Stanley Cup Playoffs Buzz: Avalanche can eliminate Predators

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

On Tap

Florida Panthers at Washington Capitals (7 p.m. ET; TBS, SN1, TVAS2, NBCSWA, BSFL)
The Panthers will be looking to rebound and even the best-of-7 series in Game 4 at Capital One Arena after losing 6-1 in Game 3 on Saturday. The Capitals had six goal scorers in Game 3 and goalie Ilya Samsonov made 29 saves on 30 shots in his first start this postseason. He also made 17 saves in relief of Vitek Vanecek in Game 2, a 5-1 loss. Sergei Bobrovsky allowed five goals on 30 shots for the Panthers in Game 3. He did not practice Sunday but is expected to be ready to go for Game 4. The Panthers showed the same lines and defense pairs in practice that they used in Game 3, but coach Andrew Brunette said he and his staff are "considering everything" when asked if there could be changes for Game 4.
New York Rangers at Pittsburgh Penguins (7 p.m. ET; ESPN, CBC, SN, TVAS, ATTSN-PT, MSG)
Igor Shesterkin is expected to be back in goal for the Rangers for Game 4 at PPG Paints Arena after getting pulled before the start of the second period in Game 3 on Saturday, a 7-4 Penguins win that gave them a 2-1 lead in the best-of-7 series. Shesterkin allowed four goals on 15 shots and was replaced after the first period by Alexandar Georgiev, who made 19 saves on 20 shots. Penguins forward Danton Heinen responded after committing two offensive-zone penalties to score the game-winning goal at 11:02 of the third period after the Rangers came back from 4-1 down in the first period to tie the game 4-4 in the second. Pittsburgh's penalty kill came through in Game 3, going 3-for-3 and allowing New York three shots on goal with the man-advantage after the Rangers scored a power-play goal in each of the first two games of the series. Louis Domingue will be back in the Penguins net for his third straight start. He made 32 saves in Game 3.
Colorado Avalanche at Nashville Predators (9:30 p.m. ET; ESPN, SN1, TVAS2, BSSO, ALT)
Darcy Kuemper did not practice Sunday but has not been ruled out as the Avalanche's starting goalie as they go for the sweep of the best-of-7 series in Game 4 at Bridgestone Arena. Kuemper left Game 3 on Saturday at 19:03 of the first period with an injury to his right eye after Predators forward Ryan Johansen's stick poked through his mask. Colorado coach Jared Bednar said Kuemper's eye is fine but is swollen, and his availability depends on if the swelling goes down in time for him to play. If Kuemper can't play, Pavel Francouz will get the start. Francouz finished Game 3 and made 18 saves on 20 shots to help the Avalanche win 7-3 to take a 3-0 series lead. The Avalanche have outscored the Predators 16-6 and outshot them 138-81 in the first three games. Connor Ingram is expected to make his third straight start for Nashville. He allowed six goals on 41 shots in Game 3 after stopping 49 of 51 shots in Game 2, a 2-1 overtime loss.
Calgary Flames at Dallas Stars (9:30 p.m. ET; TBS, CBC, SN, TVAS, BSSW)
The Flames will try to figure out a way to get some more offense in Game 4 against the Stars at American Airlines Center after losing 4-2 in Game 3 on Saturday. The Stars have a 2-1 lead in the best-of-7 series. Calgary has scored three goals in three games after winning 1-0 in Game 1 and losing 2-0 in Game 2. The Flames averaged 3.55 goals per game in the regular season, sixth in the NHL; the Stars allowed 2.98 goals per game during the regular season. Calgary's top line of forwards Johnny Gaudreau (two assists), Matthew Tkachuk (two assists) and Elias Lindholm (two goals) have combined for six points (two goals, four assists) in the series after scoring 301 points (124 goals, 177 assists) during the regular season. Joe Pavelski scored the game-tying and game-winning goals in Game 3, giving the forward three of the four goals Dallas has scored on Calgary goalie Jacob Markstrom in the series. The Stars also have scored two empty net goals.

