Stanley Cup Semifinals - Tampa Bay Lightning v. New York Islanders

It's that time of year where we put a whole series into one post. This is for the first Stanley Cup Semifinals series between the Tampa Bay Lightning and New York Islanders. 

Game 1: Andrei Vasilevskiy and Semyon Varlamov are the goalies. New York got going in the second period with a Mathew Barzal goal, his fourth of the postseason, courtesy of Josh Bailey. The Islanders added on in the third period with a Ryan Pulock goal, his fourth of the playoffs, via Jordan Eberle. Tampa Bay got on the board with a Brayden Point power play goal, his ninth of the postseason, powered by Alex Killorn and Nikita Kucherov. This only made it 2-1, the final, with the three stars going to Varlamov (30 for 31 in saves), Pulock, and Barzal. The Islanders lead the series 1-0. 

Game 2: Andrei Vasilevskiy and Semyon Varlamov are the Russians in goal. Tampa Bay led off in the first period with a Brayden Point goal, his tenth of the postseason, coming off of Nikita Kucherov and David Savard. New York tied it on a Brock Nelson power play goal, his seventh of the playoffs, going in unassisted. The Lightning retook the lead in the second period with an Ondrej Palat goal, his third of the postseason, via Kucherov and Victor Hedman. Tampa Bay added on in the third period with a Jan Rutta goal, courtesy of Barclay Goodrow and Blake Coleman. The Lightning extended the lead in the third period as Hedman scored on the power play, thanks to Kucherov and Steven Stamkos. The Islanders got one back with a Mathew Barzal goal, his fifth of the playoffs, assisted by Jordan Eberle and Nick Leddy. The final stood at 4-2, with the three stars going to Kucherov, Hedman, and Rutta. The series heads north to New York tied at 1-1. 

Game 3: Semyon Varlamov and Andrei Vasilevskiy tend the twines. Tampa Bay began in the first period with a Yanni Gourde goal, his third of the postseason, assisted by Blake Coleman and Erik Cernak. New York tied it in the second period with a Cal Clutterbuck goal, his fourth of the playoffs, via Matt Martin and Casey Cizikas. The Lightning took the lead back with a Brayden Point goal, his eleventh of the postseason, made possible by Victor Hedman and Nikita Kucherov. This stood for a 2-1 win, with the three stars going to Vasilevskiy (27 for 28 in saves), Point, and Gourde. The Lightning took a 2-1 series lead. 

Game 4: Semyon Varlamov and Andrei Vasilevskiy start again in goal. New York dented the scoreboard in the second period with a Josh Bailey goal, his sixth of the postseason, via Brock Nelson and Anthony Beauvillier. The Islanders added on with a Mathew Barzal power play goal, his sixth of the playoffs, powered by Cal Clutterbuck and Adam Pelech. New York extended the lead as Matt Martin scored, thanks to Clutterbuck and Pelech. Tampa Bay got on the board with a Brayden Point goal, his twelfth of the postseason, passed from Ondrej Palat and Erik Cernak. The Lightning pulled back with a Tyler Johnson goal, his second of the playoffs, guided in by Nikita Kucherov and Ryan McDonagh. This made it 3-2, the final, with the three stars going to Varlamov (28 for 30 in saves), Clutterbuck, and Pelech. The series returns to Tampa Bay tied at 2-2. 

Game 5: Andrei Vasilevskiy and Semyon Varlamov man the nets. Tampa Bay opened in the first period with a Steven Stamkos goal, his sixth of the postseason, via Alex Killorn and Anthony Cirelli. The Lightning added on with a Yanni Gourde goal, his fourth of the playoffs, passed from Blake Coleman. Tampa Bay extended the lead as Killorn scored his seventh of the postseason, thanks to David Savard. Ilya Sorokin replaced Varlamov in goal. The Lightning padded the lead in the second period on a Stamkos power play goal, his second of the game and seventh of the playoffs, powered by Victor Hedman and Nikita Kucherov. Tampa Bay continued with an Ondrej Palat goal, his fourth of the postseason, made possible by Savard and Kucherov. The Lightning struck again with a Killorn power play goal, his second of the game and eighth of the playoffs, with assists provided by Hedman and Brayden Point. Tampa Bay kept going in the third period with a Point power play goal, his thirteenth of the postseason, with helpers from Kucherov and Stamkos. The Lightning iced it at 8-0 with a Luke Schenn goal, courtesy of Pat Maroon and Ross Colton. The three stars were Stamkos, Killorn, and Kucherov, while Point, Hedman, and Savard get the honorable mentions. The Lightning are up 3-2 in the series. 

Game 6: Semyon Varlamov and Andrei Vasilevskiy guard the cages. Tampa Bay started in the first period with a Brayden Point goal, his fourteenth of the postseason, made possible by Anthony Cirelli. The Lightning added on with a Cirelli goal in the second period, his fourth of the playoffs, via Ondrej Palat and Brayden Point. New York got on the board with a Jordan Eberle goal, his fourth of the postseason, coming off of Mathew Barzal and Andy Greene. The Islanders tied it on a Scott Mayfield goal, his second of the playoffs, assisted by Barzal and Adam Pelech. New York won 3-2 in overtime with an Anthony Beauvillier goal, his fifth of the postseason, going in unassisted. The three stars were Cirelli, Barzal, and Beauvillier. The series heads back to Tampa Bay one more time, tied at 3-3. 

