NHL 2020 Western Conference Finals - Vegas Golden Knights v. Dallas Stars

This post will contain the entire Western Conference Finals series. 

Game 1: The goalies are Marc-Andre Fleury and Anton Khudobin. Dallas led off in the first period with a John Klingberg goal, his third of the postseason, assisted by Jamie Benn and Radek Faksa. This stood for the 1-0 win. The three stars were Khudobin (25 save shutout), Klingberg, and Fleury (24 for 25 in saves). The Stars have a 1-0 series lead. 

Game 2: Robin Lehner and Anton Khudobin start in goal. Vegas got going in the second period with a Paul Stastny goal, his third of the postseason, via Max Pacioretty and Brayden McNabb. The Golden Knights added on with a William Karlsson power play goal, his fourth of the playoffs, powered by Shea Theodore and Stastny. Vegas extended the lead as Tomas Nosek scored his second of the postseason, with the help of Chandler Stephenson and Nicolas Roy. Jake Oettinger replaced Khudobin in goal in the third period. The final stood at 3-0 with the three stars given to Lehner (24 save shutout), Stastny, and Karlsson. The series is tied at 1. 

Game 3: Anton Khudobin and Robin Lehner draw the starts in goal. Dallas dented the scoreboard in the second period with a Jamie Oleksiak goal, his fourth of the postseason, via Miro Heiskanen and Blake Comeau. Vegas tied it on a Shea Theodore power play goal, his seventh of the playoffs, powered by Mark Stone and Jonathan Marchessault in the third period. The Stars took the lead back with a Jamie Benn goal, his sixth of the postseason, helped along by Tyler Seguin and Joel Hanley. The Golden Knights tied it again on an Alex Tuch goal, his ninth of the playoffs, guided in by William Karlsson. Dallas won 3-2 in overtime with an Alexander Radulov goal, his eighth of the postseason, made possible by Joe Pavelski and Benn. The three stars were Radulov, Benn, and Khudobin (38 for 40 in saves). The Stars are up 2-1 in the series. 

Game 4: Anton Khudobin and Robin Lehner occupy the creases. Vegas drew first blood in the second period with an Alec Martinez power play goal, his second of the postseason, powered by Nate Schmidt and Paul Stastny. Dallas tied it on a Joe Pavelski goal, his ninth of the playoffs, via Andrew Cogliano. The Stars took the lead on a Jamie Benn power play goal, his seventh of the postseason, with assists provided by John Klingberg and Alexander Radulov. This stood for a 2-1 win, with the three stars given to Khudobin (32 for 33 in saves), Benn, and Pavelski. The Stars now lead the series 3-1. 

Game 5: Robin Lehner and Anton Khudobin are the goalies again. Vegas began in the first period with a Chandler Stephenson goal, his third of the postseason, made possible by Shea Theodore and Alex Tuch. The Golden Knights added on in the third period with a Reilly Smith goal, his fifth of the playoffs, guided in by Paul Stastny. Dallas got on the board with a Jamie Benn goal, his eighth of the postseason, coming off of Alexander Radulov and Esa Lindell. The Stars tied it with a Joel Kiviranta power play goal, his fourth of the playoffs, powered by John Klingberg and Denis Gurianov. Dallas won 3-2 in overtime on a Gurianov power play goal, his ninth of the postseason, with assists provided by Klingberg and Roope Hintz. The three stars were Gurianov, Klingberg, and Benn. The Stars won the series 4-1 and they're headed to the Stanley Cup Finals. 

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NHL 2020 Playoffs - Second Round Day 13

The final game of the second round of this year's playoffs has the Philadelphia Flyers against the New York Islanders. Thomas Greiss and Carter Hart make the starts in goal. New York kicked off the scoring in the first period with a Scott Mayfield goal, coming off of Devon Toews and Jordan Eberle. The Islanders added on with an Andy Greene goal, his second of the postseason, made possible by Derick Brassard and Brock Nelson. New York extended the lead as Nelson scored his seventh of the playoffs, thanks to Josh Bailey and Ryan Pulock in the second period. The Islanders padded the lead in the third period with an Anthony Beauvillier empty net goal, his eighth of the postseason, set up by Nelson and Bailey. This stood for a 4-0 final score, with the three stars going to Nelson, Greiss (16 save shutout), and Bailey. The Islanders won the series 4-3 and will play the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Eastern Conference Finals. 

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NHL 2020 Playoffs - Second Round Day 12

The Western Conference series will be decided today, beginning with...

