There is not much time to rest after the end of an exciting first round, as the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs begins Saturday night as the Dallas Stars take over the Colorado Avalanche. The last time we saw these teams, they each dropped seven goals on their opponents, the Avalanche beat the Arizona Coyotes and the Stars extinguished the Calgary Flames. These two teams are loaded with star power, and this can be an exciting series to watch.
Meanwhile, the Montreal Canadiens and St. Louis Blues on their way out of the bubble after losing Game 6 on Friday. But no worries, Blues, we can play “Gloria” around the old days.
Watch ESPN NHL Playoffs Today Every day from the postseason until the Stanley Cup in October.
Saturday’s game
Game 1: No. 2 Colorado Avalanche vs. No. 3 Dallas Stars | 8 pm ET
The Stars have been out of action against the Avalanche in the regular season, but a lot has changed since then. This postseason, the Avalanche have scored 3.88 goals per game and conceded a miniscule 1.63 goals, both league games. Hart Trophy finalist Nathan MacKinnon is tied for the league lead with 13 playoff points, but Stars defender Miro Heiskanen is right behind him with 12. At Heiskanen, Stars coach Rick Bowness said, “Every important situation, he wants to be there, he wants to take the lead from the game. “Pavel Francouz sat in the net for an Avalanche win against the Stars in the round robin, but Philipp Grubauer started every game in the series against Coyotes, sports a .953 savings percentage.
Laws of the day
Stars-Avalanche under 5.5 goals (minus -130). The Avalanche and Stars have been available five times this season, four times in the regular season and once in the round robin. All five games have gone under.
About last night …
Philadelphia Flyers 3, Montreal Canadiens 2 (PHI wins 4-2)
For the first time since 2012, the Flyers advance to the second round. They ran 28 seconds into the game ahead of Ivan Provorov’s goal and never looked back, despite Montreal’s – and Nick Suzuki’s in particular – best efforts. The story here is that the Flyers were 33-17 in the game, and 13-5 in the third period, but because of their pesky defense, the quality of the Canadiens’ shots could have deteriorated. The Flyers are a perfect 7-0 at the first score and will follow the New York Islanders. Full review.
Vancouver Canucks 6, St. Louis Blues 2 (VAN wins 4-2)
We will not have a repeat Stanley Cup champion, after the Canucks scored a second period with three goals to beat the Blues. Nothing went right for goalkeeper Jordan Binnington, and he was pulled after conceding his fourth goal. “This whole season we had several boys stepping up,” said captain Bo Horvat; five different Canucks scored goals in this one. Elias Pettersson had two assists and Tyler Motte had two goals, including a low-net. The Blues have previously won their last three games when they went for elimination, including Game 7 of last year’s Stanley Cup Final, but that streak came to an end because this one was Vancouver. The Canucks go to the semifinals of the conference for the first time since 2011 and are the only Canadian team to remain. This young team will take on the top-seeded Vegas Golden Knights next. Full review.
Three stars
Kevin Hayes, F, Philadelphia Flyers
Hayes caught his aimless drought by scoring in the first period. The Flyers center also helped Provorov’s goal and finished night-plus-3. He has seven points in nine games this postseason.
Jacob Markstrom, G, Vancouver Canucks
Markstrom led the way for the Canucks in their Win 6 win with 34 saves, and expanded his streak to five straight games with 30 or more saves. The 30-year-old is set to be an unlimited free agent and has increased his scholarship with his work against the Blues, stopping 213 shots from the former champions.
Carter Hart, G, Philadelphia Flyers
Hart had 31 saves in the clincher, 13 of which came in a third-period blitz by the Canadiens. Hart becomes the first 22-year-old goalkeeper to score a series win since Matt Murray in the 2016 Stanley Cup Final.
State of the day
The Flyers were outscored 13-11 in this series. It is the first time they have won a playoff series while outscored, according to ESPN Stats and Information.
Social media post of the day
Shake hands with your idol. 🤝
What a moment between Carter Hart and Carey Price.#StanleyCup | #Always everywhere pic.twitter.com/aJom0YLS2A
– #StanleyCup Playoffs on NBC (@NHLonNBCSports) August 22, 2020
Winning goalkeeper Carter Hart shares a moment with his opponent, and child hero, Carey Price in the handshake line. Price told Hart he will follow him in the next round.
Question of the Day: Is this the end for Alex Pietrangelo in St. Louis?
The Blues captain goes into unlimited free agency after spending his 12-year career with St. Louis so far. The Blues are in a tight spot with roughly $ 2 million in cap space, according to CapFriendly. That, combined with the uncertain offseason in the NHL due to the coronavirus pandemic, compliments Pietrangelo’s free agency. After all, St. Louis is not the only team to have a crunch due to the flat salary cap.
.
