Stanley Cup Playoffs Day 1: Jets, Avalanche take series lead during opening day
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 Cup is hoisted in June.
Connor scores Game 1 winner with 96 seconds left
A lot has been made of the Winnipeg Jets’ struggles in the playoffs. Even with a Presidents’ Trophy win this season, there was plenty of concern about how they’d fare against the playoffs, and even if the St. Louis Blues could give them a scare. The Blues certainly did their best to give them a scare in Game 1, as Robert Thomas got them the game’s first goal in the opening frame, and after two periods of play, St. Louis had a 3-2 lead.
But the Jets weren’t going to go down that easily. Alex Iafallo tied the game midway through the third period, and then with 96 seconds left in the game, Connor buried the game-winning goal on a one-timer, and the comeback was complete. Adam Lowry secured the win with the empty netter, and the Jets took the game by a score of 5-3. Connor and Mark Scheifele led the way offensively, as both star forwards finished the night with a goal and two assists.
🚨KYLE CONNOR PUTS THE JETS UP BY ONE🚨
🎥: Sportsnet | #GoJetsGo pic.twitter.com/1tI2XcnrVB
MacKinnon scores twice as Avs win 5-1
There was plenty of concerns about the hopes of a deep playoff run for the Dallas Stars with the injuries to Miro Heiskanen and Jason Robertson, and Game 1 against the Colorado Avalanche more than justified those concerns. The Stars managed to keep the game scoreless for the first half of the game, but the Avs got two in the second half of the second frame, including a weird, yet legal kick-in goal from Artturi Lehkonen to open the scoring.
Did Artturi Lehkonen use a kicking motion on this goal?
🎥: TNT pic.twitter.com/cf4dqcftBV
The Stars made it a one-goal game again thanks to a deflection from Roope Hintz, but a Devon Toews goal was the nail in the coffin, along with a couple of garbage-time goals, to give the Avalanche the 5-1 win. Nathan MacKinnon got two goals and three points in the game, while Blackwood stopped 23 of 24 shots to get his first playoff win in his first playoff game.