We see the same scenario play out every post-season: with the best teams in the league facing each other, the difference is so often reduced to detail – and that means special teams are fully on display.
This was a huge topic of Saturday’s action in the NHL and no one presented a better performance in the power game than Colorado Avelanche.
Colorado had five chances for a strong game in Saturday’s 3 game against Nashville and scored in four of them. After Avalanche struggled to solve Connor Ingram in Game 2, they apparently found the key in Game 3 to take a 3-0 lead in the series with a 7-3 victory that puts them in a position to complete the cleanup on Monday night.
Without the strength of special teams, you can’t help but wonder if this game could have ended in a completely different way, given the injury of starter Darcy Kumper saw that Avalanche should use reserve Pavel Frankuz – especially given his own success of Nashville in the power play in In the second period Predator scored two PPG past Francouz in the interval of less than three minutes in the middle of the frame.
The controversial calls again put the goalkeeper’s intervention in the spotlight
Another remarkable plot that appears early and often this postseason? Contradictions in the goalkeeper’s intervention. Less than a week after the playoffs, we have already seen several highly contested calls for the intervention of goalkeepers, who could go in any direction. Two in particular were in the spotlight on Saturday, attracting sharp resemblances.
In the late stages of the second period between Colorado and Nashville (a 3-3 game at the time that could still be developed) Gabriel Landeskog overtook Connor Ingram while Arthur Lekonen stormed the fold. Lekonen contacted Ingram, who himself was not entirely in the blue at the time.
The call for ice was a goal, but Nashville coach John Hines challenged in an attempt to reverse it – a risky move that eventually changed momentum and the result back in Colorado’s favor. The call on the ice remained, giving Hines a 0-2 record for the season when he intervened with the goalkeeper, and Avalanche scored in the ensuing powerful game as a result of Hines’ mistake.
Later on Saturday, we saw a similar situation happen in Calgary. Here’s how the Hockey Night in Canada panel shattered it all:
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Bednar hopes Kuemper can return after an “unfortunate” eye injury
Saturday afternoon brought a frightening scene to Nashville when Darcy Kumper hit a stick in the eye area and was rushed to the locker room.
“We will appreciate him further, but he has a little swelling,” said head coach Jared Bednar after the game, explaining that the injury was really in his eye. “Obviously he failed to return, but we hope that he is doing well and will be able to return to the net.
Bednar said Kuemper was able to stay on the rink and did not require a trip to the hospital. Asked if we could see the starter back in the fold for Game 4, Bednar said, “It’s possible.”
In what appeared to be a coincidence, Ryan Johansen’s wand slid between the bars just below the cat’s eye on Kuemper’s goalie mask during a front-end battle for a position with Nathan MacKinnon and was pushed into Kuemper’s face. Kumper seemed to be in dire straits, took off his mask and went down to the bench. They quickly helped him out of the ice and shortly afterwards he was sent off until the end of the match.
“I think their man is going online, he’s trying to cause a little chaos,” Bednar said of Johansen’s game. “I don’t think he deliberately tried to hurt him… I think it’s a hockey game, whether the stick is in his face or not, he’s trying to cause some confusion and distract him a little. I don’t know exactly what happened or how it got in there, but unfortunately that’s what I think. This is an unfortunate play. “
The powerful game of the Panthers continues to dissipate into another uncharacteristic loss
When Jonathan Huberdo opened the scoring less than three minutes after the first period on Saturday afternoon, there was a feeling that we could witness a failure in Match 3 in Washington.
It turned out we did – only it was not in Florida’s favor. Huberdeau’s goal proved to be the only marker for Panthers Day, as the Capitals controlled it all the way. Washington scored six unanswered goals – including two in the second period and three in the third – while once again managing to stop Florida’s powerful 6-1 victory and lead 2-1 in the series at home.
Like what we saw from the winners of the Presidential Trophy in Game 1, the Panthers never managed to get into their stream in this one, instead allowing disappointments to get the best out of them, leading to an overall undisciplined game.
Speaking to reporters about his team’s performance after the loss, Panthers head coach Andrew Brunet said he saw a team putting a lot of pressure on themselves.
“This is something they will have to go through,” he said. “Obviously, I understand, but we need to find a way to be free, and maybe being hit here will loosen us up a little.”
It can be difficult to pinpoint a specific problem when dealing with a team that just doesn’t look like itself, but in the case of the Panthers, one clear culprit is – you guessed it – strength. (We love a theme here.)
Florida finished the regular season with the fifth most powerful game in the league, after realizing 24.4% of the time. But in nine opportunities in three games so far this post-season, including three on Saturday, we have not yet seen the Panthers score a point for a strong game. Meanwhile, Washington had six chances on Saturday and realized two of them – the first of which came as soon as they took a penalty, bringing a huge boost to the game at the end of the first period.
Samsonov wins the hearts of Capitals fans with a victory
Capitals head coach Peter Laviolet turned to Ilya Samsonov to start match 3 after Vitek Vanecek started the first two and the decision certainly paid off. Samsonov made 29 saves in the night for his first victory in the playoffs of his career as a starter. (He made 0-3 in three starts after the season last spring.)
The star performance of the 25-year-old netminder made fans chant “Alone! Alone! ” at the end of the game – an action he told reporters afterwards almost made him cry.
Penguins’ precarious game almost loses them in Game 3
The Pittsburgh Penguins had about as good a first period as you can get in Game 3 against the New York Rangers on Saturday night. Evan Rodriguez topped the action – he was on the ice for only 3:13 in this first frame, but he certainly made the most of it with a pair of goals and an assist. The hot start, which saw the Penguins jump to an early 4-1 lead and chase the star goalkeeper Igor Shesterkin from the fold, was key to allowing the third stringer, who became incumbent Luis Domingo, to settle in, to calm down and gain some confidence after Thursday’s loss.
But then the second period happened. The second frame brought a complete reversal of momentum, with Rangers returning with two quick goals, followed by a short-handed Andrew Kopp marker. Hell, even Rodriguez was almost involved in the Rangers’ goal-scoring game when an ice pass saw him come so close to an own goal that would have ended an unconventional, unfortunate hat-trick.
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Fortunately for the home crowd – well, most of the home crowd – the Penguins finished the game as they started with three goals to take the lead. And this time they kept it for a 7-4 victory and a 2-1 advantage.
Foo – Probably all of Pittsburgh.
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