NHL Playoffs 2024 - Day 16

The second round begins and the first round ends on this two-game day. First up...

The New York Rangers host the Carolina Hurricanes. Frederik Andersen and Igor Shesterkin guard the cages. New York opened in the first period with a Mika Zibanejad goal, his second of the postseason, via Jack Roslovic and Adam Fox. Carolina tied it on a Jaccob Slavin goal, helped along by Sebastian Aho and Jake Guentzel. The Rangers took the lead back with a Zibanejad power play goal, his second of the game and third of the playoffs, powered by Chris Kreider and Vincent Trocheck. New York added on with a Trocheck power play goal, his fourth of the postseason, with assists provided by Zibanejad and Kreider. The Hurricanes got one back in the third period with a Martin Necas goal, his second of the playoffs, passed from Jordan Martinook and Dmitry Orlov. The Rangers countered with an Artemi Panarin goal, his third of the postseason, made possible by Alexis Lafreniere. Carolina responded with a Seth Jarvis goal, his fourth of the playoffs, fueled by Aho and Brent Burns. The final held from here at 4-3, with the three stars going to Zibanejad, Trocheck, and Kreider, while Aho gets an honorable mention. The Rangers established a 1-0 series lead with the win. 

Down in Dallas, the Stars host the Vegas Golden Knights. Adin Hill and Jake Oettinger tend the twines. Dallas started in the first period with a Wyatt Johnston goal, his fourth of the postseason, going in unassisted. Vegas tied it in the second period with a Brett Howden goal, guided in by Michael Amadio and William Karlsson. The Stars retook the lead in the third period on a Radek Faksa goal, fueled by Craig Smith and Thomas Harley. This stood for a 2-1 win, with the three stars being Oettinger (22 for 23 in saves), Faksa, and Johnston. The Stars won the series 4-3 and will face the Avalanche in the second round. 

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NHL Playoffs 2024 - Day 15

It's just a single game for Saturday, with the Boston Bruins hosting the Toronto Maple Leafs. Ilya Samsonov and Jeremy Swayman are in goal. Toronto got going in the third period with a William Nylander goal, his third of the postseason, via Auston Matthews and Tyler Bertuzzi. Boston tied it on a Hampus Lindholm goal, courtesy of James van Riemsdyk and Justin Brazeau. The Bruins won 2-1 in overtime with a David Pastrnak goal, his third of the playoffs, assisted by Lindholm and Brandon Carlo. The three stars were Lindholm, Pastrnak, and Swayman (30 for 31 in saves). The Bruins won the series 4-3 and will face the Panthers in the second round. 

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NHL Playoffs 2024 - Day 14

There's two games on this Friday, beginning with...

The Nashville Predators welcoming the Vancouver Canucks. Arturs Silovs and Juuse Saros start in goal. Vancouver dented the scoreboard in the third period with a Pius Suter goal, his second of the postseason, made possible by Brock Boeser and Elias Pettersson. This stood for a 1-0 win, with the three stars going to Silovs (28 save shutout), Suter, and Saros (28 for 29 in saves). The Canucks won the series 4-2 and will face the Oilers in the second round. 

Out west, the Vegas Golden Knights bring in the Dallas Stars. Jake Oettinger and Adin Hill tend the twines. Vegas got going in the third period with a Noah Hanifin goal, his second of the postseason, going in unassisted. The Golden Knights iced it at 2-0 with a Mark Stone empty net goal, his third of the playoffs, set up by William Karlsson and Alex Pietrangelo. The three stars were Hill (23 save shutout), Hanifin, and Oettinger (28 for 29 in saves). The series heads to Dallas once more tied at 3-3. 

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NHL Playoffs 2024 - Day 13

There's just one game tonight, as the Toronto Maple Leafs host the Boston Bruins. Jeremy Swayman and Joseph Woll guard the cages. Toronto got going in the second period with a William Nylander goal, made possible by Timothy Liljegren and Morgan Rielly. The Maple Leafs added on with a Nylander goal, his second of the game, set up by Matthew Knies and Rielly. Boston got one back with a Morgan Geekie goal, his second of the postseason, assisted by Kevin Shattenkirk and James van Riemsdyk. The three stars were Nylander, Woll (22 for 23 in saves), and Rielly. The series will head back to Boston once more tied at 3-3. 

