The anticipation is over for hockey fans as the Stanley Cup playoffs have finally arrived. It’s only the first round, but this playoff has already had exciting and unexpected moments.
The New York Rangers are off to a blazing start in their playoff journey, securing four victories against the 2018 Stanley Cup winners, the Washington Capitals. In a display of total dominance, they took the win over the Capitals in the first game with an incredible 4-1 victory. Despite the Capitals’ efforts to rally, the Rangers maintained their momentum, clinching another win in the second game with a close 4-3 scoreline. They would then dominate in the third game with a score of 3-1, and then they take the series in an intense fourth game. The final score was 4-2. The Rangers would then move onto facing the Carolina Hurricanes. They would dominate in the first game winning it 4-3. They would then go on to win the second game 4-3 in an intense double overtime. Game three wouldn’t be any different as they would win 3-2 in overtime.
Moving over to the sunny area of Los Angeles. The LA Kings are facing off against the famous Edmonton Oilers. In the first electrifying game, the Oilers came out strong scoring a shocking seven goals. The Kings would fall by three, leaving the final score 7-4. But, the Kings would bounce back with another high scoring game, beating the Oilers 5-4. The Oilers would then dominate in game three beating the Kings 6-1. They wouldn’t stop there as they would go on to beat them in game four, 1-0. The Oilers would then take the series in game five winning it 4-3. They would then advance to the second round of the playoffs and would go on to play against the Vancouver Canucks who would beat them 5-4. You can catch game two tonight at nine.
The 2023 Stanley Cup champions, the Las Vegas Golden Knights, are taking on the Dallas Stars. The Knights kicked off the series with a thrilling start winning their first game 4-3. They would then secure another victory against the Stars, leaving the final score 3-1. The Stars bounced back and won game three, 3-2 in overtime they tied the series in game four winning that game 4-2. The stars would then take the lead in the series in game five where they won 3-2 in a close and intense match. In game six the Golden Knights would keep their playoff hopes alive beating the stars 2-0 which would force this matchup to go to game seven. Game seven would be a competitive one as both teams would be tied up 1-1 going into the third period. But the stars would strike late and take the lead 2-1 which would send the the stars to the second round to face the Colorado Avalanche.
The Boston Bruins took on the Toronto Maple Leafs. In a series that gave us some thrilling hockey, The first game the Boston Bruins absolutely dominated against the Leafs, beating them 5-1 in an exciting match. The Maple Leafs wouldn’t let this loss affect them as they bounced back in a close game, and won 3-2. The Bruins would then come back, beating the Leafs 4-2. They would keep this streak going and win the next two games. The Bruins would have a 3-1 lead in the series but the Toronto Maple Leafs wouldn’t back down as they would win the next two games and tie up the series 3-3 which would send this series into game seven. Game seven would go into overtime and the Boston Bruins came out strong getting chance after chance until they capitalized on it and scored a goal that sent them to the second round where they would face the Florida Panthers.
The New York Islanders have been facing off against the Carolina Hurricanes. The Hurricanes have been a dominant force in this series as they beat the Islanders in a 4-1 series. Game one was a pretty close game, but Carolina would come out victorious and take the 3-1 victory. Game two was an interesting one as the Islanders came out strong scoring goal after goal but the Hurricanes would score an incredible four goals in the third period to make the score 5-3, and they would eventually take home the victory. They would then beat the Islanders again in game three, 3-0 but the Islanders would save their series in game four beating the hurricanes 3-2 in overtime. But the hurricanes would win in game five. Which would send them to the second round against the rangers where they are currently losing the series 0-3.
The Winnipeg Jets and the 2022 Stanley Cup champions, the Colorado Avalanche, have been facing off in a competitive series. Game one was a very high scoring game with a total of 13 goals scored throughout the game. The Jets would take the win though making the final score 7-6. The second game would go quite differently for the Jets as the Avalanche came out strong scoring five goals and winning the game 5-2. The Avalanche would then win again in game three, 6-2 in another high scoring game. Game four was no different as they would continue to dominate. The final score was 5-1. The Avalanche would then win in game five 6-3 in another high scoring game. The avalanche would go on to play the Dallas Stars.
The Florida Panthers are off to round two as they dominated in their series against the Tampa Bay Lightning. They would take the win in game one 3-2. They would then win in overtime 3-2. They would keep the streak going as they would dominate in game three winning the game 5-3. Tampa would manage to scrap together a win in game four but the Panthers would dominate in game five winning it 6-1. The Panthers would move onto the second round where they would play the Boston Bruins.
Vancouver Canucks are going up against the Nashville Predators. The Canucks would take an easy win in game one, beating the Predators 4-2. Nashville would bounce back in an impressive and dominating win against the Canucks. The final score of game two would be 4-2. The Canucks would brush the loss of their shoulder by winning game three 2-1. Game four would come down to overtime but the Canucks would take the win making the final score 4-3. The Canucks would win the series in game six 1-0 and they would move onto the second round to face the Oilers.
As we head into the second round of the Stanley Cup each game intensifies as each team shows why they deserve to be crowned Stanley Cup champions. You can catch these playoff games on ESPN and abc.