The Colorado Avalanche versus the Dallas Stars. Anton Khudobin and Michael Hutchinson start in goal. Dallas led off in the first period with an Alexander Radulov power play goal, his sixth of the postseason, powered by Joe Pavelski and Miro Heiskanen. Colorado tied it on a Vladislav Namestnikov goal, his third of the playoffs, assisted by Ian Cole and Nazem Kadri. The Avalanche took the lead with an Andre Burakovsky goal, his seventh of the postseason, going in unassisted. The Stars tied it in the second period with a Joel Kiviranta goal, courtesy of Denis Gurianov and John Klingberg. Colorado took the lead back with a Kadri power play goal, his ninth of the playoffs, with helpers from Mikko Rantanen and Burakovsky. Dallas retied it as Radulov scored his second of the game and seventh of the postseason on the power play, thanks to Klingberg and Jamie Benn. The Avalanche took the lead again on a Namestnikov goal, his fourth of the playoffs and second of the day, guided in by J.T. Compher and Nikita Zadorov. The Stars evened it with Kiviranta's second goal of the game, fueled by Roope Hintz and Heiskanen. Dallas won 5-4 with a Kiviranta goal to complete his hat trick in overtime, helped along by Andrej Sekera and Jamie Oleksiak. The three stars were Kiviranta, Radulov, and Namestnikov, while Heiskanen, Klingberg, Burakovsky, and Kadri get the honorable mentions. The Stars won the series 4-3 and will meet the winner of the next series in the Western Conference Finals.

Next up, the Vegas Golden Knights take on the Vancouver Canucks. Thatcher Demko and Robin Lehner man the nets. Vegas dented the scoreboard in the third period with a Shea Theodore power play goal, his sixth of the postseason, powered by Reilly Smith. The Golden Knights added on with an Alex Tuch empty net goal, his eighth of the playoffs, set up by Paul Stastny. Vegas iced it at 3-0 with a Stastny empty net goal, his second of the postseason, with helpers from Nicolas Roy and Jonathan Marchessault. The three stars were Stastny, Lehner (15 save shutout), and Demko (33 for 34 in saves). The Golden Knights took the series 4-3 and are set to face the Stars in the Western Conference Finals. 

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NHL 2020 Playoffs - Second Round Day 11

Two games on tonight, beginning with...

The New York Islanders versus the Philadelphia Flyers. Carter Hart and Semyon Varlamov are the goalies. Philadelphia opened in the first period with a Kevin Hayes goal, his fourth of the postseason, coming off of Travis Konecny and Robert Hagg. The Flyers added on with a James van Riemsdyk goal, his second of the playoffs, via Jakub Voracek and Travis Sanheim. New York got on the board with a Derick Brassard goal, his second of the postseason, assisted by Devon Toews and Brock Nelson. The Islanders tied it in the second period with a Matt Martin goal, his fourth of the playoffs, with a lone assist by Cal Clutterbuck. New York took the lead with an Anders Lee power play goal, his seventh of the postseason, powered by Mathew Barzal and Jordan Eberle. Philadelphia retied it on a Michael Raffl goal, his fourth of the playoffs, guided in by Nicolas Aube-Kubel and Ivan Provorov. The Islanders regained the lead on a Barzal goal, his fifth of the postseason, helped along by Brassard. The Flyers tied it again as Scott Laughton scored his fifth of the playoffs in the third period, thanks to Claude Giroux. Philadelphia won 5-4 in double overtime with a Provorov goal, his third of the postseason, with a lone helper from Hayes. The three stars were Provorov, Hayes, and Barzal, while Brassard gets an honorable mention. The series is now tied at 3, with Game 7 scheduled for Saturday.

Out west, the Vancouver Canucks take on Vegas Golden Knights. Robin Lehner and Thatcher Demko man the nets. Vancouver started in the first period with a Jake Virtanen goal, his second of the postseason, assisted by Tyler Motte. The Canucks added on in the third period with a J.T. Miller goal, his sixth of the playoffs, guided in by Quinn Hughes. Vancouver extended the lead as Hughes scored his second of the postseason, with the help of Miller and Christopher Tanev. The Canucks padded the lead on a Bo Horvat empty net goal, his tenth of the playoffs, set up by Tanner Pearson and Brandon Sutter. This made it 4-0, the final, with the three stars handed to Demko (48 save shutout), Hughes, and Miller. The series is tied at 3, heading to a Game 7 tomorrow. 

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NHL 2020 Playoffs - Second Round Day 10

A single game today sees the Dallas Stars face the Colorado Avalanche. Michael Hutchinson and Anton Khudobin are the goalies. Dallas struck first in the first period with a Miro Heiskanen goal, his fifth of the postseason, coming off of Mattias Janmark and Denis Gurianov. Colorado tied it on a Nikita Zadorov goal, his third of the playoffs, via Vladislav Namestnikov. The Avalanche took the lead in the second period with a Cale Makar goal, his fourth of the postseason, assisted by Mikko Rantanen and Samuel Girard. Colorado added on the third period with a Rantanen goal, his seventh of the playoffs, guided in by Nathan MacKinnon and Andre Burakovsky. The Avalanche extended the lead as MacKinnon scored an empty net goal, his ninth of the postseason, going in unassisted. The final stood at 4-1, with the three stars being Rantanen, Hutchinson (27 for 28 in saves), and MacKinnon. The series is tied at 3 and will need a Game 7 on Friday. 

