Stanley Cup Playoffs Day 2: Two-goal games from Lowry and Connor give Jets win in high-scoring Game 1

The Lightning started to amp up the pressure a bit, but even then the Panthers kept the chances low. That great defensive play paid off for the Cats, as Matthew Tkachuk eventually secured the win with the empty net goal. Steven Stamkos got one back with eight seconds left, but it was far too late in the game to generate any kind of a comeback, and the Panthers took Game 1 by a score of 3-2. Tkachuk and Barkov both finished the night with two points for Florida, Stamkos had two for Tampa, and the 5v5 score-adjusted expected goals battle was tight and low scoring with a 2.29-2.28 advantage for Tampa.

Rangers’ second period flurry gives them 4-1 win over Caps

With the Washington Capitals barely sneaking into the playoffs this year and up against the Presidents’ Trophy-winning New York Rangers, nobody gave them a chance at winning this series, or even hanging around in it. But to start Game 1, they were keeping the game low-event, which may just be the only way they can beat this New York team. With the Rangers only having a 7-4 shot advantage and the game at a scoreless tie in the first, the Caps were off to a solid start.

The longer this tie went on, the greater the chance for the Caps to win it was, so the Rangers made sure to get rid of that opportunity in the second period. A few minutes into the frame, the floodgates opened. Matt Rempe got his first career playoff goal, Artemi Panarin scored 33 seconds later, and Jimmy Vesey would notch the Rangers third goal in just 2:06 to give the Rangers the 3-0 lead in the game. To make matters worse, a defense core that was already without Nick Jensen and Rasmus Sandin took another hit, with Vincent Iorio being at the wrong end of an awkward hit during the Panarin goal and leaving the game.

To add to the chaos, Martin Fehervary would score for the Caps only 1:08 later to get one goal back and make it 3-1, but the Rangers would shut down Washington after that. While they only finished the game with 2.14 5v5 SA xGs themselves, they held the Caps to 1.4 in the game, and a late Chris Kreider goal would seal the deal and give the Rangers the 4-1 win in Game 1. The Rangers fourth line of Rempe, Vesey and Barclay Goodrow combined for two goals and five points, while Igor Shesterkin was sturdy and stopped 20 of 21 shots for the win.

Jets stave off late Avs comeback in 7-6 barnburner

The bad news for the Winnipeg Jets is that Connor Hellebuyck, arguably their biggest x-factor to help them win their series against the Colorado Avalanche, allowed six goals in Game 1. The good news? Despite playing the Avs style instead of their own, the Jets managed to squeak out a 7-6 win and show that they’re going to be a tough out for a high-octane Colorado team. At least the Avs showed that they can score without Jonathan Drouin in the series.

The Avs came out of the gate flying, getting nine shots in the first five minutes of the game and then a minute after that, Valeri Nichushkin had the opening goal to give them a 1-0 lead. The Jets didn’t exactly respond with the same amount of pressure, but they managed to beat Alexandar Georgiev with ease as Josh Morrissey and Vladislav Namestnikov responded within the next six minutes to take their own lead. But just as the final quarter of the period was beginning, Miles Wood and Nathan MacKinnon scored for Colorado and Mark Scheifele scored for Winnipeg within 1:06 of each other, and despite the Avs almost doubling the Jets in shots 14-8, it was 3-3 at the end of the period.

The second period played a little bit more into the hands of the Jets style, with only one goal in the frame. Even better for Winnipeg, that goal went to the Jets, as captain Adam Lowry had a two-on-one and opted for the shot to take a 4-3 lead. Winnipeg built off of that in the third period, with Lowry’s second (that barely crossed the line and needed a review) and Kyle Connor’s first giving them a 6-3 lead, and Connor even responded to Artturi Lehkonen’s 6-4 goal with another one to make it 7-4.

But, the Avs wouldn’t go down without a fight. With 7:36 left in the game, Makar scored on a wrister from the point to cut into that lead, and after a ton of pressure for Hellebuyck, Casey Mittelstadt took a shot that needed a few bounces to beat the Jets’ netminder and make it a one-goal game with 30 seconds left. However, they wouldn’t get another chance, and 7-6 would hold for the final score. Scheifele and Connor had three points and Lowry had two goals for the Jets, Makar finished the night with three points for the Avs, and even while allowing six goals, Hellebuyck proved to be the difference maker by weathering the storm that was a dominant 3.09-1.36 5v5 SA xG performance from Colorado.

Canucks score two goals in 12 seconds in the third for a 4-2 Game 1 win

There was only one way the Nashville Predators were going to beat the Vancouver Canucks in this series, and that was to grind, shut down their offense, and frustrate them. That wasn’t exactly the Preds specialty with them being more of a chance-generating team, but it was the likeliest way, especially with one of the best goalies in the league in Juuse Saros behind them.

Through two periods, they managed to do just that. The first period saw the Preds keep the shots to just 6-4 in their favour, and then they also got the opening goal from Jason Zucker with four minutes left in the frame. Even when Elias Lindholm tied it for the Canucks just 47 seconds into the second, the Preds took the lead again halfway through the period courtesy of Ryan O’Reilly. With the shots only 14-12 for Vancouver after two, Nashville was giving the Canucks nothing to work with.

But, it was only a matter of time before the Canucks broke through. Pius Suter deflected a Quinn Hughes point shot to tie the game midway through the third period, and a great feed from Conor Garland behind the net set up Dakota Joshua for the go-ahead goal just 12 seconds later. Joshua would score his second into an empty net to secure the win, and the Canucks would escape Game 1 by a score of 4-2. Joshua would also be the lone multi-point player in the game with two goals and three points, and despite the Preds stifling play, the Canucks would also win the 5v5 SA xG battle 2.14-1.77.