Stanley Cup Playoffs Day 22: Blowouts continue to be the trend of the second round as Stars respond and Canes push Devils to the brink
Since the start of last Friday’s action, seven of the eight games played have been won by at least a three goal margin, with the lone close game being the Florida Panthers Game 3 OT win over the Toronto Maple Leafs. There’s been plenty of lopsided games in this second round, and the one series without one has a lopsided 3-0 series lead, so we haven’t gotten a ton of tight hockey games so far this round.
Regardless of how close it is though, let’s dive into the action tonight.
Necas scores two goals, Martinook gets three points as Canes blow out Devils 6-1 to take 3-1 series lead
Very few people expected the Carolina Hurricanes to do this well this early on against the New Jersey Devils, and even fewer people expected them to be doing it by scoring a plethora of goals to do so. 21 goals in four games, and this is without three of their best scorers in Andrei Svechnikov, Max Pacioretty, and Teuvo Teravainen.
It didn’t start out looking like the Canes were going to win as it was the Devils building off of their momentum from their Game 3 win who got the early goal, with Jack Hughes scoring 1:55 into the period. But, Martin Necas got the game back on even footing before the period ended by scoring in the final few minutes before the first intermission.
The second period was where the wheels really fell off for the Devils though, as the Canes scored four goals in a span of 5:20 to chase Vitek Vanecek out of the game. Necas got his second to start that stretch, then Brett Pesce, Jesper Fast, and Brent Burns followed it up, and suddenly it was 5-1. Jordan Martinook added to the dominant lead with a goal of his own with 24 seconds left, and with a scoreless third period, that 6-1 score held up as the final tally, and the Canes take a 3-1 series lead with it. Necas led the way in goals with two, Martinook had two assists along with his goal for three points, and Frederik Andersen stopped 21 of 22 shots to get the win.
Jordan Martinook now has 10 points in Round 2.
T E N. pic.twitter.com/dqqDp8iAha
Stars respond with four-goal second period to tie series with 6-3 win
The Dallas Stars needed a big response, especially from Jake Oettinger, after an embarrassing 7-2 loss to the Seattle Kraken in Game 3, as they would much rather reclaim home-ice advantage with a 2-2 tie going back to Dallas than 3-1 series deficit. That said, Jared McCann was returning for the Kraken, so that’s another scoring weapon that the Stars needed to contain.
Well, a response they would get, as they clapped back with a strong game of their own. Not quite as big as Seattle’s in Game 3, but still a big statement. They came out storming in the first period, outshooting the Kraken 11-5, and trying to get that first goal, but it took all the way until the 17th minute of the period for captain Jamie Benn to open the scoring.
And much like the second period of the earlier matchup between the Canes and Devils, it was the second period where the dam broke open for the Stars. Just under five minutes in, Thomas Harley made it 2-0 with his first of the playoffs, and then Max Domi and Joe Pavelski added to that lead within the next six minutes, and the Stars had a 4-0 lead just over halfway through the period. It only took 56 seconds for the Kraken to respond with a goal from Jaden Schwartz, but Roope Hintz added to the lead again with 53 seconds to go in the second to make it 5-1.
How about this move from Domi?! And Harley with the finish ‼️ pic.twitter.com/8vxVQtNoEe
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) May 10, 2023The Kraken made a goalie change in the third, swapping in Martin Jones after Philipp Grubauer allowed five goals on 22 shots in hopes it would shift the momentum. Seattle attempted a rally with a second goal from Schwartz 3:24 into the period making it interesting and one in the final five minutes from Adam Larsson giving Seattle a chance to pull the goalie, but Domi got his second of the night with the empty netter to secure the 6-3 win for Dallas. Domi had the big night for the Stars with two goals and an assist, and while it wasn’t a stellar game from Oettinger with three goals allowed on 19 shots, he was flawless when the game was close, and really only allowed goals in garbage time.