NHL Playoffs 2023 - Second Round Day 5

Another one-game day is on the slate, as the Vegas Golden Knights host the Edmonton Oilers. Stuart Skinner and Laurent Brossoit patrol the creases. Edmonton kicked off the scoring in the first period with a Leon Draisaitl power play goal, his twelfth of the postseason, powered by Evan Bouchard and Connor McDavid. The Oilers added on with a Bouchard power play goal, his third of the playoffs, with assists provided by Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Zach Hyman. Edmonton extended the lead on a McDavid shorthanded goal, his fourth of the postseason, going in unassisted. The Oilers padded the lead on Draisaitl's second goal of the game and thirteenth of the playoffs, fueled by Kailer Yamamoto and Hyman. Edmonton continued in the second period with a McDavid power play goal, his second of the game and fifth of the postseason, assisted by Nugent-Hopkins and Bouchard. Adin Hill replaced Brossoit in goal in the third period. Vegas got on the board in the third period with an Ivan Barbashev goal, his fourth of the playoffs, guided in by Mark Stone. This only made it 5-1, the final, with the three stars being Draisaitl, McDavid, and Bouchard, while Hyman and Nugent-Hopkins receive the honorable mentions. The series is tied at 1-1 heading to Edmonton. 

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NHL Playoffs 2023 - Second Round Day 4

There's just one game today, with the Carolina Hurricanes hosting the New Jersey Devils. Akira Schmid and Frederik Andersen are set to start in goal. Carolina got going in the second period with a Jesperi Kotkaniemi power play goal, his second of the postseason, powered by Shayne Gostisbehere and Jack Drury. The Hurricanes added on with another Kotkaniemi goal, his second of the game and third of the playoffs, made possible by Jordan Martinook and Jesper Fast. Carolina extended the lead as Jordan Staal scored, thanks to Drury and Brett Pesce. The Hurricanes padded the lead on a Martin Necas goal, his second of the postseason, assisted by Gostisbehere and Jaccob Slavin. Vitek Vanecek replaced Schmid in the third period. New Jersey got on the board with a Miles Wood goal, helped along by Michael McLeod and Nathan Bastian. Carolina shot back with an unassisted Martinook goal. The Hurricanes continued with a Stefan Noesen goal, his third of the playoffs, with helpers from Sebastian Aho and Seth Jarvis. This stood for a 6-1 win, with the three stars given to Kotkaniemi, Martinook, and Drury, while Gostisbehere gets an honorable mention. The Hurricanes head on the road with a 2-0 series lead. 

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NHL Playoffs 2023 - Second Round Day 3

Another pair of games are on today. First up...

The Toronto Maple Leafs welcome the Florida Panthers. Sergei Bobrovsky and Ilya Samsonov are the goalies. Toronto led off in the first period with an Alexander Kerfoot goal, his second of the postseason, via Luke Schenn and Morgan Rielly. The Maple Leafs added on with a Ryan O'Reilly power play goal, his third of the playoffs, powered by Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews. Florida got on the board with an Anton Lundell goal, made possible by Sam Reinhart. The Panthers tied it in the second period with an Aleksander Barkov goal, his second of the postseason, guided in by Anthony Duclair. Florida took the lead with a Gustav Forsling goal, his second of the playoffs, passed from Matthew Tkachuk and Lundell. The final held at 3-2, with the three stars being Lundell, Forsling, and Barkov. The Panthers head home with a 2-0 series lead.

Down in Dallas, the Stars bring in the Seattle Kraken. Philipp Grubauer and Jake Oettinger are between the pipes. Dallas got going in the second period with a Wyatt Johnston goal, his second of the postseason, via Colin Miller and Max Domi. The Stars added on with an Evgenii Dadonov goal, his fourth of the playoffs, guided in by Jamie Benn and Ryan Suter. Seattle got on the board with a Tye Kartye goal, his second of the postseason, fueled by Vince Dunn. Dallas replied with a Joe Pavelski power play goal, his fifth of the playoffs, powered by Johnston and Tyler Seguin. The Stars extended the lead in the third period as Seguin scored his fifth of the postseason, thanks to Thomas Harley and Roope Hintz. The Kraken got one back with a Jordan Eberle goal, his third of the playoffs, helped along by Yanni Gourde. The final held at 4-2, with the three stars given to Johnston, Seguin, and Pavelski. The series is tied at 1- heading up to Seattle. 

