Toronto 7, Tampa Bay 2 (series tied 1-1)

Leafs fans can exhale (at least for now), as their beloved Buds replied to their Game 1 disaster by flipping the script on the Bolts with a 7-2 win in Game 2. A Mitch Marner power-play goal in the first minute helped calm the nerves of Leafs fans, while two more goals later in the first period was enough to cement the much-needed victory.

John Tavares led the Leafs charge, scoring his first career playoff hat trick with a plus-3 and six shots. Believe it or not, the hat trick was the first in the playoffs for the Leafs in 20 years. Okay, given the Leafs' playoff history over that span, maybe that is believable.

Morgan Rielly assisted on all three Leafs goals in the first period and finished with four assists in the game. He is also the first Leafs defenseman ever to record three points in a period in a playoff game.

Marner finished the game with two goals and an assist. Marner is up there in playoff scoring, as he assisted on all three Leafs goals in the Game 1 loss as well.

With Michael Bunting suspended, Calle Jarnkrok was moved up to the top line with Marner and Auston Matthews, although he did not register a point. Neither did prospect Matthew Knies, who was playing in his first playoff game.

If you're wondering why Andrei Vasilevskiy wasn't pulled, it's because he reportedly did not want to come out of the game. Playoff Vasilevskiy is usually a different beast, as he has posted a minimum .922 SV% over each of the last three seasons. As much as it's easy to suggest that the Big Cat will be better in Game 3, he might not have an easy time with the injuries on defense. Both Victor Hedman and Erik Cernak missed Game 2, so their return for Game 3 should be considered questionable at this point.

At least Tanner Jeannot was able to return from injury for the Bolts. When the game started to go off the rails as is the case for many one-sided playoff games, Jeannot fought Luke Schenn.

Expect the remaining games to be closer and more entertaining after one-sided victories by each team over the first two games. I'm also more confident in my prediction that this series will go seven games than I am about who will win (I picked Toronto).

The Stanley Cup Playoffs: where friends become enemies 😅 pic.twitter.com/hVMG1itUo1

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 21, 2023

NY Rangers 5, New Jersey 1 (Rangers lead 2-0)

In Game 2, the Rangers posted an identical score to Game 1 and head home to MSG with two wins in their pocket. That means if you drafted a bunch of Rangers in your playoff pool, so far so good.

Chris Kreider duplicated his two power-play goal effort in Game 1 with another pair of power-play goals. After leading the league last season with 26 power-play goals, Kreider fell to just eight power-play goals this season. All four of Kreider's goals during the playoffs have been tip-ins, which is how he often scores. Kreider fell from 52 goals last season to 36 this season, but so far, he has been as hot as any goal scorer in the playoffs.

Patrick Kane's stint with the Rangers has been good but not great, as he finished the regular season with 12 points in 19 games. Game 2 was his best game as a Ranger statistically with a goal and two power-play assists to go with five shots. His acquisition could turn out to be huge for the Rangers if he can channel the Kane of old.

Ladies and gentleman.

IT'S SHOWTIME pic.twitter.com/NhiQf8Vb0d

— Jonny Lazarus (@JLazzy23) April 21, 2023

Fellow in-season acquisition Vladimir Tarasenko has also been helping his new team. Tarasenko has goals in back-to-back games.

Adam Fox followed up a four-assist performance in Game 1 with another two assists in Game 2. Over the two games, Fox leads all Rangers in playoff points.

Top Devils scorers Jesper Bratt, Nico Hischier, Timo Meier, and Dougie Hamilton have all been held off the scoresheet so far, so they will need to be more of a factor if the Devils are going to turn this into a series.

Colorado 3, Seattle 2 (series tied 1-1)

This was one of the more entertaining playoff games that I've witnessed so far because of plays like this one.

Robbery by Georgiev on Seattle's 3-on-1 chance, what a terrific stop!#GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/duVGOMvZoY

— Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights (@HockeyDaily365) April 21, 2023

After a Game 1 win, Seattle kept the momentum with a 2-0 lead after the first period. But as you'd expect from a defending Stanley Cup champion, Colorado turned it up a notch in the second period, striking for two goals within a minute of each other in second period before Devon Toews scored the winner with seven minutes left in the third period.

Artturi Lehkonen scored a goal and an assist in Game 2. That gives him 14 points in his last 16 playoff games. If you need Avalanche sleeper picks in anticipation of another deep run, Lehkonen is as good a sleeper pick as any.

Philipp Grubauer has posted quality starts in both of the Kraken's playoff games. For the first season and a half of his contract with Seattle, he appeared headed toward major bust territory. Yet when the calendar flipped to 2023, he managed to settle things down, posting a 14-7-3 record with a 2.53 GAA. His save percentage over that span was still around league average (.902 SV%), but he's had a decent 61.5% quality start percentage over that span as well. Even though the Kraken are in a good spot heading back to the Pacific Northwest for Games 3 and 4, Grubauer will need to be better than average in stealing a game or two against his former team for Seattle to pull off the first-round upset.

Vegas 5, Winnipeg 2 (series tied 1-1)

The cap-strapped Vegas Golden Knights attempted their own Nikita Kucherov salary cap strategy, activating Mark Stone just in time for the playoffs. Prior to the playoffs, Stone hadn't played since mid-January due to a lingering back issue. In Game 2 when the Golden Knights needed a win to avoid heading to Winnipeg down 0-2, Stone delivered with two goals, an assist, a plus-2, five shots, and four hits. Stone played with a lot of energy, which might dispel any rumblings that he is not quite 100%.

Expressive Mark Stone is SO back. pic.twitter.com/HQEWEFHU5p

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 21, 2023

The playoffs are a hard slog, which makes a recurrence of the injury more likely the further Vegas goes into the playoffs. Stone's ability to remain healthy during the playoffs could go a long way in determining his potential fantasy value for next season. As it stands, he is very much a wild card who can score at a near point-per-game pace. It's not impossible for a player of Stone's age (30) to overcome a significant injury and be productive (Erik Karlsson is a recent example), but Stone has played in roughly half of his team's games over the past two seasons, making him difficult to rely on. At the very least, it’s nice to see Stone back.

In just his second career NHL playoff game, Jack Eichel scored his first-ever playoff goal. Eichel only needed to play in 476 regular-season games before appearing in his first playoff game this season.

William Karlsson has also been getting the job done, scoring goals in each of the two games of the series and also adding an assist in Game 2.

Planning a long playoff run with career backup Laurent Brossoit as your starting goalie might not be ideal, but he got the job done in Game 2, stopping 31 of 33 shots. At this point, the Golden Knights would just be happy if any of their goalies with NHL experience is healthy and ready to play.

Despite the loss, Kyle Connor took eight shots on goal in Game 2. Only Matt Boldy and Nathan MacKinnon have more shots in the playoffs than Connor (13 SOG) so far.

Nikolaj Ehlers was out of the lineup again in Game 2 with an upper-body injury.

The two teams will travel to Winnipeg for Games 3 and 4. Not hockey-related, but the 'Peg is expecting a major snowfall today. There will be a whiteout in more ways than one in Winnipeg.

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Follow me on Twitter @Ian_Gooding for more fantasy hockey.