NHL 2021 - Playoff Day 17

Two games on today, beginning with...

The Toronto Maple Leafs hosting the Montreal Canadiens. Carey Price and Jack Campbell protect the nets. Montreal got going in the second period with a Brendan Gallagher goal, courtesy of Eric Staal. The Canadiens added on with a Corey Perry power play goal, his second of the postseason, powered by Nick Suzuki and Erik Gustafsson. Montreal extended the lead as Tyler Toffoli scored his second of the playoffs into an empty net, set up by Staal and Phillip Danault. Toronto got on the board with a William Nylander goal, his fifth of the postseason, coming off of Auston Matthews and Jason Spezza. This only made it 3-1, the final, with the three stars being Perry, Price (30 for 31 in saves), and Staal. The Canadiens advanced to the second round on a 4-3 series win, and they'll face the Winnipeg Jets.

Stateside, the Boston Bruins host the New York Islanders. Semyon Varlamov and Tuukka Rask man the nets. Boston opened in the first period with a Charlie Coyle goal, his second of the postseason, via Nick Ritchie and Karson Kuhlman. New York tied it on a Josh Bailey power play goal, his fourth of the playoffs, powered by Kyle Palmieri and Brock Nelson. The Islanders took the lead with a Palmieri goal, his fourth of the postseason, passed from Nick Leddy and Jean-Gabriel Pageau. New York added on with a Pageau power play goal, his second of the playoffs, with assists provided by Anthony Beauvillier and Mathew Barzal. The Bruins got one back with a Patrice Bergeron goal, his fourth of the postseason, assisted by Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak. Boston tied it on a Marchand power play goal, his fourth of the playoffs, guided in by Charlie McAvoy. The Islanders won 4-3 in overtime with an unassisted Casey Cizikas goal. The three stars were Pageau, Marchand, and Palmieri. The series is tied at 1 heading to New York. 

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NHL 2021 - Playoff Day 16

Another two-game day is on with...

The Carolina Hurricanes welcoming the Tampa Bay Lightning. Andrei Vasilevskiy and Alex Nedeljkovic are the masked men. Tampa Bay got going in the second period with a Brayden Point power play goal, his fifth of the postseason, powered by Victor Hedman and Nikita Kucherov. Carolina tied it on a Jake Bean power play goal, with assists provided by Andrei Svechnikov and Jesper Fast. The Lightning retook the lead with a Barclay Goodrow goal, via Blake Coleman. This stood for a 2-1 win, with the three stars given to Goodrow, Vasilevskiy (37 for 38 in saves), and Point. The Lightning own a 1-0 series lead. 

In Colorado, the Avalanche bring in the Vegas Golden Knights. Robin Lehner and Philipp Grubauer guard the cages. Colorado started in the first period with a Mikko Rantanen goal, his second of the postseason, via Devon Toews and Cale Makar. The Avalanche added on with a Gabriel Landeskog goal, his third of the playoffs, guided in by Makar and Samuel Girard. Colorado extended the lead as Brandon Saad scored his fourth of the postseason in the second period, thanks to Valeri Nichushkin and Makar. The Avalanche padded the lead as Nathan MacKinnon scored his seventh of the playoffs, with the help of Ryan Graves. Colorado kept going with a Landeskog power play goal, his fourth of the postseason, powered by Rantanen and MacKinnon. Vegas got on the board with a William Karlsson goal, his second of the playoffs, fueled by Max Pacioretty and Jonathan Marchessault. The Avalanche responded on a MacKinnon goal, his eighth of the postseason, passed from Joonas Donskoi and Landeskog. Colorado continued with a Makar goal in the third period, his second of the playoffs, made possible by Tyson Jost and Andre Burakovsky. This made it 7-1, the final, with the three stars being Makar, MacKinnon, and Landeskog, while Rantanen gets an honorable mention. The Avalanche established a 1-0 series lead with the tone-setting win. 

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NHL 2021 - Playoff Day 15

Two games on as we start to mix rounds in the playoffs. First up...

The Montreal Canadiens host the Toronto Maple Leafs. Jack Campbell and Carey Price are the masked men. Montreal dented the scoreboard in the third period with a Corey Perry power play goal, powered by Tyler Toffoli. The Canadiens added on with a Toffoli power play goal, via Nick Suzuki and Jeff Petry. Toronto got on the board with a Jason Spezza goal, his third of the postseason, coming off of Alexander Kerfoot. The Maple Leafs tied it on a T.J. Brodie goal, assisted by Pierre Engvall. Montreal won 3-2 in overtime with a Jesperi Kotkaniemi goal, his third of the playoffs, guided in by Paul Byron. The three stars were Toffoli, Kotkaniemi, and Perry. The series will go to a Game 7 in Toronto on Monday.

