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The Colorado Avalanche are headed to Western Conference Finals

Written by SFDI on May 31, 2022. Posted in Blog. Leave a Comment

By Neil Becker

This Colorado Avalanche are on a mission.

Playing a resilient St. Louis Blues team in the best of seven Western Conference semi-finals, Colorado needed six games before accomplishing something they haven’t done since 2002 which is advancing to the third round.

Colorado, who last year lost in the second round in six games to the Vegas Golden Knights, and the year before in seven to the Dallas Stars were determined this spring to finally clear that hurdle and challenge for the Stanley Cup.

Coming off a solid regular season which saw them finish second overall and first in the Central Division with 119 points, this power house team were definitely among the favorites and for good reason to prevent the back-to-back champions Tampa Bay Lightning from winning a third straight cup.

All through the line-up Colorado has some dangerous scorers in the likes of forwards Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen, Gabriel Landeskog, Nazem Kadri and defenceman Cale Makar to name a few. They also have some underrated shut down defenceman and solid goaltending in Darcy Kuemper.

The playoff journey this spring started off well for the Avalanche who completed a four game first round sweep against the Nashville Predators. For a fourth straight year the Avalanche made it to the second round.

Ironically enough the Avalanche ended up playing the Blues who they swept last spring in the first round.

In the series opener Colorado badly outshot the Blues by a 54-25 margin but needed overtime to pull out a 3-2 win. The Avalanche who were facing a red hot Blues goalie in Jordan Binnington, scored the overtime winner on a shot from defenceman Josh Manson at the 8:02 mark.

In Game 2, Binnington was once again clutch as he made 30 saves in helping the Blues get that much desired split with a 4-1 win at Ball Arena to even up the series heading home.

St. Louis jumped out to a 2-0 second period lead on goals from Kyrou and a power play tally from David Perron. Colorado scored an early third period power play goal from Landeskog before the Blues responded with consecutive goals from Perron with his second followed at the 18:10 mark by an empty netter from Brandon Saad to clinch the win.

When the series shifted to Enterprise Center for Game 3, Avalanche forward Nazem Kadri found himself in the center of controversy when during the first period of a 5-2 Avs win, he cut in on the Blues net and collided hard with Binnington. Binnington had to leave the game and was replaced by backup Ville Husso.

Kadri, who had a goal and two points in the win, received all sorts of threats after the game and police became involved. During this crucial third game Colorado had a 3-2 lead after two periods. In the third, they took control as Landeskog scored a big insurance marker and with less than a minute remaining in regulation Artturi Lehkonen scored the fifth goal into an empty net.

Showcasing his elite offensive talents in Game 4 was Kadri who in front of the Enterprise Center fans scored three goals and four points in leading the Avs to a 6-3 win and a commanding 3-1 series lead.

Once again Husso was in the Blues net. Husso, who two nights earlier made 19 saves followed that up with a 31 save performance in a 6-3 Avalanche win.

Colorado found themselves trailing 1-0 early in the second before they erupted for four goals in less than a five minute span from defenceman Erik Johnson. Kadri with two and defenceman Devon Toews which was the eventual turning point. Now they were in full control with a 3-1 series lead heading back home.

Looking to quickly wrap up the series Colorado couldn’t have asked for a better Game 5 start. In a game they would eventually lose 5-4 in overtime, the Avalanche got off to a strong start as they scored two first period goals from Nathan MacKinnon followed by an early third period tally from Landeskog for a 3-0 lead.

Fighting to keep their season alive St. Louis started a big comeback as Vladimir Tarasenko scored scored their first goal which was followed in the third by goals from Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou which with less than five minutes remaining made it a 3-3 game.

MacKinnon would complete the hattrick before Thomas with 56 seconds left in regulation scored his second of the period to force overtime where at the 3:38 mark, Blues Tyler Bozak scored in what was a season saving 5-4 win.

