The NHL playoffs are just over a week old and two teams are already gone. In both cases, the conference winners knocked off the last seed/second wild card team, with Carolina sweeping the Ottawa Senators and the Colorado Avalanche sweeping the Los Angeles Kings.
Neither of those two are surprising, so thankfully the other series are living up to their billing. On Sunday:
- Tampa Bay rallied from a 2-0 deficit to beat Montreal late in regulation, tying the series at 2-2 and narrowly avoiding going to a fourth OT game.
- The Sabres stomped the Bruins in Game 4 in Boston, getting Jeremy Swayman pulled and fuming at his moribund team on his way off.
- The Ducks kept coming back on the Oilers — who put Tristan Jarry back in net — to force OT in their Game 4 in Anaheim. The Ducks then won it just a few minutes in on a wild play that required a long video review because the puck squeaked over the line but its final fraction was obscured by Jarry’s skate. Anaheim now leads the series 3-1.
Add to those two of the series that continue tonight:
- Utah tries to go up by two games on Vegas
- The Penguins, who dodged a sweep in Game 4 on Saturday, return home to try to extend the series and turn up the heat on the Flyers.
Not featured tonight is the Battle for North Stars Heritage, where Dallas and Minnesota are tied at 2-2.
Meanwhile:
- An Islanders note: Photos of season ticket holders painting the ice after the finale. [Isles]
- And Patrick Roy’s assistant Benoit Desrosiers will not return. [THN]
- For the Senators…another first-round exit in a long rebuild has people wondering how far away they are. [Athletic]
- Matt Boldy is becoming a superstar. [Sportsnet]
