On Saturday, April 19, the first games of the NHL playoffs began with the St. Louis Blues facing off against the Winnipeg Jets and the Colorado Avalanche taking on the Dallas Stars. Winnipeg and Dallas both had home ice advantage, but only one of them could secure a game one win.
St. Louis Blues vs. Winnipeg Jets
St. Louis attacked first, scoring a goal nearly ten minutes into the first period, but their lead was quickly cut short as Winnipeg tied things up just three minutes later. The end of the first period and all of the second period featured back and forth scoring from both teams, which resulted in the third period beginning with a score of 3-3. Winnipeg dominated the third, scoring two goals in the last two minutes of the game to secure a game one win. St. Louis will need to spend more time in Winnipeg’s zone and less time in their own as Winnipeg had 26 shots on goal compared to the Blues’ 17.
Colorado Avalanche vs. Dallas Stars
Despite having a home ice advantage, Dallas fell four goals short of a victory as Colorado took a 5-1 game one win. The first period remained scoreless with both teams struggling to get any shots on net. Left-winger Artturi Lehkonen got the scoring started for Colorado, followed shortly by captain Nathan MacKinnon to send their team up 2-0 into the third period. Dallas scored a power-play goal, thanks to center Roope Hintz, but Colorado responded with three goals of their own to take the series lead. Despite being equal on shots on goal, with 24, Dallas lacked face off wins and will need to stay out of the penalty box next game to secure a game two win.
New Jersey Devils vs. Carolina Hurricanes
Carolina attacked first just two minutes into the first period from defenseman Jalen Chatfield. Center Logan Stankoven netted two goals past Devils goalie Jacob Markstrom to give Carolina a 3-0 lead. Nico Hischier put up the first goal of the game for the Devils with just two minutes remaining in the second period. Despite New Jersey having a significantly higher face off win percentage, with an accuracy of 60.6%, compared to Carolina’s 39.4%, the Hurricanes outshot the Devils and secured a game one win after scoring an empty-net goal late in the third.
Ottawa Senators vs. Toronto Maple Leafs
The battle of Ontario kicked off Sunday night in Scotiabank Arena with Toronto scoring first. The first period ended with Toronto taking a 2-1 lead, which they added to during the second period with two powerplay goals. Ridly Greig put Ottawa on the board again during the third period to make it 4-2 but Toronto responded right after with two goals of their own to end the game 6-2. For game two, the Senators need to spend less time in the penalty box as Toronto scored three out of their six goals on the power play during game one; Ottawa players spent more than double the amount of time in the penalty box than Toronto players did.
Minnesota Wild vs. Las Vegas Golden Knights
Center Tomas Hertl of Las Vegas earned himself a goal and an assist to help get his team a 4-2 victory past Minnesota. Las Vegas, who are the top seed from the Pacific Division, outshot the Wild 27-20 and were 2/2 on the powerplay. Matt Boldy cut Las Vegas’ lead down to one goal during the third period but center Brett Howden netted a goal with just one minute left to lift Las Vegas to a victory. Despite having a 60% faceoff percentage, Minnesota had nine giveaways resulting in their loss. They will need to have better puck control entering game two if they want to secure a win.
Montreal Canadians vs Washington Capitals
Washington Capitals captain Alexander Ovechkin has had quite the season by beating out Wayne Gretzky’s all-time scoring record in the NHL and leading the team to the playoffs. His success was added to this game as he scored the overtime game winning goal. Prior to this, Ovechkin had never scored an overtime playoff game goal, let alone a game-winning goal. The Canadians made a third period comeback after entering the period down two goals. Ovechkin got the scoring started with less than two minutes remaining in the first and his teammate Anthony Beauvillier netted the second goal during the second period. Despite sending the game into overtime, Montreal was unable keep the puck away from Ovechkin who secured the win through a bat shot. Both teams were equal on shots on goal and power play percentage, so game two will come down to whoever can keep the puck out of their zone to get more scoring opportunities.
Edmonton Oilers vs. Los Angeles Kings
Los Angeles made an impressive comeback after blowing a 4-0 lead entering the third period. It was all Los Angeles for the first two periods, as they dominated on the ice keeping the puck out of their own zone and having multiple shot attempts on Edmonton. The third period was completely different with Edmonton responding with five goals of their own. With a 5-5 score and under a minute to play, Phillip Danault of the Kings got lucky off a wrist shot to win the game and prevent it from going into overtime.
Tampa Bay Lightning vs Florida Panthers
The battle of Florida made its way to the playoffs with the Panthers taking a 6-2 victory. Despite having less shots on goal, Florida was three for three on power play chances and had a higher face off percentage than the Lightning. Matthew Tkachuk made his comeback after missing the last 25 games of the regular season due to a lower-body injury. During the game, Tkachuk had two goals and an assist to help lift his team to a game one victory.