The round-of-16 matchups in the NHL playoffs in 2020 come into focus. After the no. 1-seeded Saturday was determined – the Philadelphia Flyers in the East and the Vegas Golden Knights in the West – Sunday’s two round robin games will give us the numbers 3 and 4, with the Boston Bruins taking over the Washington Capitals and the St. Louis Blues vs. the Dallas Stars.
Meanwhile, we have one last elimination game in the qualifying match. Tonight, the Columbus Blue Jackets and Toronto Maple Leafs will fight for their playoff lives.
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Games of Sunday
Note: All times Eastern
Round robin: Boston Bruins vs. Washington Capitals | afternoon
The No. 3 seed – and a matchup against the No. 7 New York Islanders – is on tap for the winning club, while the losing team is the No. 1 seed. 6-seeded Carolina Hurricanes pulls next. Neither of these teams feels great about their round-robin game so far. “We were hoping we could have a great start and use this game as a maintenance game if needed,” Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said on Friday. Instead, Boston wants a win to gain confidence in the next round – and save the embarrassment of falling from the top seed to fourth. Meanwhile, Washington coach Todd Reirden said he “expects more from everyone” after the team’s recent loss, against Philly. The Capitals are expected to start Braden Holtby, meaning he will have played all three round robin games. A friendly reminder that Holtby is a waiting free agent this season.
Round robin: St. Louis Blues Vs. Dallas Stars | 3 pm
Neither of these teams did well in the round-robin game, each going 0-2. The winner of this game will receive the third seed in the West, and a date with the Calgary Flames in the next round. The loser finishes fourth and plays the Vancouver Canucks. St. Louis was without two of its best strikers – Vladimir Tarasenko and Robert Thomas – last match, but both are expected back for this matchup. Jake Allen gets the nod in the net, giving Jordan Binnington some rest. Look for the Stars, a little lacking to start the tournament, to raise their intensity. “I think our minds this last game are trying to approach it like it’s a do-or-die,” Blake Comeau said. “We want to get in, when we start our playoff series, feel good about where we are.”
Qualifying Round Game 5: No. 8 Toronto Maple Leafs Vs. No. 9 Columbus Blue Jackets (tied 2-2) | 8 pm
This is the last game left in the qualifying match, in what has often been the most entertaining series. The Blue Jackets have proven they have a blueprint for foresight and smashed their way past Toronto’s high-octane offense, but Columbus must regain confidence after a third-period meltdown Friday night in which they conceded three goals in the final five minutes. It looks like the Blue Jackets are likely to be without defender Zach Werenski – injured in the third period of Game 4, awaiting MRI results – which would be an enormous loss. The winner of this game sees the Blitz in the next round, which is a juicy matchup for both teams. Before we get too far for ourselves, let’s take a second to appreciate just how wild this Blue Jackets-Maple Leafs series has been so far:
#CBJ vs. #LeafsForever Target Sequence:
CBJ
CBJ
TML
TML
TML
TML
TML
TML
CBJ
CBJ
CBJ
CBJ
CBJ
CBJ
CBJ
TML
TML
TML
TML– Aaron Portzline (@Aportzline) August 8, 2020
About last night …
Vegas Golden Knights 4, Colorado Avalanche 3
Raise your hand as you would see these two teams play a full sand game series. They went on Saturday with the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference on the line, and both play at full tilt. Vegas held a late lead, causing it to almost blow when JT Compher tied the game with 1:02 left in regulation. However, Alex Tuch scored his second goal of the game in the declining seconds of overtime to give the Golden Knights the win and the No. 1 seed in the West. The Avalanche will play the Arizona Coyotes in the next round, while Vegas will sign the Chicago Blackhawks. Robin Lehner, who had saved 32 on Saturday, seems to have deserved the Start 1 of Game 1 – setting up some fun drama, considering he will face the Blackhawks, the team that sent him off on the trading date. Full review.
Philadelphia Flyers by Tampa Bay Lightning
Are the Philadelphia Flyers a wagon? Philadelphia has come as high in this tournament as they were before the season was paused, and honestly seems like the most dangerous team in the Eastern Conference. The Philly top players have shown up, but the Flyers really flexed their depth in Saturday night’s win. Another positive sign: Shayne Gostisbehere pulled in the lineup and almost looked like the dynamic version of 2018-19 of herself again. Philly draws the Montreal Canadiens in the next round. The Lightning played the all-round robin without Steven Stamkos, and now they’m in shock because Victor Hedman left the first period after an awkward fall. Hedman is typically very gentle, so to speak react so absolutely made an alarm. If the no. 2-seed Tampa Bay gets tonight’s winner its Maple Leafs Blue Jackets game in the next round. Full review.
Victor Hedman shows his frustration when he is forced to the dressing room after an apparent ankle injury pic.twitter.com/menWgz86CG
– Brady Trettenero (@BradyTrett) August 9, 2020
Three stars
Alex Tuch, F, Vegas Golden Knights
The 24-year-old scored two goals on Saturday, including the stunning game-winner with 15.9 seconds left in overtime, to seal the No. 1 seed for Vegas:
0:32
Alex Tuch buries the winning goal in overtime to defeat the Avalanche 4-3, giving the Golden Knights the top seed of the West.
Nicolas Aube-Kubel, F, Philadelphia Flyers
The rookie had just seven goals in 47 NHL games of career entering Saturday’s game. He scored two against the Lightning – and reigning Vezina Trophy winner Andrei Vasilevskiy – to pass the Flyers to an enormous win.
JT Compher, F, Colorado Avalanche
The center of the third line proves a valuable present non-front for the Avs. He had two goals on Saturday, including one that tied the game with 1:02 left in regulation.
Do not underestimate JT Compher on the net pic.twitter.com/5qUxy5ljMs
– Ham Sports (@ham_sports) August 8, 2020
Social post of the day
Here’s how Robin Lehner feels about playing against the Blackhawks, with whom he played before he was traded on the deadline:
– Robin Lehner (@RobinLehner) August 8, 2020
Motivational speaker of the day
The Canucks definitely carried some JT Miller energy in their series-clinching win over the Wild:
JT Miller set the tone early yesterday with his starting lineup red … 🔥 pic.twitter.com/vsfpPg7CrE
– Vancouver #Canucks (@Canucks) August 8, 2020
Bubble content of the day
The Islanders seem to take their ping pong tournament very seriously (or maybe just Jean-Gabriel Pageau does):
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