Adam Proteau analyzes the Hurricanes losing Teuvo Teravainen to injury, the Wild starting Marc-Andre Fleury in Game 2 and the Panthers tying their series.
Welcome back to Screen Shots, a regular THN.com feature in which we break down a few hockey topics in smaller bursts. Straightforward, right? Let’s get to this NHL playoff edition of the feature.
The New York Islanders put up a better fight in Game 2 of their first-round Stanley Cup playoff series Wednesday night. However, the Carolina Hurricanes still emerged victorious and held on to home-ice advantage with a 4-3 overtime win.
The Canes lost key veteran forward Teuvo Teravainen for at least the rest of the first round after suffering a broken hand Wednesday. Yet, Carolina still had enough talent and focus to win their second one-goal game against an Isles team that has star goalie Ilya Sorokin giving them the chance to stay within range of a win.
Indeed, the Islanders grabbed their first lead of the series midway at the 9:18 mark of the third period of Game 2, but the Hurricanes evened things up three minutes after that to send the game to extra time. And that point, the Canes’ defense proved to be the difference-maker, as star Jaccob Slavin scored the game-tying goal (giving him one goal and one assist in Game 2), and veteran blueliner Brent Burns generated his second assist of the night on the game-winner at 5:03 of the first overtime period.
Losing Teravainen is a serious blow to Carolina’s long-term playoff run this spring, but don’t kid yourself – they still have enough skill, speed, hunger and smarts to dispose of the Islanders in five or six games of this series.
Sorokin gives the Isles a needle-mover, but the Hurricanes collectively still can move the needle to their preferred area. The Islanders may win a game or two, but it’s difficult to envision them winning four of the next five games.
In Dallas, the Stars looked much more like the team that finished second in the Central Division this season, as they tied their first-round series against Minnesota with a 7-3 romp over the Wild on Wednesday. But it was a hell of an overthink on the Wild for starting veteran Marc-Andre Fleury in Game 2 instead of sticking with Filip Gustavsson, who shone like a diamond in Minnesota’s 3-2 overtime victory in Game 1 Tuesday.
This is not to deride the abilities of Fleury, who is an all-time great goaltending legend. But we’d have been saying the same thing – namely, that you ride the hot hand in net at this time of year. The point stands even if it were Fleury who’d started and won Game 1, and the Wild put in Gustavsson for the following game.
Now, Wild coaching and management have left themselves wide open to second-guessing their netminding decisions. It could be the difference between them winning the series versus going home for the summer after this round.
It’s one thing to go with a tandem during the grind of the regular season, but unless there’s some injury to Gustavsson we’re not privy to, Gustavsson earned the right to be back between the pipes for Game 2. You don’t mess with success at your most important position, but that’s exactly what the Wild did Wednesday. They have to go back to Gustavsson for Game 3, but you’d hope they learn their lesson if they win in Minnesota and stick with Gustavsson until his play dictates they go back to Fleury.
Finally, Boston looked human in the Florida Panthers’ 6-3 Game 2 win over the Bruins Wednesday. The Panthers and Bruins were knotted at two goals apiece after the second period, but the Bruins looked highly unlike the regular-season dominant team they were this spring. They allowed a whopping four goals in the third and allowed the Panthers to pull even in their first-round series.
The Bruins did have a little bit of bad puck luck in Game 2, but Florida also got way too many second-chance opportunities near Boston star goalie Linus Ullmark. The Panthers have more than enough jam to finish plays like that.
To give you an idea of how disciplined the Bruins have been this season, consider that out of their 17 regular-season losses this year, Boston surrendered more than four goals only four times – and that was over three periods. In Game 2, they gave up four goals in a single period. That probably won’t happen again.
That said, Florida now has home-ice advantage for the final five games of the series, so Boston has to do some serious work to regain that advantage. But we see the Bruins battening down the hatches and regaining the defensive edge they had in Game 1.
In some ways, it may be good for Boston’s continuing playoff run to get the adversity out of the way early. But the Bruins lost only 10 road games during the regular season, and the Panthers lost 18 home games this season. There’s every chance Florida sees a far better Boston squad the rest of the way this spring.