The Avalanche are back in action for Game 2 on Tuesday night. In Carolina, the Hurricanes and Ottawa Senators put on a lengthy show in Game 2. Also, the Pittsburgh Penguins are struggling and the Edmonton Oilers finally kicked off their series.
All that and more on this edition of Deen’s Daily — April 22.
The Avalanche and Kings play Game 2 tonight, and how this one shakes out might end up determining the direction this series goes.
I remember in 2022, the Avs dominated Nashville in Game 1 before needing OT in Game 2 to win 2-1 because of an insane performance from Connor Ingram. Could this year be the opposite? I still believe the Avs dominated the final 40 minutes and started to play Avalanche hockey. But the final score was only 2-1.
If they do that from the onset this time around, it could be a Game 2 rout with the series shifting to L.A. We’ll see how it goes.
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Game 2 Recap — Flyers at Penguins — (PHI leads 2-0)
The Penguins needed a response on Monday. They needed a better performance than what they had in Game 1, and instead, they did worse. The Flyers have a 2-0 series lead following a 3-0 shutout behind 27 saves from Dan Vladar. The series shifts to Philly with an opportunity to close it out at home.
Game 2 Recap — Senators at Hurricanes — (CAR leads 2-0)
The Senators bounced back quite well, but it happened after going down 2-0. They managed to tie up and force OT. It took nearly 34 minutes of extra hockey before Jordan Martinook beat Linus Ullmark to give Carolina a 2-0 series lead, as they retain home-ice advantage with the series shifting to Ottawa.
Martinook had a penalty shot earlier in OT but was stopped by Ullmark. This was just an outright entertaining game on all fronts.
The Stars did what they so often do following a Game 1 loss. They rebounded, they played better, and they evened the series with a 4-2 triumph.
Minnesota taking Game 1 is already good for them, as the series shifts to their barn all tied up at 1-1. Wyatt Johnston scored twice, Matt Duchene had a goal and an assist, and Mikko Rantanen got his first point of the postseason — an assist on Duchene’s first goal.
For the first time all season, the Edmonton Oilers won a game without Connor McDavid recording a point, following a 4-3 victory over Anaheim in Game 1. Jason Dickinson, who had five career playoff goals in nearly 50 games, scored twice. And Leon Draisaitl, who also returned to the lineup, recorded two assists.
The other two Oilers goals came from Kasperi Kapenen, the second of which with just 1:54 remaining in regulation to break a 3-3 deadlock. I fear the Ducks might regret letting this one slip away. They led by a goal entering the third.
Game 2: Montreal Canadiens at Tampa Bay Lightning (5 pm MT on ESPN 2)
Game 2: Boston Bruins at Buffalo Sabres (5:30 pm MT on ESPN)
Game 2: Utah Mammoth at Vegas Golden Knights (7:30 pm MT on ESPN 2)
Game 2: Los Angeles Kings at Colorado Avalanche (8 pm MT on ESPN)
Pittsburgh Hockey Now: Why the Penguns lost, and what must change if they’re going to fight their way back into this series.