NHL
Is there anything better than playoff hockey? Monday night’s NHL slate certainly delivered from start to finish.
It all started with a Game 1 thriller between Montreal and Washington, a contest that went to overtime before Alex Ovechkin ended it with the first extra-time playoff goal of his career. Then Winnipeg took a 2-0 series lead over St. Louis, with Kyle Connor again playing the role of hero with his second straight game-winning goal.
Advertisement
The action got even wilder in the pair of night games.
In one contest, Dallas edged Colorado in overtime to tie that series at 1-1, with Collin Blackwell notching the game-winner after nearly 18 minutes of breathless action in the extra period. As if that wasn’t enough, Los Angeles and Edmonton stage a wild Game 1, with the Kings blowing a 4-0 lead — allowing the Oilers to score four times in the third period — only to win it 6-5 on a Phillip Danault goal with less than a minute left in regulation.
You can catch up on all the action — and catch your breath in the process — by checking out the top takeaways from each game in our NHL playoffs daily.
Blackwell was a healthy scratch 13 times over the final two months of the regular season and was left out of the lineup for Game 1. Asked how he kept his composure and his game intact as he slotted in and out of the lineup the last eight to 10 games, Blackwell laughed.
“I mean, I’ve been doing it for 10 years,” he said after his overtime goal gave the Stars the win. “I’m used to it.”
Blackwell’s always been scrappier than his diminutive size would suggest, and he wasted no time getting involved in Game 1, starting the game’s first scrum less than three minutes in. His goal was typical Blackwell — all speed and feistiness, breaking loose for a shot and then out-hustling everybody for the rebound.
“I’ve always felt my game’s kind of built for the playoffs,” he said. “I love rising to the occasion and playing in moments like this. … It’s working hard when you get a chance on the ice, and in the gym and stuff. I’ve been doing this for a while, missed a lot of time over the years. (You have to) stay sharp mentally. Just working hard on and off the ice and making sure you’re in the right mindset. Now I don’t really worry about making a mistake or anything along those lines. I just go out there and play hockey and good things happen.” — Mark Lazerus
The Avalanche are defined by their superstars on the top line and top pairing, but in the postseason, just about every team has a dynamite top six and a solid top four. It’s what you have beyond them that so often makes the difference in a close series. And it was fourth-liners Jack Drury and Logan O’Connor who scored in the second period to put the Avs ahead.
Advertisement
Just 62 seconds after Thomas Harley gave Dallas a 2-1 lead early in the second period — the Stars’ first lead of the series — Drury took an O’Connor feed and fired a beauty of a shot from just inside the left circle, beating Jake Oettinger to tie the score.
Then, at the end of the period, after Colorado killed off three straight penalties, O’Connor — who took the third of those penalties — jumped out of the box and got position on Mason Marchment, roofing a backhand over Oettinger’s glove off an Artturi Lehkonen pass. In between, Parker Kelly — the other member of the fourth line — had a golden shorthanded chance on a two-on-one, only to have Oettinger make it across the crease and turn it aside.
As a line and on the penalty kill, it’s role players such as Kelly, Drury and O’Connor who often decide close games like this.
“You’re looking for that chemistry (on the fourth line) and I think we found it,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. “It reminds me a lot of the (Darren) Helm, (Andrew) Cogliano and O’Connor line that we had in 2022. That was a highly effective line for us through the playoffs because they play against anybody and give a little reprieve to some top guys.”
Dallas got a boost of its own from the fourth line of Oskar Back, Sam Steel and Blackwell. Blackwell, a healthy scratch in Game 1, jumped into the lineup and instantly provided some energy, starting the first scrum of the evening after an early whistle. — Lazerus
A large part of why the Kings lost in five games to the Oilers last spring was Edmonton’s dominance on the power play and an airtight penalty kill. It had to change in some way for Los Angeles after failing on the 12 chances it had with the advantage and the Oilers shredding their second-ranked penalty for nine goals in 20 opportunities.
Advertisement
It had to change this time. Not even three minutes had elapsed when the Kings got their first power play. Using a five-forward deployment that they’ve gone to since Andrei Kuzmenko came to the club, the Russian winger and instant sparkplug started the possession by gaining the offensive zone and then got in position to tap in Kevin Fiala’s hard cross-ice pass. Fiala would add his own power-play goal in the third with Los Angeles on a two-man advantage.
