So much for the notion that goals are hard to come by in the playoffs. If the opening night of the chase for the Stanley Cup is an indication of what’s to come…
So much for the notion that goals are hard to come by in the playoffs. If the opening night of the chase for the Stanley Cup is an indication of what’s to come, the NHL is in for another wildly unpredictable postseason. Granted, Game 1 is a small sample size. But losing teams were outscored 18-4 on Monday night, with three teams losing by four or more goals and the Kings and Oilers combining to score seven times in the only opener decided by a single goal. Even reigning Conn Smythe Trophy winner Andrei Vasilevskiy posted ugly numbers — allowing five goals on 33 shots to Toronto — after going 16-7 with a 1.90 goals against average and.937 save percentage in helping Tampa Bay win the second of back-to-back Stanley Cup titles a year ago. Toronto handed the Lightning their worst playoff loss under coach Jon Cooper in a 5-0 road loss. “It’s the classic, you’ve got to turn the page,” Cooper said, adding he’s confident Vasilevskiy and the two-time defending champions will rebound with a strong performance in Game 2 on Wednesday night. The St. Louis Blues blanked the Minnesota Wild 4-0, with Marc-Andre Fleury giving up four goals on 31 shots. Carolina, meanwhile, scored four times in 24 shots against Boston’s Linus Ullmark on the way to a 5-1 win over the Bruins. In the only game not decided by multiple goals, Phillip Danault scored late as the Kings took advantage of Edmonton goalie Mike Smith failing to clear the puck from behind his net to beat the Oilers 4-3. The opening-night scoring barrage came after a regular season in which teams combined to average 6.29 goals per game — up from 5.87 the previous year. Monday night was also a busy night for officials, who doled out 48 penalty minutes in Blues-Wild. A combined 24 penalties were called in Lightning-Maple Leafs, resulting in a whopping 113 penalty minutes. BRUINS AT HURRICANES Carolina leads 1-0. Game 2,7 p.m.
