In the second week of the NHL playoffs, the wheat was separated from the chaff.
The clock is ticking for Connor McDavid and Edmonton. PDO
The opening round of the NHL playoffs is five in a row. Even in the last week, one thing or another happened in the playoffs.
One Finnish star earned lions, and a handful of sheep got the NHL’s incomprehensible schedules.
At the end of each playoff week, Iltalehti chooses the Lions & Lambs of the week.
Experience speaks
It’s not for nothing that the playoff experience is praised separately a little bit from every direction. The old cliché about the power of experience still applies.
The Tampa Bay Lightning evened the series against the Montreal Canadiens at 3-3 by winning game six in Montreal, where the Home Team had the support of an enthusiastic home crowd on their side.
The experienced and downright routine manifestation of Tampa, however, drilled a nihilistic 1–0 victory from the away side.
With experience in the playoffs, Carolina and Vegas, who put on a crushing performance in the six-game playoff, have also roared.
Mikael Granlund
Mikael Granlund would have already earned the lions the previous week, when he did well.
It is no longer possible to leave Oulunsaloa without mentioning it. The experienced Finnish star played a significant role when Anaheim beat Edmonton in the opening round.
Granlund’s value was and is also visible elsewhere than in power points. Underpowered, he intercepted many passes and with his own activity forced opponents into weak puck solutions.
Granlund was effective against Edmonton, playing at a point-per-game pace throughout the series.
Mikael Granlund played a strong series against Edmonton. PDO
Oilers stars
Thank you, Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl!
They spoke in a rare open manner and did not twist the truth after a season that ended in huge disappointment.
– The whole organization took a step back, McDavid said at the end of the season press conference.
That’s right, it did.
They also repeatedly expressed their lack of confidence in the direction of coaching. It wouldn’t be a surprise if Edmonton’s next season starts Bruce Cassidy under the heel of.
The Oilers still have time for next season. If things don’t change, McDavid will disappear either at the transfer deadline of next March or in the summer of 2027.
Buffalo–Boston series hogwash
by Zach Benson leg sweep Charlie McAvoy was stupid and thoughtless, but the same can be said about the revenge of the US Olympic gold medalist.
McAvoy was clearly trying to cut off Benson’s hand with his rage scythe. It’s amazing that Benson wasn’t hurt in the situation. Or if it did, at least he covered it up well.
Both players were guilty of embarrassing acts that, despite the heat of the playoffs, are relatively rare – thankfully.
Dallas Stars
It just so happened that the Minnesota Wild came, saw and won. Dallas, which started the season with huge expectations, bounced back after six playoff games. Unforgivable.
The premature end of the season for star jerseys can be blamed above all on inefficient 5v5 play. Stars scored only three goals in six matches with five draws. The superiority was in a wild state, but apparently special situations alone do not carry their numbers further.
The goalscoring and puck control statistics were surprisingly even in the five games, but Minnesota was clearly better. Of course, the injuries affected the work.
Dallas also lost the head-to-head matchup. Mikko Rantanen, Jason Robertson and Miro Heiskanen yes they made a difference, but they paled Kirill Kaprizov, For Matt Boldy and For Quinn Hughes.
Match schedule
Carolina Hurricanes and Philadelphia Flyers played their first game of the second round on the night before Sunday Finnish time. The Hurricanes won that match at home cleanly 3–0.
Why is it worth three sheep? Because the first round of the playoffs is still underway at the time of writing. The deciding game of the series between Montreal and Tampa Bay will be played the night before Monday.
It is completely understandable that the NHL wants to fill every empty spot in the calendar, so that the NBA’s weak – if surprisingly exciting this year – first round would not take the NHL momentum, but there’s no point in this now. Closed book.
