Stanley Cup Playoffs Buzz: Flames need Gaudreau to stay hot against Stars

Welcome to the Stanley Cup Playoffs Buzz, a daily in-depth look at the 2022 NHL postseason. There are four playoff games scheduled for Wednesday, the 10th day of the postseason.

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On Tap

Pittsburgh Penguins at New York Rangers (7 p.m. ET; ESPN, CBC, SN, TVAS, MSG, ATTSN-PT)
Igor Shesterkin is back in goal for the Rangers, who are looking to avoid elimination in Game 5 at home. Shesterkin on Tuesday was named a finalist for the Vezina Trophy, which is given annually to the goalie voted the best at his position by NHL general managers, but he has been pulled from the past two games, each a Rangers loss, after allowing 10 goals on 45 shots. The last time the Rangers rallied from 3-1 down in a series was 2015, but that was a team that had much of the core that had played in the Stanley Cup Final the previous season. The Penguins, meanwhile, are clicking on all cylinders, averaging 5.00 goals per game, second in the NHL behind the Colorado Avalanche (5.25). Captain Sidney Crosby is leading the way with nine points (two goals, seven assists) in the first four games, and his line, which includes Jake Guentzel and Bryan Rust, has combined for 20 points (eight goals, 12 assists).
Washington Capitals at Florida Panthers (7:30 p.m. ET; ESPN2, SN360, TVAS, BSFL, NBCSWA)
The Panthers got off the mat in Game 4, tying it with 2:04 left in the third period and then winning it at 4:57 of overtime to even the best-of-7 series. Now they return home looking to get a third win in a series for the first time since Game 5 of the 2012 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals against the New Jersey Devils (they lost the series in seven games). Carter Verhaeghe, who scored twice in Game 4, including in overtime, leads Florida with five points (three goals, two assists). He's the only Panthers player who has multiple goals in this series; eight others have one. The Panthers are averaging 2.75 goals per game, which is 12th of the 16 postseason teams; they led the NHL with 4.11 goals per game during the regular season. The Capitals, who may be without forward Tom Wilson for the fourth straight game because of a lower-body injury, also are having issues scoring; they are averaging 3.25 goals per game in the playoffs, which is eighth. Forward Alex Ovechkin, who scored 50 goals and 90 points this season, has scored five points (one goal, four assists) through four games.
Dallas Stars at Calgary Flames, 9:30 p.m. ET; ESPN, CBC, SN, TVAS, BSSW
Goals have been at a premium in this series, which is tied 2-2. Through four games there have been a total of 14 goals scored, three of which were into an empty net. Each goalie has had a shutout and the most a team has scored in one game is four goals by the Stars in a 4-2 win in Game 3. It's not surprising for a Dallas team that averaged 2.84 goals per game during the regular season, 21st in the NHL, but the Flames were sixth at 3.55. The bad news for the Stars is that Johnny Gaudreau appears to be getting hot; the Flames forward has scored three points (one goal, two assists) in the past two games. Dallas once again will call on goalie Jake Oettinger to hold down the Calgary attack. Of goalies to play more than one game this postseason, Oettinger has the highest save percentage (.960), and his 1.53 goals-against average is second to the Flames' Jacob Markstrom (1.27).

