Playoff series are beginning to wrap up in the NHL. Two series came to an end on Tuesday night and two got new life breathed into them by goaltending and late-scoring heroics. Round 1 is about to ramp up, let’s take a look at the night before in the playoffs.
NHL
Winnipeg Jets vs Colorado Avalanche game 5
- The Avalanche, well they were an Avalanche of scoring this series. Winnipeg and goalie Connor Hellebuyck never really found an answer for the high-flying Avs offense. Goal after goal allowed, the Avs depth also showed up in a big way.
- Twelve players for Colorado scored at least 1 goal in the playoff series. That’s the equivalent of every forward scoring a goal in the series. Valeri Nichuskin lead the way with 7 goals in the series. The Avalanche look like a team to be reckoned with, considering the way the regular season ended, this is a massive success for the Avs and they should continue to be placed in the contender profile.
- Bonus shout out to Alexander Georgiev, who pulled himself off the mat and stopped 34 shots to win game 5 and give the Avs some time to get healthy and regroup before what will be a marathon round 2.
- The Jets had a good year, this team wasn’t expected to do anything and they nearly won the central. They never made adjustments during this series though, a coaching change may be needed.
Carolina Hurricanes vs New York Islanders game 5
- Hand up, I underestimated the Carolina Hurricanes. This is a juggernaut, make no mistake about it. Another team with 12 different scorers, the Hurricanes are as physical and deep as they come.
- This team bullied a very though Islanders team. Frederick Andersen has the second highest save percentage in the playoffs, behind only the man he will face in round two of the playoffs, Rags goalie Igor Shersterkin.
- Islanders need more top end scoring. It’s a tough, gritty, and defensively minded team, Iliya Sorokin also needs to fix whatever ailed him down the stretch as the Isles need a star in net if they want to contend with this current version of the roster.
Boston Bruins vs Toronto Maple Leafs game 5
- The Leafs needed a goaltender to steal them a game in this series. They got that performance from Joseph Woll who stopped 27 of 28 shots in TD garden to force game 6.
- The Leafs need Auston Matthews back, but if he gets there and decides to lead, this team can get to game 7. For the Bruins this feels like last year all over again. Brad Marchand needs to put this series away and David Pastranak needs to show up and put some goals on the board to get the Bruins out of the first round, Toronto’s home ice advantage is often non existent, the Bruins need to make a strong push to put game 6 away on the road.
Vancouver Canucks vs Nashville Predators game 5
- These have to be considered the two best defenses in the western conference. There is no open ice in this series. The Pred’s fought back after going down to a goal by the famous and infamous Big Z, Nikita Zadorov, Roman Josi the star d man of the Pred’s evened things up and late Alexandre Carrier got the game winner.
- This one feels destined for 7.