What’s Going On In The Playoffs: Three series are 3-2, with the Oilers and Canucks deadlocked at 2-2
2 months ago
There are a whole lot of 3-2 series in the second round of the playoffs.
Since the last What’s Going On In The Playoffs (WGOITP), there is a reverse sweep brewing, as well as two potential 3-1 comebacks. The other series, which has ramifications for the Calgary Flames, is deadlocked at two games a piece.
Let’s dig into the latest What’s Going On In The Playoffs!
Edmonton and Vancouver deadlocked at two games a piece
Realistically, this series could be over. In the last WGOITP, we looked at the Edmonton Oilers blew a 4-1 lead in Game 1 against the Vancouver Canucks.. SInce then, the Oilers won a game in overtime in Game 2, before putting 45 shots on third string netminder Artūrs Šilovs, eventually falling 4-3. Goaltending won the Canucks the game, while it lost the Oilers the game.
In Game 4 of the series, the Oilers turned to Calvin Pickard and had a 2-0 lead in the third period, before allowing the “comeback Canucks” to score with their net empty once again. However, before the end of the third period, Evan Bouchard scored to give the Oilers the win, making it a best of three series.
Of course, a postseason series isn’t built on “what could have been”, as wins are wins and losses are losses. However, if the Oilers had a netminder who could make a big save, it’s hard not to look at this series and say it’s over, given the 4-1 lead in Game 1 and the 45 shots in Game 3.
With all that being said, the sooner the Canucks are out of the playoffs, the higher the pick will be for Calgary. Sure, it’d come at the cost of watching their provincial rivals move on to the Western Conference Finals, but the Flames’ rebuild is more important.
Game 5 is on Thursday at 8:00 p.m. MT in Vancouver. It’s safe to say this is the biggest game of the season for both teams.
Colorado finally managed to lead in a game
The Colorado Avalanche came back from the dead in Game 1 after three unanswered goals from the Dallas Stars in the first period. They eventually tied it in the third, with Miles Wood scoring the overtime goal.
Since then, it’s been all the Stars… at least on paper. In Game 2, the Avalanche were down 4-0 and managed to make it 4-3 before a Stars’ empty net goal iced the game. After the series shifted to Denver, it was all the Stars as the best road team in the regular season defeated the Avalanche 4-1 in Game 3 and 5-1 in Game 4.
Finally, the Avalanche managed to take a lead in a game in Game 5, as Casey Mittelstadt’s early third period goal was the first lead of the series, or 292 minutes and 15 minutes into the series, which is pretty funny to say the least.
This series has ramifications for the Calgary Flames as well, as the Stars traded a conditional 2026 third round to the Flames – the condition being that the Stars need to make the Stanley Cup Final for the pick to be transferred.
Game 6 is set for Friday, with the Avalanche hosting the game at 8:00 p.m. MT.
Florida leads Boston 3-2
Last season, the Boston Bruins went up 3-1 against the Florida Panthers in the first round, before the Panthers switched to two-time Vezina Trophy winner, Sergei Bobrovsky.
This season, it was the opposite as the Florida Panthers jumped out to a 3-1 series lead with a 6-2 win in Game 3 and a much closer 3-2 win in Game 4. However, Boston showed a little bit of fight without captain Brad Marchand, winning Game 5 by a score of 2-1 to make it a 3-2 series lead.
The good news for the Bruins is that Game 6 will be at TD Garden in Boston. However, they are 0-2 in the series and 2-4 in the postseason. With a win, the game will return to Sunrise, where they have won two games with a single loss.
Game 6 is set for Friday at 5:00 p.m. MT, and here’s a fun fact for y’all: No team has ever played four game sevens in a single playoff run. The most games played was by the Dallas Stars during the 2020 postseason, but that had weird qualifying games. In a normal postseason, the most games played is 26 games by several teams. If Boston wants to win the cup, they’ll have to play all 14 available games in the first two rounds.
Can the Carolina Hurricanes complete the reverse sweep?
Speaking of weird history facts, there have only been four “reverse sweeps” in National Hockey League history, and five in the big four sports leagues in North America. The most recent one came in 2014, when the eventual Stanley Cup winners, the Los Angeles Kings, won four straight against the San Jose Sharks.
Prior to that, the 2010 Philadelphia Flyers did it to the Boston Bruins, along with the 1975 New York Islanders and the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs, who went on to win the cup.
In the last WGOITP, we looked at how the Rangers went 6-0 in the postseason, defeating Carolina in Game 2 to take a 2-0 series lead. A lot has changed since then, as the Rangers went to 7-0 with a 3-0 series lead, defeating the Carolina Hurricanes 3-2 in overtime in Game 3.
However, the tide of the series turned, as the Hurricanes were able to score the game winning goal with just over three minutes left in Game 4, sending the series back to Manhattan and giving the Rangers their first loss of the postseason.
Game 5 saw the Rangers take a 1-0 lead in the second period, holding the score until the third. Then, Carolina scored four unanswered goals to give them a 4-1 lead to send the game back to Raleigh.
The sixth game is on Thursday at 5:00 p.m. MT, and with a win, the Hurricanes will become just the 10th team to tie the series at 3 after falling to 0-3.
Thanks for reading! You can follow me on Twitter @Ryley_L_D.
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