In Boston, the Bruins host the New York Islanders. Ilya Sorokin and Tuukka Rask man the nets. New York led off in the first period with an Anthony Beauvillier power play goal, his fourth of the postseason, powered by Noah Dobson and Jordan Eberle. Boston tied it on a David Pastrnak power play goal, his third of the playoffs, with assists provided by David Krejci and Patrice Bergeron. The Bruins took the lead in the second period with another Pastrnak goal, his second of the game and fourth of the postseason, courtesy of Bergeron and Brad Marchand. The Islanders tied it with an Adam Pelech goal, coming off of Eberle and Leo Komarov. Boston took the lead with a Charlie McAvoy goal in the third period, passed from Krejci. The Bruins added on with a Pastrnak goal to complete his hat trick on his fifth of the playoffs, going in unassisted. Boston won 5-2 with a Taylor Hall power play empty net goal, his third of the postseason, set up by Krejci and Mike Reilly. The three stars were Pastrnak, Krejci, and Bergeron, while Eberle gets an honorable mention. The Bruins established a 1-0 series lead. 

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NHL 2021 - Playoff Day 14

Just one game tonight, as the Vegas Golden Knights and Minnesota Wild duel for a seventh time. Cam Talbot and Marc-Andre Fleury man the nets. Vegas struck first in the first period with a Mattias Janmark goal, passed from Nicolas Roy and Nick Holden. Minnesota tied it on a Zach Parise goal, his second of the postseason, via Joel Eriksson Ek and Ryan Suter. The Golden Knights took the lead back in the second period with a Nicolas Hague goal, coming off of William Karlsson. The Wild tied it again with a Kirill Kaprizov power play goal, his second of the playoffs, powered by Mats Zuccarello and Jared Spurgeon. Vegas retook the lead on a Max Pacioretty goal, fueled by Chandler Stephenson and Shea Theodore. The Golden Knights added on with a Zach Whitecloud goal, assisted by Theodore and Stephenson. Vegas extended the lead in the third period as Janmark scored again, thanks to Nicolas Roy. The Golden Knights iced it at 6-2 with a Janmark empty net goal to complete his hat trick, set up by Alex Tuch and Alex Pietrangelo. The three stars were Janmark, Theodore, and Stephenson, while Roy gets an honorable mention. The Golden Knights won the series 4-3 and will next face the Avalanche. 

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NHL 2021 - Playoff Day 13

Two games on tonight, beginning with...

The Toronto Maple Leafs welcoming the Montreal Canadiens. Carey Price and Jack Campbell are in goal. Montreal led off in the first period with a Joel Armia goal, going in unassisted. The Canadiens added on with another Armia goal, his second of the game, via Corey Perry and Eric Staal. Montreal extended the lead as Jesperi Kotkaniemi scored his second of the postseason in the second period, an unassisted goal. Toronto got on the board with a Zach Hyman goal, coming off of Mitchell Marner and Auston Matthews. The Maple Leafs got closer in the third period with a Jake Muzzin goal, courtesy of Wayne Simmonds and William Nylander. Toronto tied it on a Muzzin goal, his second of the game, made possible by Alex Galchenyuk and Nylander. The Canadiens won 4-3 in overtime with a Nick Suzuki goal, his second of the playoffs, guided in by Cole Caufield. The three stars were Armia, Muzzin, and Nylander. The series heads back to Montreal with the Maple Leafs up 3-2.

Down in Nashville, the Predators bring in the Carolina Hurricanes. Alex Nedeljkovic and Juuse Saros are the goalies. Nashville began in the first period with a Nick Cousins goal, his second of the postseason, passed from Erik Haula and Ben Harpur. Carolina tied it on a Brock McGinn goal, his third of the playoffs, via Martin Necas. The Predators took the lead back in the second period with a Mikael Granlund goal, his second of the postseason, assisted by Ryan Ellis. Nashville added on with a Ryan Johansen power play goal, his third of the playoffs, powered by Roman Josi and Granlund. The Hurricanes got one back with a power play goal by Sebastian Aho, his fourth of the postseason, with assists provided by Dougie Hamilton. Carolina tied it in the third period with a Hamilton goal, guided in by Jaccob Slavin and McGinn. The Hurricanes won 4-3 in overtime with an Aho goal, his second of the game and fifth of the playoffs, fueled by Slavin. The three stars were Aho, Slavin, and Hamilton, while McGinn and Granlund get the honorable mentions. The Hurricanes won the series 4-2.

