Ramblings: Lightning Extend Lead, Islanders Tie Series, Lady Byng Nominees (June 6)

Ian Gooding

2021-06-06

The Tampa Bay/Carolina game had lots of goals. Ten, to be exact, including eight in the second period alone.

That eight-goal outburst saw Carolina take a 4-2 lead before Tampa Bay stormed back with three goals to take a 5-4 lead into the second intermission. An insurance goal in the third period sealed a 6-4 win for the Lightning and a 3-1 series lead heading back to Raleigh for Game 5 on Tuesday.  

The Bolts' big guns in particular came through. Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos each scored two goals and an assist. Kucherov also took six shots in this game. Stamkos' other accomplishment in this game? A minus-2, which gives him a Draisaitl hat trick! How did that happen? All three of Stamkos' points were on the power play, which went 3-for-6 in this game, with all of its goals in the second period.

Since you're now wondering which players have games with Draisaitl hat tricks (goal, assist, minus-1) in the playoffs, here's the full list.

 GPDHT
BRAYDEN POINT102
NIKITA KUCHEROV101
ALEKSANDER BARKOV61
JONATHAN HUBERDEAU61
STEVEN STAMKOS101
TYLER TOFFOLI91

You'll notice that of the six players that have DHTs, three play for the Lightning. Two more play for the Panthers, which suggest that the Battle of Florida was a high-scoring series. With the winner scoring at least four goals in five of the six games, it was. That's the perfect storm that is needed for a Draisaitl hat trick.

Back to stats that you're probably more likely to follow in your playoff pool. If you targeted the well-rested Kucherov in your playoff pool, he has paid off so far. With 17 points in 10 games, he is the current playoff scoring leader. Only Nathan MacKinnon (1.86) and Gabriel Landeskog (1.71) have more points per game during the playoffs than Kucherov (1.70). This is the downside of a dominating four-game sweep compared to a longer series, although picking a player from a team that is virtually guaranteed to win is always a safe bet in a playoff pool.

Tampa's power play is 5-for-9 over the last two games. Carolina will need to find a way to stop this loaded power play in order to avoid elimination in Game 5.

Also for the do-or-die Game 5, the Canes might return to Alex Nedeljkovic. Petr Mrazek was tagged with the really bad start in Game 4, allowing six goals on 26 shots. The reason Rod Brind'Amour likely turned to Mrazek in the first place for Game 3 is that Nedeljkovic has been merely okay. Among goalies that have played at least two games, Ned sits 14th with a .920 SV%. That's not bad on its own, but it is the worst among starting goalies (not including Mrazek) whose teams are still playing. That's how slim the margin for error is.

Andrei Vasilevskiy also turned in a really bad start, allowing four goals on 25 shots. Neither of his last two games have been quality starts after he previously turned in five consecutive quality starts. I have a feeling that Game 5 will also feature plenty of goals, which might be something to keep in mind if you are making any over/under picks or are selecting players for any kind of daily fantasy game.

The NY Islanders/Boston game was much more tight-checking, even if the 4-1 final score didn't make it look that way. Mathew Barzal scored the game-winner with 6:57 left in the third period, and the then the Islanders scored two empty-netters to ice the 4-1 win and tie the series at two wins apiece. The series resumes in Beantown on Monday.

After a slow start to the playoffs with no goals and three assists in his first seven games, Barzal now has points in three consecutive games.

Barzal also set up Kyle Palmieri on his second-period goal. Barry Trotz has mostly stuck with the low scoring but physical Leo Komarov instead of Palmieri on the Barzal line. Palmieri has five goals in 10 playoff games, so he would represent an offensive upgrade in that spot. But Trotz has his system, which we know isn't all about offense. Game 4 played out exactly the way Trotz would want it to.  

Jean-Gabriel Pageau's empty-net goal gives him 10 points in 10 games, which currently leads the Islanders in playoff scoring. Over his career, Pageau is a 0.44 PTS/GP scorer in the regular season but a 0.55 PTS/GP scorer in the playoffs.

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David Krejci scored the lone Boston goal, which was his first goal of the playoffs, as well as his first goal against the Islanders since 2015.

Auston Matthews, Jaccob Slavin, and Jared Spurgeon were announced as the three Lady Byng finalists. Because of the amount of Toronto-based hockey writers and because forwards almost always win this award, I would bet on Matthews winning. I realize there's more to the award than just fewest penalty minutes, but Slavin has a strong case with his one minor penalty while often being matched up against a team's top line. Using Frozen Tools' game log for Slavin and boxscore records, I was able to find out that his only penalty was on March 7 for… puck over glass? What a nefarious thing to do! How dare he!

This year's OHL draft was one to remember, as Taya Currie became the first female ever drafted in that league's entry draft. The 16-year-old goalie was chosen in the 14th round by the Sarnia Sting. If she does not play in the OHL, she could also play for Canada internationally one day.

It sucks when there are 10 goals in a game and neither of your players score (although Andrei Svechnikov and Anthony Cirelli did combine for three assists). But it's goals we need, so I'll give it another try for Sunday in the Tim's Hockey Challenge.

Pick 1: Mikko Rantanen – These playoffs have opened my eyes to how elite a player Rantanen is in terms of both numbers and the quality of his goals. He's sniped goals in four consecutive games after scoring 30 in 52 regular-season games (5th in the NHL). Even if you think Vegas will tie this series, Rantanen is in a great spot for a goal in five straight.

Pick 2: Shea Theodore – A Vegas defenseman is due for a goal. Alex Pietrangelo and Theodore are second and third among defensemen in shots during the playoffs, yet neither have scored a goal. Their power-play time is about the same, but I'll take Theodore because he received a little bit more of that in Game 3.

Pick 3: Devon Toews – Same theory as for Pick 2, except for PP2 defensemen for Colorado. Neither Toews nor Samuel Girard has scored a goal during the playoffs, so one of them has to soon. Their shot totals are lower than the Vegas d-men, but this is also a lower-tier pick.

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

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