NHL Playoffs 2022 - Day 26

Another one-game day sees the New York Rangers bringing in the Carolina Hurricanes. Antti Raanta and Igor Shesterkin protect the nets. New York kicked off the scoring in the first period with a Tyler Motte goal, his second of the postseason, going in unassisted. The Rangers added on with a power play goal by Mika Zibanejad, his seventh of the playoffs, powered by Adam Fox and the goalie Shesterkin. New York extended the lead in the second period as Filip Chytil scored his third of the postseason, thanks to Fox. Pyotr Kochetkov replaced Raanta in goal. Carolina got on the board with a Brady Skjei goal, passed from Sebastian Aho and Seth Jarvis. The Rangers shot back on another Chytil goal, his second of the game and fourth of the playoffs, guided in by Alexis Lafreniere and the goalie Shesterkin. The Hurricanes got one back with a Vincent Trocheck goal, his fifth of the postseason, made possible by Martin Necas and Skjei. New York replied in the third period with an Artemi Panarin power play goal, his fourth of the playoffs, with assists provided by Chris Kreider and Ryan Strome. The final held at 5-2, with the three stars going to Chytil, Shesterkin (37 for 39 in saves, two assists), and Fox, while Skjei gets an honorable mention. The series is tied at 3-3 and will see a Game 7 on Monday. 

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NHL Playoffs 2022 - Day 25

They're all one-game days from here on out. Today's is the St. Louis Blues hosting the Colorado Avalanche. Darcy Kuemper and Ville Husso man the nets. St. Louis led off in the first period with a Justin Faulk goal, via Robert Thomas and Niko Mikkola. Colorado tied it in the second period with a J.T. Compher goal, assisted by Josh Manson and Andre Burakovsky. The Blues retook the lead with a Jordan Kyrou goal, his seventh of the postseason, passed from Brayden Schenn. The Avalanche tied it again in the third period with a Compher power play goal, his second of the game, powered by Bowen Byram and Devon Toews. Colorado won with a Darren Helm goal, guided in by Logan O'Connor and Erik Johnson. This stood for a 3-2 win, with the three stars going to Compher, Helm, and Kyrou. The Avalanche won the series 4-2 and will have home-ice advantage against the Edmonton Oilers in the Western Conference Finals. 

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NHL Playoffs 2022 - Day 24

We're back for a two-game night, beginning with...

The Carolina Hurricanes welcoming the New York Rangers. Igor Shesterkin and Antti Raanta are the goalies. Carolina opened in the first period with a Vincent Trocheck shorthanded goal, his fourth of the postseason, set up by Jordan Staal. New York tied it on a Mika Zibanejad power play goal, his sixth of the playoffs, powered by Artemi Panarin and Adam Fox. The Hurricanes took the lead back in the second period with a Teuvo Teravainen power play goal, his fourth of the postseason, with assists provided by Seth Jarvis and Tony DeAngelo. Carolina added on in the third period with an Andrei Svechnikov goal, his fourth of the playoffs, coming off of Martin Necas and Brett Pesce. The final held at 3-1, with the three stars going to Teravainen, Svechnikov, and Trocheck. The Hurricanes retook the series lead at 3-2.

Out west, the Calgary Flames bring in the Edmonton Oilers. Mike Smith and Jacob Markstrom man the nets. Calgary started in the first period with an Andrew Mangiapane goal, his third of the postseason, courtesy of Blake Coleman and Mikael Backlund. The Flames added on in the second period with a Backlund goal, his fifth of the playoffs, via Michael Stone and Coleman. Edmonton got on the board with a Darnell Nurse goal, his second of the postseason, helped along by Leon Draisaitl and Zach Hyman. The Oilers tied it on a Jesse Puljujarvi goal, his second of the playoffs, guided in by Hyman. Edmonton took the lead with a Hyman power play goal, his eighth of the postseason, powered by Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Draisaitl. Calgary tied it again with a Johnny Gaudreau goal, his third of the playoffs, fueled by Oliver Kylington. The Flames retook the lead with a Calle Jarnkrok goal, assisted by Nikita Zadorov. The Oilers retied it on an Evan Bouchard goal, his third of the postseason, with helpers from Draisaitl and Duncan Keith. Edmonton won 5-4 in overtime with a Connor McDavid goal, his seventh of the playoffs, set up by Draisaitl. The three stars were Draisaitl, Hyman, and Backlund, while Coleman gets an honorable mention. The Oilers won the series 4-1 and will play in the Western Conference Finals. 