Back in St. Louis Game 6 was tied at 2-2 when with seconds remaining in regulation the Blues suffered tremendous heartbreak. With only six seconds left Avalanche forward Darren Helm scored his first playoff goal of the spring which turned out to be the series winner.

Hockey fans from coast-to-coast will be treated to an unbelievable Western Conference finals between the Avalanche and Edmonton Oilers.

Game 1 gets under way at Ball Arena with opening face-off scheduled for 8 p.m.

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The Battle of Alberta series living up to its hype

Written by SFDI on May 24, 2022. Posted in Blog. Leave a Comment

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By Neil Becker

This latest installment of the Battle of Alberta is quickly heating up.

For the first time since 1991, Alberta hockey fans have gotten their wish of watching a playoff series featuring the Edmonton Oilers going up against the Calgary Flames in what is famously referred to as ‘The Battle of Alberta.’

The Flames, who finished finished first in the Pacific Division with 111 points needed a full seven games in defeating the Dallas Stars in first round playoff action while the Oilers who placed second with 104 points also needed seven games to beat the Los Angeles Kings.

As a result, hockey fans from coast -to- coast have gotten the anticipated dream matchup in what is the sixth installment of The ‘Battle of Alberta’.

Back in the 1980’s which was the height of their great playoff rivalry, fans watched some fast paced firewagon hockey involving great talents such as Oilers Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier and goalie Grant Fuhr to name a few. Meanwhile the Flames had some big guns such as defenceman Al MacInnis, forwards Joe Nieuwendyk, Gary Roberts, Doug Gilmour and goalie Mike Vernon to made their mark.

These two teams had the entire hockey world in awe when they played some historic playoff rounds in 1983 (Oilers won Smythe Division Finals 4-1), 1984 (Oilers won Smythe Division Finals 4-3), 1986 (Flames win Smythe Division Finals 4-3), 1988 (Oilers won Smythe Division Finals 4-0) and 1991 (Oilers won Smythe Division Finals 4-3).

Naturally through the course of time, the names of players who participated have changed.

Since their last playoff series was in 1991, an entire new generation of hockey fans who have never seen such talents as Messier, Gretzky or Robers and Nieuwendyk, have been getting their first taste of what this rivalry is all about.

So far, in a Western Conference best of seven second round series which has the Oilers winning 2-1, the hype has definitely met expectations.

On Sunday night at a sold out Rogers Place, Oilers forward Evander Kane had quite the night as he continued his strong playoff run with a Western Conference second round Game 3 natural hattrick in a 4-1 win against the Flames. Kane, who joined the Oilers in January, scored his three goals in a six minute span during the second period.

Also having solid games were the Oilers two big guns in forwards Leon Draisaitl who had four assist and was a +4 along with captain and league leading scorer Connor McDavid who totaled three assist and was also a +4. Draisaitl, who is more of a shooter set a playoff record with four assist in a period.

After a shaky start to the series, Oilers netminder Mike Smith has continued to be clutch with his latest accomplishment being Sunday’s 32 save performance.

This year’s Battle of Alberta Game 1 opener resembled the high scoring fire wagon hockey played in the 1980’s.

In what was an absolute wild playoff opener, the Flames marched out to a 3-0 lead and at one point had a four goal cushion and though it wasn’t pretty held poon at he end for a 9-6 Game 1 win.

Making his mark in the series opener was Flames forward Matthew Tkachuk who electrified the Scotiabank Saddledome fanbase by scoring a hattrick.

Other Game 1 Calgary stars included defenceman Rasmus Andersson, forwards Andrew Mangiapane and Johnny Gaudreau who all had three point performances.

To no surprise McDavid led the Oilers offence with four points followed by Draisaitl who notched three along with Zach Hyman, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Kailer Yamamoto who had two point games.

To say it wasn’t a great performance from the goaltenders would be an understatement. Smith allowed 3 goals on 10 shots before being chased out of the Oilers net for backup Mikko Koskinen.

