minnesota Wild host the Vegas Golden Knights. Marc-Andre Fleury and Cam Talbot guard the cages. Minnesota started in the first period with a Ryan Hartman goal, via Kirill Kaprizov and Jonas Brodin. The Wild added on with a Joel Eriksson Ek goal, his second of the postseason, coming off of Marcus Foligno and Matt Dumba. Vegas got on the board in the second period with a Mark Stone goal, assisted by Chandler Stephenson and Brayden McNabb. The Golden Knights tied it on a Patrick Brown goal, courtesy of Nick Holden and William Carrier. Vegas took the lead with a Reilly Smith goal, guided in by Holden and William Karlsson. The Golden Knights extended the lead as Karlsson scored in the third period, thanks to Smith and the goalie Fleury. Vegas iced it at 5-2 with a Stone empty net goal, his second of the game, going in unassisted. 

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