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NHL Playoffs 2022 - Day 23

There's just one game on today, with a season on the line as the Colorado Avalanche host the St. Louis Blues. Ville Husso and Darcy Kuemper man the nets. Colorado struck first in the first period with a Nathan MacKinnon goal, his sixth of the postseason, via Artturi Lehkonen and Bowen Byram. The Avalanche added on with a MacKinnon power play goal, his second of the game and seventh of the playoffs, powered by Mikko Rantanen and Cale Makar. Colorado extended the lead in the second period as Gabriel Landeskog goal, his sixth of the postseason, made possible by Devon Toews and MacKinnon. St. Louis got on the board with a Vladimir Tarasenko goal, his sixth of the playoffs, guided in by Brayden Schenn and Nick Leddy. The Blues got one back in the third period with a Robert Thomas goal, courtesy of Pavel Buchnevich and Leddy. St. Louis tied it on a Justin Faulk goal, with helpers from Alexei Toropchenko and Leddy. The Avalanche retook the lead on a MacKinnon goal, completing his hat trick on his eighth of the postseason, assisted by Byram. The Blues tied it again with a Thomas goal, his second of the game, helped along by Tarasenko and Buchnevich. St. Louis won 5-4 in overtime with a Tyler Bozak goal, his second of the playoffs, fueled by Leddy. The three stars were MacKinnon, Leddy, and Thomas, while Tarasenko, Buchnevich, and Byram get the honorable mentions. The Avalanche are still ahead 3-2 in the series heading back to St. Louis. 

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NHL Playoffs 2022 - Day 22

We're up for two more games today. First up...

The New York Rangers host the Carolina Hurricanes. Antti Raanta and Igor Shesterkin man the nets. New York started in the first period with a Frank Vatrano power play goal, his third of the postseason, powered by Andrew Copp and Adam Fox. The Rangers added on with a Fox goal, his fourth of the playoffs, with assists provided by Ryan Lindgren and Copp. New York extended the lead in the second period as Mika Zibanejad scored his fifth of the postseason, thanks to Lindgren and Vatrano. Carolina got on the board in the third period with a Teuvo Teravainen goal, his third of the playoffs, guided in by Sebastian Aho. The Rangers fired back with a Copp goal, his fifth of the postseason, made possible by Ryan Strome. The final held at 4-1, with the three stars going to Copp, Fox, and Vatrano, while Lindgren gets an honorable mention. The series heads south again tied at 2-2.

Out west, the Edmonton Oilers host the Calgary Flames. Jacob Markstrom and Mike Smith are in the creases. Edmonton opened in the first period with a Ryan Nugent-Hopkins goal, his third of the postseason, going in unassisted. The Oilers added on with a Zach Hyman power play goal, his seventh of the playoffs, powered by Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. Edmonton extended the lead as Evander Kane scored his eleventh of the postseason, via Draisaitl and Cody Ceci. Calgary got on the board with an Elias Lindholm power play goal, his fifth of the playoffs, with assists provided by Noah Hanifin and Tyler Toffoli. The Flames got closer with a Mikael Backlund goal, his fourth of the postseason, coming off of Christopher Tanev. Calgary tied it on a shorthanded Rasmus Andersson goal, his third of the playoffs, going in unassisted. The Oilers retook the lead with a Nugent-Hopkins goal, his second of the game and fourth of the postseason, with helpers from Tyson Barrie and Kailer Yamamoto. Edmonton iced it at 5-3 with a Kane empty net power play goal, his second of the game and twelfth of the playoffs, set up by McDavid. The three stars were Nugent-Hopkins, Kane, and Draisaitl, while McDavid gets an honorable mention. The Oilers hold a 3-1 series lead. 

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NHL Playoffs 2022 - Day 21

We're set to have some Game 4s on. First up...

The Tampa Bay Lightning host the Florida Panthers. Sergei Bobrovsky and Andrei Vasilevskiy tend the twines. Tampa Bay dented the scoreboard in the third period with a Pat Maroon goal, his second of the postseason, coming off of Zach Bogosian. The Lightning added on with an Ondrej Palat empty net goal, his fourth of the playoffs, set up by Anthony Cirelli. This stood for a 2-0 win, with the three stars awarded to Vasilevskiy (49 save shutout), Maroon, and Bobrovsky (24 for 25 in saves). The Lightning swept the series 4-0 and will wait to learn their opponent for the Eastern Conference Finals. 

