NHL 2021 - Playoff Day 20

Two games tonight, beginning with...

The New York Islanders hosting the Boston Bruins. Tuukka Rask and Semyon Varlamov man the nets. Boston began in the first period with a Craig Smith goal, his second of the postseason, via Taylor Hall and Matt Grzelcyk. New York tied it on a Mathew Barzal goal, courtesy of Kyle Palmieri and Ryan Pulock. The Bruins won 2-1 in overtime with a Brad Marchand goal, his fifth of the playoffs, guided in by Charlie McAvoy and Patrice Bergeron. The three stars were Marchand, Rask (28 for 29 in saves), and Smith. The Bruins retook the series lead at 2-1. 

The Tampa Bay Lightning host the Carolina Hurricanes. Petr Mrazek and Andrei Vasilevskiy protect the nets. Carolina got going in the second period with a Brett Pesce goal, his second of the postseason, via Andrei Svechnikov and Sebastian Aho. The Hurricanes added on with an Aho goal, his sixth of the playoffs, passed from Teuvo Teravainen and Jaccob Slavin. Tampa Bay got on the board with a Brayden Point power play goal, his sixth of the postseason, powered by Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos. The Lightning tied it with an Alex Killorn power play goal, his sixth of the playoffs, with assists provided by Kucherov and Point. Carolina won 3-2 in overtime with an Aho power play goal, his second of the game and seventh of the postseason, assisted by Teravainen and Dougie Hamilton. The three stars were Aho, Teravainen, and Point, while Kucherov gets an honorable mention. The Lightning remain ahead 2-1 in the series. 

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NHL 2021 - Playoff Day 19

Back to two games tonight, beginning with...

The Winnipeg Jets welcoming the Montreal Canadiens. Carey Price and Connor Hellebuyck tend the twines. Montreal opened in the first period with a Jesperi Kotkaniemi goal, his fourth of the season, via Jeff Petry and Erik Gustafsson. The Canadiens added on with an Eric Staal goal, coming off of Corey Perry and Joel Edmundson. Winnipeg got on the board with an Adam Lowry shorthanded goal, going in unassisted. Montreal replied with a Nick Suzuki goal, his third of the playoffs, passed from Edmundson and Cole Caufield. The Jets got one back in the third period with a Derek Forbort goal, assisted by Pierre-Luc Dubois and Mathieu Perreault. The Canadiens replied with a Brendan Gallagher power play goal, his second of the postseason, powered by Shea Weber and Petry. Winnipeg pulled back with a Kyle Connor goal, his third of the playoffs, fueled by Nikolaj Ehlers and Neal Pionk. Montreal won 5-3 with a Jake Evans empty net goal, set up by Tyler Toffoli and Staal. The three stars went to Staal, Edmundson, and Petry. The Canadiens lead the series 1-0. 

Out in Colorado, the Avalanche bring in the Vegas Golden Knights. Marc-Andre Fleury and Philipp Grubauer guard the cages. Colorado started in the first period with a Brandon Saad goal, his fifth of the postseason, via Samuel Girard and Ryan Graves. Vegas tied it on an Alec Martinez power play goal, his second of the playoffs, powered by Max Pacioretty and Shea Theodore. The Avalanche retook the lead on a Tyson Jost power play goal, his second of the postseason, with assists provided by Girard and Devon Toews. The Golden Knights tied it on a Reilly Smith goal, his second of the playoffs, fueled by Jonathan Marchessault and Theodore. Colorado iced it at 3-2 with a Mikko Rantanen power play goal in overtime, his third of the postseason, helped along by Cale Makar and Nathan MacKinnon. The three stars were Rantanen, Girard, and Theodore. The Avalanche take a 2-0 series lead with them on the road. 

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NHL 2021 - Playoff Day 18

Just one game tonight, as the Carolina Hurricanes host the Tampa Bay Lightning. Andrei Vasilevskiy and Alex Nedeljkovic man the nets. Tampa Bay got going in the second period with an Alex Killorn goal, his fifth of the postseason, via Steven Stamkos. The Lightning added on in the third period with an Anthony Cirelli goal, his third of the playoffs, guided in by Victor Hedman and Erik Cernak. Carolina got on the board with an Andrei Svechnikov goal, his second of the postseason, made possible by Jordan Staal and Teuvo Teravainen. This only made it 2-1, the final, with the three stars going to Vasilevskiy (31 for 32 in saves), Killorn, and Cirelli. The Lightning carry a 2-0 series lead back home with them. 

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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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