Meanwhile Calgary goaltender Jacob Markstrom, who is an elite player allowed 6 goals on 28 shots.

Edmonton quickly seized momentum when two nights later in Game 2, they shocked the Scotiabank Saddledome by capitalizing on a couple of third period breakaways as they evened their best of seven series with a 5-3 win.

Game 2 didn’t start off well for the Oilers as Calgary once again took a 2-0 first period lead. However this time, Edmonton was able to rebound and got those two third period breakaway goals from Zach Hyman and Draisaitl to clinch the win.

The Game 2 Oilers scoring leaders were both Draisaitl and defenceman Ducan Keith who had a goal and three points followed by McDavid who scored a goal in a two point game. Leading the Flames offensive chart was Gaudreau who had a two point performance.

Leaf fans had to be flinching in Game 2 when forward and former Leaf Hyman scored what was a highlight reel shorthanded third period goal which stood up as the winner.

This series which has a good chance of going the distance has been full of intensity, some solid saves and highlight reel goals.

These two teams will drop the puck for Game 4 once again at Rogers Place on Tuesday night at 9:30 p.m.

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Tampa Bay Lightning sweep Florida Panthers in Eastern Conference semi-finals

Written by SFDI on May 23, 2022. Posted in Blog. Leave a Comment

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Make no mistake the back-to-back Stanley Cup champions Tampa Bay Lightning are hungry for a third.

After surviving a first round playoff scare against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Tampa Bay, made a strong statement by completing a four game Eastern Conference semi-finals sweep against the Presidents’ Trophy winners Florida Panthers.

The Panthers, who finished with 122 points, made some key trade deadline additions in acquiring veteran forward Claude Giroux, along with defenceman Robert Hagg and Ben Chiarot knowing that to win the cup they would more than likely have to go through the Lightning.

Florida, who last year in first round action were eliminated in six by Tampa Bay felt confident heading into what would be the second ever playoff series between these two Sunshine State rivals.

This time around Florida were facing a Lightning team coming off a taxing seven game first round series win against Toronto and who lost key forward Brayden Point.

Tampa, who had a 110 point season proved once again that you can never count out the back-to-back Stanley Cup champs

Falling victim to the Presidents’ Trophy curse, the Panthers are the fourth team in the past five years to be eliminated in the second round.

Following this shocking sweep, Tampa Bay joined some elite company as they join the Montreal Canadiens and New York Islanders as the only three teams to win 10 straight playoff series.

Currently they are on the verge of accomplishing something really special as they are only eight wins away from becoming the first team since the New York Islanders to win three straight Stanley Cups.

The Islanders won four straight from 1980 to 1983, while the Montreal Canadiens prior the Islanders dynasty, won four straight Stanley Stanley Cups from 1976 until 1980 where they dominated the NHL.

The Eastern Conference semi-finals began in Fort. Lauderdale at FLA Live Arena where in the opener Tampa Bay forwards Nikita Kucherov and Corey Perry led the way with a goal and two points apiece as they defeated Florida by a 4-1 score.

Vasilevskiy was solid as he made 33 saves in getting the win. Meanwhile Panthers netminder Sergei Bobrovsky who is trying to prove that he can be a money goalie, had a 32 save performance.

From that point Tampa Bay continued to roll as they went on to take Game 2 by a 2-1 score followed by a 5-1 win and a series clinching 2-0 Game 4 win to complete the Sunshine State series sweep and advance to the Eastern Conference Finals.

A major reason why the Lightning completed the four game sweep was the superior play of goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy. As every hockey fan knows, a team must have clutch goaltending if they are to win the Stanley Cup and Vasilevskiy was definitely clutch as he made 49 saves on Monday night to hold off the desperate Panthers and earn the shutout.

Game 4 was scoreless after two periods until Tampa got two third period goals from forwards Pat Maroon and with 23 seconds remaining Ondrej Palat into an open net to ice the series sweep.

Since Game 6 of the first round series against the Leafs, Vasilevskiy has gotten better and better as he has won six straight playoff games.