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NHL Playoffs 2023 - Second Round Day 2

The other two series of the second round are ready to start. First up...

The Carolina Hurricanes host the New Jersey Devils. Akira Schmid and Frederik Andersen man the nets. Carolina started in the first period with a Brett Pesce goal, via Jordan Staal. The Hurricanes added on with a Seth Jarvis goal, his third of the postseason, going in unassisted. Carolina extended the lead in the second period as Jesperi Kotkaniemi scored, thanks to Jordan Martinook and Jesper Fast. Vitek Vanecek replaced Schmid in goal. New Jersey got on the board with a Nathan Bastian goal, courtesy of Michael McLeod and Miles Wood. The Hurricanes shot back in the third period with a Brady Skjei goal, assisted by Sebastian Aho and Stefan Noesen. Carolina iced it at 5-1 with a Fast empty net goal, his third of the playoffs, set up by Martinook and Staal. The three stars were Fast, Martinook, and Staal. The Hurricanes lead the series 1-0.

Out west, the Vegas Golden Knights host the Edmonton Oilers. Stuart Skinner and Laurent Brossoit patrol the creases. Edmonton opened in the first period with a Leon Draisaitl power play goal, his eighth of the postseason, powered by Connor McDavid and Evan Bouchard. Vegas tied it on an Ivan Barbashev goal, his second of the playoffs, coming off of Nicolas Roy. The Golden Knights took the lead with a Michael Amadio goal, his second of the postseason, helped along by William Karlsson and Zach Whitecloud. Vegas added on with a Mark Stone power play goal, his fourth of the playoffs, with assists provided by Reilly Smith and Alex Pietrangelo. The Oilers got one back on a Draisaitl goal, his second of the game and ninth of the postseason, fueled by Zach Hyman and Mattias Ekholm. Edmonton tied it in the third period with a Draisaitl power play goal, completing his hat trick on his tenth of the playoffs, guided in by Hyman and Bouchard. The Golden Knights reclaimed the lead on a Barbashev goal, his second of the game and third of the postseason, made possible by Whitecloud and Jack Eichel. Vegas extended the lead as Chandler Stephenson scored his fifth of the playoffs, thanks to Stone and Brett Howden. The Oilers pulled one back on a Draisaitl goal, his fourth of the game and eleventh of the postseason, assisted by McDavid and Ekholm. The Golden Knights iced it at 6-4 with an Eichel power play empty net goal, his fourth of the playoffs, going in unassisted. The three stars were Barbashev, Draisaitl, and Stone, while Eichel, Whitecloud, McDavid, Hyman, Bouchard, and Ekholm get the honorable mentions. The Golden Knights own a 1-0 series lead. 

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NHL Playoffs 2023 - Second Round Day 1

There's two games on Tuesday to begin the second round. First up...

The Toronto Maple Leafs welcome the Florida Panthers. Sergei Bobrovsky and Ilya Samsonov man the nets. Florida opened in the first period with a Nick Cousins goal, assisted by Matthew Tkachuk and Sam Bennett. The Panthers added on with a Bennett goal in the second period, his fourth of the postseason, via Aaron Ekblad and Tkachuk. Toronto got on the board with a Matthew Knies goal, helped along by Auston Matthews and Morgan Rielly. The Maple Leafs tied it on a Michael Bunting goal, passed from Calle Jarnkrok and Ryan O'Reilly. Florida retook the lead with a Carter Verhaeghe goal, his third of the playoffs, coming off of Anthony Duclair and Aleksander Barkov. The Panthers extended the lead in the third period as Brandon Montour scored his sixth of the postseason, thanks to Tkachuk and Barkov. The final stood at 4-2, with the three stars being Tkachuk, Bennett, and Barkov. The Panthers have a 1-0 series lead.