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NHL Playoffs 2024 - Day 12

There's two games this Wednesday, beginning with...

The Dallas Stars welcoming the Vegas Golden Knights. Adin Hill and Jake Oettinger are the masked men. Vegas opened in the first period with a Mark Stone power play goal, his second of the postseason, powered by Noah Hanifin and Jack Eichel. Dallas tied it on an Evgenii Dadonov goal, his second of the playoffs, courtesy of Logan Stankoven and Wyatt Johnston. The Stars took the lead with a Matt Duchene power play goal, with helpers from Johnston and Tyler Seguin. The Golden Knights retied it on a William Carrier goal, passed from Ivan Barbashev and Brayden McNabb. Dallas pulled ahead in the second period with a Jason Robertson power play goal, his third of the postseason, coming off of Miro Heiskanen and Jamie Benn. The final held at 3-2, with the three stars being Johnson, Robertson, and Duchene. The Stars leave home this time with a 3-2 series lead. 

Up in Edmonton, the Oilers bring in the Los Angeles Kings. David Rittich and Stuart Skinner patrol the creases. Edmonton started in the first period with an Evander Kane goal, his second of the postseason, fueled by Brett Kulak and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. Los Angeles tied it on an Alex Laferriere goal, coming off of Vladislav Gavrikov and Matt Roy. The Kings took the lead in the second period with a Blake Lizotte goal, helped along by Viktor Arvidsson and Andreas Englund. The Oilers tied it on a Leon Draisaitl power play goal, his fourth of the playoffs, powered by Connor McDavid and Evan Bouchard. Edmonton took the lead with another Draisaitl goal, his second of the game and fifth of the postseason, made possible by McDavid and Bouchard. The Oilers added on with a Zach Hyman goal, his seventh of the playoffs, with helpers from Nugent-Hopkins and Bouchard. Los Angeles got one back in the third period with an Adrian Kempe goal, his fourth of the postseason, guided in by Roy and Kevin Fiala. This only made it 4-3, the final, with the three stars being Draisaitl, Bouchard, and McDavid, while Nugent-Hopkins and Roy get the honorable mentions. The Oilers won the series 4-1 and will face the Canucks or the Predators in the second round. 

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NHL Playoffs 2024 - Day 11

We've got four games this Tuesday. First up...

The Boston Bruins host the Toronto Maple Leafs. Joseph Woll and Jeremy Swayman are in the blue paint. Toronto led off in the first period with a Jake McCabe goal, via Mitchell Marner and Max Domi. Boston tied it on a Trent Frederic goal, his third of the postseason, courtesy of Pat Maroon. The Maple Leafs won 2-1 in overtime with a Matthew Knies goal, his second of the playoffs, assisted by John Tavares and Ilya Lyubushkin. The three stars were Knies, Woll (28 for 29 in saves), and McCabe. The Bruins remain ahead 3-2 in the series as it shifts back to Toronto.

Down in Raleigh, the Carolina Hurricanes welcome the New York Islanders. Semyon Varlamov and Frederik Andersen are the veterans in goal. Carolina began in the first period with a Teuvo Teravainen goal, his second of the postseason, passed from Seth Jarvis and Jaccob Slavin. The Hurricanes added on with an Andrei Svechnikov power play goal, powered by Jarvis and Brent Burns. New York got on the board with a Mike Reilly power play goal, with assists provided by Mathew Barzal and Brock Nelson. Carolina replied with an Evgeny Kuznetsov penalty shot goal, his second of the playoffs. The Islanders got one back in the second period on a Nelson goal, his second of the postseason, coming off of Kyle Palmieri and Ryan Pulock. New York tied it on a Casey Cizikas goal, helped along by Barzal and Pulock. The Hurricanes retook the lead in the third period with a Jack Drury goal, assisted by Brady Skjei and Martin Necas. Carolina extended the lead as Stefan Noesen scored his third of the playoffs, thanks to Skjei and Kuznetsov. The Hurricanes padded the lead on a Jarvis empty net goal, his third of the postseason, going in unassisted. This made it 6-3, the final, with the three stars being Jarvis, Kuznetsov, and Skjei, while Nelson, Barzal, and Pulock get the honorable mentions. The Hurricanes won the series 4-1 and will face the Rangers in the second round.

