Two huge upsets are now nearly complete in the east and two series continue to tighten in the west. Lets check out the chaos that was Sunday night.
New York Islanders 4, Pittsburgh Penguins 1
New York leads series 3-0
- The Penguins now trail 3-0 in a series for the first time since 2013 when they were swept by the Boston Bruins.
- The Islanders now hold a 3-0 lead in a series for the 10th time in franchise history and the first since 1983, when they swept Wayne Gretzky‘s Oilers in the Cup Final.
- Jordan Eberle has scored in all three games to open the postseason, becoming just the second Islanders player in franchise history to score in each of his first three postseason games with the club (Ray Ferraro, 1993).
Columbus Blue Jackets 3, Tampa Bay Lightning 1
Columbus leads series 3-0
- For the first time this season, the Tampa Bay Lightning have lost 3 games in a row. What a time to do it.
- For the first time in franchise history, the Columbus Blue Jackets have won 3 playoff games in one postseason.
- The Lightning are now just the second team in NHL history to win the Presidents’ Trophy and lose the first three games of their first round series. No Presidents’ Trophy winner has ever been swept in the first round, as the 2012 Vancouver Canucks won Game Four before falling in five games to the eventual Cup champion Los Angeles Kings.
Winnipeg Jets 6, St Louis Blues 3
St Louis leads series 2-1
- Patrik Laine is the first player in Jets/Atlanta Thrashers franchise history to score in each of the team’s first three games to begin a playoff campaign.
- The Jets scored six goals in a road playoff game for the second time in franchise history. The other was Game Five of the 2018 Second Round.
- Kyle Connor led the way for the Jets with two goals in the game.
Vegas Golden Knights 6, San Jose Sharks 3
Vegas leads series 2-1
- Mark Stone‘s goal 16 seconds into Game Three was the fastest goal to start a playoff game since San Jose’s Joe Pavelski scored 15 seconds into Game Four of the 2017 First Round.
- Martin Jones has let up 11 goals in 6 periods and 7 minutes in the first 3 games. That is not good.
- The Sharks gave up a goal within the first 36 seconds of each period in this game. That will crush a team.
Headline photo: Joe Sargent
