NHL playoffs results daily: Penguins solve Shesterkin; Avs advance; Panthers, Flames pull even

NHL playoffs results daily: Penguins solve Shesterkin; Avs advance; Panthers, Flames pull even
By The Athletic NHL Staff
May 10, 2022

Game 4: Panthers 3, Capitals 2 (OT) | Series tied 2-2

Who was the guy? Was Carter Verhaeghe about to do Evgeny Kuznetsov’s bird celebration after his overtime winner? He did have his arms wide open above his head and seemed poised to flap. But alas, before he could, he found himself in a Radko Gudas bear hug and then a full-blown Panthers group hug. Regardless, Verhaeghe’s second goal of the game — a beautiful far-side, top-shelf one-timer of his own rebound — leveled the series at 2-2. That gave the Panthers, whose high-flying offense has largely been stymied by the Capitals in this series, a chance to exhale after Washington was barely two minutes away from taking a 3-1 stranglehold on the series.

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What was the key? We’ve seen a lot of early goalie pulls this postseason, usually during desperate moments when teams are chasing more than one goal. It hasn’t ended well for anybody. Until Monday night. With Washington up 2-1 on Kuznetsov’s third-period goal (more on that later), Panthers coach Andrew Brunette took a chance and pulled Sergei Bobrovsky for an extra attacker with more than three minutes to go. It almost backfired, as Garnet Hathaway hit the side of the net from about 130 feet away right off the ensuing faceoff. But a minute later, Sam Reinhart showed off some great hand-eye coordination, knocking a puck out of mid-air, dropping it to his feet and smacking it in for the equalizer at 17:56 of the third.

Key stat: Washington had 16 shots on goal. Sixteen. In a game that went to overtime.

The moment it was over: Uhm, when Verhaeghe scored the winner. That’s kind of how overtime works.

Moment of the game: T.J. Oshie’s high hit on Sam Bennett midway through the third period might earn him a call from the Department of Player Safety. At the time, it looked like it might decide the game — and the series — as it led directly to Kuznetsov’s breakaway goal that made it 2-1. Had a penalty been called (and it certainly should have been), the play would have been blown dead and Kuznetsov wouldn’t have gotten his breakaway. On an attempted zone entry, Bennett had lost the puck — then he nearly lost his head, as Oshie absolutely drilled him up high. You can go Zapruder film on this one and try to say the head wasn’t the principal point of contact, but it was an absolutely dangerous hit, and given the ticky-tack stuff that was called throughout the first two periods — only 22 of the first 40 minutes of the game were played at five-on-five — it was absurd to let a hit like that slide just because it was the third period of a tied game. It was playoff officiating at its worst. Fortunately, Bennett stayed in the game and it didn’t decide this one.

Panthers worry meter: 😬 😬 😬  In three of four games, the juggernaut Panthers have had two or fewer goals in regulation. Scoring goals is kind of their whole thing, so it’s a concern, even with home-ice advantage in a best-of-three.

Capitals worry meter: 😬 😬 😬  They were 124 seconds from a 3-1 series lead. It’s a veteran, tried-and-tested team, but it’ll be interesting to see how they respond back in Sunrise.

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— Mark Lazerus

Game 4: Penguins 7, Rangers 2 | Pittsburgh leads 3-1

Who was the guy? It’s Sidney Crosby’s world and we’re just living in it. Maybe everyone got bored of talking about how elite he is this season, but he’s one of the best in the league and is putting that on display this postseason. The star center ended the game with a goal and two assists, to lead all skaters with three points. At five-on-five, the Penguins generated 90.9 percent of the expected goal share with him on the ice — yes, you read that right, 90.9 percent. That entire top line earned a 92.8 percent expected goals rate. 

What was the key? The Penguins absolutely outplayed the Rangers to force them to the brink of elimination, rocking a 79.9 percent expected goals rate via Natural Stat Trick at five-on-five. The Rangers’ 20.1 percent, thanks to the digging of @HockeyStatMiner, was the worst playoff performance by this team in the ‘data era.’

While New York had strengthened their defensive play late in the regular season, there was little structure in sight in Game 4. It was breakdown after breakdown and the Penguins exploited it — and their Vezina-caliber goalie couldn’t stop the bleeding. Pittsburgh had time and space to create quality offense, and their opponent just didn’t adjust to it. 

Key stat: Where do we begin? Pick a stat, any stat. It’ll show one team absolutely thriving and one flailing. How about high danger shot attempts? Ahead of the Rangers pulling Igor Shesterkin, they were 15-0 in Pittsburgh’s favor. The Penguins ended with 20, while New York mustered just one. That’s no way to challenge a third goaltender in Louis Domingue. 

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The moment it was over: If Mike Matheson’s go-ahead goal wasn’t deflating enough for the Rangers, or momentum building enough for Pittsburgh, Jake Guentzel’s 3-1 tally sure was. New York was caught puck-watching against one of the best scoring duos in the league of Crosby and Guentzel, and that’s why a tie game went to a 3-1 score in less than 30 seconds of play. 