Game 7: Andrei Vasilevksiy and Semyon Varlamov protect the nets. Tampa Bay kicked off the scoring in the second period with a Yanni Gourde shorthanded goal, his fifth of the postseason, set up by Anthony Cirelli and Alex Killorn. This stood for a 1-0 win, with the three stars going to Vasilevskiy (18 save shutout), Gourde, and Varlamov (30 for 31 in saves). The Lightning won the series 4-3 and will again play for the Stanley Cup, this time versus the Canadiens. 

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Stanley Cup Semifinals - Vegas Golden Knights v. Montreal Canadiens

The second Stanley Cup Semifinals series will be contained in this post. The Vegas Golden Knights face the Montreal Canadiens. 

Game 1: Marc-Andre Fleury and Carey Price protect the nets. Vegas led off in the first period with a Shea Theodore goal, via Brayden McNabb and Chandler Stephenson. The Golden Knights added on with an Alec Martinez goal in the second period, his third of the postseason, passed from Theodore and Reilly Smith. Montreal got on the board with a Cole Caufield power play goal, powered by Tyler Toffoli and Corey Perry. Vegas replied with a Mattias Janmark goal, his fourth of the playoffs, assisted by Alex Tuch and Zach Whitecloud. The Golden Knights extended the lead as Nick Holden scored his second of the postseason, thanks to Smith and William Karlsson. The three stars of the 4-1 game were Theodore, Fleury (28 for 29 in saves), and Martinez. The Golden Knights lead the series 1-0. 

Game 2: Marc-Andre Fleury and Carey Price again tend the twines. Montreal began in the first period with a Joel Armia goal, his fifth of the postseason, courtesy of Joel Edmundson and Corey Perry. The Canadiens added on with a Tyler Toffoli goal, his fifth of the playoffs, assisted by Cole Caufield and Jeff Petry. Montreal extended the lead in the second period as Paul Byron scored his second of the postseason, thanks to Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Edmundson. Vegas got on the board with an Alex Pietrangelo goal, his second of the playoffs, passed from Keegan Kolesar. The Golden Knights got closer in the third period with a Pietrangelo goal, his second of the game and third of the postseason, guided in by Jonathan Marchessault and William Karlsson. This only made it 3-2, the final, with the three stars going to Byron, Edmundson, and Pietrangelo. The series is tied at 1-1 heading up to Montreal. 

Game 3: Carey Price and Marc-Andre Fleury guard the cages. Vegas got going in the second period with a Nicolas Roy goal, his third of the postseason, going in unassisted. Montreal tied it on a Cole Caufield goal, his second of the playoffs, passed from Nick Suzuki. The Golden Knights retook the lead in the third period with an Alex Pietrangelo goal, his fourth of the postseason, assisted by Max Pacioretty and Tomas Nosek. The Canadiens tied it on an unassisted Josh Anderson goal, his second of the playoffs. Montreal won 3-2 in overtime with another Anderson goal, his second of the game and third of the postseason, via Paul Byron and Jepseri Kotkaniemi. The three stars were Anderson, Price (43 for 45 in saves), and Caufield. The Canadiens lead the series 2-1. 

Game 4: Carey Price and Robin Lehner are the masked men. Montreal dented the scoreboard in the second period with a Paul Byron goal, his third of the postseason, fueled by Nick Suzuki. Vegas tied it in the third period on a Brayden McNabb goal, assisted by William Karlsson and Shea Theodore. The Golden Knights won 2-1 in overtime with a Nicolas Roy goal, his fourth of the playoffs, guided in by Max Pacioretty. The three stars were Roy, Lehner (27 for 28 in saves), and McNabb. The series heads back to Nevada tied at 2-2. 

Game 5: Marc-Andre Fleury and Carey Price are between the pipes. Montreal opened in the first period with a Jesperi Kotkaniemi goal, his fifth of the postseason, assisted by Josh Anderson and Paul Byron. The Canadiens added on in the second period with an Eric Staal goal, his second of the playoffs, passed from Nick Suzuki and Tyler Toffoli. Montreal extended the lead on a Cole Caufield power play goal, his third of the postseason, powered by Corey Perry and Suzuki. Vegas got on the board in the third period with a Max Pacioretty goal, his fifth of the playoffs, guided in by Nicolas Roy. The Canadiens iced it at 4-1 with a Suzuki empty net goal, his fifth of the postseason, set up by Toffoli. The three stars were Suzuki, Toffoli, and Price (26 for 27 in saves). The Canadiens return home ahead 3-2 in the series. 

Game 6: Carey Price and Robin Lehner are the goalies. Montreal started in the first period with a Shea Weber power play goal, going in unassisted. Vegas tied it on a Reilly Smith goal, his third of the postseason, via Shea Theodore and William Karlsson. The Canadiens took the lead back in the second period with a Cole Caufield goal, his fourth of the playoffs, guided in by Joel Edmundson and Jeff Petry. The Golden Knights tied it in the third period with an Alec Martinez goal, his fourth of the postseason, fueled by Alex Pietrangelo and Karlsson. Montreal won 3-2 in overtime with an Artturi Lehkonen goal, his third of the playoffs, made possible by Phillip Danault and Brendan Gallagher. The three stars were Price (37 for 39 in saves), Lehkonen, and Karlsson. The Canadiens won the series 4-2 and will play for the Stanley Cup, beginning Monday.