Stanley Cup Playoffs Buzz: Flames, Avalanche look to go up 2-0

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

#

On Tap

There are four games on the Stanley Cup Playoffs schedule for Thursday:
Pittsburgh Penguins at New York Rangers (7 p.m. ET; TNT, CBC, SN, TVAS, MSG, ATTSN-PT)
Goalie Louis Domingue will start in Game 2 for the Penguins after making 17 saves in relief of Casey DeSmith (lower-body injury) in Pittsburgh's 4-3 triple-overtime win Tuesday. DeSmith and forward Rickard Rakell (upper-body) each will not play Thursday. Pittsburgh leads the best-of-7 series 1-0. Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin made 79 saves, second most in a playoff game since 1955-56, when shots on goal began being tracked.
Washington Capitals at Florida Panthers (7:30 p.m. ET; TBS, SN360, TVAS2, BSFL, NBCSWA)
Forward Tom Wilson will not play for the Capitals in Game 2 after sustaining a lower-body injury in the first period of a 4-2 win in Game 1 and is day to day. He will be replaced in the lineup by forward Brett Leason, who will make his NHL playoff debut. Defenseman Aaron Ekblad, who missed the final 20 games of the regular season with a lower-body injury, led the Panthers in playing 24:11.
Nashville Predators at Colorado Avalanche (9:30 p.m. ET; TNT, SN360, SNE, TVAS, ALT, BSSO)
Rookie goalie Connor Ingram will start for the Predators in Game 2. David Rittich, substituting for an injured Juuse Saros, allowed five goals on 13 shots before being replaced by Ingram in a 7-2 loss in Game 1. Ingram made 24 saves in 44:56. Colorado's five first-period goals in Game 1 tied the Avalanche/Quebec Nordiques playoff record for most in a period; Colorado scored five in the first period of Game 5 of the 2020 Western Conference Second Round against the Dallas Stars.
Dallas Stars at Calgary Flames (10 p.m. ET; TBS, CBC, SN, TVAS2, BSSW)
The Flames, who look to take a 2-0 lead in the series, got off to a good start on the penalty kill in Game 1, going 5-for-5 in a 1-0 win. Goalie Jake Oettinger will make his second career postseason start for the Stars after making 25 saves in Game 1. No lineup changes are expected for either team.

