Round One - Isles and Leafs fall short in Game 1

Game 1 | April 20, 2024 | Carolina Hurricanes 3, New York Islanders 1

Canes opened up the Stanley Cup Playoffs at PNC Arena with a power play goal scored by Evengy Kuznetsov after the Islanders’ Captain Anders Lee received a holding penalty. Midway through the first period, Islanders’ Kyle MacLean tied the game after the puck trickled through the net despite Canes' Frederick Andersen's attempts to cover the puck. Although the Islanders did have a power play opportunity, they were unable to capitalize on it and the game went into the second period with a score of 1-1.

The Canes had another power play opportunity after Islanders’ Matt Martin received a delay of game penalty about 6 minutes into the second period. This attempt was unsuccessful as they were unable to score on the man advantage against Semyon Varlamov who was the Islanders goaltender for this game. The Islanders had more shots on goal (13) compared to the Canes (6) during this period, however, none of them were able to slip past Anderson. Overall, each team had good scoring chances during the second period despite it being scoreless and remaining a tied game.

Canes’ Stefan Nossen broke the tie and made it a one-goal game during the third period with a goal scored at 16:16. Nossen also received a high sticking penalty at 08:32 which put the Islanders on the power play for 2-minutes. With one second left on the Islanders’ scoreless power play, Kyle Palmieri received a slashing penalty. Although the Canes had the man-advantage, they were also unable to score on their power play opportunity. Islanders pulled their goaltender with two minutes left of Game 1 in their last push to tie the game. This resulted with Martin Necas scoring an empty-net goal with 1 minute and 32 seconds left in the third period which secured the win for the Carolina Hurricanes. 

By the end of Game 1, Islanders’ goaltender, Semyon Varlamov, saved 23 out of 25 shots on goal and had a save percentage of 0.920. Canes’ goaltender, Frederick Andersen, saved 33 out of 34 shots on goal and had a save percentage of 0.971. The Carolina Hurricanes won with a final score of 3-1.

The Carolina Hurricanes lead 1-0 in round one of the playoffs against the New York Islanders.

Game 1 | April 20, 2024 | Boston Bruins 5, Toronto Maple Leafs 1

Boston Bruins struck first at TD Garden as John Beecher scored his first playoff game goal on a 2-on-1 against Leafs’ goaltender, Ilya Samsonov, at 17:34. Leafs’ Simon Benoit received a penalty for hooking which put the Bruins on the power play about 6 minutes into the game. The Bruins were unsuccessful with their first power play opportunity. Leafs’ Tyler Bertuzzi received a high-sticking penalty at 04:32 which put the Bruins on their second unsuccessful power play of the game. Max Domi (Leafs) and Charlie McAvoy (Bruins) received matching roughing penalties with a little over 10 seconds left in the first period. While playing 4-on-4 hockey, Bruins’ Hampus Lindholm received a cross-checking penalty which resulted in 4-on-3 hockey going into the second period. Despite having good scoring chances, the Leafs remained scoreless and trailed by one-goal against the Bruins by the end of the first period.  

The Bruins dominated the second period and scored 3 unanswered goals against Samsonov. Although the Leafs did go into the second period with the man-advantage, they were unable to capitalize on their power play opportunity against Bruins’ goaltender, Jeremy Swayman. The first goal was scored by Brandon Carlo at 14:13. After Austin Matthews was called on for a high-sticking penalty, Bruins’ Jake DeBrusk scored a power play goal and extended their lead. DeBrusk would go on to score another power play goal after Domi received a slashing penalty. With 1 minute and 54 seconds left of the third period, Bruins’ Charlie Coyle received an interference penalty right after a faceoff win and put the Leafs on the power play. 7 seconds of the Leafs power play carried into the beginning of the third period which ended with a score of 4-0 in the Bruins’ favor.

The third period started off with the remaining 7 seconds of the Leafs’ power play which they were unable to capitalize on. Although unsuccessful on the power play, they were able to get on the board a few minutes later after David Kampf scored the Leafs first goal of the game at 18:21. The Bruins were unsuccessful on another power play opportunity after Leafs’ Jake McCabe received a penalty for interference. The Leafs were given another power play opportunity at 04:48 after Bruins Brandon Carlo shot the puck over the glass which resulted in a delaying game penalty, however, the Leafs were unable to capitalize on their man-advantage. With 2 minutes and 11 seconds left in the third period, the Bruins extended their lead and secured their win with an empty-net goal scored by Trent Frederic. 

Game 1 was a physical game as there were multiple hits during all three periods. Leafs’ goaltender, Ilya Samsonov, had a save percentage of 0.826 and saved 19 out of 23 shots on goal. Bruins’ goaltender, Jeremy Swayman, had a save percentage of 0.972 and saved 35 out of 36 shots on goal. The Boston Bruins victoriously won with a final score of 5-1.

The Boston Bruins lead 1-0 in round one of the playoffs against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Who do you think is winning Game 2 between the Leafs vs. Bruins and Canes vs. Isles?

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