Three games make up Thursday’s NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs slate, and our daily hockey tipster, Ryan Cook, has provided plays for Game 2 between the Capitals and the Habs, as well as the second tilt between the Oilers and Kings.
Game 2 – WAS Leads 1-0
Alex Ovechkin’s first-ever playoff overtime goal saw the Caps take what was otherwise a fairly even Game 1 tilt on Tuesday.
Both sides finished with over 30 shots whilst going one for two on the power play, although the Capitals were slightly the more physical side when it mattered most.
The consensus is this flirty, young Habs team will come back to earth in the playoffs, but there were big positives to take away from Game 1 after fighting back from a 2-0 deficit at the end of the second period.
To make this a series, Montreal needs to win one of these games, especially with Washington still missing key center Aliaksei Protas. Now knowing where some of Washington’s weaknesses are – especially on five-on-five – we’re getting a good price to find about more about the Canadiens.
Game 2 – LAK Leads 1-0
The final score doesn’t do them any justice, but the Kings largely dominated Game 1 on Tuesday, bursting out to a 4-1 lead before the Oilers tied things up late in the third.
Phillip Danault was the hero in the end with less than a minute to play, but I’ve already seen enough of Edmonton to know they are in big trouble this series defensively.
The absence of key defenceman Mattias Ekholm has caused huge problems for the Oilers down the stretch, while the out of form Connor McDavid has only placed more strain on goalie Stuart Skinner, who somehow maintained his spot between the pipes on Tuesday despite letting in six goals.
Six of the last 10 games between these two have now gone over the goals total, but based on what we saw from the Oilers early in Game 1, the Kings to win looks just as enticing.