Out in St. Louis, the Blues host the Colorado Avalanche. Darcy Kuemper and Ville Husso are between the pipes. St. Louis drew first blood in the first period with a David Perron goal, his eighth of the postseason, passed from Pavel Buchnevich. Colorado tied it on an Erik Johnson goal, via Alex Newhook and Bowen Byram. The Avalanche took the lead on a Nazem Kadri goal, his third of the playoffs, coming off of Valeri Nichushkin. Colorado added on with a Devon Toews goal, his fourth of the postseason, going in unassisted. The Avalanche extended the lead as Kadri scored his second of the game and fourth of the playoffs, thanks to Byram and Cale Makar. The Blues got one back with a Perron power play goal, his second of the game and ninth of the postseason, powered by Scott Perunovich and Brayden Schenn. St. Louis got closer with a Buchnevich power play goal, with assists provided by Jordan Kyrou and Brandon Saad. Colorado shot back in the third period with a Kadri goal, completing his hat trick on his fifth of the playoffs, with the help of Nichushkin. The Avalanche iced it at 6-3 with a Mikko Rantanen empty net goal, set up by Kadri. The three stars were Kadri, Perron, and Byram, while Nichushkin and Buchnevich get the honorable mentions. The Avalanche hold a 3-1 series lead. 

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NHL Playoffs 2022 - Day 20

There's three games on today to complete the scheduling quirk. First up...

The Tampa Bay Lightning host the Florida Panthers. Sergei Bobrovsky and Andrei Vasilevskiy man the nets. Tampa Bay opened in the first period with a Corey Perry goal, his fifth of the postseason, made possible by Ryan McDonagh and Nikita Kucherov. Florida tied it on a Sam Reinhart power play goal, his third of the playoffs, powered by Jonathan Huberdeau and Aleksander Barkov. The Lightning retook the lead in the second period with an Erik Cernak goal, via Ross Colton and Ondrej Palat. Tampa Bay added on with a Steven Stamkos goal, his third of the postseason, coming off of Kucherov and Victor Hedman. The Lightning extended the lead in the third period as Kucherov scored his fourth of the postseason into an empty net, thanks to Nick Paul. Tampa Bay iced it at 5-1 with an empty net goal by Stamkos, his second of the game and fourth of the playoffs, set up by Kucherov. The three stars were Kucherov, Stamkos, and Vasilevskiy (34 for 35 in saves). The Lightning are on the brink of advancing with a 3-0 series lead.

Up in New York, the Rangers welcome the Carolina Hurricanes. Antti Raanta and Igor Shesterkin protect the nets. New York started in the first period with a Mika Zibanejad power play goal, his fourth of the postseason, powered by Artemi Panarin and Adam Fox. The Rangers added on in the second period with a Chris Kreider goal, his sixth of the playoffs, passed from Zibanejad and Jacob Trouba. Carolina got on the board with a Nino Niederreiter goal, his fourth of the postseason, courtesy of Jordan Staal and Brendan Smith. New York shot back in the third period with a Tyler Motte empty net goal, going in unassisted. This made it 3-1, the final, with the three stars going to Zibanejad, Shesterkin (43 for 44 in saves), and Kreider. The Rangers got on the board in the series but still trail the Hurricanes 2-1. 

Finally, the Edmonton Oilers bring in the Calgary Flames. Jacob Markstrom and Mike Smith are in goal. Edmonton got going in the second period with a Zach Hyman goal, his sixth of the postseason, assisted by Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid. The Oilers added on with a Kane goal, his eighth of the playoffs, via Draisaitl. Edmonton extended the lead as Kane scored his second of the game and ninth of the postseason, thanks to McDavid and Draisaitl. The Oilers padded the lead on another Kane goal, completing his hat trick on his tenth of the playoffs, coming off of McDavid and Draisaitl. Calgary got on the board with an Oliver Kylington goal in the third period, passed from Calle Jarnkrok and Dillon Dube. The final was 4-1, with the three stars going to Kane, Draisaitl, and McDavid. The Oilers own a 2-1 series lead. 

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