NHL Playoffs 2022 - Day 20

There's three games on today to complete the scheduling quirk. First up...

The Tampa Bay Lightning host the Florida Panthers. Sergei Bobrovsky and Andrei Vasilevskiy man the nets. Tampa Bay opened in the first period with a Corey Perry goal, his fifth of the postseason, made possible by Ryan McDonagh and Nikita Kucherov. Florida tied it on a Sam Reinhart power play goal, his third of the playoffs, powered by Jonathan Huberdeau and Aleksander Barkov. The Lightning retook the lead in the second period with an Erik Cernak goal, via Ross Colton and Ondrej Palat. Tampa Bay added on with a Steven Stamkos goal, his third of the postseason, coming off of Kucherov and Victor Hedman. The Lightning extended the lead in the third period as Kucherov scored his fourth of the postseason into an empty net, thanks to Nick Paul. Tampa Bay iced it at 5-1 with an empty net goal by Stamkos, his second of the game and fourth of the playoffs, set up by Kucherov. The three stars were Kucherov, Stamkos, and Vasilevskiy (34 for 35 in saves). The Lightning are on the brink of advancing with a 3-0 series lead.

Up in New York, the Rangers welcome the Carolina Hurricanes. Antti Raanta and Igor Shesterkin protect the nets. New York started in the first period with a Mika Zibanejad power play goal, his fourth of the postseason, powered by Artemi Panarin and Adam Fox. The Rangers added on in the second period with a Chris Kreider goal, his sixth of the playoffs, passed from Zibanejad and Jacob Trouba. Carolina got on the board with a Nino Niederreiter goal, his fourth of the postseason, courtesy of Jordan Staal and Brendan Smith. New York shot back in the third period with a Tyler Motte empty net goal, going in unassisted. This made it 3-1, the final, with the three stars going to Zibanejad, Shesterkin (43 for 44 in saves), and Kreider. The Rangers got on the board in the series but still trail the Hurricanes 2-1. 

Finally, the Edmonton Oilers bring in the Calgary Flames. Jacob Markstrom and Mike Smith are in goal. Edmonton got going in the second period with a Zach Hyman goal, his sixth of the postseason, assisted by Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid. The Oilers added on with a Kane goal, his eighth of the playoffs, via Draisaitl. Edmonton extended the lead as Kane scored his second of the game and ninth of the postseason, thanks to McDavid and Draisaitl. The Oilers padded the lead on another Kane goal, completing his hat trick on his tenth of the playoffs, coming off of McDavid and Draisaitl. Calgary got on the board with an Oliver Kylington goal in the third period, passed from Calle Jarnkrok and Dillon Dube. The final was 4-1, with the three stars going to Kane, Draisaitl, and McDavid. The Oilers own a 2-1 series lead. 

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NHL Playoffs 2022 - Day 19

Due to scheduling, there's only one game today. First up...

The St. Louis Blues host the Colorado Avalanche. Darcy Kuemper and Jordan Binnington are the masked men. St. Louis kicked off the scoring in the first period with a Colton Parayko goal, his second of the postseason, via Ryan O'Reilly. Ville Husso replaced an injured Binnington. Colorado tied it on a Logan O'Connor goal, passed from Josh Manson and Darren Helm. The Avalanche took the lead in the second period with a Nazem Kadri goal, his second of the playoffs, guided in by Cale Makar and Mikko Rantanen. Colorado added on with an Artturi Lehkonen goal, his third of the postseason, assisted by Kadri. The Blues got one back with an O'Reilly goal, his seventh of the playoffs, fueled by Nick Leddy and Pavel Buchnevich. The Avalanche replied in the third period with a Gabriel Landeskoggoal, his fifth of the postseason, with helpers from Nathan MacKinnon and Rantanen. Colorado iced it at 5-2 with a Lehkonen empty net goal, his second of the game and fourth of the playoffs, set up by Valeri Nichushkin. The three stars were Lehkonen, Kadri, and Rantanen, while O'Reilly gets an honorable mention. The Avalanche retook the series lead at 2-1. 

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NHL Playoffs 2022 - Day 18

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

The Carolina Hurricanes welcoming the New York Rangers. Igor Shesterkin and Antti Raanta man the nets. Carolina got going in the second period with a Brendan Smith shorthanded goal, set up by Sebastian Aho and Teuvo Teravainen. The Hurricanes added on in the third period with an Aho empty net goal, his fourth of the postseason, going in unassisted. The final was 2-0, with the three stars given to Raanta (21 save shutout), Aho, and Shesterkin (20 for 21 in saves). The Hurricanes own a 2-0 series lead.

