Four games again today, beginning with...
The Montreal Canadiens against the Philadelphia Flyers. Carter Hart and Carey Price guard the cages. Philadelphia began in the first period with a Michael Raffl goal, his second of the postseason, coming off of Sean Couturier and Jakub Voracek. The Flyers added on with a Philippe Myers goal, his second of the playoffs, courtesy of Travis Konecny and Kevin Hayes in the second period. This stood for a 2-0 win, with the three stars being Hart (29 save shutout), Raffl, and Myers. The Flyers lead the series 3-1.
Out west, the Dallas Stars face the Calgary Flames. Cam Talbot and Anton Khudobin are in goal. Dallas led off in the first period with a Jamie Benn shorthanded goal, his second of the of the postseason, set up by Tyler Seguin. Calgary tied it on a Mikael Backlund goal, his fourth of the playoffs, going in unassisted. The Stars took the lead in the third period with a John Klingberg goal, fueled by Mattias Janmark. This stood for the 2-1 final score, with the three stars being Khudobin (28 for 29 in saves), Klingberg, and Benn. The Stars are ahead 3-2 in the series.
In the east, the New York Islanders take on the Washington Capitals. Braden Holtby and Semyon Varlamov man the nets. New York started in the first period with a Jean-Gabriel Pageau goal, his fourth of the postseason, assisted by Scott Mayfield and Casey Cizikas. The Islanders added on with a Mathew Barzal goal, his third of the playoffs, via Nick Leddy and Andy Greene. Washington got on the board in the second period with an Evgeny Kuznetsov goal, his third of the postseason, coming off of John Carlson and the goalie Holtby. The Capitals tied it on an Alex Ovechkin power play goal, his third of the playoffs, powered by Carlson and Kuznetsov. Washington took the lead with an Ovechkin goal in the third period, his second of the game and fourth of the postseason, courtesy of Dmitry Orlov. This held for a 3-2 win, with the three stars going to Ovechkin, Kuznetsov, and Carlson. The Capitals stay alive, but the Islanders lead the series 3-1.
Finally, the Vegas Golden Knights oppose the Chicago Blackhawks. Corey Crawford and Robin Lehner tend the twines. Chicago opened in the first period with a Jonathan Toews goal, his fifth of the postseason, coming off of Dominik Kubalik and Brandon Saad. The Blackhawks added on with an Alex DeBrincat goal, his second of the playoffs, guided in by Dylan Strome and Connor Murphy. Vegas got on the board with a Max Pacioretty goal, assisted by Brayden McNabb and William Karlsson. The Golden Knights tied it with a Mark Stone goal, his fourth of the postseason, via Karlsson and Pacioretty. Chicago regained the lead with a Patrick Kane goal, his second of the playoffs, fueled by Drake Caggiula. Vegas retied it with a power play goal by Alec Martinez, powered by Reilly Smith and Nate Schmidt. The Golden Knights pulled ahead in the third period with an Alex Tuch goal, his fourth of the postseason, helped along by Jonathan Marchessault and Shea Theodore. This stood for a 4-3 win, with the three stars given to Pacioretty, Karlsson, and Tuch. The Golden Knights advanced on a 4-1 series win.
Follow me on Twitter @OutsiderSports0.