Here are some takeaways from Day 9 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs:
Second period plagues Montreal again
The Canadiens have lost two straight games and trail the best-of-7 Stanley Cup First Round 2-1 against the Maple Leafs, and it’s easy to see why. The common thread in each loss has been a poor second period, when Montreal was outshot, outplayed and outscored. In Game 2, Toronto scored twice in the second to take a 2-1 lead in a 5-1 win. In Game 3, Toronto outscored Montreal 2-1 in the second and went on to win by that score. The shot differential reveals how one-sided the play has been in the second period. In Game 2, Toronto outshot Montreal 20-6 in the second; in Game 3 it was 20-8. That means the Canadiens have been outscored 4-1 and outshot 40-14 in the second periods of their past two games, a trend that needs to be stopped in Game 4– Mike Zeisberger, staff writer
It’s Sorokin’s net for now
The New York Islanders left town one win away from advancing to the second round thanks to rookie goalie Ilya Sorokin, who made 48 saves against the Pittsburgh Penguins in a 3-2 win in double overtime to send the Islanders home with a 3-2 series lead. Sorokin is 3-0 in the series. He made 39 saves in New York’s 4-3 overtime victory in Game 1, but Semyon Varlamov returned from injury to start the next two games. Varlamov allowed an early goal in each and gave up five goals in the Game 3 loss, leading to Sorokin’s return. He’s allowed three goals in the past two games and it’s hard to imagine Sorokin won’t start Game 6 at Nassau Coliseum on Wednesday. “He was outstanding. He gave us a chance,” New York coach Barry Trotz said. “Our first two periods were not pretty, [but] he allowed us to hang around. … It all goes up front on Ilya. We don’t have a chance if he doesn’t have an outstanding game in the first two periods for sure.” — Brian Compton, deputy managing editor
Talbot deserves love too
Marc-Andre Fleury has drawn praise in the Stanley Cup First Round between the Vegas Golden Knights and Minnesota Wild. Deservedly so. The goalie was one of the big reasons Vegas took a 3-1 lead in the best-of-7 series. But how about Cam Talbot? He made 38 saves in Minnesota’s 4-2 win in Game 5 on Monday that forced Game 6 on Wednesday, including 21 in the second period and 11 in the third. Perhaps his best work came with about six minutes to go, when he stoned Golden Knights forward Reilly Smith in close. He brought to mind goalies Thatcher Demko of the Vancouver Canucks and Anton Khudobin of the Dallas Stars, who stymied the Golden Knights when they scored 12 goals and went 2-6 in their last eight playoff games last season despite outshooting the opposition 293-172. — Nicholas J. Cotsonika, columnist
Panthers’ PK makes a big difference
Florida Panthers rookie goalie Spencer Knight was the story of Game 5 in the Stanley Cup First Round against the Tampa Bay Lightning with 36 saves. He became the youngest goalie to make his NHL postseason debut in a potential elimination game, and gave up a goal on the first shot he faced but nothing more in a 4-1 win that got Florida to within 3-2 in the best-of-7 series. But the Panthers also have their discipline and penalty kill to thank. The Lightning’s power play was 7-for-15 in the first four games. The Panthers flipped the script in Game 5. They limited the Lightning to one two-minute power play opportunity at 15:09 of the first period and another that lasted for eight seconds. Tampa Bay kept the puck in the offensive zone for nearly the entire two-minute power play, but Florida’s penalty killers were effective in shutting off the middle of the ice. Knight made five saves, including one on Alex Killorn from the slot off a rebound and one each on one-timers from Steven Stamkos in the left circle and Nikita Kucherov in the right circle. But the timeliness of the PK was big. It prevented the Lightning from taking a two-goal lead before the first intermission. The Panthers responded with two goals in the second period before scoring on their own power play early in the third. — Dan Rosen, senior writer
Jets were tough to crack
In sweeping the Edmonton Oilers in the best-of-7 Stanley Cup First Round with a 4-3 win in triple overtime Monday, the Winnipeg Jets answered a lot of questions about whether they had enough substance to their game to succeed in the postseason. For starters, the experience gained by four consecutive appearances in the postseason was underestimated. Then, Winnipeg’s skilled forwards, who can run and gun with most groups in the NHL, opted for a more conscientious defensive style to try to slow down Edmonton forwards Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl in the series. McDavid and Draisaitl were each held off the score sheet in Games 1 and 2 and the Jets matched their offense and then some in Games 3 and 4 at home, showing resilience in finding a way to win each game in overtime, and three straight in overtime in the series. The indicator of the Jets’ focus for the series was their 101 blocked shots, leading the Stanley Cup Playoffs with 20.19 blocked shots per 60 minutes. — Tim Campbell, staff writer