Stanley Cup Playoffs Day 4: Lightning, Mammoth pick up wins to even series
The Stanley Cup Playoffs are back, which means that for the next two months, we’ll get non-stop action as we witness 16 teams get whittled down to the one that will be crowned as the 2026 Stanley Cup champions. Here at Daily Faceoff, we’ll be keeping you in the loop on everything that happens in the playoffs, every day until the Stanley Cup is hoisted in June.
We saw the last first-round series get underway on Tuesday night, as a four-game slate delivered plenty of drama and interesting twists.
Moser’s OT winner helps Lightning even series, 3-2
After the Montreal Canadiens stole home ice advantage with an overtime win in Game 1, the pressure was on the Tampa Bay Lightning to respond on Tuesday.
Nikita Kucherov tied the game in the third period, snapping a 16-game playoff goalless drought in the process, and J.J. Moser was the hero thanks to a phenomenal individual effort capped off with a perfect shot to beat Canadiens goalie Jakub Dobes, who held his own for most of the game.
This series continues to be a nasty one, as there was no shortage of post-whistle skirmishes and even a few fights. Montreal got goals from Lane Hutson and Josh Anderson to take a 2-1 lead well into the third after Brandon Hagel opened the scoring in the first.
Speaking of Hagel and fights, the winger went up a weight class by taking on Juraj Slafkovsky in a bout, delivering a blow that knocked the much larger Slovak to the ice.
The Bolts had their way with the Habs in overtime, and Montreal will need to improve from a possession and territorial perspective as the venue shifts to the Bell Centre for Game 3 on Friday if they hope to pull off the upset.
JJ MOSER IS YOUR OVERTIME HERO! THIS SERIES IS TIED GOING TO MONTREAL! 🎥: Sportsnet
Bruins chase Luukkonen, rout Sabres to tie series
The Boston Bruins let a two-goal lead slip away in a raucous environment in Game 1 as the Buffalo Sabres announced their return to playoff hockey in emphatic fashion with a 4-3 win on Sunday.
There was no such magic in the air in Western New York, as Buffalo goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen let in a howler to Morgan Geekie from center ice and the Sabres’ power play continued to come up empty.
Viktor Arvidsson scored twice as the Bruins staked themselves to a 4-0 lead in the third before the Sabres came up with a too little, too late rally on goals by Bowen Byram and Peyton Krebs.
Both Atlantic Division series are now tied at a game apiece as Boston steals home ice advantage here.
Cooley’s heroics help Mammoth down Golden Knights, 3-2
The Utah Mammoth were not rewarded with a win in Game 1, but they looked every bit like they belonged on the same ice as the Vegas Golden Knights in a losing effort on Sunday.
Early on in Game 2, it looked like it might not go Utah’s way again, as Mark Stone struck on the power play in the first period off a nice cross-crease feed from Jack Eichel.
But the Mammoth kept going, taking a 2-1 lead late in the second when Dylan Guenther scored his first of the playoffs, only for Ivan Barbashev to tie the game just a minute later.
Utah was able to strike without a response in the third when Logan Cooley picked up his second of the series with six minutes left on the clock. The Mammoth’s stout defense and goalie Karel Vejmelka held down the fort with the Vegas net empty to secure a 3-2 win.
That will set up a crucial Game 3 from Salt Lake City in front of what promises to be an excitable crowd in a unique postseason atmosphere.
LOGAN COOLEY WITH THE GO AHEAD GOAL IN THE 3RD!!! 🎥 Sportsnet
Roy delivers in OT as Avalanche take 2-0 lead over Kings
This game had everything. A shattered pane of glass behind the Los Angeles Kings‘ bench delayed the game for a while.
Scoreless in the third period, the Colorado Avalanche thought they had a go-ahead goal, only for Drew Doughty to point out that the puck was not, in fact, in the net, but rather lodged between the outside of the net and the plastic covering the that lines the perimeter of the bottom of the net.
Eventually, actual action prevailed when Artemi Panarin scored his second goal of the series to give Los Angeles a late 1-0 lead in a bid to steal home ice advantage away from the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Avs.
That allowed Colorado to unleash the full might of its offensive weaponry toward the Kings’ net, and eventually captain Gabriel Landeskog found an equalizer to force overtime.
In the overtime period, Colorado got its game-winner to take a 2-0 series lead when Nicolas Roy hammered home a rebound of a shot from Josh Manson to beat Anton Forsberg.