Affectionately known as “Big Cat,” this 27 year-old who is still very much in his prime has already won 57 playoff games which has him ranked 17th on the all-time list in a tie with Turk Broda.

Meanwhile the Panthers, who in first round action needed six games to defeat the Washington Capitals were outscored 13-3 against the Lightning. The Panthers were never shut out this season until Game 4 against Tampa Bay.

As already mentioned, this is the second year in a row that Tampa Bay have come out victorious in a Sunshine State playoff series.

Now it’s time for Tampa Bay to play the waiting game as they wait to see if they will be playing the New York Rangers or Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference finals.

Currently the Hurricanes and Rangers are tied 2-2 in their best of seven series.

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The Toronto Maple Leafs suffer heartbreaking Game 7 loss

Written by SFDI on May 15, 2022. Posted in Blog. Leave a Comment

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By Neil Becker

The Toronto Maple Leafs quest for a long playoff run has come to an end.

Coming off a record breaking season which saw them set franchise records with 54 wins and 115 points, this was the spring where the Leafs were looking to make a Stanley Cup run.

Heading into playoffs, this was a determined team who despite not winning a playoff rebound since 2004, still had confidence and high expectations.

As expected it was a close Eastern Conference first round best of seven series between two evenly matched teams in the Leafs and back-to-back defending Stanley Cup champions Tampa Bay Lightning.

Toronto had a chance to close out their series on Thursday in Game 6 at Amalie Arena but ended up losing a 4-3 overtime thriller which brought the series back to Scotiabank Arena for a deciding Game 7.

Looking to avoid another disappointing Game 7 loss on home ice, the Leafs on Saturday night couldn’t get the job done as their playoff run came to an end following a heartbreaking 2-1 loss.

Leafs fans might remember all to well last year when they couldn’t close out a 3-1 best of seven first round series lead against the Montreal Canadiens and ended up losing at Scotiabank Arena in seven.

On this Saturday night both goalies played well. Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy was solid in a 30 save performance while Leafs goalie Jack Campbell also was sharp as he stood tall in stopping 23 shots.

In showing how much playoffs mean to players, a perfect example came late in the first period when Lightning forward Brayden Point went awkwardly into the boards and was shaken up. This event which happened with less than three minutes left, saw him getting helped off the ice. It looked for certain that he wouldn’t be back, but then there he was skating out in tremendous pain with teammates to begin the second. He took one shift and was in tremendous pain. Point, who two days earlier scored he Game 6 winner, refused to go to the dressing room for treatment. Instead he remained for the second and third periods on the bench giving his teammates moral support.

The Game 7 scoring hero for Tampa turned out not to be their stars such as Steve Stamkos, Nikita Kucherov or Victor Hedman. Instead it was fourth liner Nick Paul who had the game of his life.

Paul, who was traded on March 20, 2022 from the Ottawa Senators to the Lightning scored what were the first two playoff goals of his career.

His first, which came with under two minutes remaining in the first occurred when he backhanded a rebound from a Ross Colton shot past Campbell for that all important 1-0 Lightning lead.

Scotiabank Arena fans had reason to get loud when at the 13:25 mark defenceman Morgan Rielly released an accurate shot from the right circle which went in on Vasilevskiy’s glove hand side to make it a brand new game.

This Leafs goal came shortly after Leafs captain John Tavares thought he tied things up only to have the goal waived off due to a Leafs penalty.

A little over three minutes later Tampa scored what turned out to be the winning goal on an individual highlight-reel play by Paul. On a night he will always remember, this skilled forward kicked the puck with his skate to his stick before skating in and scoring the series winning goal blocker side on Campbell.

Looking at from an optimist point of view, the Leafs took the back-to-back defending Stanley Cup champions to a deciding game. However the bottom line is that they had two chances and just couldn’t close things out.

