The Stanley Cup Playoffs have provided some theatrics over the last few weeks, and Friday’s action proved to be no different.
The night began with the Florida Panthers topping the Toronto Maple Leafs in overtime by a 5-4 decision. Panthers veteran forward Brad Marchand scored the game-winning goal after Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly had tied the game at 4-4 late in regulation. Marchand was one of five goal scorers in Florida’s victory, which cut Toronto’s series lead to 2-1.
It was a far less dramatic game in Winnipeg as the Jets handily defeated the Dallas Stars, 4-0, to tie their second-round series at one game apiece. Jets forward Nikolaj Ehlers recorded a goal and an assist, while goaltender Connor Hellebuyck stopped all 22 shots that he faced for his first shutout this postseason.
With another thrilling night of hockey in the books, let’s take a closer look at a few spectacular performances that came out of Friday’s action.
3. Nikolaj Ehlers | LW | Jets
A late-season foot injury caused Jets forward Nikolaj Ehlers to miss the opening five games of the team’s first-round series against the Blues, but in his fourth game back in the lineup Ehlers looked like he is returning to form as he tallied two goals and an assist in Game 2 against the Stars.
In the early going of Friday’s game, Ehlers had a nose for the net. Just 3:35 into the contest, Ehlers had possession of the puck and attempted a shot from the slot that was blocked by Stars defenseman Cody Ceci. However, Ehlers was able to quickly grab control of the puck and ripped a shot that goaltender Jake Oettinger barely got a piece of before Jets forward Gabriel Vilardi tapped a rebound home. Later in the period, Ehlers also scored a goal after his shot deflected off of Stars defenseman Esa Lindell before adding an empty-netter late in the game. Ehlers finished the game with a team-high six shots on goal and was aggressive nearly every time he touched the puck.
2. Brad Marchand | C | Panthers
The Panthers made a splash at the trade deadline when the team acquired Brad Marchand, who had spent his entire career with the Boston Bruins. Marchand’s veteran presence showed up when Florida needed him the most as he scored the game-winning goal in overtime of Game 3.
At the 15:27 mark of the overtime, Marchand ended up receiving the puck from teammate Dmitry Kulikov, and displayed some incredible patience in the offensive zone. Marchand weaved his way into the far face-off circle, where he snapped a shot that deflected off of Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly and over the head of goaltender Joseph Woll for the impressive goal. Sometimes, it’s all about just throwing the puck at the net to see what happens, and Marchand was the beneficiary of that fact on this night.
1. Connor Hellebuyck | G | Jets
After winning the Vezina Trophy as the NHL’s top goaltender a season ago, Connor Hellebuyck was named as one of the three finalists for the award once again earlier this month. Hellebuyck posted a 3.71 goals-against-average and a .830 save percentage against the Blues in the opening round, but looked like an elite netminder in Friday’s Game 2 victory.
Hellebuyck stopped all 22 shots that he faced against a dangerous Stars offensive attack. He remained calm, cool and collected all night long, and made an abundance of big saves. In the second period, Hellebuyck made several key stops that kept Dallas off of the scoreboard. Late in the frame, Stars defenseman Thomas Harley put a drive on net that Hellebuyck was able to stop. On the rebound, Stars forward Evgenii Dadonov had the puck squirt free right to him, but Hellebuyck was able to slide across to get enough of the puck with his glove. This is the level of play that the Jets are going to need from Hellebuyck if they want to take down the Stars in this series.
This news was originally published on this post .
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