Stanley Cup Playoffs Day 11: Canes advance to second round, Sens stay alive
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.
Sens blank Leafs to continue comeback
The Toronto Maple Leafs entered Game 5 with their second chance to eliminate the Ottawa Senators and move on to the second round after losing in overtime in Game 4. They had a strong first period showing but couldn’t get any goals, and then when the game slowed down in the final two periods, the Sens took advantage. Chabot gave them the lead in the second, and Cozen scored a shorthanded goal in the third to give Ottawa some breathing room. After a couple empty net goals, the Sens had a 4-0 win, with Linus Ullmark’s 29-save shutout being the highlight performance.
And oh boy, you can feel the nerves growing in Toronto. While the Senators have only won two of the four games required for a reverse sweep, that creeping feeling that this is the same old Leafs is returning. Now the Leafs have to either win on the road or in a Game 7, an environment they’ve never done well in. Buckle up hockey fans, this series will have a crazy ending one way or another.
Hurricanes overcome three-goal deficit to eliminate Devils in double OT
The New Jersey Devils entered Game 5 on the brink of elimination, and they needed a strong showing against the Carolina Hurricanes if they wanted to keep their season alive. And to start the game, they did just that. Dawson Mercer, Timo Meier and Stefan Noesen all scored in the first period, and suddenly they were up 3-0 in the game, and were sitting pretty. But for as how good their first period was, their second period was the exact opposite. The Canes only needed 5:40 of the second to tie the game, and even after Nico Hischier took the lead again, Sebastian Aho scored shortly after to tie it at 4-4. That score held for the rest of regulation, and we needed overtime.
Much like the other time we had overtime in this series, one period just wasn’t enough. The Canes outshot the Devils 14-3 in the first overtime period, but Jacob Markstrom put on a goaltending clinic to keep New Jersey in it. Unfortunately for the Devils though, a Mercer double-minor early in the second overtime gave the Hurricanes more than enough chances to end the game, and Aho did just that, securing the game and series-clinching goal on the power play. With that, the Hurricanes take the game by a score of 5-4 in overtime, and advance to the second round for the fifth straight season.
Aho sends Carolina to the next round!!
🎥TNT #RaiseUp pic.twitter.com/3fG8lqwE76
Howden’s OT winner puts Golden Knights win away from second round
Much like this series, the Vegas Golden Knights and Minnesota Wild had back-and-forth showing in Game 5. No better instance showcased this than the Wild’s early power play in the first period, as a poor pass from Kirill Kaprizov led to a shorthanded goal from William Karlsson, only for the Wild to go the other way and score on the power play 13 seconds later, courtesy of Kaprizov. Mark Stone scored later in the frame to take a 2-1 lead, and that held for the first two periods.
The third period came around and there was a new goalie in net for the Wild, as Filip Gustavsson was too sick to play. That meant that Marc-Andre Fleury had to come in, and that appeared to give Minnesota a bit more momentum, with Matt Boldy scoring 3:31 into the frame. That looked to continue in the final minutes when Ryan Hartman appeared to score the go-ahead goal, but it got turned back for offside. Instead, we needed overtime, and it only took four minutes before Brett Howden scored the deciding goal. With that, the Golden Knights win 3-2 in overtime and also take a 3-2 series lead, with the chance to win the series on Thursday in Minnesota.
BRETT HOWDEN WINS IT IN OT
🎥ESPN #VegasBorn pic.twitter.com/RCm2gmWCBN
Oilers outclass Kings despite strong showing from Kuemper
After two games of this series, it seemed almost impossible that the Edmonton Oilers could get back in this series. In fact, even the two wins they had in Game 3 and 4 favoured the Los Angeles Kings until they blew the leads in those games. And yet, the Oilers have managed to hang around in this series, and it’s something that the Kings will probably regret, especially when Game 5 was the best effort from Edmonton.
While the final scoreline of 3-1 doesn’t indicate it, the Oilers were all over the Kings, outshooting them 46-22, outchancing them 45-17, including an edge of 28-6 in high-danger chances, culminating in a 6.35-1.53 difference for expected goals. The Oilers hit a new gear in this game, and it paid off, giving them a chance to eliminate the Kings in the first round for the fourth straight season on Thursday.