NHL Playoffs 2024 - Day 26

There's just one game on today, as the Dallas Stars host the Colorado Avalanche. Alexandar Georgiev and Jake Oettinger guard the cages. Dallas kicked off the scoring in the first period with a Joe Pavelski goal, via Matt Duchene and Jason Robertson. Colorado tied it on an Artturi Lehkonen power play goal, his sixth of the postseason, powered by Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar. The Stars retook the lead in the second period with a Miro Heiskanen power play goal, his fifth of the playoffs, with assists provided by Robertson and Pavelski. The Avalanche retied it on a Makar power play goal, his fourth of the postseason, made possible by Jonathan Drouin and Mikko Rantanen. Colorado pulled ahead in the third period with a Casey Mittelstadt goal, his third of the playoffs, guided in by Zach Parise and Samuel Girard. The Avalanche added on with a Makar goal, his second of the game and fifth of the postseason, going in unassisted. Dallas got one back with a Logan Stankoven goal, his third of the playoffs, fueled by Esa Lindell. Colorado replied with a MacKinnon goal, his fourth of the postseason, passed from Lehkonen. This stood for a 5-3 win, with the three stars going to Makar, MacKinnon, and Lehkonen, while Pavelski and Robertson get the honorable mentions. The Stars remain ahead 3-2 in the series. 

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NHL Playoffs 2024 - Day 25

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

The Florida Panthers welcome the Boston Bruins. Jeremy Swayman and Sergei Bobrovsky protect the nets. Boston opened in the first period with a Morgan Geekie goal, his fourth of the postseason, via Jake DeBrusk and Charlie McAvoy. Florida tied it in the second period with a Sam Reinhart goal, his fifth of the playoffs, going in unassisted. The Bruins retook the lead with a McAvoy goal, passed from Charlie Coyle and Trent Frederic. The final stood from here at 2-1, with the three stars being McAvoy, Swayman (28 for 29 in saves), and Geekie. The Panthers remain ahead 3-2 in the series.

Across the continent, the Edmonton Oilers bring in the Vancouver Canucks. Arturs Silovs and Calvin Pickard are the backups in goal. Edmonton started in the first period with a Leon Draisaitl power play goal, his eighth of the postseason, powered by Connor McDavid and Evan Bouchard. The Oilers added on in the second period with a Ryan Nugent-Hopkins goal, his second of the playoffs, coming off Mattias Ekholm. Vancouver got on the board in the third period with a Conor Garland goal, his second of the postseason, via Elias Lindholm and Nikita Zadorov. The Canucks tied it on a Brock Boeser goal, his eighth of the playoffs, assisted by Quinn Hughes and Elias Pettersson. Edmonton retook the lead with a Bouchard goal, his fourth of the postseason, helped along by Evander Kane. This stood for a 3-2 win, with the three stars being Bouchard, Draisaitl, and Nugent-Hopkins. The series is tied at 2-2 heading back to Vancouver. 

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NHL Playoffs 2024 - Day 24

There's two more games today, beginning with...

The New York Rangers welcoming the Carolina Hurricanes. Frederik Andersen and Igor Shesterkin patrol the creases. New York got going in the second period with a Jacob Trouba shorthanded goal, going in unassisted. Carolina tied it in the third period with a Jordan Staal goal, via Dmitry Orlov. The Hurricanes pulled ahead with an Evgeny Kuznetsov goal, his fourth of the postseason, assisted by Brady Skjei and Jesperi Kotkaniemi. Carolina added on with a Jordan Martinook goal, his second of the playoffs, fueled by Jack Drury and Martin Necas. The Hurricanes iced it at 4-1 with a Necas empty net goal, his third of the postseason, set up by Jalen Chatfield and Drury. The three stars were Andersen (20 for 21 in saves), Necas, and Drury. The Rangers are still ahead 3-2 in the series. 

Out west, the Colorado Avalanche bring in the Dallas Stars. Jake Oettinger and Alexandar Georgiev protect the nets. Dallas struck first in the first period with a shorthanded Wyatt Johnston goal, his sixth of the postseason, set up by Sam Steel. The Stars added on with a Johnston power play goal in the second period, his second of the game and seventh of the playoffs, powered by Jason Robertson and Miro Heiskanen. Dallas extended the lead as Heiskanen scored his fourth of the postseason, thanks to Logan Stankoven and Robertson. Colorado got on the board with a Casey Mittelstadt goal, his second of the playoffs, helped along by Jonathan Drouin. The Stars fired back with an Evgenii Dadonov goal, his third of the postseason, coming off of Mason Marchment and Heiskanen. Dallas iced it at 5-1 with a Steel empty net goal, with helpers from Johnston and Tyler Seguin. The three stars were Johnston, Heiskanen, and Robertson, while Steel gets an honorable mention. The Stars head home ahead 3-1 in the series. 