Northwest to Winnipeg, as the Jets bring in the Colorado Avalanche. Alexandar Georgiev and Connor Hellebuyck tend the twines. Winnipeg started in the first period with a Kyle Connor goal, his third of the postseason, going in unassisted. Colorado tied it on a Valeri Nichushkin goal, his seventh of the playoffs, passed from Devon Toews and Mikko Rantanen. The Avalanche pulled ahead in the second period with a Yakov Trenin goal, via Josh Manson and Andrew Cogliano. The Jets retied it on a Josh Morrissey power play goal, his third of the postseason, powered by Mark Scheifele and Gabriel Vilardi. Colorado retook the lead with an Artturi Lehkonen goal, his fifth of the playoffs, an unassisted goal. Winnipeg tied it again in the third period with a Tyler Toffoli goal, his second of the postseason, courtesy of Nikolaj Ehlers and Colin Miller. The Avalanche regained the lead on a Rantanen goal, with helpers from Toews and Nathan MacKinnon. Colorado added on with another Rantanen goal, helped along by MacKinnon and Cale Makar. The Avalanche iced it at 6-3 with an empty net goal by Manson, his second of the playoffs, set up by Casey Mittelstadt. The three stars went to Rantanen, Toews, and Manson, while MacKinnon gets an honorable mention. The Avalanche won the series 4-1 and will face either the Stars or the Golden Knights in the second round.

Finally, the Vancouver Canucks host the Nashville Predators. Juuse Saros and Arturs Silovs receive the starts in goal. Vancouver dented the scoreboard in the third period with a Nikita Zadorov goal, his second of the postseason, via Quinn Hughes. Nashville tied it on a Roman Josi power play goal, powered by Filip Forsberg and Tyson Barrie. The Predators took the lead with an Alexandre Carrier goal, passed from Gustav Nyquist. This stood for a 2-1 win, with the three stars being Carrier, Forsberg, and Josi. The Canucks remain ahead 3-2 in the series. 

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NHL Playoffs 2024 - Day 10

There are two games on this Monday, beginning with...

The Florida Panthers welcoming the Tampa Bay Lightning. Andrei Vasilevskiy and Sergei Bobrovsky tend the twines. Florida got going in the second period with a Carter Verhaeghe goal, his fourth of the postseason, via Aleksander Barkov and Niko Mikkola. The Panthers added on with a Barkov shorthanded goal, set up by Aaron Ekblad and Gustav Forsling. Tampa Bay got on the board with a Victor Hedman goal, coming off of Nikita Kucherov and Brandon Hagel. Florida fired back in the third period with a Barkov goal, his second of the game, assisted by Matthew Tkachuk and Verhaeghe. The Panthers extended the lead as Evan Rodrigues scored, thanks to Kevin Stenlund and Vladimir Tarasenko. Florida padded the lead on a Verhaeghe empty net goal, his second of the game and fifth of the playoffs, with a lone assist by Tkachuk. The Panthers iced it at 6-1 with a Mikkola empty net goal, with helpers from Anton Lundell and Eetu Luostarinen. The three stars were Verhaeghe, Barkov, and Mikkola, while Tkachuk gets an honorable mention. The Panthers won the series 4-1 and will face either the Bruins or the Maple Leafs in the second round. 

Out west, the Vegas Golden Knights bring in the Dallas Stars. Jake Oettinger and Logan Thompson guard the cages. Vegas struck first in the first period with a Michael Amadio goal, courtesy of Brayden McNabb and Brett Howden. Dallas tied it on an Evgenii Dadonov goal, via Ryan Suter. The Golden Knights took the lead back in the second period with a Jack Eichel goal, his third of the postseason, passed from Jonathan Marchessault and Ivan Barbashev. The Stars tied it on a Wyatt Johnston power play goal, his third of the playoffs powered by Matt Duchene and Tyler Seguin. Dallas took the lead with a Ty Dellandrea goal, coming off of Craig Smith and Sam Steel. The Stars iced it at 4-2 with a Roope Hintz empty net goal in the third period, going in unassisted. The three stars were Johnston, Dadonov, and Dellandrea. The series is tied at 2-2 heading back to Dallas. 

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