Stanley Cup Playoffs Day 20: Caps bounce back, Oilers go home with 2-0 series lead

The Stanley Cup Playoffs are back, which means that for the next two months, we’ll get non-stop exciting action in the NHL as we witness history in another team looking to win a championship. Here at Daily Faceoff, we’ll be keeping you in the loop of everything that happened in the playoffs, every day until the Stanley Cup is hoisted in June.

Thompson stops 27 as Caps respond to tie series

The goaltending duel between the Washington Capitals and Carolina Hurricanes continued in Game 2, as after Frederik Andersen and Logan Thompson played very well in what eventually became a Canes 2-1 overtime win, both were up to the task in Game 2. Andersen had a more modest performance with 19 saves but only allowed two goals, but it was Thompson who stood out this time around by stopping 27 of 28 shots in the win.

Both goalies were perfect in the first, and it was a Connor McMichael breakaway goal early in the second that finally opened the scoring. John Carlson got a power play marker early in the third to give the Caps some breathing room, and outside of a goal from Shayne Gostisbehere to cut the lead in half, Thompson withstood the onslaught in the third, stopping 16 of 17 shots in the frame. Tom Wilson capped off the win with an empty net goal, and the Capitals tied the series with a 3-1 win.

Draisaitl’s overtime winner gives Oilers 2-0 series lead

Thursday’s late matchup gave us a much more action-packed game. With Alex Pietrangelo back in the lineup (although still missing Pavel Dorofeyev), the Vegas Golden Knights responded to their Game 1 defeat with the lone goal in the first period courtesy of Victor Olofsson, but that response went away quickly, as the Edmonton Oilers responded with three goals in the second half of the second period to make it 3-1. William Karlsson drew the game within one in the final two minutes, but Evander Kane answered right back two minutes into the third period.

Just when it seemed like the Oilers were going to waltz to another win, the Golden Knights showed a bit more fight this time around. Olofsson got his second of the game shortly after Kane’s marker, and then with just over eight minutes left in regulation, Pietrangelo tied the game. After a barrage of chances at both ends, this game needed overtime.

Vegas looked to be in trouble early on after Nicolas Roy made the most interesting attempt to play the puck you’ve ever seen, which just resulted in him cross-checking Trent Frederic in the face and giving the Oilers a five-minute power play. But, the Golden Knights killed all five minutes, and looked to be in much better shape.

As the minutes wound down, it looked like we might get double overtime. But in the final five minutes of the first overtime period, Connor McDavid got a burst of speed into the offensive zone, and a 2-on-1 with him and Leon Draisaitl ended exactly like you’d think it would. Draisaitl buried the overtime winner, and the Oilers took the game by a score of 5-4, and now have a 2-0 series lead as they go back to Edmonton.