Throughout the Stanley Cup playoffs we’ll be keeping track of all the action around the league, and bringing you all of the results in one place.
No. 1 Philadelphia Flyers vs. No. 4 New York Islanders
So that happened. Andy Greene opened the scoring for the Islanders with his first playoff goal in ten years, and looking back, this should’ve been looked as a sign of things to come. The Islanders were in full control of the first period, holding the Flyers to just four shots on goal. It was as if the Flyers’ series with the Montreal Canadiens never concluded. Kevin Hayes had the team’s best chance when he broke free on a breakaway, but he wasn’t able to get a shot off.
Once the puck dropped to start the second period, things were actually looking up for the Flyers. While they still had trouble creating truly dangerous chances, they kept the puck in the Islanders’ zone for a large majority of the period, and were able out-attempt them 29-13 at five-on-five. Without a goal and without a power play, the third period happened. And thing went south — quickly. Just about three minutes in, the Islanders’ fourth line scored against the Flyers’ top line. That about sums up that trio’s night. Anders Lee would add a third, before a Devon Toews clear would hit the empty-net with over seven and a half minutes remaining.
Final: New York 4, Philadelphia 0
Series: 1-0 New York
SB Nation team perspective: NYI | PHI
Highlights: NHL
No. 2 Colorado Avalanche vs. No. 3 Dallas Stars
Without Philipp Grubauer due to injury, the Avalanche turned to Pavel Francouz. He would contribute to … a very bad second period. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves here. Nathan MacKinnon struck first on the power play, giving Colorado a 1-0 lead at the end of the first period. The Stars looked lost in the period, with a performance that almost mirrored our very own Flyers. MacKinnon even out-shot the entire Dallas team. However in the second period, their offense would explode.
After Mikko Rantanen gave the Avalanche a two-goal lead, it’d all come crashing down for Colorado. Two penalties — one against Samuel Girard, the other Ian Cole — led to a Joe Pavelski five-on-three tally, and soon after Radek Faksa put home a rebound of his own rebound, of his own shot. Alexander Radulov gave the Stars the lead with a fluky one, that hit multiple players in front of the net — Radulov being one of them — before beating Francouz. But it wouldn’t stop there! With less than a minute remaining the middle frame, Esa Lindell scored off of yet another rebound, making giving Dallas a two-goal lead to start the third period. Jamie Oleksiak added an empty net goal, as the Stars took a surprising 2-0 series lead over the Avalanche.
Final: Dallas 5, Colorado 2
Series: 2-0 Dallas
SB Nation team perspective: DAL | COL
Highlights: NHL
Data referenced via Natural Stat Trick.
