My Thoughts (May 1)

         Last night, we saw some more excitement from the Eastern Conference second round. First, the Tampa Bay Lightning evened the series between the New York Islanders at 1 game apiece. Here’s how it transpired:

         The Lightning once again started off well, with Tyler Johnson breaking the ice at 6:03. They would take a 2-0 lead on a Johnathan Drouin goal at 11:55 that snuck between the legs of Islander goaltender Thomas Greiss. Meanwhile, in the other net, Ben Bishop looked like his old self again, making 12 saves in the first period. The Islanders got on the board at 15:15 of the 1^st when Nikolay Kulemin deflected a Thomas Hickey shot behind Bishop on the power play.

         Despite being outshot 12-5 in the 1^st, the Lightning were up 2-1 and would carry the play for the rest of the game. At one point in the 2^nd period, the Lightning held the puck in the Islanders zone for so long, they made 2 line changes and 26 passes. This doesn’t just happen by accident. Coming into the game, the Lightning knew how important it was not to go down 2-0 in the best of 7 series. They came out flying while the Islanders appeared lazy at times.

         The Lightning went up 3-1 at 11:59 of the 2^nd when Victor Hedman directed a shot off of Islander defenseman Calvin da Haan’s skate into the net on the power play. The 3^rd period was uneventful except for Tyler Johnson’s empty net goal at 17:42. The Lightning had handily beaten the Islanders, and the series will now shift back to Brooklyn for game 3 on Tuesday.

Penguins vs. Capitals Game 2

         The Pittsburgh Penguins also entered Saturday trying to avoid going down 2-0 in a series. On the other hand, the Capitals just barely got by the Penguins in overtime of game 1. Here’s how game 2 ended up:

         Though outplaying the Capitals in the 1^st period, the Penguins couldn’t get any pucks by Vezina finalist Braden Holtby. The 1^st period ended with a scoreless tie and the loss of young Penguin defenseman Olli Maatta. Maatta was hit up high with a questionable hit by Brooks Orpik early in the game. Orpik will face a disciplinary hearing with the NHL Department of Player Safety today.

         The Penguins continued to carry the play in the 2^nd period, and finally broke through when Carl Hagelin scored off of a behind-the-net feed from Nick Bonino at 7:08. This game did not have the same intensity as game 1 until the end of the 2^nd . The Capitals thought they had scored, but the goal was immediately waived off when Evgeny Kuznetzov fell on top of Penguin goaltender Matt Murray. As a result, the Penguins were awarded a power play, much to the displeasure of the Capitals and their fans.

         Though the Penguins failed to convert on their power play, tempers continued to flare at the beginning of the 3^rd period when Kris Letang took a penalty, causing Marcus Johansson to score on the power play out of a net mouth scramble at 4:08. The Capitals had finally found their game, and largely outplayed the Penguins for the rest of the period. If not for the goaltending of rookie Matt Murray, the Penguins probably would have lost the game.

        

         Eric Fehr, a former Capital, broke the tie at 15:32 when he redirected a pass from Evgeni Malkin past Holtby’s glove. The Capitals had a big push in the final 2 minutes of regulation, but Murray came up big again. The Penguins somehow weathered the storm and escaped with a 2-1 win. This series now shifts to Pittsburgh for game 3 on Monday.