On Monday, April 15, the Boston Bruins fell to the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-2 in game three of the Stanley Cup playoffs. There were no goals scored in the first period as neither team could figure a way past each others’ goalies. All of the scoring came in the second period, for the Maple Leafs left wing Trevor Moore, center Auston Matthews, and left wing Andreas Johnsson all picked up their first goals of the playoffs to help the Maple Leafs win the game. Center David Krejci picked up his first goal of the playoffs for the Bruins, while center Charlie Coyle grabbed his second of the playoffs, which was not enough to pick up a win.
On Wednesday, April 17, the Bruins evened up the series 2-2 with a 6-4 win against the Maple Leafs. Defenseman Charlie McAvoy got the Bruins going early, picking up his first goal of the series in a powerplay. Left wing Brad Marchand picked up his second goal of the series to give the Bruins a 2-0 lead. Center Zach Hyman for the Maple Leafs collected his first goal of the series and cut the Bruins lead to 2-1. In the second period, the Bruins took a 4-2 lead as right wing David Pastrnak scored two goals. Matthews scored his second goal of the series for the Maple Leafs in the second period. Zdeno Chara scored to open up the third period and to give the Bruins a 5-2 lead. Matthews and defenseman Travis Dermott both scored to cut the lead to 5-4. Left wing Joakim Nordstrom picked up an empty-net goal for the Bruins and won the game 6-4.
On Friday, April 19, the Bruins fell 2-1 in game five to the Maple Leafs. In the first and second period, there were no goals as both teams had opportunities to score but could not find the back of the nets. In the third period, Matthews scored his fourth of the series and the first goal of the game. Right wing Kasperi Kapanen scored the second goal for the Maple Leafs in the third period to give them a late 2-0 lead. Krejci scored with 44 seconds remaining to cut the lead to 2-1, but it was too late as Toronto took game five 2-1 and take the 3-2 series lead.
New York Islanders Sweep the Pittsburgh Penguins
On Sunday, April 14, the Islanders beat the Penguins 4-1 to take a 3-0 series lead. The Penguins scored first, with left wing Garrett Wilson collecting his first goal of the series. Islanders’ right wing Jordan Eberle tied the game up less than 30 seconds later, which was his third goal of the series. Center Brock Nelson picked up his second goal of the series and gave the Islanders the lead going into the second period. In the third period, centers Leo Komarov and Anders Lee both collected their first goals of the series and help the Islanders win 4-1.
On Tuesday, April 16, the Islanders picked up a 3-1 win and swept Pittsburgh 4-0 in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Center Jake Guentzel got the Penguins going 35 seconds into the game picking up his first goal of the playoffs. Eberle tied the game up, collecting his fourth goal in four games. Nelson gave the Islanders a 2-1 lead when scoring his third goal of the series with two minutes left in the first period. The game stayed 2-1 until center Josh Bailey of the Islanders scored his third goal, which would ultimately be the final dagger to end the Penguins playoff hopes. The Islanders won the series 4-0 and will play the winner of Washington and Carolina.
Capitals Lead the Hurricanes 3-2
On Monday, April 15, the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Washington Capitals 5-0 and closed the series gap to 2-1. Left wing Warren Foegele and defenseman Dougie Hamilton both scored two goals for the Hurricanes. Left wing Brock McGinn also collected his first goal of the series to help the Hurricanes win 5-0.
On Thursday, April 18, the Hurricanes evened up the series 2-2 beating the Capitals 2-1. Foegele collected his third goal of the series and first of the game for the Hurricanes. Left wing and captain Alex Ovechkin scored the lone goal for the Capitals, which was his second of the series. Center Teuvo Teravainen scored the game-winner for the Hurricanes with 30 seconds to go in the second period. The Hurricanes went on to win 2-1 and have tied the series 2-2.
On Saturday, April 20, the Capitals shutout the Hurricanes 6-0 to take a 3-2 series lead. Center Nicklas Backstrom collected two goals which were his fourth and fifth scores of the series. Right wing Brett Connolly and center Nic Dowd each scored their first goal of the series. Ovechkin scored his third of the series and right wing Tom Wilson scored his second of the series. The Capitals won 6-0 to take the series lead 3-2 against the Hurricanes.
Columbus Sweeps the Lightning 4-0
On Sunday, April 14, the Columbus Blue Jackets beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-1 to take a 3-0 series lead. There were no goals in the first period as neither team could get one by either goaltender. Center Matt Duchene opened up the scoring in the second period collecting his second goal of the series. Right wing Oliver Bjorkstrand added to the Blue Jackets lead, scoring on the powerplay and collecting his first goal of the series. Left wing Ondrej Palat for the Lightning cut the lead to 2-1 five minutes into the third period. Right wing Cam Atkinson scored his second goal of the series for the Blue Jackets, ending the contest.
On Tuesday, April 16, the Blue Jackets swept the top ranked Tampa Bay Lightning beating them 7-3 in game four. In the first period center Alex Texier and left wing Pierre-Luc Dubois both scored for the Blue Jackets to give them the 2-0 lead. Lightning captain, center Steven Stamkos, collected his first goal of the series and cut the lead to 2-1. Defenseman Seth Jones and Bjorkstrand both picked up goals in the second period for Columbus. Centers Cedric Paquette and Brayden Point both collected goals in the second period for the Lightning cutting the lead to 4-3 going into the third period. In the third period, Texier collected his second goal of the game, left wing Artemi Panarin picked up a goal, and Duchene scored his third goal of the series and closed out the game 7-3. The Blue Jackets will play the winner of the Toronto and Boston series.