What We Learned

Hurricanes discipline issues strike
The Carolina Hurricanes had noted after Game 3 that special teams play was the difference in their 4-2 loss to the Boston Bruins. They acknowledged that staying out of the penalty box might be important. But the Hurricanes struggled with their discipline in Game 4, taking eight penalties and allowing two Bruins power-play goals. "It felt like the whole game we were shorthanded," Carolina coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "Those top guys are as elite as they come. You just can't give them those looks." Though the Hurricanes had the top penalty kill in the NHL during the regular season at 88.0 percent, they have allowed four power-play goals the past two games, each won by the Bruins. Staying out of the box should be a priority for the Hurricanes in Game 5. -- Amalie Benjamin, staff writer
Bruins confidence is blooming
With the Bruins having lost their three regular-season games against the Hurricanes by a combined score of 16-1, their confidence and belief wasn't exactly at an all-time high regarding their opponent in the Eastern Conference First Round. Then Carolina outscored Boston 10-3 in the first two games of the series. But things have turned around after two consecutive wins to even the series. "I think the toughest challenge for us that we faced with this team is that they were a dominant team against us early in the year," Bruins forward Brad Marchand said. "We had to get our confidence back to where it was the second half of the regular season]. I think we've got it a bit more now." That might be underselling it.*-- Benjamin*
**Wild need power surge**
The Minnesota Wild need help from their power play. After four games, this series is too close to not be able to take advantage with the man-advantage. The St. Louis Blues have scored five power-play goals on 18 opportunities after going 1-for-4 in Game 4 on Sunday. The Wild, meanwhile, are 2-for-17, including 0-for-4 in Game 4. "We missed the net," Wild coach Dean Evason said. "We had good looks [but] we missed the net. We just looked at it, I think the stats say we had 20 missed shots and I'd say a lot of them were probably on the [power play] that we just didn't hit the net where we can get that second, third opportunity. So that last one obviously hurts us. We score on that last one, it's a tie game like you said. But we got to find a way to score on the power play, for sure." *-- Shawn P. Roarke, senior director of editorial*
**Blues trust in Berube**
Blues coach Craig Berube pushed all the right buttons in a desperate situation in Game 4. He started goalie Jordan Binnington for the first time in the series, and he responded with 28 saves. He dressed seven defensemen and looked omniscient when Marco Scandella re-aggravated a lower-body injury in the first period and played three shifts. He jumbled his lines and called out his forwards. One of his targets, Jordan Kyrou, scored two goals, including a
[highlight-reel play for the game-winner
. "He's a good coach and he's got a good feel for the group," Binnington said. "We all enjoy playing for him. We just have to focus on our job, whatever it is that night. Everyone is going to have to step up at different times." -- Roarke
Lightning once again show resiliency
The bounce-back ability of the Tampa Bay Lightning continues to amaze. It's well documented that the Lightning are 17-0 following a loss in the Stanley Cup Playoffs dating to the 2020 postseason, but it's the unflappable way they're doing it that is the most impressive. Coach Jon Cooper hardly needs to make any rah-rah speeches to get his players fired up. In reality it's the opposite. During his press conferences after losses in Game 1 and Game 3, Cooper stated his unwavering confidence in his players. Short of guaranteeing victories in the press, he's had the collective back of a team that has won back-to-back Stanley Cup championships. It's a mental edge the Lightning have and, to this point, the Toronto Maple Leafs need to find. -- Mike Zeisberger, staff writer
Toronto's woeful tale continues
The Maple Leafs continue to lack the killer instinct that teams need to have in order to enjoy postseason success. That once again was on display Sunday. A victory in Game 4 would have given Toronto a 3-1 lead in the best-of-7 series and forced Tampa Bay to win three consecutive games to avoid being eliminated. Instead, the Maple Leafs came out flat and were behind 3-0 after just 7:58 of play. It should be a disturbing trend for Maple Leafs management. This is a team that has played win-or-go-home games in their past four postseason series and failed to get the job done each time. They gave the Lightning a lifeline Sunday and the two-time Cup champions took it. Toronto needs to find a way to change the momentum, or another early elimination awaits. -- Zeisberger
Kings identify, fix their issues
It took back-to-back routs, but the Los Angeles Kings got their focus back for longer into Game 4 and it made a major difference. Coach Todd McLellan has liked the Kings' start in each game of this series but said in Game 4 they stuck with it far longer than in Games 2 and 3, when the Edmonton Oilers recorded lopsided wins. Add in and some sharp goaltending from Jonathan Quick, and now the capability to learn these lessons in the playoffs can be key. They put Los Angeles back on even footing with the best-of-7 series tied 2-2, no matter how the previous games turned out. All of that begs the question of whether the Kings can maintain that focus and structured game as the pressure gets ramped up for Game 5 in Edmonton on Tuesday.-- Tim Campbell, staff writer
Poor start led to Oilers struggles in Game 4
It's highly unlikely the Oilers were overconfident after wins of 6-0 and 8-2 in Games 2 and 3. What happened in Game 4 was the customary pushback by a team on the losing end of those scores. And when the Kings roared out of the gate with an aggressive, pushy game Sunday, and converted some of that play into a 2-0 first-period lead, it put the explosive Oilers on their heels. It's pretty much what happened when Edmonton responded strongly in Game 2 following its loss in Game 1. So for all their firepower which has been on display in this series, the Oilers' start was not ideal and their in-game details were not as good as the Kings' in Game 4.-- Campbell