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NHL 2021 - Playoff Day 12

Three games on tonight, beginning with...

The New York Islanders hosting the Pittsburgh Penguins. Tristan Jarry and Ilya Sorokin are in goal. Pittsburgh led off in the first period with a Jeff Carter goal, his fourth of the postseason, made possible by Kasperi Kapanen and Jason Zucker. New York tied it on an Anthony Beauvillier goal, his third of the playoffs, via Brock Nelson and Josh Bailey. The Penguins took the lead back with a Jake Guentzel power play goal, powered by Kris Letang and Evgeni Malkin. The Islanders tied it again with a Kyle Palmieri goal, his third of the postseason, coming off of Jean-Gabriel Pageau. Pittsburgh took the lead again in the second period with a Zucker goal, his second of the playoffs, guided in by Malkin and Cody Ceci. New York pulled even on a Nelson goal, his second of the postseason, assisted by Bailey and Beauvillier. The Islanders took the lead with a Ryan Pulock goal, his second of the playoffs, fueled by Pageau and Travis Zajac. New York added on with another Nelson goal, his second of the game and third of the postseason, with a helper from Beauvillier. This stood for a 5-3 win, with the three stars going to Nelson, Beauvillier, and Zucker, while Bailey, Pageau, and Malkin get the honorable mentions. The Islanders won the series 4-2 and will face the Bruins in the second round.

Down in Florida, the Tampa Bay Lightning welcome the Florida Panthers. Spencer Knight and Andrei Vasilevskiy protect the nets. Tampa Bay began in the first period with a Patrick Maroon goal, courtesy of Tyler Johnson and Mikhail Sergachev. The Lightning added on with a Steven Stamkos power play goal, his third of the postseason, powered by Victor Hedman and Nikita Kucherov. Tampa Bay extended the lead as Brayden Point scored his fourth of the playoffs, assisted by Kucherov and Erik Cernak. The Lightning iced it at 4-0 with an Alex Killorn empty net goal, his fourth of the postseason, set up by Cernak and Stamkos. The three stars were Vasilevskiy (29 save shutout), Stamkos, and Kucherov, while Cernak gets an honorable mention. The Lightning won the series 4-2 and earned a spot in the second round.

Finally, the Minnesota Wild bring in the Vegas Golden Knights. Marc-Andre Fleury and Cam Talbot tend the twines. Minnesota dented the scoreboard in the third period with a Ryan Hartman goal, his second of the postseason, assisted by Kevin Fiala and Zach Parise. The Wild added on with a Fiala power play goal, powered by Jared Spurgeon and Mats Zuccarello. Minnesota extended the lead as Nick Bjugstad scored, thanks to Nico Sturm and Spurgeon. This made it 3-0, the final, with the three stars going to Talbot (23 save shutout), Fiala, and Spurgeon. The series is tied at 3, and Game 7 is Friday in Vegas. 

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NHL 2021 - Playoff Day 11

Just two games on tonight, beginning with...

The Montreal Canadiens welcoming the Toronto Maple Leafs. Jack Campbell and Carey Price protect the nets. Toronto got going in the second period with a William Nylander goal, his fourth of the postseason, coming off of Alex Galchenyuk and Alexander Kerfoot. The Maple Leafs added on with a Jason Spezza goal, his second of the playoffs, fueled by Galchenyuk and Jake Muzzin. Toronto extended the lead on a Joe Thornton power play goal, powered by Spezza and Kerfoot. The Maple Leafs padded the lead on a Galchenyuk empty net goal in the third period, set up by Kerfoot. The final held at 4-0, with the three stars handed to Campbell (32 save shutout), Galchenyuk, and Kerfoot, while Spezza gets an honorable mention. The Maple Leafs head home with a 3-1 series lead.

Down in Carolina, the Hurricanes bring in the Nashville Predadtors. Juuse Saros and Alex Nedeljkovic are the young goalies. Nashville struck first in the first period with a Yakov Trenin goal, assisted by Roman Josi and . Carolina tied it on a Martin Necas power play goal, powered by Dougie Hamilton. The Predators retook the lead in the second period with a Trenin goal, his second of the game, via Colton Sissons. The Hurricanes retied it in the third period with a Necas goal, his second of the game, courtesy of Jaccob Slavin. Carolina won 3-2 in overtime with a Jordan Staal goal, his fourth of the postseason, going in unassisted. The three stars were Necas, Staal, and Trenin. The Hurricanes are now up 3-2 in the series. 

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