The Kings’ penalty kill got its chance at redemption when Drew Doughty cross-checked Mattias Janmark. While it wasn’t as statistically proficient as last year’s group, Los Angeles has been more aggressive in its setup with the speedy Quinton Byfield and Warren Foegele at the top of it to go with Danault and Trevor Moore. All the Oilers got on their first advantage was a saved shot by Darcy Kuemper on Leon Draisaitl.
“It’s a big key,” Kings defenseman Mikey Anderson said. “I think everyone knows that they got a very good power play. They throw different looks. They got different plays, different guys that can bring it at different times. It’s no secret that we want to keep them off the ice if we can and if we do take them, try and find a way to keep it out of the net. — Eric Stephens
The Oilers looked out of sorts during the first period, trailing 2-0. Then, while the Oilers’ offense was still stuck in neutral in the second period, their top play-driving defenseman, Evan Bouchard, facilitated chances for the Kings that resulted in two goals against.
The first mistake occurred when he blindly backhanded a puck along the boards with Kuzmenko hard charging instead of rimming it around the other way where Jeff Skinner was in the vicinity. That turnover led to Adrian Kempe tucking a shot around Stuart Skinner moments later.
The second error was far more egregious. With Fiala about to seal him off behind the net, Bouchard’s backhand pass intended for Connor McDavid went right to the slot. Byfield intercepted it and left the puck for Danault, who ripped a shot past Skinner.
The Oilers mounted an epic comeback, with Bouchard assisting on tallies from Draisaitl, Corey Perry and McDavid’s tying marker, but you can’t give your opponent a four-goal lead and expect to win. — Daniel Nugent-Bowman
Advertisement
With a little less than five minutes left in the second period, there was a loose puck in the Canadiens’ zone. Cole Caufield was the closest man to it, except Ovechkin was second-closest. As soon as Caufield realized that, he suddenly had no interest in that loose puck deep in his own zone. Caufield basically conceded it to Ovechkin, who outweighs him by 63 pounds, and backed off the puck.
Ovechkin, however, also had no interest in the puck. He continued past it and plowed into Caufield, sending him airborne.
It was Ovechkin’s sixth hit of the game with 25 minutes left in regulation. He only had one more by the end of the second period and, most importantly, none in the third.
The Capitals leaned into their physical advantage early in this game in a big way. And then, for whatever reason, they stopped, and the Canadiens took over the run of play in the third, outshooting the Capitals 14-7 in the third period. — Arpon Basu
The Canadiens had an 8-12-3 record from Dec. 31 onward when trailing after two periods in the regular season. The next closest team in third-period comeback wins over that span had five.
Prior to that date, the Canadiens were 0-13-0 in games they trailed after two periods.
This is what got the Canadiens to the playoffs: an ability to stick with their game and take advantage of teams sitting on leads. Not exactly a sustainable formula, but it is part of this team’s DNA and they showed it again in Game 1.
And Nick Suzuki’s tying goal exemplified why the Canadiens have been able to do this with such consistency. Hanging on to the puck with chaos all around him as the Capitals scrambled to recover in front of their own net, having the presence of mind and poise to wait for that scramble to create an opening for him to shoot the puck through: that is the kind of poise the Canadiens have had in these situations for months. — Sean Gentille
Advertisement
Connor’s Game 1 winning goal was the product of a Winnipeg faceoff set play, with all five Jets skaters executing their roles to perfection. His goal to win Game 2 was pure offensive instinct — an offensive powerhouse sneaking quietly into soft ice before firing the game-winning dagger past Jordan Binnington.
When Cole Perfetti won a puck battle in the corner to extend an offensive zone shift, Connor went to work looking for soft ice he so often exploits. First, he offered puck support to Josh Morrissey high in the zone. Then he curled toward the slot completely unguarded as the Jets worked the puck around the boards to Mark Scheifele, then Perfetti behind the goal line.
Perfetti’s pass was perfect; Connor’s finish was the same. — Murat Ates
Blues coach Jim Montgomery made one change with his forward combinations Monday, flipping Jimmy Snuggerud and Jake Neighbours.
Snuggerud moved up on the top line with Robert Thomas and Pavel Buchnevich, while Neighbours slipped to the second line with Brayden Schenn and Jordan Kyrou.
Though the Blues scored three goals in Game 1 against Hellebuyck, they had just 17 shots.
“Sometimes as a coach you have a feel that this will hopefully create a little more offense and give us better defensive positioning with our top two lines,” Montgomery said.
On Monday, they had 22 shots on net and Snuggerud scored his first NHL playoff goal on the power play very late in the first period. — Jeremy Rutherford
(Photo of the Kings celebrating their win over the Oilers: Sean M. Haffey / Getty Images)