Out west, the Calgary Flames bring in the Edmonton Oilers. Mike Smith and Jacob Markstrom protect the nets. Calgary struck first in the first period with a Michael Stone goal, his second of the playoffs, guided in by Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk. The Flames added on with a Brett Ritchie goal, his second of the postseason, made possible Erik Gudbranson and Trevor Lewis. Edmonton got on the board with a Duncan Keith goal, via Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. Calgary replied in the second period with a Tyler Toffoli power play goal, his second of the playoffs, powered by Elias Lindholm and Gaudreau. The Oilers got one back with a McDavid goal, his sixth of the postseason, passed from Keith and Draisaitl. Edmonton tied it on an Evan Bouchard power play goal, his second of the playoffs, with assists provided by Keith and Evander Kane. The Oilers took the lead with a Zach Hyman shorthanded goal, his fifth of the postseason, set up by Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. Edmonton extended the lead as Draisaitl scored his seventh of the playoffs, helped along by the goalie Smith. This made it 5-3, the final, with the three stars going to Draisaitl, Keith, and McDavid, while Gaudreau gets an honorable mention. The series is tied at 1-1 heading to Edmonton. 

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NHL Playoffs 2022 - Day 17

We're back to the first series of the second round today. First up...

The Florida Panthers welcome the Tampa Bay Lightning. Andrei Vasilevskiy and Sergei Bobrovsky tend the twines. Tampa Bay opened in the first period with a Corey Perry power play goal, his fourth of the postseason, powered by Steven Stamkos and Victor Hedman. Florida tied it in the second period with an Eetu Luostarinen goal, coming off of Gustav Forsling and Claude Giroux. The Lightning took the lead in the third period with a Ross Colton goal, his fifth of the playoffs, courtesy of Nikita Kucherov and Ondrej Palat. This made it 2-1, the final, with the three stars going to Colton, Vasilevskiy (35 for 36 in saves), and Perry. The Lightning head home with a 2-0 series lead.

Out west, the Colorado Avalanche bring in the St. Louis Blues. Jordan Binnington and Darcy Kuemper guard the cages. St. Louis got going in the second period with a Jordan Kyrou goal, his fifth of the postseason, via Ryan O'Reilly and Pavel Buchnevich. The Blues added on with a David Perron power play goal, his sixth of the playoffs, powered by Buchnevich and Vladimir Tarasenko. Colorado got on the board with a Gabriel Landeskog power play goal in the third period, his fourth of the postseason, with assists provided by Mikko Rantanen and Nathan MacKinnon. St. Louis replied on a Perron goal, his second of the game and seventh of the playoffs, passed from The Blues extended the lead on a Brandon Saad empty net goal, his second of the postseason, set up by Brayden Schenn and Justin Faulk. The final held at 4-1, with the three stars going to Perron, Binnington (30 for 31 in saves), and Buchnevich. The series is tied at 1-1 heading to St. Louis. 

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NHL Playoffs 2022 - Day 16

We've got two games again today, beginning with...

The Carolina Hurricanes hosting the New York Rangers. Igor Shesterkin and Antti Raanta man the nets. New York began in the first period with a Filip Chytil goal, his second of the postseason, made possible by Alexis Lafreniere. Carolina tied it in the third period on a Sebastian Aho goal, his third of the playoffs, coming off of Seth Jarvis and Teuvo Teravainen. The Hurricanes won 2-1 in overtime with an Ian Cole goal, via Brendan Smith and Jesperi Kotkaniemi. The three stars were Cole, Aho, and Raanta (27 for 28 in saves). The Hurricanes established a 1-0 series lead.

Out west, the Calgary Flames host the Edmonton Oilers. Mike Smith and Jacob Markstrom are between the pipes. Calgary led off in the first period with an Elias Lindholm goal, his second of the postseason, assisted by Rasmus Andersson and Johnny Gaudreau. The Flames added on with an Andrew Mangiapane goal, his second of the playoffs, courtesy of Mikael Backlund. Calgary extended the lead as Brett Ritchie scored an unassisted goal. Edmonton got on the board with a Connor McDavid goal, his fifth of the postseason, going in unassisted. The Flames fired back with a Blake Coleman goal, helped along by Mangiapane and Andersson. Calgary padded the lead as Coleman scored his second of the game, thanks to Noah Hanifin and Trevor Lewis. The Oilers got one back with an Evan Bouchard goal, via McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. The Flames answered with a Matthew Tkachuk power play goal, his second of the playoffs, powered by Gaudreau and Tyler Toffoli. Edmonton pulled one back with a Zach Hyman goal, his third of the postseason, set up by Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. The Oilers got closer with another Hyman goal, his second of the game and fourth of the playoffs, fueled by Nugent-Hopkins and Kailer Yamamoto. Edmonton pulled closer with a Draisaitl goal, his sixth of the postseason, made possible by McDavid. The Oilers tied it in the third period with a Yamamoto goal, his second of the playoffs, with a lone helper by McDavid. Calgary retook the lead with an Andersson goal, his second of the postseason, with assists from Mangiapane and Calle Jarnkrok. The Flames continued with a Tkachuk goal, his second of the game and third of the playoffs, an unassisted goal. Calgary piled on with a Tkachuk empty net goal, completing his hat trick on his fourth of the postseason, set up by Lindholm and Gaudreau. The final stood at 9-6, with the three stars awarded to Tkachuk, Coleman, and Mangiapane, while Andersson, Gaudreau, Lindholm, McDavid, Draisaitl, Hyman, Yamamoto, and Nugent-Hopkins get the honorable mentions. The Flames are up 1-0 in the series. 

