For the third season in a row, the Tampa Bay Lightning will be playing in the Stanley Cup Final. Just 21 seconds after Frank Vatrano tied the game on a power-play goal, Steven Stamkos atoned for the penalty he had just taken by scoring the eventual game-winning goal. After a short review, the officials decided [...]
The general opinion of people that I talk hockey with (not necessarily from a fantasy perspective) seems to be that the Oilers need to move on from Mike Smith. Although Smith can look like a world beater at times, it’s those gaffs resulting from his tendency to take risks that stand out. During the first [...]
Oilers fans might remember Game 3 of the Western Conference Final as the one that got away after J.T. Compher’s third-period goal trickled through the legs of Mike Smith as the eventual game winner. Smith has to make this save as Compher takes his shot straight after skating out of the penalty box. https://twitter.com/BR_OpenIce/status/1533276182925279237 The [...]
The Tampa Bay Lightning have finally lost two playoff games in a row, the first time that has happened for them since being swept by the Blue Jackets in 2019. That’s 18 times since then that the Bolts have lost a playoff game, only to win the following game. The underdog Rangers, though, are staying [...]
If there were any doubts about Darcy Kuemper not being available for Game 2, Pavel Francouz erased them with a 24-save shutout to give the Avalanche a 2-0 series lead. Francouz was playing in his fourth game of the playoffs but making just his second start. He probably didn’t face the Oilers at their best, [...]
After being accurate on six of the eight first-round playoff series, the panel did not fare as well in the second round. Colorado was the only winner picked correctly, with favorites Florida, Carolina, and Calgary all now eliminated. At least the panel was also right on the length of the Colorado – St. Louis series [...]
After five Game 7s in the first round, the second round will feature only one Game 7. The Rangers made sure of that with a 5-2 win over the Hurricanes in Game 6 at MSG on Saturday. Filip Chytil was the scoring star for the Rangers with a pair of goals. He also finished with [...]
Well, that was quite an ending to the sixth game of Colorado/St. Louis. Just when you were about to get up to go to the fridge for a refill or another snack in anticipation of overtime, this happened: https://twitter.com/Sportsnet/status/1530385764541992960 The unlikeliest of game-winning goal candidates, Darren Helm scored his first playoff goal since 2016. On [...]
Only one game was played on Saturday, but that one game had plenty of significant injury news and overall nastiness beyond the box score. Avalanche 5, Blues 2 (Avalanche lead series 2-1) Trade deadline acquisition Artturi Lehkonen led the Avalanche with two goals while taking five shots. Darcy Kuemper stopped 29 of 31 shots in [...]
Friday featured two Game 2s, where Carolina extended its series lead while Edmonton tied the Battle of Alberta. Hurricanes 2, Rangers 0 (Hurricanes lead series 2-0) Antti Raanta earned his first career playoff shutout (21 saves) to ensure that the Hurricanes keep home ice advantage as they head into MSG. Raanta is rounding into form [...]
