Playoff Open Thread: May 29th
Golden Knights Move on
And then there was one. It seems like just yesterday that the play-offs were getting started, but there is only one series remaining in the first round after last night’s game between the Minnesota Wild and the Vegas Golden Knights. The lottery draft is coming up on June 2nd — it’s all happening so fast!
Last Night’s Game:
Vegas Golden Knights 6, Minnesota Wild 2, VGK Wins Series 4-3
Full credit to the Wild, who never yielded an inch and made Vegas work an awfully lot harder than most of us would have predicted. It was only when Mattias Janmark got the second of his three goals midway through the third period, to give Vegas a 5-2 lead, that the issue seemed to be settled at last. Indeed, Minnesota fought back from 1-0 and 2-1 deficits such that we were staring at a tied game midway through the second period of Game 7. Vegas is rightly lauded as a true contender in my book, so the Wild should be proud of the effort they put forth.
Nevertheless, I’m personally happy with this outcome because we get the series that everyone has been looking forward to all year: Vegas vs. Colorado. These could be the two best teams in the league, and the quality of hockey should be through the roof. Can’t wait!
Highlights below:
Tonight’s Games:
Toronto Maple Leafs @ Montreal Canadiens, 730ET, TML Leads 3-2
The Habs are coming off a stunning overtime victory in Game 5 and will have some real life fans in the crowd for Game 6. Is the seat getting a bit warmer for the presumptive favourites Toronto Maple Leafs?
New York Islanders @ Boston Bruins, 8EST, Series tied 0-0
The Isles escaped from their series against the Pittsburgh Penguins despite being roundly outplayed, especially in the last few games, while the Bruins are coming off a thorough dismantling of a good Washington Capitals team. Boston should be the somewhat heavy favourites here but the Islanders seem to thrive as the underdogs so we could be in for a real hard-fought battle.