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NHL Playoffs 2024 - Day 23

We're back with a two-game Sunday. First up...

The Boston Bruins welcome the Florida Panthers. Sergei Bobrovsky and Jeremy Swayman man the nets. Boston led off in the first period with a David Pastrnak power play goal, his fourth of the postseason, powered by Jake DeBrusk and James van Riemsdyk. The Bruins added on with a Brandon Carlo goal, his third of the playoffs, going in unassisted. Florida got on the board in the second period with an Anton Lundell goal, via Evan Rodrigues and Aaron Ekblad. The Panthers tied it in the third period with a Sam Bennett goal, his second of the postseason, with assists provided by Lundell and Rodrigues on the power play. Florida pulled ahead with an Aleksander Barkov goal, his fifth of the playoffs, guided in by Kyle Okposo and Vladimir Tarasenko. This held for a 3-2 win, with the three stars being Lundell, Rodrigues, and Barkov. The Panthers head home with a 3-1 series lead. 

Out west, the Edmonton Oilers bring in the Vancouver Canucks. Arturs Silovs and Stuart Skinner are in the blue paint. Edmonton began in the first period with a Mattias Ekholm power play goal, his third of the postseason, powered by Evander Kane and Darnell Nurse. Vancouver tied it on an Elias Lindholm power play goal, his fourth of the playoffs, with assists provided by Brock Boeser and Quinn Hughes. The Canucks took the lead with a Boeser goal, his sixth of the postseason, via J.T. Miller and Tyler Myers. Vancouver added on with a Boeser goal, his second of the game and seventh of the playoffs, helped along by Pius Suter. The Oilers got one back with a Leon Draisaitl power play goal, his seventh of the postseason, courtesy of Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Evan Bouchard. The Canucks fired back with a Lindholm power play goal, his second of the game and fifth of the playoffs, fueled by Miller and Hughes. Calvin Pickard replaced Skinner in goal in the third period. Edmonton got one back on a Bouchard goal, his third of the postseason, with helpers from Ekholm and Draisaitl. This only made it 4-3, the final, with the three stars going to Boeser, Lindholm, and Miller, while Hughes, Draisaitl, Ekholm, and Bouchard get the honorable mentions. The Canucks grabbed a 2-1 series lead. 

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NHL Playoffs 2024 - Day 22

We're back with two games on a Saturday. First up...

The Carolina Hurricanes host the New York Rangers. Igor Shesterkin and Frederik Andersen protect the nets. Carolina opened in the first period with an unassisted Evgeny Kuznetsov goal, his third of the postseason. The Hurricanes added on with a Stefan Noesen goal, his fourth of the playoffs, via Teuvo Teravainen and Tony DeAngelo. New York got on the board with a Will Cuylle goal, assisted by Kaapo Kakko and Erik Gustafsson. Carolina shot back with a Sebastian Aho goal, his third of the postseason, passed from Jake Guentzel and Brent Burns. The Rangers got one back in the second period with a Barclay Goodrow goal, his second of the playoffs, guided in by Braden Schneider and Jimmy Vesey. New York tied it in the third period on an Alexis Lafreniere goal, his fourth of the postseason, fueled by Mika Zibanejad and Jacob Trouba. The Hurricanes regained the lead with a Brady Skjei power play goal, powered by Teravainen and Andrei Svechnikov. This stood for a 4-3 win, with the three stars going to Teravainen, Skjei, and Aho. The Rangers are still ahead 3-1 in the series. 

Out west, the Colorado Avalanche host the Dallas Stars. Jake Oettinger and Alexandar Georgiev man the nets. Dallas started in the first period with a Logan Stankoven goal, courtesy of Miro Heiskanen. Colorado tied it in the second period with a Mikko Rantanen goal, his third of the postseason, assisted by Nathan MacKinnon and Devon Toews. The Stars took the lead with a Tyler Seguin goal, his second of the playoffs, courtesy of Evgenii Dadonov and Sam Steel. Dallas added on with a Seguin empty net goal, his second of the game and third of the postseason, set up by Matt Duchene. The Stars extended the lead as Stankoven scored an empty net goal, his second of the game, thanks to Jason Robertson and Roope Hintz. This made it 4-1, the final, with the three stars given to Seguin, Stankoven, and Oettinger (29 for 30 in saves). The Stars took a 2-1 series lead. 

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NHL Playoffs 2024 - Day 21

It's another two-game day on Friday. First up...

