Stanley Cup Playoffs Day 1: Alex Iafallo and Ryan Hartman play hero in overtime road wins for Kings and Wild

Scott Maxwell
Scott Maxwell
Stanley Cup Playoffs Day 1: Alex Iafallo and Ryan Hartman play hero in overtime road wins for Kings and Wild
Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Special teams proves to be the difference maker as Canes win tight Game 1

This first round matchup between the Carolina Hurricanes and New York Islanders has been hyped up as big upset potential. The Canes style of play is infamous for tiring down the team over the course of the season, and the lack of true finishing talent with Andrei Svechnikov and Max Pacioretty out with injuries means that Ilya Sorokin just needs to shut the door in order for the Isles to stay in this series. At 5v5, Sorokin did, and while the Canes got the win, the Isles definitely proved that it won’t be easy.

Sorokin faced 31 shots at even strength, and he stopped all 31 to keep the Isles in a game where they got outshot 37-26 overall and lost the expected goals battle at 5v5 by a 3.01-1.81 margin. It was the special teams that were the decider, as the Canes went 2-for-4 on the power play thanks to goals from Sebastian Aho and Stefan Noesen, while shutting out the Isles in all four opportunities, even keeping them to just four shots on the man advantage. The Canes would have shut the Isles out outright if not for a weak Ryan Pulock goal allowed by Antti Raanta, as that was the only one they got as the Canes took Game 1 by a score of 2-1. It’s safe to say that while Sorokin will make life hell for the Canes offense, the Canes defense will do the same to the Isles offense in this series.

Ullmark stands tall as Bruins take Game 1

The big story for tonight’s game wasn’t even what was happening on the ice, but off the ice instead. Reports surfaced of a bug going around the Boston Bruins lineup, and multiple Bruins were questionable for tonight’s game, with the lone victim eventually being Patrice Bergeron. It was the perfect opportunity for the Florida Panthers to make a statement and chip away at this series while they have a chance to, but unfortunately a couple things did not go their way in spite of them outshooting and out-chancing the Bruins, especially in the first two periods.

First, despite all the chances, they struggled to convert them into goals. They finished the game with 3.14 expected goals in all situations, and they only scored one. Linus Ullmark was unbeatable, stopping 31 of 32 in the victory and saving 2.04 goals above expected at even strength. Second, Alex Lyon’s weak goal against on this Brad Marchand shot made what was already a tough battle even harder when it didn’t need to be.

Lyon had his moments overall, but between that goal and the bad luck with the puck sitting on his pad for the third goal, it was hard for the Panthers to stay in the game, even though they controlled the play for the most part. David Pastrnak and Jake DeBrusk got the other goals for the Bruins, Matthew Tkachuk got the lone goal for the Panthers, Tyler Bertuzzi had a solid playoff debut with two assists on the night, and the Bruins showcased their depth tonight in a 3-1 win, even without their top center and captain Patrice Bergeron.

Gustavsson shines in playoff debut as Wild win Game 1 in double overtime

One of the biggest question marks going into Game 1 for the Minnesota Wild was who they’d start in net. Marc-Andre Fleury brings experience and pedigree, but Filip Gustavsson was the better goaltender during the season. Wild head coach Dean Evason opted to go with Gustavsson, and he wasn’t let down. The stars were the story early on for both the Wild and Dallas Stars, as Kirill Kaprizov, Roope Hintz, and Jason Robertson all registering power play goals, and Matt Dumba’s hit that took Joe Pavelski out of the game created a fair amount of controversy, but it was Gustavsson’s heroics that gave the Wild the win.

After those three power play goals between the two teams resulted in a 2-1 Stars lead, Sam Steel tied the game later in the second period, and that was the last goal for almost 60 minutes. It was a goalie duel between Gustavsson and Jake Oettinger, with the two netminders respectively making 52 and 45 saves on the night, but one had to be beat eventually, with Ryan Hartman scoring the game-winner midway through the second overtime while playing through an apparent injury. The Wild take Game 1 by a score of 3-2, and take home ice advantage away from the Stars.

Kings make late comeback to take Game 1 in overtime

It was a tail of two games in Edmonton for Game 1. For the first two periods, it was all Edmonton Oilers, as Leon Draisaitl and Evan Bouchard gave the Oilers an early 2-0 lead, and it seemed like it would be impossible for the Los Angeles Kings to score a goal. But come the third, the Kings upped the ante and managed to score three in the period to overcome 2-0 and 3-1 leads, including the game tying goal from Anze Kopitar on the power play with just 16.7 seconds left in the game.

The Oilers thought they managed to salvage the game early on with a goal from Derek Ryan, but it was called back for a high-stick, setting the stage for the Kings to complete the comeback. It was another power play opportunity for the Kings midway through the extra frame, and a nifty passing play gave Alex Iafallo a prime scoring chance up front, and he buried it to give the Kings the 4-3 win. Draisaitl had two goals in the loss, while Kopitar managed to get one goal and three assists, Adrian Kempe had two goals, and Joonas Korpisalo stopped 37 shots in the win.

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