About Last Night

Boston Bruins 5, Carolina Hurricanes 2
Marchand scored five points (two goals, three assists) and the Bruins won their second straight game at TD Garden to even the best-of-7 series 2-2. Boston has outscored Carolina 9-4 the past two games after getting outscored 10-3 in Games 1 and 2. The Bruins were down 2-1 when Hurricanes center Jordan Staal scored 33 seconds into the second period, but they rallied by scoring four unanswered goals, starting with forward Jake DeBrusk making it 2-2 at 18:44 of the second. Marchand's power-play goal gave the Bruins a 3-2 lead 44 seconds into the third period and forward David Pastrnak made it 4-2 at 5:41. Marchand scored an empty-net goal at 19:25. Jeremy Swayman made 24 saves for the Bruins, who did not have defenseman Charlie McAvoy, who went into NHL COVID-19 protocol prior to the game. Hurricanes goalie Antti Raanta made 23 saves.
St. Louis Blues 5, Minnesota Wild 2<
Binnington got his first start of the series and made 28 saves for the Blues as they evened the best-of-7 series 2-2 in Game 4 at Enterprise Center. Forwards David Perron (two goals, one assist) and Ryan O'Reilly (one goal, two assists) each scored three points, and Kyrou scored two goals. The Blues scored twice in the second period to take a 3-1 lead, but forward Matt Boldy scored for the Wild at 2:39 of the third to cut it to 3-2. St. Louis kept the one-goal lead until Perron scored into the empty net at 18:02. O'Reilly added a power-play goal 58 seconds later. Wild goalie Marc-Andre Fleury made 29 saves.
Tampa Bay Lightning 7, Toronto Maple Leafs 3
The Lightning led 3-0 just 7:58 into the first period and extended the lead 5-0 by the 5:25 mark of the second to win Game 4 at Amalie Arena and even the best-of-7 series 2-2. Neither team has won back-to-back games in the series; Toronto won Game 1, Tampa Bay got Game 2, the Maple Leafs went ahead in the series 2-1 by winning Game 3 and now the Lightning recovered for a Game 4 win. Six players scored for Tampa Bay and 13 players had at least one point. Ross Colton scored two goals, and Brandon Hagel and Nikita Kucherov each had two assists for the Lightning, and Andrei Vasilevskiy made 22 saves. William Nylander scored two goals for the Maple Leafs. Jack Campbell allowed five goals on 16 shots and was replaced by Erik Kallgren (10 saves) in the second period.
Los Angeles Kings 4, Edmonton Oilers 0
Jonathan Quick made 31 saves for his first shutout in the playoffs since the 2014 Stanley Cup Final and the Kings rebounded from an 8-2 loss in Game 3 to even the best-of-7 series 2-2 at Crypto.com Arena. It was Quick's 10th playoff shutout, most among United States-born goalies. Carl Grundstrom had two goals and an assist, and Trevor Moore and Troy Stecher each scored for the Kings. It was their first home playoff win since Game 5 of the 2014 Stanley Cup Final against the Rangers, when they won 3-2 in double overtime to win their second Stanley Cup championship. Mike Smith made 42 saves for the Oilers.