Stanley Cup Playoffs Day 10: Lightning, Panthers score in flurries; Stars win big over Avalanche
The Stanley Cup Playoffs are back, which means that for the next two months, we’ll get non-stop exciting action in the NHL as we witness history in another team looking to win a championship. Here at Daily Faceoff, we’ll be keeping you in the loop of everything that happened in the playoffs, every day until the Stanley Cup is hoisted in June.
Lightning, Panthers both score in 11-second stretches
Momentum plays such a huge role in hockey, as sometimes one goal can lead to another for a team just like that. You always have to be careful about how much you let another team build on that. Well, the Florida Panthers and the Tampa Bay Lightning clearly forgot that lesson in Game 4, as Anton Lundell’s opening goal in the second period was the only time we got a non-empty net goal not scored within seconds of another.
And even then, the Lightning responded only a few minutes later with two in a span of 11 seconds, and suddenly the they had a 2-1 lead. They looked to be holding that for the rest of the second and most of the third, especially when a Niko Mikkola five-minute major gave them a lengthy power play. But, they didn’t score on that man advantage, and instead it opened the door for the Panthers to score within 11 seconds themselves, but with it coming in the final four minutes of the game. That and an empty net goal a couple of minutes later gave the Panthers a 4-2 win, and now they head back to Tampa with a chance to eliminate the Bolts in Game 5.
NOW IT'S FLORIDA'S TURN 😳
TWO GOALS IN 11 SECONDS HELP THE PANTHERS SECURE A GAME 4 VICTORY! #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/ugHQ7giWxS
Stars’ big guns finally on the board
A storyline that’s gone under the radar in this series between the Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars has been how the Stars’ top players have underperformed in this series. No Jason Robertson and Miro Heiskanen has played a big part in that, but going into this game, their daunting offense of Mikko Rantanen, Wyatt Johnston, Roope Hintz, Matt Duchene, Mikael Granlund, and even Jamie Benn and Mason Marchment had just two goals in the first four games of the series.
But the big guns finally showed up for Dallas in Game 5. Johnston got his first two goals, Hintz got his second goal, and Rantanen and Marchment got their first goals, and it played a pivotal role in their victory. While an early 3-0 lead was nearly blown with two goals from the Avalanche in just 2:27, but they got three more after that to put the game away. With the win, the Stars now have a 3-2 series lead, with a chance to move on to the second round in Colorado on Thursday.