Welcome to the Stanley Cup Playoffs Buzz, an in-depth daily view of the NHL 2022 postseason. There are two playoff games scheduled for Tuesday, the 23rd day of the postseason.
To the touch
There are two games on the Stanley Cup playoff schedule for Tuesday:
Carolina Hurricanes at the New York Rangers (19:00 ET; ESPN, SNE, SNO, SNP, TVAS)
The Rangers will try to win their second straight round at Madison Square Garden and even the best-of-7 series in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Second Round. The Hurricanes (2.44 goals per game) and the Rangers (2.49) were the NHL’s poorest defensive teams in the regular season, so it should come as no surprise that goals have been very important in this series. After Carolina won 2-1 in Game 1 and 2-0 in the second game at home, New York responded with a 3-1 victory in Game 3 at home. Games 2 and 3 ended with goals on the empty net, so each game in the series was decided essentially by one goal. Carolina will try to win their first home game in the Stanley Cup playoffs (0-4).
Calgary Flames at Edmonton Oilers (9:30 p.m. ET; ESPN, CBC, SN, TVAS)
The Flames hope to contain Connor McDavid as they try to match the series in Game 4 of the Second Round of the Western Conference. The Oilers center-back leads the playoffs with 23 points (six goals, 17 assists) in 10 games, including nine points (two goals, seven assists) against the Flames. He has been at his best, rushing through the ice in a hurry, protecting the puck in the offensive zone and getting stuck around the net. That helped Edmonton score 15 goals against a Calgary team that finished third in the NHL in goals against (2.51 per game) in the regular season. McDavid has had several points in each playoff game minus one.
What we have learned
The lightning strikes again
The Tampa Bay Lightning once again showed how to find ways to win their 2-0 win over the Florida Panthers in Game 4 of the second round of the Eastern Conference on Monday. Three of the top four games in the series were tied in the third period and Lightning won them all. Of course, Andrei Vasilevskiy made 49 saves for his NHL record for his sixth close of the series was a big part of Monday’s win. But Tampa Bay also had to score two apparent goals that were disallowed after the video was reviewed in the second period before Pat Maroon hit one in which he scored 6:16 in the third for the first goal of the season. party. Ondrej Palat scored an empty net goal with 23 seconds left to seal Lightning’s third consecutive trip in the third round and the 10th consecutive series victory in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. With eight more wins this postseason, they will be the first team to win the Stanley Cup in three consecutive seasons since the New York Islanders’ four-game series in a row between 1980 and 83. – Tom Gulitti, staff writer
Thornton could have played the last game of the NHL
Joe Thornton could have played his last NHL game in the Panthers’ 2-0 loss on Monday. Looking for a spark in the playoffs, Panthers coach Andrew Brunette used the 42-year-old for the first time in the playoffs. Thornton was minus-1 in 6:18 of ice time. He has an expiring contract and it is unknown if he will have another chance at the Stanley Cup that has eluded him during his 19 NHL seasons with the Boston Bruins, San Jose Sharks, Toronto Maple Leafs and Panthers. Thornton is sixth in NHL history in games played (1,714), seventh in assists (1,109) and 12th in points (1,539) in the regular season and looks set to be the Hockey Hall of Fame. – Nicholas J. Cotsonika, columnist
Avalanche to a victory to advance
The Colorado Avalanche are one victory away from advancing to the Western Conference Finals for the first time since 2001-02, following a 6-3 victory over the St. Louis Avalanche. Louis Blues in Monday’s fourth game at the Enterprise Center. Avalanche dominated the 5-on-5 against the Blues and received a hat trick from Nazem Kadri. “I loved our 5-on-5 game,” coach Jared Bednar said. “Since the fall of the record, we did a great first period, a great second period. In the same way, it was a great team match of ours. ” Avalanche, who maintained a 37-20 lead on goal shots, remain the only undefeated team on the road (4-0) in the Stanley Cup playoffs. – Mike G. Morreale, staff writer
The dilemma of the goalkeeper of the blues
Ville Husso allowed five goals in 36 shots in a 6-3 loss in his first outing since he was replaced by Jordan Binnington for Game 4 of the first round against the Minnesota Wild. Binnington, who suffered a lower body injury in the first period of a 5-2 loss in Game 3 on Saturday, is out for the rest of the series in the best of 7, in which the Blues go losing 3-1. Husso looked confident with 15 stops on 15 shots in the first period on Monday, but allowed four goals on 13 shots in the second. He is 1-4 with an average of 3.76 goals against and a savings rate of .884 in five playoff games (four starters). St. Louis could consider starting goalkeeper Charlie Lindgren, who retired from the American Hockey League in Springfield on Sunday, in the fifth game. The 28-year-old, who was 5-0-0 with a GAA of 1.22 and a savings rate of 0.958 in five years. matches during the regular season, he has never played a game in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. – Morreale
About Last night
Tampa Bay Lightning 2, Florida Panthers 0
The two-time Stanley Cup defenders swept the Presidents Trophy winners and won their tenth consecutive series, joining the New York Islanders (19, 1980-84) and the Montreal Canadiens (13, 1975-80; 10, 1955-1960) as the only teams to have won 10 or more consecutive postseason series. Vasilevsky made 49 stops for his sixth goal in a series win, the highest in NHL history, and Maroon and Palat scored for Tampa Bay. Florida was closed for the first time this season. After scoring 337 goals in the regular season, the highest since the Pittsburgh Penguins scored 362 in 1995-96, the Panthers scored three goals in four games against the Lightning.
Colorado Avalanche 6, St. Louis Blues 3
Kadri did a hat trick and an assist for the Avalanche, who advanced 3-1 in the series to the best of 7. Kadri said he wanted to make his mark on Game 4 after receiving taunts and threats from fans. after the third game, when he and Blues defender Calle Rosen collided with Binnington, who suffered a lower body injury that will keep him out for the rest of the series. . Kadri made it 4-1 with a 5-on-3 power-play in the second period after Pavel Buchnevich (later) and David Perron (cross) made a penalty to go behind Kadri in the same play. Erik Johnson, Devon Toews and Mikko Rantanen also scored for Colorado, and Darcy Kuemper made 17 saves. Perron scored twice, Buchnevich scored and Husso made 31 saves for St. Louis. Louis.