{"id":556874,"date":"2026-04-20T20:03:31","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T20:03:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/556874\/"},"modified":"2026-04-20T20:03:31","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T20:03:31","slug":"big-hits-are-already-piling-up-in-the-opening-round-of-the-stanley-cup-playoffs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/556874\/","title":{"rendered":"Big hits are already piling up in the opening round of the Stanley Cup playoffs"},"content":{"rendered":"

By PAT GRAHAM<\/p>\n

DENVER (AP) \u2014 The big hits always roll out this time of year. It’s just part of playoff hockey<\/a>, especially in the tone-setting first round.<\/p>\n

So, keep that head on a swivel.<\/p>\n

Through seven contests, teams are averaging a combined 86.9 hits per game, with the Carolina Hurricanes leading the list following their 57-hit performance in a 2-0 win over Ottawa<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A year ago in the Stanley Cup playoffs<\/a>, there were a combined 79.2 hits per game through the opening 10 matchups and finished at 78. It\u2019s typical for the physicality to be at its highest at the start of a Cup run.<\/p>\n

You know, making a point and all.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes, the best way to manage your emotions is to get into it, get physical, give a hit, take a hit,\u201d said Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog, whose team leads the Los Angeles Kings 1-0 heading into Game 2 on Tuesday night. \u201cWhatever you’ve got to do to get involved physically, that tends to settle you down a bit.\u201d<\/p>\n

Known for their quickness, the Avalanche threw some of their weight around, too, in a 2-1 win over the Kings<\/a>. They had 35 hits \u2014 only Utah had less with 30 \u2014 but Colorado averaged just over 16 hits a game in the regular season.<\/p>\n

The Kings, meanwhile, had 49 hits Sunday.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou’re battling against the same team, so it’s going to be like that all playoffs,\u201d center Scott Laughton said.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t forget about the extracurricular activity after the whistle, either. Those skirmishes, pushes and face rubs with the glove that sometimes avoid penalties.<\/p>\n

There’s also defending your teammates. Landeskog took exception after Adrian Kempe hit defenseman Cale Makar in the back. Landeskog and Kempe went at it and both wound up with roughing penalties.<\/p>\n

It’s a fine line for when to go for a big hit or hold back.<\/p>\n

Montreal’s Josh Anderson knocked Lightning defenseman Charle-Edouard D\u2019Astous out of the game with a high hit behind the net near midpoint of the second period. Tampa Bay cashed in on the ensuing power play after Anderson was called for charging. The Canadiens won 4-3 on a power-play goal in overtime<\/a> after Jake Guentzel was called for high-sticking.<\/p>\n

Buffalo, as it\u2019s done for much of this season, proved it can play a rugged brand of hockey in rallying for a 4-3 win. The Sabres outhit the Bruins by a 53-38 margin<\/a>. Top-line forward Alex Tuch led the way with 10 hits after having 82 all season.<\/p>\n

The emotions spilled over in the Knights-Mammoth game, with forward Nic Dowd directing some pointed words at Utah\u2019s Logan Cooley. Late in the third period, Dowd was shoved by Cooley following a faceoff. Dowd came out of the scrum with blood near his eye.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s an emotional game,\u201d Dowd said.<\/p>\n

On Monday, Mammoth defenseman Sean Durzi received a $5,000 fine for his head-butt of Knights defenseman Rasmus Andersson in the first period. Durzi was called for roughing.<\/p>\n

Montreal Canadiens at Tampa Bay Lightning<\/p>\n

When\/Where to Watch: Game 2, Tuesday, 7 p.m. EDT (ESPN2)<\/p>\n

Series: Canadiens lead 1-0.<\/p>\n

The Lightning have lost four of their last five Game 1s of their opening rounds since winning back-to-back Stanley Cup titles in 2020 and \u201921.<\/p>\n

\u201cGame 1s are Game 1s,\u201d Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. \u201cI\u2019ve been part of series where we\u2019ve won them and lost the series, lost and won the series, and everything in between. That isn\u2019t as much of a concern as how we lost it. If that\u2019s going to be the way we keep going, then this series may not go as long as we thought.\u201d<\/p>\n

Boston Bruins at Buffalo Sabres<\/p>\n

When\/Where to Watch: Game 2, Tuesday, 7:30 p.m. EDT (ESPN)<\/p>\n

Series: Sabres lead 1-0.<\/p>\n

The Sabres have been tested through the course of a season in which they went from last in the Eastern Conference standings in early December to winning the division. Some of that included not backing down when games got chippy.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s been part of our strength, where we can wear people down,\u201d coach Lindy Ruff recently said. “Some of the guys that maybe aren\u2019t quite as tenacious become tenacious.\u201d<\/p>\n

Utah Mammoth at Vegas Golden Knights<\/p>\n

When\/Where to Watch: Game 2, Tuesday, 9:30 p.m. EDT (ESPN2)<\/p>\n

Series: Golden Knights lead 1-0.<\/p>\n

The Knights had a plus-47 third-period goal differential in the regular season. They outscored the Mammoth 3-0 in Game 1 in that period.<\/p>\n

\u201cLove the way we played,\u201d said forward Cole Smith, who had a cut on his lip.<\/p>\n

Los Angeles Kings at Colorado Avalanche<\/p>\n

When\/Where to Watch: Game 2, Tuesday, 10 p.m. EDT (ESPN)<\/p>\n

Series: Avalanche lead 1-0.<\/p>\n

Los Angeles played a gritty game and held Colorado, the highest scoring team in the league, to two goals.<\/p>\n

\u201cHolding them to two, I think they\u2019ve asked themselves the same question: Are they going to continue to win with two goals?\u201d Kings interim coach D.J. Smith said.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

AP Sports Writers Rob Maaddi and Mark Anderson, and AP Hockey Writers John Wawrow and Stephen Whyno contributed to this report.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

AP NHL: https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/NHL<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By PAT GRAHAM DENVER (AP) \u2014 The big hits always roll out this time of year. It’s just…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":556875,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5126],"tags":[5,186,1760,240,5303,793,145,5304,5302,4],"class_list":{"0":"post-556874","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-los-angeles-kings","8":"tag-hockey","9":"tag-kings","10":"tag-la","11":"tag-la-kings","12":"tag-lakings","13":"tag-los-angeles","14":"tag-los-angeles-kings","15":"tag-losangeles","16":"tag-losangeleskings","17":"tag-nhl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116438827648070087","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/556874","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=556874"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/556874\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/556875"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=556874"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=556874"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=556874"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}