The Boston Bruins welcome the Florida Panthers. Sergei Bobrovsky and Jeremy Swayman protect the nets. Florida began in the first period with an Evan Rodrigues goal, his second of the postseason, via Gustav Forsling. The Panthers added on in the second period with a Vladimir Tarasenko power play goal, his second of the playoffs, powered by Sam Bennett and Oliver Ekman-Larsson. Florida extended the lead as Carter Verhaeghe scored his sixth of the postseason on the power play, thanks to Matthew Tkachuk and Aleksander Barkov. The Panthers padded the lead in the third period with a Brandon Montour power play goal, his third of the playoffs, with assists provided by Tkachuk and Barkov. Boston got on the board with a Jakub Lauko goal, helped along by Jake DeBrusk and John Beecher. The Bruins got closer with a DeBrusk goal, his fifth of the postseason, made possible by Mason Lohrei and David Pastrnak. Florida shot back with a Sam Reinhart empty net goal, his fourth of the playoffs, set up by Tkachuk and Montour. The Panthers finished it at 6-2 with a power play goal by Rodrigues, his second of the game and third of the postseason, with helpers from Ekman-Larsson and Eetu Luostarinen. The three stars were Rodrigues, Tkachuk, and Montour, while Barkov, DeBrusk, and Ekman-Larsson get the honorable mentions. The Panthers are ahead 2-1 in the series. 

Out west, the Vancouver Canucks bring in the Edmonton Oilers. Stuart Skinner and Arturs Silovs patrol the creases. Vancouver led off in the first period with an Elias Pettersson power play goal, powered by J.T. Miller and Quinn Hughes. Edmonton tied it on a Leon Draisaitl power play goal, his sixth of the postseason, assisted by Connor McDavid and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. The Canucks took the lead back in the second period with a Brock Boeser goal, his fifth of the playoffs, coming off of Carson Soucy and Nikita Zadorov. The Oilers retied it on a Mattias Ekholm goal, his second of the postseason, fueled by McDavod and Draisaitl. Vancouver regained the lead with a Zadorov goal, his fourth of the playoffs, made possible by Miller. Edmonton tied it in the third period with a McDavid goal, his second of the postseason, guided in by Zach Hyman and Draisaitl. The Oilers won 4-3 in overtime with an Evan Bouchard goal, his second of the playoffs, courtesy of Draisaitl. The three stars were Draisaitl, McDavid, and Zadorov, while Miller gets an honorable mention. The series is tied at 1-1 heading to Edmonton. 

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NHL Playoffs 2024 - Day 20

There's two games this Thursday. First up...

The Carolina Hurricanes host the New York Rangers. Igor Shesterkin and Pyotr Kochetkov receive the starts in goal. Carolina opened in the first period with a Jake Guentzel goal, his fourth of the postseason, via Dmitry Orlov and Andrei Svechnikov. New York tied it in the second period on a shorthanded Chris Kreider goal, his fourth of the playoffs, set up by Mika Zibanejad. The Rangers took the lead in the third period with an Alexis Lafreniere goal, his third of the postseason, assisted by Artemi Panarin and Vincent Trocheck. The Hurricanes tied it on a Svechnikov goal, his second of the playoffs, guided in by Sebastian Aho and Brady Skjei. New York won 3-2 in overtime with a Panarin goal, his fourth of the postseason, made possible by Trocheck. The three stars were Panarin, Svechnikov, and Trocheck. The Rangers lead the series 3-0 with a chance to advance in Game 4.

The other game sees the Dallas Stars host the Colorado Avalanche. Alexandar Georgiev and Jake Oettinger tend the twines. Dallas started in the first period with a Miro Heiskanen power play goal, his second of the postseason, powered by Roope Hintz and Jason Robertson. The Stars added on in the second period with a Hintz goal, his second of the playoffs, coming off of Nils Lundkvist and Mason Marchment. Dallas extended the lead on a Heiskanen power play goal, his second of the game and third of the postseason, with assists provided by Jamie Benn and Hintz. The Stars padded the lead with a shorthanded Tyler Seguin goal, set up by Thomas Harley. Colorado got on the board in the third period with a Joel Kiviranta goal, with helpers from Josh Manson and Ross Colton. The Avalanche got closer with a Brandon Duhaime goal, helped along by Andrew Cogliano. Colorado pulled closer on a Valeri Nichushkin goal, his ninth of the playoffs, passed from Artturi Lehkonen and Casey Mittelstadt. Dallas iced it at 5-3 with an Esa Lindell empty net goal, courtesy of Hintz. The three stars were Heiskanen, Hintz, and Seguin. The series is tied at 1-1 heading to Denver. 

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