There's four games on today, beginning with...
The Columbus Blue Jackets versus the Tampa Bay Lightning. Andrei Vasilevskiy and Joonas Korpisalo man the nets. Tampa Bay got going in the second period with a Barclay Goodrow goal, assisted by Blake Coleman and Yanni Gourde. The Lightning added on with a Gourde goal, his second of the postseason, coming off of Kevin Shattenkirk and Goodrow. Columbus got on the board with a Cam Atkinson goal, his third of the playoffs, guided in by Pierre-Luc Dubois and Zach Werenski. The final remained at 2-1, with the three stars being Vasilevskiy (28 for 29 in saves), Gourde, and Goodrow. The Lightning are ahead 3-1 in the series.
Next up, the Arizona Coyotes take on the Colorado Avalanche. Philipp Grubauer and Darcy Kuemper start in goal. Colorado led off in the first period with a Matt Nieto goal, assisted by Matt Calvert and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare. The Avalanche added on with a Nazem Kadri power play goal, his third of the postseason, powered by Gabriel Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen. Colorado extended the lead as Kadri scored again on the power play, his second of the game and fourth of the playoffs, with the help of Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar. The Avalanche padded the lead in the second period with a Joonas Donskoi goal, his third of the postseason, helped along by Andre Burakovsky and Kadri. Arizona got on the board with a Jakob Chychrun power play goal, with assists provided by Jordan Oesterle and Vinnie Hinostroza. Antti Raanta replaced Kuemper in goal. Colorado replied in the third period with a Makar goal, his second of the playoffs, going in unassisted. The Avalanche continued with a Calvert goal, coming off of MacKinnon and Ryan Graves. Colorado capped it at 7-1 with a Rantanen power play goal, his third of the postseason, passed from Erik Johnson and Landeskog. The three stars were Kadri, Calvert, and Rantanen, while Makar, Landeskog, and MacKinnon get the honorable mentions. The Avalanche have a 3-1 series lead.
Back east, the Carolina Hurricanes face the Boston Bruins. Jaroslav Halak and James Reimer are the goalies. Carolina began in the first period with a Justin Williams goal, assisted by Vincent Trocheck and Jake Gardiner. The Hurricanes added on with a Jordan Martinook goal, his second of the postseason, courtesy of Sebastian Aho in the second period. Boston got on the board in the third period with a Jake DeBrusk goal, his second of the playoffs, coming off of Ondrej Kase and Connor Clifton. The Bruins tied it with a Clifton goal, made possible by Joakim Nordstrom and Chris Wagner. Boston took the lead with a Brad Marchand goal, his third of the postseason, helped along by Torey Krug. The Bruins extended the lead as DeBrusk scored his second of the game and third of the playoffs, via Kase and David Krejci. Carolina got one back with a Teuvo Teravainen goal, his third of the postseason, passed from Brady Skjei and Dougie Hamilton. This only made it 4-3, the final, with the three stars given to DeBrusk, Clifton, and Kase. The Bruins moved ahead 3-1 in the series.
Finally, the Vancouver Canucks oppose the St. Louis Blues. Jake Allen and Jake Markstrom occupy the creases. St. Louis kicked off the scoring in the first period with a Ryan O'Reilly power play goal, his second of the postseason, powered by Alex Pietrangelo. Vancouver tied it in the second period with a J.T. Miller goal, his fourth of the playoffs, guided in by Alexander Edler. The Blues took the lead back on an O'Reilly goal, his second of the game and third of the postseason, via David Perron. St. Louis added on with a Pietrangelo power play goal, with assists provided by O'Reilly and Perron. This stood for a 3-1 win, with the three stars awarded to O'Reilly, Pietrangelo, and Perron. The series is tied at 2.
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