The Stanley Cup playoffs are always full of excitement and surprises, and as the best players tend to lead their teams deep into playoffs, the supporting cast and unexpected players are the ones who help push the team to the next level. We are going to look at five players who had breakout performances during
2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs
The Tampa Bay Lightning suffered an extremely difficult 3-2 overtime loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday for a few reasons. In falling behind 3-1 in the Stanley Cup Final, it appears that Nazem Kadri’s game-winner should not have been allowed because the Avalanche had too many men on the ice. Yet, it was not
Here we go, it’s Stanley Cup Final time. We have two teams ready to kick things off this week after two final teams were sent to the golf course. Out of the Western Conference, the Colorado Avalanche look to win their first Stanley Cup title since the 2000-01 season. From the Eastern Conference, the Tampa
With the conclusion of the Eastern Conference Final, the matchup for the 2022 Stanley Cup Final is set. The Colorado Avalanche are set to take on the Tampa Bay Lightning, who are looking to become the first organization to win three consecutive Stanley Cups since the New York Islanders of the early-1980s. The Lightning represent
The New York Rangers fought to earn their place in the Eastern Conference Final against the Tampa Bay Lightning and will play Game 5 tonight at Madison Square Garden. The series is knotted at 2-2, and the Rangers will rely on their home-ice advantage to eliminate the Lightning. Though the Rangers face perpetual struggles on
Now that the dust has settled, I can acknowledge that head coach Jay Woodcroft turned the Edmonton Oilers’ season around when he took over the bench on Feb. 11. The Oilers were outside of a playoff spot when he took over, and the team went 26-9-3 the rest of the regular season, and he guided
With the 4-1 win on June 7, the Tampa Bay Lightning have tied the Eastern Conference Final at two games apiece. After going down 2-0 in the series, the Lightning have completely turned it around and head to New York City Thursday with all the momentum. Tuesday night featured a patented performance by the Lightning,
Whether or not the Tampa Bay Lightning move on for a chance at a third straight Stanley Cup, Sunday’s dramatic victory is just one more example of a team that showed a lot of resiliency this season. For a great deal of the 2021-22 regular season and the playoffs, there was doubt that this team
In the opening stanza of Game 3 of the 2022 Western Conference Final, the Colorado Avalanche’s Nazem Kadri was on the receiving end of a dangerous hit, the ensuing headfirst impact eliminating him from the rest of the series at minimum. For a player who was producing at an elite level and finally looked to
The Colorado Avalanche have had lofty goals of ‘Stanley Cup or Bust’ for the last couple of seasons. They’re one win away from getting that chance. The Avs moved to 6-0 on the road in the postseason, downing the Edmonton Oilers 4-2 on Saturday in Game 3 of the Western Conference Final. The win put
The Edmonton Oilers have started the 2022 NHL Western Conference Final best-of-seven series against the Colorado Avalanche with back-to-back losses, the latest being a 4-0 drubbing in Game 2 at Ball Arena in Denver on Thursday (June 2). As the series shifts to Rogers Place for the next two games, Game 3 on Saturday (June
The Tampa Bay Lightning have moved one step closer to their third straight Stanley Cup but will have to deal with the New York Rangers, who defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 6-2 in Game 7 of their series to advance to the Eastern Conference Final, before moving one step closer to that goal. If the Lightning
Nikita Kucherov’s pass that set up Ross Colton’s game-winning goal will probably be the main memory taken from the Tampa Bay Lightning’s Game 2 win against the Florida Panthers. But without the physical sacrifice of a group of Lightning players, that play may have not had the impact that it did on the game. It
The Florida Panthers showed why they were the Presidents’ Trophy winner by taking their first-round series against the Washington Capitals four games to two. This is Florida’s first playoff series win since June of 1996, in which they beat the Pittsburgh Penguins in seven games to claim the Eastern Conference title and move on to
Game 1 between the Edmonton Oilers and the Calgary Flames on Wednesday night was one of the craziest playoff games the league has seen in some time. It was an extremely ugly performance for the Oilers, who appeared out of sync from the get-go and gave up nine goals on the evening. Admittedly, the Flames
The St. Louis Blues will attempt to even their second-round series against the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday night before heading back to St. Louis. After an overtime loss in Game 1, the Blues will look to reassert the authority that powered them over the Minnesota Wild in Round 1. 2 Storylines: Blues Blues Ready for Game 2
As Game 1 is set to take place against their bitter rival, the Edmonton Oilers, the Calgary Flames announced that they have recalled Juuso Valimaki from the Stockton Heat of the American Hockey League. The Heat do not start their third-round playoff series until Monday, which means this could simply be an insurance move by
The Los Angeles Kings surprised many by making the playoffs this season and then surprised even more by taking the Edmonton Oilers to seven games. Unfortunately, they could not pull off an upset in round one, but they did have several impressive performers during their first-round series. Here are five players who impressed in the