Guess who's back?
You do particularly lose interest in the Stanley Cup playoffs when your favorite team that won it all last year gets unceremoniously dumped in the 1st round when they clearly shouldn't have. More on that later. But for now, let's see how we got from 16 teams to 2.
Round 1:
Florida def. Tampa 4-1
The Panthers made this a pretty quick series against their in-state rivals thanks to having home ice advantage, something they'd have through most of the playoffs thanks to an Atlantic Division title. Games 1 and 2 were in Sunrise and saw the Cats pick up double 3-2 wins, the latter in overtime. The first game in Tampa was also won by Florida 5-3, but the Bolts fought back in Game 4, winning 6-3. Unfortunately and predictably, however, the Cats closed them out in Game 5 back in Sunrise by a score of 6-1. Guess panther bites hurt more than lightning strikes.
Boston def. Toronto 4-3
Ah, the oldest playoff rivalry, once again never disappointing- if you're NOT a Leafs fan used to perennial postseason pain. With the Cup-less streak at 57, the craziest thing in this series was Auston Matthews' astonishing regular season with 69 goals and 38 assists for 107 somehow not being enough for the Leafs to advance past the 1st round- again. That would've only been the 2nd time in the last 22 years, but still. It started 1-1, Boston winning Game 1 at home 5-1 and then losing G2 5-2, but thanks to a strong road effort in winning G3 4-2 and G4 3-1, the B's closed out the series, eventually, with a 2-1 OT win even after Toronto had fought back in Games 5 and 6 with identical 2-1 wins, the latter even in OT as well. But the point is the Leafs being eliminated from the postseason. In overtime. On the road. Typical Toronto.
New York Rangers def. Washington 4-0
Washington didn't really bother showing up for this one, definitely drawing the East's short stick against the most dominant regular season team in NHL history in Round 1. As the President's Trophy winners, the Rangers easily pushed aside the Caps in 4 quick games, making this what ended up being the only sweep in these playoffs. 4-1 in Game 1 at MSG, 4-3 at MSG, and 3-1 and 4-2 in DC. No extra time needed for these two!
Carolina def. New York Islanders
Another relatively quick series thanks to home ice advantage, the Canes sent the Isles further away from their home island than probably any other team could've. They won the first two games 3-1 and 5-3 and picked up the first game in Uniondale with a 3-2 win. The Isles did stave off elimination with a dramatic 3-2 double OT win in G5, but Carolina took care of business back in Raleigh with a 6-3 shelling.
Dallas def. Vegas 4-3
Sigh... where to begin? You go up 2-0 in a series against the team with the worst fans in the league (mocking dead teammates of opposing players, throwing a bucket of popcorn at opposing players coming out of the tunnel, etc), and then everything falls apart. Most defending Stanley Cup champions don't fall this hard and this early at the same time. Game 1, 4-3 win in Dallas. Game 2, 3-1 win in Dallas. Game 3, 3-2 OT loss at home. Game 4, 4-2 loss at home. Game 5, 3-2 loss in enemy territory. Game 6, 2-0 win at home. Game 7, 2-1 loss on the road. Heart. Broken. Maybe having the 1st 2 games in Vegas would've helped. Maybe.
Dallas def. Colorado 4-1
This was already gonna be a crazy series, pitting two divisional powerhouses against one another, and Game 1, just Game 1, proved that. A 7-6 Jets victory? Which was followed by a 5-2 Colorado road win? Already getting crazy! But, like some of these other series, Colorado's strong performance at home (6-2 in Game 3; 5-1 in Game 4) and on the road against the Winnipeg Whiteout (6-3 win in the clinching Game 5) quickly grounded the Jets in just a few games total.
Vancouver def. Nashville 4-2
The long awaited return for the Canucks to the postseason saw no shortage of insane noise levels, even when they played in an arena known for noise of its own during the playoffs. Bridgestone Arena is no joke during a Smashville run, but the Canucks weathered the bright gold storm, even after splitting the first two games at Rogers Arena back in BC 4-2 and 4-1. The next games they'd win in this series? All down in Smashville- 2-1 in Game 3, a comeback 4-3 OT win in Game 4, and a dramatic 1-0 win in Game 6. Behold Nashville, the improbable magic of Pius Suter.
Edmonton def. Los Angeles 4-1
Just like last year, the Kings were knocked off their own throne by the power of McDavid (no, I'm not calling him McJesus, that's ridiculous), Leon Draisaitl, and Zach "Shaq" Hyman. Okay, what was with the nicknames in this one? A strong 7-4 Oilers win in Game 1 came before a 4-3 OT win by LA in Game 2. Then it was all Oil Country. 6-1 win in LA in Game 3 followed by a 1-0 win in Game 4, then a hard fought 4-3 win in regulation to close it out.
Round 2:
Let's just make these shorter, shall we?
Florida def. Boston 4-2: Cats win 3 of 4 on the road in Boston
New York Rangers def. Carolina: Despite an initial 3-0 series lead, the Blueshirts fell apart some but regained their mojo behind Chris Kreider's legendary Game 6 hat trick ala Mark Messier. The Rangers were now vulnerable, however.
Dallas def. Colorado 4-2: Another series-winning goal like with Boston and Toronto, this time by the road team, thanks to their 3 of 4 road wins
Edmonton def. Vancouver 4-3: The Oilers run to the West Finals with an endurance series against their 2nd biggest Western Canadian rivals where they overcame a 3-2 series deficit at home in Game 6.
Round 3:
Florida def. New York Rangers 4-2: The Cats take tips from Carolina to pounce on the Rangers' weakness, knocking out what was a surefire Cup favorite and advance to their 2nd straight Cup Finals. And they totally didn't get help from the zebras along the way...
Edmonton def. Dallas 4-2: The Oilers return to the Cup Finals for the first time since 2006 by finally dispatching the worst team in this postseason. This was also the most closely contested series in the whole playoffs. Wyatt Johnston can't do everything for you, Stars!
Now... the Cup Finals recap. That'll be separate once it's done, which may or may not be tonight. See you then!
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