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NHL 2020 Playoffs - Second Round Day 9

A pair of games today begins with...

The Philadelphia Flyers versus the New York Islanders. Semyon Varlamov and Carter Hart are the goalies. New York got going in the second period with a Mathew Barzal power play goal, his fourth of the postseason, powered by Jordan Eberle and Josh Bailey. Philadelphia tied it on a Claude Giroux goal, assisted by Philippe Myers and Sean Couturier. The Flyers took the lead with a James van Riemsdyk goal, passed from Scott Laughton and Travis Konecny. Philadelphia added on in the third period with a Matt Niskanen goal, courtesy of Konecny and Kevin Hayes. The Islanders got one back with a Brock Nelson goal, his sixth of the playoffs, via Bailey and Scott Mayfield. New York tied it with a Derick Brassard goal, made possible by Cal Clutterbuck and Casey Cizikas. The Flyers won 4-3 in overtime with a Laughton goal, his fourth of the postseason, with helpers from Ivan Provorov and Giroux. The three stars were Laughton, Giroux, and Bailey, while Konecny gets an honorable mention. The Islanders' series lead is now at 3-2.

The other game sees the Vegas Golden Knights take on the Vancouver Canucks. Thatcher Demko is mismatched with Robin Lehner in goal. Vegas dented the scoreboard in the second period with a Shea Theodore goal, his fifth of the postseason, coming off of Reilly Smith and Mark Stone. Vancouver tied it on a Brock Boeser goal, his fourth of the playoffs, helped along by J.T. Miller and Quinn Hughes. The Canucks took the lead in the third period with an Elias Pettersson goal, his seventh of the postseason, fueled by Boeser and Miller. This stood for a 2-1 win, with the three stars awarded to Demko (43 for 44 in saves), Boeser, and Miller. The Canucks survived but still trail the Golden Knights 3-2 in the series. 

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NHL 2020 Playoffs - Second Round Day 8

There's a pair of games on today, beginning with...

The Tampa Bay Lightning versus the Boston Bruins. Jaroslav Halak and Andrei Vasilevskiy tend the twines. Tampa Bay got going in the second period with an Ondrej Palat goal, his fifth of the postseason, via Kevin Shattenkirk and Blake Coleman. Boston tied it on a David Pastrnak power play goal, his third of the playoffs, powered by David Krejci and Patrice Bergeron. The Lightning took the lead back in the third period with an Anthony Cirelli goal, his second of the postseason, made possible by Victor Hedman and Brayden Point. The Bruins retied it on a Krejci goal, his fourth of the playoffs, fueled by Zdeno Chara and Connor Clifton. Tampa Bay won 3-2 in double overtime with a Pat Maroon goal, assisted by Hedman and Shattenkirk. The three stars were Hedman, Shattenkirk, and Krejci. The Lightning won the series 4-1 to earn a spot in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Out west, the Colorado Avalanche take on the Dallas Stars. Ben Bishop faces a lesser foe in Michael Hutchinson in goal. Colorado struck first in the first period with a Pierre-Edouard Bellemare goal, his second of the postseason, helped along by Logan O'Connor and Matt Nieto. The Avalanche added on with an Andre Burakovsky goal, his fifth of the playoffs, courtesy of Mikko Rantanen and Cale Makar. Colorado extended the lead as Nathan MacKinnon scored his eighth of the postseason, thanks to J.T. Compher and Ryan Graves. The Avalanche chased Bishop with a Nazem Kadri goal, his eighth of the playoffs, guided in by Valeri Nichushkin and Gabriel Landeskog. Anton Khudobin entered the game in relief of Bishop. Colorado padded the lead as Rantanen scored his sixth of the postseason, with the help of Samuel Girard and Burakovsky. Dallas got on the board with a Joe Pavelski goal in the second period, his eighth of the playoffs, fueled by Mattias Janmark and Denis Gurianov. The Stars got one back with a Miro Heiskanen power play goal, his fourth of the postseason, powered by Gurianov and Roope Hintz. The Avalanche fired back with a Burakovsky goal, his second of the game and sixth of the playoffs, passed from MacKinnon. Dallas answered in the third period with a Jamie Benn goal, his fifth of the postseason, with assists provided by Gurianov and Heiskanen. This only made it 6-3, the final, with the three stars being Burakovsky, MacKinnon, and Rantanen, while Gurianov and Heiskanen get the honorable mentions. The Avalanche cut the Stars' series lead to 3-2. 

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