While the Boston Bruins needed two overtime to dominate the Washington Capitals and gain the lead in the series, the Carolina Hurricanes and Colorado Avalanche posted their second wins in two games. The Winnipeg Jets won the first set against the Edmonton Oilers.
Boston leads the series against Washington. After winning Game 2, the Bruins came back hard in the third game with the Capitals. After a scoreless first period, Alexander Ovechkin opened hostilities after eight minutes of play, taking advantage of a power play. But, less than a minute later, Taylor Hall put the two teams tied. With just under two minutes remaining in the second half, Nic Dowd put the Capitals back in front. Nonetheless, Brad Marchand took both teams into overtime for the third time in a row, enjoying a power play just under nine minutes to go. A first extra period did not help to make the difference but, almost six minutes in the second, Craig Smith gave the Bruins the victory (3-2 ap). Carolina, for her part, confirmed the success of the first game against Nashville. The Hurricanes did not let the Predators exist in this meeting with Sebastian Aho who opened the scoring after eight minutes and Alex Nedeljkovic who stopped the 32 shots he suffered. However, Carolina’s players waited until the last minute to seal the fate of the game. The Finn went from his double with 53 seconds from the end of the match before Warren Foegele did not add up with 28 seconds to go (3-0).
The Jets start well
In the North Division, the Winnipeg Jets did not miss their debut in the NHL play-offs. But, against the Edmonton Oilers, they first conceded the opener early in the second period, with Jesse Puljujarvi scoring Edmonton’s only goal in the game. Indeed, less than three minutes later, Tucker Poolman tied the two teams for the last 20 minutes. A final third time that saw the Jets break away irreparably. Dominic Toninato gave the advantage to his team just over ten minutes from the end of the meeting. It was in 32 seconds that Winnipeg killed all suspense thanks to Kyle Connor and Blake Wheeler (1-4). A first advantage that the Jets will be able to confirm this Friday, still on the ice of Edmonton. Colorado, for its part, once again staged a break from St. Louis. It took only 35 seconds to see the Avalanche open by Joonas Donskoi before Nathan McKinnon took advantage of a numerical advantage to make the break at the very end of the first period. The Finn got his double at the start of the second half before Sammy Blais reacted for the Blues. The start of the third period saw the two teams go blow for blow with Brayden Schenn and Mike Hoffman bringing St. Louis to one goal, Nathan McKinnon signing his second goal between the Blues’ two goals. However, Brandon Saad and Nathan McKinnon’s triple sealed the fate of the game (6-3), the second victory in two sets for Colorado.
NHL / PLAY-OFFS 2021
1st round
Central division
Carolina Hurricanes (1) – Nashville Predators (4) : 2-0
Match 1 – Carolina Hurricanes – Nashville Predators : 5-2
Match 2 – Carolina Hurricanes – Nashville Predators : 3-0
Match 3 : Nashville Predators – Carolina Hurricanes le 21 mai
Match 4 : Nashville Predators – Carolina Hurricanes le 23 mai
Match 5 (if necessary): Carolina Hurricanes – Nashville Predators le 25 mai
Match 6 (if necessary): Nashville Predators – Carolina Hurricanes le 27 mai
Match 7 (if necessary): Carolina Hurricanes – Nashville Predators le 29 mai
East division
Washington Capitals (2) – Boston Bruins (3) : 1-2
Match 1 – Washington Capitals – Boston Bruins : 3-2 (ap)
Match 2 – Washington Capitals – Boston Bruins : 3-4 (ap)
Match 3 – Boston Bruins – Washington Capitals : 3-2 (ap)
Match 4 : Boston Bruins – Washington Capitals le 21 mai
Match 5 (if necessary): Washington Capitals – Boston Bruins le 23 mai
Match 6 (if necessary): Boston Bruins – Washington Capitals le 25 mai
Match 7 (if necessary): Washington Capitals – Boston Bruins le 27 mai
North Division
Edmonton Oilers (2) – Winnipeg Jets (3) : 0-1
Match 1 – Edmonton Oilers – Winnipeg Jets : 1-4
Match 2 : Edmonton Oilers – Winnipeg Jets le 21 mai
Match 3 : Winnipeg Jets – Edmonton Oilers le 23 mai
Match 4 : Winnipeg Jets – Edmonton Oilers le 24 mai
Match 5 (if necessary): Edmonton Oilers – Winnipeg Jets le 26 mai
Match 6 (if necessary): Winnipeg Jets – Edmonton Oilers le 28 mai
Match 7 (if necessary): Edmonton Oilers – Winnipeg Jets le 30 mai
West Division
Colorado Avalanche (1) – St. Louis Blues (4) : 2-0
Match 1 – Colorado Avalanche – St. Louis Blues: 4-1
Match 2 – Colorado Avalanche – St. Louis Blues: 6-3
Match 3 : St. Louis Blues – Colorado Avalanche May 21
Match 4 : St. Louis Blues – Colorado Avalanche May 23
Match 5 (if necessary): Colorado Avalanche – St. Louis Blues May 25
Match 6 (if necessary): St. Louis Blues – Colorado Avalanche May 27
Match 7 (if necessary): Colorado Avalanche – St. Louis Blues May 29
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