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.
Vancouver Canucks vs. Nashville Predators
After a quieter Thursday evening, things picked up again last night, as we moved from having one game on the schedule to two. Our first of the night found us back in Nashville, with the Predators with their backs against the wall, staring down elimination. And if, in the face of that, we thought that we might see something of an explosion of offense as we hit desperation time, that could not have been further away from how things actually played out.
We’ve talked about a couple of low event games so far in these playoffs, and last night’s was yet another. Things began quite slowly, as the first period saw no penalties called to break up the action, and just five shots recorded for the Canucks, and six for the Predators. The second period saw things begin to open up a bit more, but still, despite a bit of 4-on-4 time offered to open up the ice more, and the Predators being given a four-minute power play to work with after Brock Boeser was called for a high sticking double-minor, still no one could manage a bit of scoring.
We somehow made it through nearly the whole of the third period still scoreless, and with the threat — and it was a threat — of overtime looming, we finally saw someone break through. With just over a minute and a half left in regulation, it was Boeser who sent a no-look backhand pass from below the goal line somehow right onto the tape of Pius Suter, who chipped it past Juuse Saros, and sealed the win in the game and the series for the Canucks.
Final: 1-0 Canucks
Series: 4-2 Canucks
Highlights: NHL
Dallas Stars vs. Vegas Golden Knights
Even farther out West, as the Stars and Golden Knights met for their Game 6, things weirdly played out in a pretty similar way to our early game. The first period was free of scoring, free of power plays, and the shot totals came in relatively low as a result — the Golden Knights managed a respectable 10 shots on goal, though the Stars only put up six.
For the Stars, who have brought good offensive punch through these last few games, and with the benefit of the lead in the series, being on the cusp of running away with the win, ended up not having a whole lot going for them. They weren’t threatening in the same way we’ve seen of late, they weren’t really getting a high volume of good chances on net (in total, they had just 23 shots across the whole game) and this left the door open for these ever dangerous Golden Knights to do some damage themselves.
We didn’t have to wait quite as long for some scoring in this game, though we weren’t far off — just before the halfway point of the third period is when we finally saw one side break through, and it was the Golden Knights, who had been much more notably knocking at the door in this one. It was a nice little play too — after making a good keep at the blue line, Noah Hanifin dropped down in the offensive zone himself, put a shot on goal from below the right faceoff circle, and beat Jake Oettinger pretty cleanly. It wasn’t a huge, commanding lead, but against these Stars who just didn’t really have it that night, it was enough. Mark Stone iced the game with an empty net insurance goal, but it ended up not being wholly needed. The Stars were shut out for the first time this series, and the Golden Knights kept themselves alive a bit longer.
Final: 2-0 Golden Knights
Series: 3-3 Tied
Highlights: NHL