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What We Learned

Road woes for Bruins
The Boston Bruins have a road problem. They looked great in Games 3 and 4 at home, using the last change to set favorable matchups to their advantage, and it resulted in their top line of Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak excelling. But in three games in Carolina, the Bruins have not looked the same. They haven't been able to generate as much offense, especially at 5-on-5, and the result was a 5-1 loss in Game 5 on Tuesday, their third loss at PNC Arena in as many games in the series. The good news is Game 6 is in Boston on Thursday. The bad news is that even if the Bruins win that game, they still have to win one in Carolina to win the series. -- Amalie Benjamin, staff writer
Carolina's strength at even strength
When the Carolina Hurricanes play 5-on-5 hockey, they can be dominant. The trick has been staying at even strength. Carolina was successful at that in Game 5, allowing the Bruins three power plays, after they took eight penalties and gave them nine power-play chances in Game 4. At 5-on-5 the Bruins could generate next to nothing against them; the Hurricanes held the Bruins to 16 shots on goal at 5-on-5 through two periods. "We have to keep carrying that forward," Hurricanes forward Seth Jarvis said. "That's always huge for us, especially when we're staying out of the [penalty] box. Being dominant 5-on-5 and play as well as we did today, I think is going to be the biggest thing carrying forward into next game." -- Benjamin
Campbell bounces back for Maple Leafs
Jack Campbell has had stints where his emotions get the best of him. This was not one of those occasions. There were plenty of questions about the Toronto Maple Leafs goalie after he was pulled after allowing five goals on 16 shots in Toronto's 7-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 4 of their Eastern Conference First Round series Sunday. And when two of Tampa Bay's first four shots beat him in Game 5 on Tuesday, a murmur went through Scotiabank Arena. But Campbell responded, allowing one goal during the final 53:49 of the game. Perhaps the biggest moment came when he stopped Tampa Bay forward Nicholas Paul on a breakaway early in the second period with Toronto behind 2-1. It kept the Maple Leafs in the game, one they would come back to win 4-3 thanks in part to their goalie. -- Mike Zeisberger, staff writer
Lightning need to find their legs
Tampa Bay needs to rediscover its collective legs in time for Game 6 on Thursday. The Lightning looked great through the first 20 minutes, building a 2-0 lead and outshooting Toronto 14-4. But during the final half of the game Tampa Bay started to look weary and flipped pucks into the neutral zone rather than start organized rushes of their own. Other than forward Brayden Point, the Lightning did not showcase its speed during the final 30 minutes of the game and players spent far too much time in their zone. The Lightning are down 3-2 in this best-of-7 series and must find the energy and zip in Game 6 that it had in the first period Tuesday. -- Zeisberger
Wild must show resilience
There was much disappointment among the Minnesota Wild about how the third period of Game 5 went, when they were outscored 3-0 to turn a tie game into a 5-2 loss to the St. Louis Blues. But they can't dwell on that, with less than 48 hours to put it behind them and find a way to win Game 6 on Thursday to force Game 7 at Xcel Energy Center on Saturday. "We have an opportunity to play another hockey game, and it has to be our best game," Wild coach Dean Evason said. "We have to get rid of the uncharacteristic mistakes that we had tonight and get the job done there and come back here. That's our focus." -- Shawn Roarke, NHL.com Senior Director of Editorial
Binnington a difference-maker for Blues
The Blues turned to goalie Jordan Binnington in Game 4 and he has responded with back-to-back wins, including a 30-save performance in Game 5. But it's more than stopping the puck for Binnington. He is far superior at playing the puck than Ville Husso, who he replaced. Binnington's ability to move the puck up the ice and intercept dump-in attempts has made the Minnesota forecheck far less effective than it was during Wild victories in Games 2 and 3. -- Roarke
Oilers can't get started
Given their talent level, which includes NHL scoring champion Connor McDavid and elite teammate Leon Draisaitl, it's a mystery why the Edmonton Oilers haven't come blazing out of the gate in any of their five games against the Los Angeles Kings in their Western Conference First Round series. Even in their 8-2 victory in Game 3, each side agreed that Edmonton's 2-0 first-period lead was not indicative of the flow of play. The Oilers have been competitive in this series because they have had great special teams, including going 7-for-17 (41.2 percent) on the power play, and they have made some strong late-game pushes. But a complete game has eluded them, something that must be fixed for Game 6 on Thursday.-- Tim Campbell, staff writer
Kings special teams still a vulnerability
The Kings led 4-2 in Game 5 after Phillip Danault scored their second power-play goal of the series, at 11:06 of the third period. But then a cautious approach with the next two minutes of Ryan McLeod's high-sticking double-minor led to Edmonton's second shorthanded goal of the series 1:27 later. Then Draisaitl scored a power-play goal to tie the game at 15:08. The Kings have had a difficult time handling the Oilers power play, which has scored at least once in four of five games, and twice each in Games 1, 2, and 5. The Kings are 2-for-20 (10.0 percent) on the power play in the series, and the disparity in efficiency continues to be a concern. -- Campbelll

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About Last Night

Carolina Hurricanes 5, Boston Bruins 1
Seth Jarvis scored twice to help the Hurricanes take a 3-2 lead in the best-of-7 series. Tony DeAngelo and Vincent Trocheck each had a goal and two assists, Teuvo Teravainen had three assists, and Antti Raanta made 33 saves for the Hurricanes. Connor Clifton scored and Jeremy Swayman made 33 saves for the Bruins.
Toronto Maple Leafs 4, Tampa Bay Lightning 3
Auston Matthews scored the game-winning goal at 13:54 of the third period and the Maple Leafs took a 3-2 series lead to push the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions to the brink of elimination. William Nylander had a goal and two assists, John Tavares had a goal and an assist and Campbell made 32 saves for Toronto. Steven Stamkos, Victor Hedman and Ryan McDonagh scored, Nikita Kucherov had two assists and Andrei Vasilevskiy made 21 saves for Tampa Bay.
St. Louis Blues 5, Minnesota Wild 2
Vladimir Tarasenko scored a natural hat trick in the third period to break a 2-2 tie and put the Blues within one victory of advancing to the second round for the first time since they won the Stanley Cup in 2019. Ryan O'Reilly scored his fourth goal of the postseason and Brandon Saad scored his first for St. Louis. Blues goalie Jordan Binnington, who made his series debut in Game 4, made 30 saves for his second straight win. Kirill Kaprizov scored two power-play goals for the Wild. His seven goals lead all players in the Stanley Cup Playoffs and are the most any Minnesota player has scored in one playoff series.
Los Angeles Kings 5, Edmonton Oilers 4 (OT)
Adrian Kempe scored 1:12 into overtime to give the Kings a victory in Game 5 at Rogers Place to put the Oilers on the brink of elimination. Kempe had two goals and an assist, and Jonathan Quick made 24 saves for the Kings. Draisaitl had two goals and an assist, Connor McDavid had a goal and two assists, and Mike Smith made 38 saves for the Oilers.