No way, it doesn’t end with the elimination of the mega-favorite Boston. Florida hockey players, after the shocking elimination of the NHL’s regular season sovereign right at the start of the playoffs, entered the 2nd round series against Toronto brilliantly. On the ice, the Maple Leafs won 4-2 and took the lead.
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Montage of the first game Toronto – Florida | Video: Associated Press
At the same time, the Panthers were the worst in the regular season of all the teams that made it to the playoffs this year.
But Boston, which broke all kinds of records during the season, pushed Florida out of the Stanley Cup, even though it was already losing 1:3 in the series.
Now she stepped on Toronto. And she was not dissuaded even by the loss of the two-goal lead, which was arranged by Nick Cousins from the stop and Sam Bennett flowed in in the 28th minute.
After eleven seconds, Matthew Knies responded with his first goal in the NHL, and Michael Bunting soon followed it up with an equalizer.
At the end of the second period, however, Carter Verhaeghe prevailed from a solo escape, which also decided the seventh duel in Boston. Defender Brandon Montour sealed the win in the 53rd minute with a shot from the blue line and scored his sixth goal in this year’s playoffs.
However, Matthew Tkachuk was on the rampage again: the biggest star of the battles with the Bruins scored three winners’ goals… Florida’s Czech defender Radko Gudas spent over 15 minutes on the ice.
Not even an exceptional performance by forward Joe Pavelski was enough for Dallas to defeat Seattle in the opening game of the next series of the 2nd round.
Pavelski scored four goals and, at the age of 38 years and 295 days, became the oldest player in history to do so in the NHL playoffs. But his team lost to the opponent 4:5 in overtime.
In the previous round with Minnesota, Pavelski suffered a concussion in the very first game and did not participate in the series. But he returned to the ice after a two-week break in style.
Already in the 3rd minute, he opened the scoring with a shot from the right circle and scored at 12:18 to give Dallas a 2:1 lead. Seattle turned it around to 4-2 in the opening period, but Pavelski cut from the stop in the third period and equalized in baseball fashion in the 54th minute.
Seattle, which shut down defending Stanley Cup champion Colorado in the opening round, scored all of its goals in regulation between the 12th and 16th minute. Jaden Schwartz, Justin Schultz, Oliver Bjorkstrand and Jordan Eberle scored in succession.
Overtime was decided by Yanni Gourde at 72:23.
2. kolo play off NHL:
Eastern Conference – Game 1:
Toronto – Florida 2:4 (0:1, 2:2, 0:1)
Goals: 29. Knies, 35. Bunting – 10. Cousins, 28. Bennett, 38. Verhaeghe, 53. Montour. Shots on goal: 36:28. Spectators: 19,244. Stars of the game: 1. Bennett, 2. M. Tkachuk, 3. Bobrovsky (all Florida).
Western Conference – Game 1:
Dallas – Seattle 4:5 in overtime (2:4, 0:0, 2:0 – 0:1)
Goals: 3rd, 13th, 50th and 54th Pavelski – 12th Schwartz, 15th Schultz, 15th Bjorkstrand, 16th Eberle, 73rd Gourde. Shots on goal: 35:44. Spectators: 18,532. Stars of the match: 1. Pavelski (Dallas), 2. Gourde (Seattle), 3. Domi (Dallas).
