Saturday night was a terrific night of playoff hockey. We got three overtimes, an epic battle between Toronto and Tampa, and nearly 8 hours of uninterrupted entertainment. Hoping for more of the same on Sunday, starting in just a few minutes.
CAROLINA AT NY ISLANDERS
1:00 PM
Carolina leads 2-1
Special teams has been Carolina’s edge, so the Islanders better stay out of the box. They’re better at evens anyway, with a 7-3 advantage in goals, but they’re depending a lot on finishing percentages — Ilya Sorokin is saving .964 during five-on-five. Carolina’s depleted forward are surely hurting them there.
BOSTON AT FLORIDA
3:30 PM
Boston leads 2-1
This has been a much closer series than I expected. The Panthers have controlled 55.1 percent of the expected goals during five-on-five play despite controlling only 48.2 percent of the raw shot attempts. The key to that shot quality is – surprising no one – Matthew Tkachuk. If anyone’s going to have a breakout game, it’s him. Meanwhile, the Bruins still miss Patrice Bergeron.
DALLAS AT MINNESOTA
6:30 PM
Minnesota leads 2-1
It’s been a challenging playoffs for goalie Jake Oettinger, who has given up at least three goals in each game he’s played. Beating him has been the critical factor for Dallas, especially defender Miro Heiskanen, who has had assists on five Stars goals. We don’t know yet if Joel Eriksson Ek will suit up for the Wild, but I doubt it.
EDMONTON AT LOS ANGELES
9 PM
LA leads 2-1
This has been a tight series, but I think Edmonton’s been a bit unlucky. Poor Connor McDavid is driving play, but his team has been outscored 3-0 when he’s on the ice during five-on-five – all his points have come during the power play. All things equal, I’d expect them to tie up the series today.
See you down in the comments.