The moment of the game: Stop me if you heard this before, but the Rangers made defensive mistakes and it led to a quality opportunity from the Penguins — a shot from Jeff Carter that the crowd thought was a goal. Somehow it wasn’t and play continued. Pittsburgh may not have scored there, but they just kept up with their offensive efforts and moments later they put two goals on the board. The Rangers, on the other hand, did not learn from that lapse, and you know what happened from there.  

 

Rangers worry meter: 🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯… Maybe there was something to the Rangers’ offensive struggles at five-on-five all year. 

Penguins worry meter: 🤠… Pittsburgh’s gained a 3-1 lead with a third goaltender, down a key forward and defender. 

– Shayna Goldman

Game 4: Avalanche 5, Predators 3 | Colorado wins 4-0

Who was the guy? It’s Cale Makar. The newly-announced Norris Trophy finalist had a missile from the point to make it 2-1, skated through a check to set up the game-winner, and was, in general, the most electrifying player on the ice.

What was the key? The Avalanche’s sheer will to put this series away. Nashville finally took its first lead of the series early in the third period — with Filip Forsberg finally getting on the board — but the Avalanche would not be denied. Devon Toews answered to tie the game five minutes later, and then Makar’s dazzling assist put Colorado back in control, this time for good.

Key stat: 14. The number of times Josh Manson told Makar “good play” coming off the ice Monday (probably).

The moment it was over: Nathan MacKinnon scored the rare five-on-five empty netter with 55.9 seconds remaining to make it 5-3. The game would have likely been over about 30 seconds sooner, if not for Filip Forsberg’s penalty on Mikko Rantanen to save an almost certain empty netter, but the penalty prolonged the Predators’ hopes for another precious few seconds. Nashville even got a decent scoring chance out of it … right before MacKinnon buried the dagger.

The moment of the game: It wasn’t the decisive moment, but it’s not every day you see a shot so hard it breaks the net. That’s what Andre Burakovsky did less than two minutes in to open the scoring, and it feels like a pretty fitting visual for the way Colorado ripped through the first round.

Predators worry meter: ☠️

Avalanche worry meter: ✌️

— Max Bultman

Game 4: Flames 4, Stars 1 | Series tied 2-2

Who was the guy? We have to pick one person here, right? Can’t just give to the Flames’ second line or something? Okey doke. It’s Jacob Markstrom. Yes, Calgary finally broke through the Dallas defensive dam and avoided going down 3-1 to a team virtually nobody picked to beat them — but none of that matters if Markstrom doesn’t keep the game even through the midpoint of the second period or help Calgary’s 1-0 lead stand up for almost 18 minutes after that. He finished with 34 saves on 35 shots (including all five of the Stars’ high-danger chances) and a goals saved above expected of 2.9, per Natural Stat Trick. His best stop of the night? Probably this one on Tyler Seguin. The game was scoreless at the time, for the record.

What was the key? Whatever fake-out Darryl Sutter pulled during Monday’s morning skate pulled off, when Brett Ritchie worked out on the second line with Mikael Backlund and Andrew Mangiapane dropped down to the fourth. By game time, Mangiapane was back with Backlund to start — and it worked. Calgary’s mixed-up middle six — Backlund, Mangiapane, Blake Coleman, Calle Jarnkrok, Dillon Dube and Tyler Toffoli — carried the night from a puck possession standpoint; their shots for percentages at even strength were all around 70 percent, and Backlund scored Calgary’s fourth goal.

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Key stat: Calgary had 20 high-danger chances at even strength. Dallas had seven.

The moment it was over: When Elias Lindholm put Calgary up 3-0 with a wide-open shot from the high slot at 11:53 of the third period. It was as open an even-strength, non-rush look as the Flames have had all series — the exact sort of opportunity Dallas had so effectively prevented. Not for nothing, it was on Jake Oettinger’s high blocker side. He’s saved more than his share of those thus far. Felt like the lights went out after that.

Moment of the game: As if there’s a choice other than Johnny Gaudreau’s penalty shot earlier in the third period. Game 3 swung on Gaudreau’s failed breakaway attempt. He didn’t let it happen again, went backhand, leg up, deke, five-hole and gave his team a crucial two-goal lead.

Flames worry meter: 🙃🙃 … Pretty big swing here. We’d have gone into full “exploding head” mode had they lost. This was an ideal game, though, and they’ve got an opportunity to fully right the ship back in Calgary on Wednesday.

Stars worry meter: 😬😬😬 … I checked the handbook for Dallas Stars Hockey™️ and couldn’t find anything about allowing 53 shots on 100 attempts in one game. The boys are close to running out of rope.

 — Sean Gentille

Three stars

On tap for Tuesday

Bruins at Hurricanes, 7 p.m. ET (Series tied 2-2)

Lightning at Maple Leafs, 7:30 p.m. ET (Series tied 2-2)

Blues at Wild, 9:30 p.m. ET (Series tied 2-2)

Kings at Oilers, 10 p.m. ET (Series tied 2-2)

(Photo: Patrick Smith / Getty Images)

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