Stanley Cup Playoffs Begin

The Stanley Cup playoffs got underway with five games on April 12th. Last season, no Canadian teams made it to the playoffs; this year, five made it and three were in action on the 12th. Those three all hosted their series openers.

It was an inauspicious return, as all three took it on the chin. In Montreal, the New York Rangers shut down and shut out the Canadiens 2-0 behind 31 saves by Rangers’ goalie Henrik Lundqvist. Montreal had beaten Lundqvist in three regular season games. In Ottawa, the Boston Bruins scored twice in the third period to edge the Senators 2-1. And in Edmonton, the Oilers ended a decade long post season appearance drought, taking on the San Jose Sharks. This one went into overtime before the Sharks’ Melker Karlsson scored at the 3:22 mark in the extra period to win it for San Jose 3-2. The Sharks outshot the Oilers 44-19 so Edmonton might want to think about trying to generate more offense.

In games involving non-Canadian teams, the Pittsburgh Penguins opened their Cup defense by beating Columbus 3-1 in Pittsburgh. And in St. Paul, the St. Louis Blues beat the Minnesota Wild in overtime 2-1. Blues goalie Jake Allen had a whopping 51 saves in the game.

Canada will try to get back on track on April 13th. The Toronto Maple Leafs will be at Washington and Calgary will play at Anaheim. Nashville at Chicago is the other first round series getting underway.