Down in Dallas, the Stars bring in the Seattle Kraken. Philipp Grubauer and Jake Oettinger are between the pipes. Dallas started in the first period with a Joe Pavelski goal, assisted by Mason Marchment and Max Domi. Seattle tied it on a Jaden Schwartz goal, his third of the postseason, via Morgan Geekie and Jordan Eberle. The Stars took the lead with a Pavelski goal, his second of the game, coming off of Thomas Harley and Miro Heiskanen. The Kraken tied it on a Justin Schultz goal, his second of the playoffs, courtesy of Ryan Donato. Seattle took the lead with an Oliver Bjorkstrand goal, his third of the postseason, helped along by Jamie Oleksiak and Will Borgen. The Kraken added on with an Eberle goal, his second of the playoffs, fueled by Vince Dunn and Matty Beniers. Dallas got one back in the third period with a Pavelski goal, completing his hat trick with the help of Jamie Benn and Domi. The Stars tied it on Pavelski's fourth goal of the game, guided in by Jani Hakanpaa and Domi. Seattle won 5-4 in overtime with a Yanni Gourde goal, his second of the postseason, made possible by Bjorkstrand and Adam Larsson. The three stars were Pavelski, Bjorkstrand, and Domi, while Eberle gets an honorable mention. The Kraken have a 1-0 series lead. 

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NHL Playoffs 2023 - First Round Day 15

There's just one game left to close out the first round, as the New Jersey Devils host the New York Rangers. Igor Shesterkin and Akira Schmid are in between the pipes. New Jersey got going in the second period with a Michael McLeod shorthanded goal, set up by Ondrej Palat. The Devils added on with a Tomas Tatar goal, assisted by John Marino and Nico Hischier. New Jersey extended the lead in the third period as Erik Haula scored his fourth of the postseason, thanks to Jack Hughes and Palat. The Devils iced it at 4-0 with a Jesper Bratt empty net goal, set up by Marino. The three stars were Schmid (31 save shutout), Palat, and Marino. The Devils won the series 4-3 and will face the Hurricanes in the second round. 

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NHL Playoffs 2023 - First Round Day 14

It's time for some Game 7s. First up...

The Boston Bruins welcome the Florida Panthers. Sergei Bobrovsky and Jeremy Swayman man the nets. Florida led off in the first period with a Brandon Montour power play goal, his fourth of the postseason, powered by Anton Lundell and Bobrovsky. The Panthers added on with a Sam Reinhart goal in the second period, his fourth of the playoffs, assisted by Eetu Luostarinen and Lundell. Boston got on the board with a David Krejci power play goal, with assists provided by Dmitry Orlov and Pavel Zacha. The Bruins tied it in the third period with a Tyler Bertuzzi power play goal, his fifth of the postseason, made possible by Orlov and Krejci. Boston took the lead on a David Pastrnak goal, his fifth of the playoffs, guided in by Brandon Carlo and Krejci. Florida retied it on another Montour goal, his second of the game and fifth of the postseason, helped along by Aleksander Barkov and Carter Verhaeghe. The Panthers won 4-3 in overtime with a Verhaeghe goal, his second of the playoffs, fueled by Sam Bennett and Matthew Tkachuk. The three stars were Montour, Verhaeghe, and Krejci, while Lundell and Orlov get the honorable mentions. The Panthers won the series 4-3 and will face the Maple Leafs in the second round. 

Out in Colorado, the Avalanche bring in the Seattle Kraken. Philipp Grubauer and Alexandar Georgiev are the masked men. Seattle got going in the second period with an Oliver Bjorkstrand goal, via Yanni Gourde and Adam Larsson. The Kraken added on with a Bjorkstrand goal, his second of the game, passed from Eeli Tolvanen and Gourde. Colorado pulled one back with a Mikko Rantanen power play goal, his seventh of the postseason, powered by Nathan MacKinnon and Devon Toews. This only made it 2-1, the eventual final, with the three stars being Bjorkstrand, Grubauer (33 for 34 in saves), and Gourde. The Kraken won the series 4-3 and will take on the Stars in the second round. 

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