Once again, the story for tonight’s games was to win or go home. We had two teams that were trailing 3-1 in the series and have been outplayed in almost every facet of the game. Both teams were able to survive the day and will play another elimination game in a few days. Unlike some of the previous games, tonight’s games were both exciting, one-score affairs that could have easily swung the other way.
Flyers–Islanders
After an early goal by the Islanders, the Flyers controlled most of the game. Carter Hart was back in net and was playing lights out as he held the Islanders to only one goal. A 3-1 lead before 2016 was considered a comfortable lead but we were reminded that no leads are safe (certainly not a two-goal lead). The Islanders were able to force overtime and it looked like the series was over. At the end of the day, the Flyers got the one goal they needed to force a game six. Barry Trotz has to figure out if Semion Varlamov is getting fatigued ar just had a bad night, four goals were the most allowed by him in this series which can be a reason to feel nervous if you are an Islanders fan. Regardless, expect Thomas Griess to play in game six and in case there is a game seven, Trotz can turn to a rested and ready Varlamov.
Golden Knights–Canucks
The series has been one-sided and one only figures when and not if the Golden Knights will advance past Vancouver. Aside from the spectacular goal from Shea Theodore, the script was flipped. The Canucks were playing with the sense of urgency that is expected from an elimination game and despite being outshot 43-17, they pulled away with the 2-1 victory. The major storyline from was the man in net for Vancouver, Thatcher Demko never played a playoff game before and in his first start, saved 41 shots. It’s likely that Vancouver will play Demko in game six seeing that he held the high-octane Vegas attack to only one goal, the big question is if he can keep it up for the remainder of the series? He’ll have to or the Canucks will play their last game on Thursday.
