The Bruins gave the Leafs a familiar taste of playoff misery with a 5-1 blowout in Boston.
The playoffs are back, and nothing really makes it feel like playoff hockey like kicking it off on a Saturday. While it was a light schedule for a day of first round hockey, it was a great way to give us a taste of the playoff action we’ve been craving all season.The expectations for this first round matchup between the Carolina Hurricanes and the New York Islanders were low, particularly in the entertainment department.
It didn’t seem like it early on though, as an early power play for the Canes lasted all of 12 seconds before they took they took a 1-0 lead only 1:35 into the game. Most surprisingly, it was the reclamation project Evgeny Kuznetsov who got the goal with a tight-angled snipe. However, the Islanders only needed seven minutes to get the game evened-up, as a deflection from Anders Lee disrupted Frederik Andersen in the crease, and Kyle MacLean was there to bury the garbage and tie it 1-1.
Kuznetsov, Necas and Brady Skjei all had multi-point nights, Andersen saved 33 of 34 shots for the win, and even in the loss, Semyon Varlamov was solid at the other end of the ice by stopping 23 of 25. The Canes did eventually slightly win out in possession as well, with the 5v5 score-adjusted expected goal battle ending at 2.45-2.
DeBrusk had two goals and three points while Brad Marchand and Charlie McAvoy had two assists and Jeremy Swayman stopped 35 of 36 shots to get the win. The Leafs won the 5v5 SA xG battle 3.03-2, but I doubt it felt like that for them, especially considering how much the Bruins worked their penalty kill.
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