Best moments in Stanley Cup Playoffs so far debated by NHL.com

The 2022
Stanley Cup Playoffs
reached the halfway point with the New York Rangers' 6-2 win against the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Second Round on Monday.

Now, as we prepare for the next round, which begins Tuesday with Game 1 of the Western Conference Final between the Edmonton Oilers and Colorado Avalanche at Ball Arena (8 p.m. ET, TNT, CBC, SN, TVAS), let's take one final look back at the first month of postseason hockey.
NHL.com has had writers stationed across North America since May 1, documenting all the action. We have asked each of those writers for their favorite moment so far in the postseason.
Here are their selections:

Oettinger dazzles in Game 7

Dallas Stars goalie Jake Oettinger made his mark in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, no more so than against the Calgary Flames in Game 7 of the Western Conference First Round.
The 23-year-old earned his playoff stripes, making 64 saves in a 3-2 overtime loss to the Flames; it took a perfect shot by forward Johnny Gaudreau to finally end the series. The Stars have had some great goaltending performances in past playoffs, Ben Bishop and Anton Khudobin coming to mind in recent years. Oettinger was the latest. -- Tracey Myers, staff writer

Vasilevskiy posts another clinching shutout

In Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Second Round against the Florida Panthers, Tampa Bay Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy provided another reminder a playoff series is over when he decides it's over.
Facing a sweep in the best-of-7 series, the Panthers played with urgency to try to extend their season, and the Lightning were on their heels and looked tired in the second game of the back-to-back set. But Vasilevskiy wasn't interested in playing another game and made 49 saves in a 2-0 win that completed the Lightning's 10th consecutive playoff series victory. It was Vasilevskiy's NHL-record sixth shutout in a series-clinching game and moved Tampa Bay closer to becoming the first team to win the Stanley Cup in three consecutive seasons since the New York Islanders won four straight championships from 1980-83. -- Tom Gulitti, staff writer

Makar's magnificence

There have been so many fantastic plays and saves on display during these playoffs, but there's something special when a defenseman can somehow dig deep to showcase his skills in one magical moment. That's precisely what Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar provided in Game 1 of the Western Conference First Round against the Nashville Predators.
After collecting a loose puck at the top of the left face-off circle, he skated backward to the blue line as if to reset, and then drove the net along the left-wing boards, fighting off a check from Predators forward Tanner Jeannot before going backhand-to-forehand and lifting the puck inside the left post and off the mask of goalie David Rittich to give Colorado a 4-0 lead at 12:15 of the first period.
Makar, a finalist for the Norris Trophy voted as the best defenseman in the NHL during the regular season, has 13 points (three goals, 10 assists) in 10 postseason games.-- Mike G. Morreale, staff writer

Raanta's moment in the sun

It might just be the mom in me. (Yep, it's probably the mom in me.) But my favorite moment didn't occur on the ice. It was not long after the Carolina Hurricanes had eliminated the Boston Bruins in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference First Round. Antti Raanta, the goalie who wasn't supposed to be in this situation and had spent the entire season as the backup to Frederik Andersen, had become the starter after Andersen sustained a lower-body injury, and sat down at the podium to address the media. He acknowledged what a difficult season it had been, in the wake of the deaths of his father and grandfather last summer and the texts he no longer gets before games.
His daughter, Evelyn, ran into the room, climbing up on his lap as his smile radiated, wearing a jacket embroidered with "Daddy" across the back. He hugged her and continued talking, her presence a poignant testament to what Raanta had in that moment and didn't have.
"Obviously it would be great if my dad would be here and he would see this," Raanta said. "But I'm sure he's somewhere and he's super happy." -- Amalie Benjamin, staff writer

Domingue's spicy pork and broccoli

Louis Domingue was hungry between the first and second overtimes of Game 1 of the first round against the New York Rangers, so the Pittsburgh Penguins backup goalie found some grub in the visitors' dressing room at Madison Square Garden.
"Spicy pork and broccoli," Domingue said after the game. "Not great."
No, it's not exactly the ideal meal for a goalie who minutes later had to enter the game because Casey DeSmith, the Penguins' starter, couldn't continue because of an injury. But Domingue made the meal famous and found his 15 minutes of fame all at the same time. He came into the game with 10:42 remaining in the second overtime to replace DeSmith, who never returned and had season-ending core muscle surgery three days later. Domingue made 17 saves, enough to keep the Penguins' alive so center Evgeni Malkin could win it with a goal at 5:58 of the third overtime.
The only reason Domingue was in that position is because Tristan Jarry, the Penguins' No. 1 goalie, was out with a lower-body injury, forcing DeSmith to start and Domingue, who spent most of the season in the American Hockey League, to be the backup. Domingue started Games 2-6 before Jarry returned for Game 7, a 4-3 overtime loss. The spicy pork and broccoli dish became so popular, the Penguins even served it as part of their media meal before Game 3.-- Dan Rosen, senior writer