#

What we learned

Bruins seek production
The Boston Bruins need more from their depth players on offense if they have any chance of rallying from being down 2-0 in their best-of-7 series with the Carolina Hurricanes. The Bruins have been outscored 10-3 and captain Patrice Bergeron scored twice in a 5-2 loss in Game 2 on Wednesday. Boston coach Bruce Cassidy reunited "The Perfection Line" with Bergeron centering Brad Marchard and David Pastrnak midway through the second period for a spark. "They've been together and sometimes it'll give you a lift and it's something we may have to do going forward," Cassidy said. "I think the balanced scoring has been good to us, but we've got to get something going here. We need to get some other lines closer to the net, finishing some plays, second chances, because their goalies are doing a good job on the first shot." -- Mike G. Morreale, staff writer
Third goalie charm for Hurricanes
Pyotr Kochetkov, the third goalie in the Hurricanes rotation, made 30 saves on 32 shots after being called into action at 7:47 of the first period of a scoreless game. Starter Antti Raanta left with an upper-body injury after being hit by Pastrnak when he was playing the puck just outside the crease. Carolina coach Rod Brind'Amour didn't have an update after the game. Frederik Andersen, the Hurricanes' No. 1 goalie, has been out since April 16 with a lower-body injury. "I thought he was really calm, made a lot of good saves, wasn't trying to do too much," Hurricanes defenseman Tony DeAngelo said of Kochetkov. "Coming in cold midway through the first period of a playoff game as a rookie, he's only been here a couple weeks. He was really good." -- Morreale
Turnabout for Maple Leafs
Much in the same way the Toronto Maple Leafs sliced open the Tampa Bay Lightning defense in Game 1, they were themselves gashed by Tampa Bay's speed in Game 2. Toronto surrendered three breakaways to Tampa Bay through the first two periods, none more damaging than the stretch pass from defenseman Victor Hedman that sent forward Corey Perry in alone on Maple Leafs goalie Jack Campbell for a 2-0 Lightning lead at 2:21 of the second period. Facing Tampa Bay's skilled offensive players, including forward Nikita Kucherov and centers Steven Stamkos and Brayden Point, Toronto will have to tighten up and do a better job of clogging the gaps and the seams, especially through the neutral zone, when the series shifts to Tampa for Game 3 on Friday. -- Mike Zeisberger, staff writer
Lightning offense returns
Sometimes it's easy to forget just how much offensive depth this team has, but it reminded us in Game 2. Hedman (one goal, three assists), Kucherov (one goal, two assists), Point (one goal) and Stamkos (one assist) combined for nine points (three goals, six assists) and were dangerous all night, especially on the power play. Tampa Bay scored three goals with the man advantage and looked much more confident on the power play than in Game 1, when it was outscored 1-0 thanks to a shorthanded goal by Toronto center David Kampf. The Lightning went almost four periods without scoring to open this series, then scored five goals in the final 40:03 of Game 2. That's how quickly they can turn things around. -- Zeisberger
Wild keep their cool
In the aftermath of Game 1, The Minnesota Wild talked about a need for discipline. They delivered that Wednesday and walked away with a 6-2 win against the St. Louis Blues to even the best-of-7 series. The Wild took one penalty in the first period on their way to building a 3-0 lead. Though the trips to the box became more frequent in the final 40 minutes, Minnesota had established a cushion. Plus, St. Louis was 1-for-5 on the power play in Game 2 after going 2-for-6 in Game 1. "Our focus was on our discipline," Wild coach Dean Evason said. "That was our main, main focus. And it has to continue to be. We have to be very predictable in that area. We talked about, we are not intimidating the St. Louis Blues. They've been through it. We didn't get involved in the [stuff] tonight and we can't. And again, we talked about it after the game, it's a lot easier to hold your composure when you have the lead. It'll be a challenge if we get down at some point to continue to do the exact same things." -- Shawn P. Roarke, senior director of editorial
Thin blue line
The Blues are facing a numbers issue on defense. Nick Leddy was held out of Game 2 with a lower-body injury and Robert Bortuzzo left Game 2 after being struck in the head blocking a shot in the first period; he played 4:53 across 11 shifts. Marco Scandella, who played 70 games during the regular season, hasn't played since April 26 because of a lower-body injury and St. Louis coach Craig Berube said before Game 2 he does not have a timeline for Scandella's return. Calle Rosen, who played 18 regular-season games, made his playoff debut on Wednesday. He played 16:34 and was minus-2. The Blues have no idea what their defense corps could look like for Game 3, but their immediate focus was on the health of Bortuzzo. "Scary obviously," defenseman Colton Parayko said. "I didn't see where it hit him at first but once you know it hit him in the head, obviously that's really scary. I don't know, as a teammate and a friend, that is tough to see. I hope he feels better." -- Roarke
Oilers find the right catalyst
The Edmonton Oilers found a difference-making strategy for Game 2 of their best-of-7 series against the Los Angeles Kings, winning 6-0 by ramping up their physical game. It went from top to bottom of the lineup, starting with captain Connor McDavid, who finished checks and even took a boarding penalty in the first period. The physicality, more evident than in the 4-3 loss in Game 1, didn't scare off the Kings but created a few extra turnovers and certainly raised the energy among the fans at Rogers Place. All of that contributed to the momentum Edmonton established by scoring three goals in the second period. The Oilers would obviously love to continue that style of game, but it's never an easy task to dominate like that on the road, so it'll be a key element to watch for in Game 3 on Friday. -- Tim Campbell, staff writer
Kings continue to lag on special teams
The Kings have an obvious assignment for future games of this series: Improve their special teams quickly or face elimination before they'd like to. Los Angeles has been blanked on eight power-play attempts through two games and allowed four power-play goals. That rather mirrored the story of the regular season, when the Kings ranked 27th in the NHL on the power play (16.1 percent) and 22nd in penalty killing (76.7 percent). Los Angeles is up against some elite talent on Edmonton's power play, including center Leon Draisaitl, who scored a goal with the man advantage in Game 2, and captain Connor McDavid, but it's pretty clear some attention is going to be needed to this element for Game 3 and beyond. -- Campbell

#

About Last Night

Carolina Hurricanes 5, Boston Bruins 2
Kochetkov made 30 saves in his playoffs debut in relief of Raanta, and the Hurricanes took a 2-0 lead in their series against the Bruins. Defenseman Hampus Lindholm left late in the second period after a check by Hurricanes forward Andrei Svechnikov and will not play in Game 3 on Friday.
Tampa Bay Lightning 5, Toronto Maple Leafs 3
Hedman had four points (one goal, three assists) for the Lightning, who are 15-0 in the postseason following a loss since the start of the 2020 playoffs. The series is tied 1-1. Hedman has 92 points (20 goals, 72 assists) in 134 playoff games, the most by a defenseman in Tampa Bay history. Forward Mitchell Marner had a goal and an assist for Toronto.
Minnesota Wild 6, St. Louis Blues 2
Forward Kirill Kaprizov scored his first NHL playoff hat trick and Marc-Andre Fleury made 32 saves for the Wild, who evened their series 1-1 against the Blues. Vladimir Tarasenko had a goal and an assist and Ville Husso allowed five goals on 27 shots for St. Louis.
Edmonton Oilers 6, Los Angeles Kings 0
Mike Smith made 30 saves for his first shutout win in the playoffs since April 11, 2019, when he was with the Calgary Flames, and the Oilers tied the series 1-1. Forward Evander Kane had two goals and an assist, the first three-point playoff game of his NHL career. The Kings were without forward Viktor Arvidsson, who missed a second consecutive game for undisclosed reasons.