After a lot of home team success through the first bunch of games of the playoffs, the road teams had the last laugh for Wednesday’s action, including a couple of clutch performances from experienced captains. Let’s look back at what happened here.
Marchand makes his presence known as Bruins take 2-1 series lead with 4-2 win
Whether you like him or not, Boston Bruins captain Brad Marchand knows how to frustrate players and fans, and makes it his mission to get in their heads. It’s been a part of his game since his first full season that saw him win a Stanley Cup, and it’s what’s made him such a valuable piece of the Bruins’ core, especially in the playoffs. Game 3 against the Toronto Maple Leafs was another excellent example why.
The first half of the game saw limited action, as both teams kept the chances low and the score at 0-0. The only noted difference was in the penalties, with the Leafs getting three power plays to the Bruins one, but neither team capitalized on their opportunities.
It wasn’t until later in the second period when the scoring opened up. Just after the 13-minute mark, Mitch Marner threw the puck towards the net, and Matthew Knies was there to bury it and give the Leafs a 1-0 lead. But just as it seemed like the Leafs were going to maintain momentum from Game 2, chaos ensued. Several plays occurred that probably could have been penalties for the Bruins (a couple initiated by Marchand, of course), and yet nothing was called while Trent Frederic skated into the Leafs zone, fired the puck on net, and scored in a fashion similar to Joe Nieuwendyk on Patrick Lalime in this very building 20 years ago.
That momentum for the Bruins carried into the third, as only 67 seconds into the period, Jake DeBrusk scored another power play goal to give the Bruins the lead. The Leafs upped the pressure for the next 10 minutes and got the response they needed with a similar goal to their first one, except this time it was Morgan Rielly throwing the puck on net and a deflection off of Tyler Bertuzzi and Hampus Lindholm getting the shot past Jeremy Swayman. The game was tied again and Scotiabank Arena was buzzing.
But, that’s when Marchand took over. He needed just 28 seconds after Bertuzzi’s tying goal to give the Bruins the lead, and suddenly Brad and the Big B’s were back in Toronto’s heads. The Leafs couldn’t muster up another tying goal, even taking a penalty late in the game, and Marchand topped off his excellent performance with the empty-net goal to give the Bruins the 4-2 win.
Marchand was the lone three-point player in the game, also registering an assist on DeBrusk’s goal, while Swayman stopped 22 of 24 shots in the win.
Golden Knights return to Vegas with 2-0 series lead after 3-1 Game 2 win
The Dallas Stars have got to be frustrated at this point. After a Conference Final run last season where they lose to the Cup-winning Vegas Golden Knights, they made a ton of savvy moves to make their team one of the deepest in hockey (without requiring long-term injured reserve), and they finish first in the Western Conference. Their reward: a rematch a Vegas team that is somehow even better and just got healthy.
You expected some sense of desperation from the Stars in this one, and it definitely showed. They outshot the Golden Knights 11-6 in the first period, and even managed to open the scoring with a power play marker from Jason Robertson. However, this trend of not being rewarded for good play continued for Dallas, as only 82 seconds later, Jonathan Marchessault tied the game.
And after that point, Vegas took control the game. They outshot the Stars 10-5 in both the second and third period, and if not for the play of Jake Oettinger, the game would have gotten out of hand really quick. The Dallas netminder stood on his head to keep the Stars in it, making a couple of excellent saves in the process.
But, Vegas’ pressure had to pay off eventually. They took the lead late in the second with a goal from Noah Hanifin, and then capped off the dominant 40 minutes with an empty net goal from Jack Eichel for the 3-1 win.
Marchessault and Eichel both had two points in the game by setting up each other’s goals, while we got quite the goalie duel with Logan Thompson stopping 20 of 21 shots for the Vegas win and Oettinger stopping 23 of 25 in the loss.
Kings stave off Oilers comeback as Kopitar’s OT winner ties series
Some already seemed ready to write off the Los Angeles Kings after what was basically a blowout for the Edmonton Oilers in Game 1, especially considering that in the past two years between these two teams, Game 1 was where L.A. caused trouble and made it a series. The Oilers made a statement, so would the Kings be able to reply?
To start the game, that answer looked like it was a yes. Adrian Kempe opened the scoring 3:19 into the game, and then gave the Kings a 2-0 lead with just over five minutes remaining in the first period. Brett Kulak responded a couple of minutes later to cut the Oilers’ deficit in half, but Drew Doughty made it a two-goal lead for L.A. again going into intermission with his first playoff goal since Game 1 of the 2014 Stanley Cup Final.
But the Oilers weren’t going away easily. Eight minutes into the second period, Dylan Holloway scored to make it a one-goal game again, and then Zach Hyman tied the game a few minutes later with his fourth in five periods. Kevin Fiala gave the Kings the lead again 1:46 into the third, but Holloway’s second of the game tied it again only a couple minutes after that. While the teams traded chances for most of the third, nothing got past either goalie, and we needed overtime.
Much like Tuesday’s overtime bout between the Florida Panthers and the Tampa Bay Lightning, this one didn’t need to much time to be decided. The Kings captain Anze Kopitar came up clutch only 2:06 into the extra frame, and Los Angeles had the series tied with the 5-4 overtime win.
Kempe and Holloway both had two goals for their respective teams, while Kopitar had the primary assists for both of Kempe’s goals to give him three points on the night.
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