After a two day hiatus, the NHL was back with three games on Saturday. The second round is heating up and there is a lot to take note of as the second round is progressing. Here are some quick thoughts on what we have seen and what we might expect in the upcoming games.
Bruins–Lightning
It must be said, the Bruins miss Tuukka Rask. Tuukka Rask opted out of the Stanley Cup playoffs a little over a week ago and the effects look to finally be showing. The Bruins look sub-par and are getting worse as the series goes on. The only goal the team scored in game four was on a power play with 12:56 left in the game and with the offense declining being added to the goaltending struggles, the Bruins might be eliminated tomorrow.
The Lightning clearly has put last year behind them. Last season, the Lightning had the best record in the NHL, only to be swept in the first round by the Blue Jackets. This year, the Lightning have not taken their foot off the gas and are might be using last year’s embarrassment as fuel to assure that they win the Cup this year. This Lightning squad looks as complete as they usually are except now Andre Vasilevskiy is playing lights out. With a goalie that can carry, the Lightning might be the new Stanley Cup favorites.
Flyers–Islanders
This series is shaping up to be intense, we might see six or seven games, including some overtime thrillers. The Islanders looked better on Saturday as they won 3-1 but they got away with a few goals that just barely got past Carter Hart (that’s the difference in the game of hockey). The Flyers don’t need to panic yet, especially with a young goalie like Carter Hart on their side, rarely will hart have a bad night and will likely come back for game four with a shutout or allowing one goal (at least keeping the Flyers in the game). This series has given us two teams that live off of good goaltending and great defense, with that in mind, we can expect this series to continue to be an exhilarating one.
Golden Knights–Canucks
I don’t understand but Robin Lehner is playing on a new level. In my time of watching robin Lehner, I never saw him as an elite goalie, after splitting time with Thomas Greiss and not being resigned by the Islanders, I couldn’t see Lehner as a Cup caliber goalie. Clearly that is not the case, Robin Lehner is playing on a whole new level, looking like the goalie that can put the Vegas Golden Knights over the top. Or it might just be that Lehner has Vancouver’s number, every time he has beaten the Canucks, it has been via a shutout (including saving all 31 shots on Saturday night).
To be frank, the Canucks don’t belong. It looks like their luck has run out and watching this series we start to see how far Vancouver is from competing. They are young and promising but when matched up against one of the more complete teams in Las Vegas, we see the gap in talent.