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NHL Playoffs 2022 - Day 15

We're on to the second round of the playoffs now. First up...

The Florida Panthers welcome the Tampa Bay Lightning. Andrei Vasilevskiy and Sergei Bobrovsky protect the nets. Florida began in the first period with an Anthony Duclair goal, via Jonathan Huberdeau and Brandon Montour. Tampa Bay tied it on a Corey Perry power play goal in the second period, his third of the postseason, powered by Nikita Kucherov. The Lightning took the lead with a Pierre-Edouard Bellemare goal in the third period, his second of the playoffs, coming off of Perry and Pat Maroon. Tampa Bay added on with a Kucherov power play goal, his third of the postseason, with assists provided Victor Hedman and Steven Stamkos. The Lightning extended the lead as Ross Colton scored on the power play, his fourth of the playoffs, thanks to Nick Paul and Mikhail Sergachev. The final was 4-1, with the three stars going to Kucherov, Perry, and Vasilevskiy (34 for 35 in saves). The Lightning established a 1-0 series lead.

Over in Colorado, the Avalanche bring in the St. Louis Blues. Jordan Binnington and Darcy Kuemper guard the cages. St. Louis led off in the first period with a Ryan O'Reilly goal, his sixth of the postseason, courtesy of Brayden Schenn. Colorado tied it on a Valeri Nichushkin goal, his third of the playoffs, via Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen. The Avalanche took the lead on a Samuel Girard goal, coming off of Josh Manson and Gabriel Landeskog. The Blues tied it on a Jordan Kyrou power play goal in the third period, his fourth of the postseason, powered by Justin Faulk. Colorado won 3-2 in overtime with a Manson goal, helped along by Landeskog and Nazem Kadri. The three stars were Manson, Landeskog, and Binnington (51 for 54 in saves). The Avalanche hold a 1-0 series lead. 

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NHL Playoffs 2022 - Day 14

The first round ends here, with two Game 7s. First up...

The New York Rangers welcome the Pittsburgh Penguins. Tristan Jarry and Igor Shesterkin guard the cages. New York opened in the first period with a Chris Kreider goal, his fifth of the postseason, assisted by Mika Zibanejad and Braden Schneider. Pittsburgh tied it on a Danton Heinen power play goal, his third of the playoffs, powered by Jeff Carter and Evan Rodrigues. The Penguins took the lead with a Jake Guentzel power play goal in the second period, his eighth of the postseason, with assists provided by Bryan Rust and Sidney Crosby. The Rangers retied it on a K'Andre Miller goal, via Andrew Copp and Ryan Strome. Pittsburgh retook the lead with a shorthanded and unassisted Rodrigues goal, his third of the playoffs. New York tied it again in the third period with a Zibanejad goal, his third of the postseason, fueled by Copp. The Rangers won 4-3 in overtime with an Artemi Panarin power play goal, his third of the playoffs, guided in by Adam Fox and Zibanejad. The three stars were Zibanejad, Rodrigues, and Copp. The Rangers advanced on a 4-3 series win, and they'll face the Carolina Hurricanes in the second round.

Out in Calgary, the Flames bring in the Dallas Stars. Jake Oettinger and Jacob Markstrom tend the twines. Dallas started in the first period with a Jamie Benn goal, via Tyler Seguin and Ryan Suter. Calgary tied it on a Tyler Toffoli goal, assisted by Oliver Kylington and Michael Stone in the second period. The Stars retook the lead with a Vladislav Namestnikov goal, coming off of Joe Pavelski and Jason Robertson. The Flames tied it again with a Matthew Tkachuk goal, helped along by Johnny Gaudreau and the goalie Markstrom. Calgary won 3-2 in overtime with a Gaudreau goal, his second of the postseason, made possible by Elias Lindholm and Tkachuk. The three stars were Gaudreau, Tkachuk, and Oettinger (64 for 67 in saves). The Flames won the series 4-3 and will face the Edmonton Oilers in the second round. 

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