SCORING SUMMARY

1st Period TB – TOR

8:24 Nick Paul (1) 1 – 0

Ross Colton (2), Cal Foote (2)

2nd Period TB – TOR

3:25 Morgan Rielly (3) 1 – 1

Auston Matthews (5), Mitch Marner (6)

6:32 Nick Paul (2) 2 – 1

3rd Period (no scoring)

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Tampa Bay Lightning force a seventh and deciding game

Written by SFDI on May 13, 2022. Posted in Blog. Leave a Comment

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By Neil Becker

The Toronto Maple Leafs were approximately 10:40 away from achieving something they haven’t done in 18 years.

On Thursday night at Amalie Arena, the Leafs were defeating the back-to-back defending Stanley Cup champions Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2 in the third period as they were only 20 minutes away from closing out their best of seven first round series in six.

Suddenly, at the 9:20 mark, Amalie Arena was rocking as Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov on the power play scored his second playoff goal of the spring to eventually force a Game 6 overtime.

Toronto had some great overtime opportunities to end the series, but it was the Lightning who avoided elimination as Brayden Point scored his second playoff goal at the 18:04 mark to force a series deciding Game 7 back at Scotiabank Arena.

It was a painful night for Leafs fans as they were so close to advancing for the first time since 2004 into the second round.

Meanwhile in what is definitely an amazing streak of consistency the Lightning have now improved their record to 17-0 after dropping a playoff game. They haven’t lost two or more consecutive playoff games since 2019 when they were swept by the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Tampa Bay got that critical opening goal which came off a rare mistake by Leafs forward Alex Kerfoot. Skating up ice in what was a 4 on 4 situation, he tried a neutral zone back pass to defenceman T.J. Brodie which didn’t connect. The Lightning quickly pounced on the mistake as forward Ondrej Palat picked up the lose puck before skating in on the Leafs goal and scoring at 17:38 of the first for a 1-0 Lightning lead.

That lead got even bigger when at the 10:46 mark of the second period, Lightning forward Anthony Cirelli executed a highlight reel spinarama play to score a shorthanded goal to give them a two- goal lead.

Less than a minute later Toronto cut the deficit to one when off an offensive zone face-off defeneman Mark Giordano unleashed a shot which was deflected by Auston Matthews for his fourth playoff goal.

Late in the second period, Leafs captain John Tavares who had been criticized for his lack of offensive production picked the right time to get hot as he scored two goals in the final minute which put Toronto ahead 3-2 heading to the third.

Both teams had some golden opportunities in the third, but again it was Tampa who were rewarded as Kucherov scored that huge power-play goal to force overtime.

Tampa Bay goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy was money in the overtime and eventually at 18:04 of overtime, another Tampa Bay hero emerged as Point scored that winner to force a series deciding Game 7 back in Toronto.

These two teams will play Game 7 on Saturday night with a 7 p.m. opening face-off at Scotiabank Arena.

SCORING SUMMARY

1st Period TOR- TB

17:38 Ondrej Palat (3) 0 – 2

2nd Period TOR – TB

10:46 SHG- Anthony Cirelli (1) 0 – 2

11:40 Auston Matthews (4) 1 – 2

Mark Giordano (2), William Nylander (3)

19:26 John Tavares (2) 2 – 2

Jason Spezza (1), Ondrej Kase (3)

19:52 John Tavares (3) 3 – 2

William Nylander (4), Alex Kerfoot (1)

3rd Period TOR – TB

9:20 PPG- Nikita Kucherov (2) 3 – 3

Brayden Point (2), Steve Stamkos (2)

OT Period TOR – TB

18:04 Brayden Point (2) 3 – 4

Alex Killorn (4), Brandon Hagel (3)

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Author: SFDI

The Colorado Avalanche are headed to Western Conference Finals

The Battle of Alberta series living up to its hype

Tampa Bay Lightning sweep Florida Panthers in Eastern Conference semi-finals

The Toronto Maple Leafs suffer heartbreaking Game 7 loss

Tampa Bay Lightning force a seventh and deciding game