Blackhawks Daily: Islanders Collapse; Maple Leafs Finally Win

Coming into Monday night, home teams were 6-0. The road teams had a much better showing on day three of the playoffs but it wasn’t perfect either.

It started in Boston where the Boston Bruins took on the Toronto Maple Leafs. After a huge 5-1 win for the Bruins in game number one, Auston Matthews had a huge game to lead the Leafs to victory.

This was their first time beating the Bruins this season. They had lost their last 8 meetings with Boston but they finally got it done. The Leafs earned their first lead over the Bruins when Matthews scored a beautiful goal late in the third period.

Now, the series is tied at one heading up to Toronto. It is going to be a very hard series for both teams and neither game will be an indication of what is to come.

In Raleigh, things started terribly for the Carolina Hurricanes. They went down 3-0 to the New York Islanders which made it look like they were going to have a tie series.

After getting within a goal, the Hurricanes scored with the goalie pulled to tie the game. The most remarkable part, however, is that they scored again on the next shift to take the lead. Needless to say, they now have a 2-0 series lead after stunning the Islanders late. The Islanders are very much not going home feeling good about themselves.

On the Western side of the NHL, the Vegas Golden Knights and Dallas Stars started their series. You’ll never guess who scored the first goal of the game for Vegas. Yes. It was Mark Stone who made his return from LTIR in game one of the playoffs.

They were able to trade for Noah Hanifin and Tomas Hertl while Stone was on LTIR using his cap space. That made the defending champs even more dangerous. Hertl scored and Hanifin had two assists. Vegas hasn’t broken a single rule and they are better for being smarter/more proactive than everyone else.

Dallas made it interesting late but Vegas hung on for the 4-3 victory. This series is as close as a playoff series can be in the NHL and this game was just the beginning.

The final game of the evening was between the Edmonton Oilers and Los Angeles Kings. The Oilers blew out the Kings in Edmonton. The Oilers won 7-4. Connor McDavid had five points, Zach Hyman had a hat trick (and an assist), Leon Draisaitl had one goal and one assist, and Evan Bouchard had four points.

Edmonton’s big boys came to play for the Oilers. Other great depth pieces like Adam Henrique and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins picked up goals as well. It was an incredible game for everyone involved.

This night had it all. The best players in the league put on a show, there were big-time comebacks, and a few of the matchups got even more interesting. The Stanley Cup Playoffs are only going to get better from here.

Blackhawks In Case You Missed It:

• The Chicago Blackhawks are seeing Gavin Hayes put on a show in the playoffs. His team will play in game seven now in large part to his play.
• Blackhhawks Playoff Bend looks at Teuvo Teravainen and another former Hawk who both played big roles in wins on Monday
• Seth Jones was very good for the Chicago Blackhawks in the second half of the season. They need that from him again next season.
• The Rockford Ice Hogs are going to be the third seed in their Calder Cup Playoffs matchup against the Grand Rapid Griffins.
• Tyler Johnson‘s tenure with the Chicago Blackhawks is almost certainly over. He didn’t get what he hoped for out of his time in Chicago.

Hockey Now Playoff Focus:

• Boston Hockey Now: The Boston Bruins were finally defeated by the Toronto Maple Leafs in a hockey game. Auston Matthews had one of his all-time greatest playoff performances.
• Nashville Hockey Now: The Nashville Predators must have a short memory if they are going to come back from that terrible loss on Sunday night.
• Florida Hockey Now: Matthew Tkachuk needs to be this good for the Florida Panthers if they are going to win the Stanley Cup.
• Colorado Hockey Now: The Colorado Avalanche came up just short against the Winnipeg Jets. This could be the best series of the first round.