Battle of Alberta "is just nuts"

The second period had just ended Thursday and those of at Scotiabank Saddledome were trying to process what we'd just seen, including Hall of Fame defenseman Paul Coffey.
The Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames had just set an NHL record by combining to score four goals in 71 seconds late in the second period and were tied 4-4 after 40 minutes in Game 5 of the Western Conference Second Round. I walked over to Coffey, a three-time Stanley Cup-winning defenseman with the Oilers in the 1980s, and asked him what he thought.
"My description of this is simple: It's nuts," Coffey said. "Just nuts."
Not only was he referring to the game itself, his take also applied to the first Battle of Alberta in the playoffs in 31 years. He wasn't alone in his take. This flood of goals symbolized a wacky series that featured an outburst of offense, disallowed goals and a 40-year-old goalie, Mike Smith of Edmonton, outplaying Vezina Trophy finalist Jacob Markstrom of Calgary. That center Connor McDavid would score the series winner in overtime to give Edmonton a 5-4 victory was one of the few predictable moments in a series filled with chaotic ones. -- Mike Zeisberger, staff writer

Oh my MacKinnon!

Throughout the Western Conference Second Round, the anticipation grew for Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon to make his mark on the series after continually being bottled up by the defensive game play of the St. Louis Blues.
That moment -- moments, actually -- arrived in Game 5 when he scored a hat trick. It was the final goal in that run that will stand the test of time; MacKinnon took control of the puck in his own end, activated the after burners down the wing, deked defenseman Nick Leddy and then used a nifty bit of stickwork to shovel the puck up and over goalie Ville Husso to give the Avalanche a 4-3 lead with 2:46 left in regulation. It was the stuff of legend, literally drawing people out of their seats.
The fact the Blues tied the game with 56 seconds remaining in regulation then won in overtime, staving off elimination for one more game, couldn't tarnish the luster of this magical moment. -- Shawn P. Roarke, senior director of editorial

Nick of time for Paul in Game 7

You never know who the hero will be in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. In Game 7 of the Eastern Conference First Round between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena, it wasn't Lightning forwards Steven Stamkos or Nikita Kucherov or Maple Leafs forwards Auston Matthews or Mitchell Marner.
It was Nicholas Paul.
The 27-year-old forward grew up in the Toronto area, spent years establishing himself with the Ottawa Senators and was acquired by the Lightning in a trade with the Senators on March 20.
Paul had never scored an NHL playoff goal until he scored each Tampa Bay goal in a 2-1 win. The second goal at 16:32 of the second period, the eventual game-winner, was a beauty. Paul grabbed the puck along the right-wing boards, stickhandled toward a defender, kicked the puck to his stick and fired it into the net. What a moment, what it's all about. -- Nicholas J. Cotsonika, columnist

McDavid dazzles for Oilers

McDavid had already began the Western Conference Second Round against the Calgary Flames with four points (one goal, three assists) in a 9-6 loss in Game 1 but signaled his full engagement in the series with a goal at 3:05 of the second period of Game 2.
The center had the puck in the offensive zone at the top of the right circle and passed it back to defenseman Duncan Keith with Calgary defenseman Nikita Zadorov, a much larger man, bodychecking him. McDavid simply rolled off the contact, went to the net and received Keith's return pass. Alone against Markstrom, McDavid faked left and right within a fraction of a second, mesmerizing Markstrom, then dipped back to the left to slide the puck into the open side of the net.
That brilliance was the opening of an Edmonton outburst of four straight goals to win the game 5-3, and McDavid proved mostly unstoppable the rest of the series, with Edmonton winning four straight after losing Game 1. McDavid had 12 points (three goals, nine assists) in the five games. -- Tim Campbell, staff writer

'Breadman' rises in overtime of Game 7

There's nothing like a Game 7, except, of course, one that goes into overtime. And that's just what happened on May 15 at Madison Square Garden between the Rangers and Penguins in the Eastern Conference First Round. It was a beautiful spring day in New York City and ice hockey fever was in full swing with plenty of fans in Rangers jerseys walking the streets of Manhattan all afternoon.
Once the game began, the atmosphere hit a fever pitch with the Rangers grabbing an early lead, only to see the Penguins take the lead, and after the Rangers tied it, take another lead with 2:36 left in the second period. But the Rangers once again tied the game when center Mika Zibanejad scored with 5:45 left to send it to overtime, where forward Artemi Panarin scored 4:46 into overtime to send the Garden into a frenzy and the Rangers into the second round.-- Bill Price, VP, Editor-in-Chief