Thursday’s Stanley Cup Playoffs action begins with two Florida teams, the Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning. The Panthers lead the series 1-0 after a 6-2 win in Tampa, but the Lightning are slightly favored in Game 2. Next up, the Maple Leafs face the Senators in Game 3, and Toronto has a 2-0 lead.
The Vegas Golden Knights and Minnesota Wild head into their Game 3 contest with the series tied 1-1. The Knights are favored in the game and are at -225 to take the series. In the final game of the day, the St. Louis Blues (down 0-2 in the series) host the Winnipeg Jets. With the best series odds of the day, Winnipeg is at -1400 to advance to the next round. It’s another full day of drama in the NHL.
Viewing guide for Thursday
GameTime (ET)TV StreamUS: ESPN2
CAN: Sportsnet, CBC
US:ESPN2
CAN: Sportsnet, CBC
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Florida Panthers at Tampa Bay Lightning
Panthers lead series 1-0
Series odds: Panthers -220, Lightning +180
In case you hadn’t noticed, Matthew Tkachuk is back. In case you forgot, the Florida Panthers won the Stanley Cup last year.
We were reminded of both as the Panthers opened their playoffs with a 6-2 Game 1 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Battle of Florida is on.
Tkachuk made his highly anticipated return for Game 1, scoring twice in his first appearance since the 4 Nations Face-Off and first NHL game since Feb. 8. Sergei Bobrovsky was solid, while Andrei Vasilevskiy let in six goals on 17 shots, including five in 11. Tampa Bay’s stars, save for Jake Guentzel on the power play, were quiet.
The Panthers finished the regular season on an uninspiring 3-6-1 run, surrendering their No. 2 seed in the Atlantic Division to the Lightning. Can Tampa Bay even things up at home?
— Sarah Jean Maher
Expert picks
Toronto Maple Leafs at Ottawa Senators
Maple Leafs lead series 2-0
Series odds: Maple Leafs -1000, Senators +650
The Ottawa Senators head home looking for their first win of the postseason. The Toronto Maple Leafs head to Canada’s capital up 2-0 in what’s turned into the kind of Battle of Ontario we all expected. Toronto has its first 2-0 playoff series lead since 2002 against the New York Islanders.
The Maple Leafs spoiled their provincial rivals’ comeback, blowing a 2-0 lead only to win 3-2 in overtime thanks to Max Domi, undoubtedly the biggest goal of the son of Leafs legend Tie Domi’s 10-year NHL career.
Anthony Stolarz outplayed Linus Ullmark once again, stopping 26 of 28 shots.
The Senators got off to a slow start but have outshot and led in high-danger situations against the Leafs. They certainly aren’t worried heading into their home arena for the next two games. “There’s not an ounce of panic (or) doubt in this locker room,” Senators captain Brady Tkachuk, who finally got on the board last night, said after his team’s Game 2 loss.
— Sarah Jean Maher
Expert picks
Vegas Golden Knights at Minnesota Wild
Series is tied 1-1
Series odds: Golden Knights -225, Wild +185
Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy led the way for a Wild upset win in Game 2. After delivering in Game 1, this duo amped it up on Tuesday night. The Golden Knights haven’t found a way to contain Minnesota’s top line, which is the key to this series. Shea Theodore made a few uncharacteristic mistakes, and Adin Hill couldn’t shut the door to make up for them. That put Vegas at an early deficit in the first, which proved enough for a Wild Game 2 win.
The second line for Vegas has been noticeable through two, which can be a real advantage against a top-heavy team like Minnesota. But the Wild’s top four defenders have done a great job of containing Jack Eichel and Mark Stone to stop the Golden Knights from creating offense in waves.
The Wild generating only 17 all-situations shots isn’t the most sustainable strategy. Even after blocking 40 percent of Vegas’ attempts, the Golden Knights still had 32 shots. But Minnesota’s ability to limit the damage of those shots and maintain its discipline was a key to its success.
— Shayna Goldman
Expert picks
Winnipeg Jets at St. Louis Blues
Jets lead series 2-0
Series odds: Jets -1400, Blues +800
After winning Games 1 and 2 on home ice, the Jets have the momentum in this series. While there wasn’t a massive differential in five-on-five shots in Game 2, Winnipeg won the quality battle. The Jets took over in the second period and kept the Blues out of the scoring areas, ending the game with a 66 percent expected goal rate at five-on-five.
Kyle Connor and Mark Scheifele are leading the way for Winnipeg; the Jets have a 4-0 scoring advantage at five-on-five with this duo on the ice, and three of those goals were scored against the Blues’ best, Robert Thomas. Connor’s clutch scoring is a big reason why the Jets have the edge in this series. Dylan Samberg’s shutdown play has also been a game-changer on the back-end. And that is who the Blues will likely try to keep the Thomas line away from in Game 3, instead targeting the Luke Schenn-Logan Stanley third pair.
— Shayna Goldman
Expert picks
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