The first Game 7 of the 2021 playoffs was played on Friday, with one team's leading goal scorer making his series debut in the nick of time.

Max Pacioretty returned to the Vegas lineup for his first game since May 1. He scored the eventual game-winning goal while skating 16:28 in his usual spot on a line with Mark Stone and Chandler Stephenson. Patches led the Golden Knights with 24 goals, so his return was a necessary boost for a Vegas team that had put only two pucks total behind Cam Talbot in Game 5 and 6 losses.

HE'S BAAAAAAACK! ⚔️

Max Pacioretty puts the @GoldenKnights back on top. #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/VGLL2UhssU

— NHL on NBC Sports (@NHLonNBCSports) May 29, 2021

Mattias Janmark turned out to be the Game 7 scoring star, scoring a hat trick. Janmark's three goals were his first of the playoffs. He had scored just one goal in 15 regular-season games since being acquired from the Blackhawks, so you can't be blamed if you didn't have him in your playoff pool.

Overall, depth scoring helped Vegas in this one.

All four Golden Knights goal scorers in game seven had gone at least a month without scoring.

Their last goal:

Max Pacioretty: April 28
Mattias Janmark: April 21
Nic Hague: April 5
Zach Whitecloud: February 9

— Tyler Bischoff (@Bischoff_Tyler) May 29, 2021

Marc-Andre Fleury played the eighth Game 7 of his career, evening his career record in Game 7s to 4-4. Only Patrick Roy, Martin Brodeur, and Curtis Joseph have played in more Game 7s, with Fleury now tied with Henrik Lundqvist and Braden Holtby. Fleury and the Golden Knights will have little time to savor their Game 7 win, as their much-anticipated series with the Colorado Avalanche begins on Sunday.

The Wild's subpar defensive performance in Game 7 could be blamed on losing Jonas Brodin to injury in the first period. They mainly ran with four defensemen for the rest of the game, with both Ryan Suter and Matt Dumba pushing nearly 29 minutes. Suter in particular was worn down, which was also related to him getting cross-checked into the net by Ryan Reaves (who received a two-minute penalty that Minnesota took advantage of in scoring their second goal).

Despite the Game 7 loss, the Wild appeared to exceed expectations this season. They used the offseason to upgrade their goaltending from starting Alex Stalock in the bubble to signing Talbot to a three-year contract. In addition, they were also able to finally bring over potential Calder Trophy winner Kirill Kaprizov, who changed the dynamic of a usual defense-first, middle-of-the-pack team to one that kept pace with Colorado and Vegas for much of the season. In order to move into the elite, the Wild will need to upgrade at center, which might be something they target in the offseason.

But like the Wild of previous seasons, it was a total team effort. However, you were probably left disappointed if you invested in multiple Wild players in your playoff pool. No Wild skater scored more than three points in this seven-game series, although eight players tied for the team lead in scoring with three points apiece.

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I won't write a post-mortem on every eliminated team – I'll leave that for Dobber to do. However, I think this is a great opportunity to examine the goaltending situations of two eliminated teams, since they figured prominently in the team's early exit. Even though it's hardly the only reason, goaltending is often blamed for a team's early exit from the playoffs. The examples below serve as cautionary tales as to why investing large salary cap/auction dollars or a high pick on a goalie in fantasy leagues can be risky these days.

Tristan Jarry

At one time the Penguins had a surplus at this position with all of Marc-Andre Fleury, Matt Murray, and Jarry. Remember when the obvious call was to leave Fleury unprotected in the expansion draft because Murray was the young goalie that led the Pens to two Stanley Cup wins? Last offseason, the Pens picked Jarry over Murray, which leads them to where they are today.

In case you didn't follow the Penguins/Islanders series, Jarry's performance wasn't pretty. He managed only one quality start (Game 2) but two really bad starts (Games 4 and 6) in the six-game series. Overall, Jarry ended up with a minus-3.80 GSAA, which was the second-worst among goalies in the playoffs. A relatively short playoff series shouldn't necessarily sway your opinion on a goalie, but it may uncover some trouble spots.

Jarry owners probably remember his jarring start to the season (7 GP, 3.95 GAA, .857 SV%). He settled down after that as one of fantasy hockey's more reliable goalies with a strong 23-5-2 record and 2.49 GAA and .919 SV% the rest of the way. So Jarry was okay for you if you could stomach the rough first month. However, with Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang signed for only one more season, the Penguins may use the offseason to consider all of their options in net while they load up for one last potential hurrah. That could include investing in one of the many goaltending free agent options-to-be. Or it could mean Casey DeSmith, who was one of the more reliable backups yet unavailable for the playoffs, is handed a more prominent role next season if and when Jarry slumps.

Since the Penguins are tight against the cap to make many changes, Jarry is likely back as the starter next season. However, a change in net is food for thought while the wound of another early playoff exit is still fresh.

Sergei Bobrovsky

The Panthers currently stand where the Penguins were a few years ago. A veteran goalie with a significant contract is being pushed by at least one younger goalie.

In the Thursday Ramblings, Mike discussed what it might take for Florida to move the Bobrovsky contract to make room for Spencer Knight. Although Bobrovsky's numbers improved somewhat from a disastrous first season in Florida, his playoff performance moves this question to the forefront.

As bad as Jarry's postseason was, Bobrovsky's was even worse. His minus-4.20 GSAA was the worst in playoffs, and his minus-2.24 GSAA/60 was far lower than Jarry's because he played only three games. In the meantime, Spencer Knight appears NHL-ready in limited duty in both the regular season and the playoffs. With Chris Driedger likely to leave in the offseason as a UFA (Seattle?) Knight should find a spot on the Panthers one way or the other. The question is, will he be the starter? Or is this destined for a timeshare?

Let's be honest. In a flat cap world, unloading Bobrovsky won't be easy, and it will come at a heavy price. The most likely team for him next season is Florida, which has already shown they are not shy about benching him if his play is subpar. Driedger moving will help Bobrovsky's value, but the net effect from where his value was pre-Knight is really no different. 

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If you play the Tim's Hockey Challenge and are having trouble making your picks, here are mine for your consideration.

Pick 1: William Nylander – I can hear Leafs fans shouting "Put Willie on the top line!" In spite of numerous scoring chances and four shots in Game 5, Nylander saw his four-game goal streak snapped. He still leads the Leafs in playoff scoring with seven points and has arguably been the best player in this series. I'm going to keep going to the well with Nylander, as this will be his third game in a row that I'm adding him.

Pick 2: Jeff Petry – I don't usually pick opposing players, but I like Petry here because he likes to take shots (128 SOG, 2^nd on Habs) and because he's been a double-digit goal scorer each of the last four seasons.  

Pick 3: Charlie McAvoy – I also don't usually try to pick two defensemen, but this is a group of mainly defensemen. McAvoy stands out here since he is used on the first-unit power play.

Earlier this week I had a five-game streak of picking goal scorers snapped, which meant I was only two days shy of earning free coffee for a week!

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For more fantasy hockey discussion, or to reach out to me, you can follow me on Twitter @Ian_Gooding