The first 10 days of the Stanley Cup Playoffs have provided plenty of excitement and suspense — but little separation.
That’s especially been the case in the clustered eight-team Western Conference, where establishing a clear favorite has been virtually impossible.
Each of the four first-round series in the West were knotted 2-2 before the Dallas Stars became the first to break the deadlock with a 6-2 win against the visiting Colorado Avalanche in Game 5 on Monday night, giving them a 3-2 lead in their best-of-seven series.
Dallas coach Pete DeBoer said after the win that he sensed many doubted the Stars following their 4-0 loss in Game 4.
“They feed off people doubting them,” DeBoer said.
On the other hand, many expected the Winnipeg Jets to breeze through the first round after winning the Presidents’ Trophy with the best record in the NHL during the regular season. Instead, the Jets are in a dogfight with the St. Louis Blues, who went 13-2-1 over the final month of the regular season to edge out the Calgary Flames for the final wild-card spot from the Western Conference.
The Jets won two close games in Winnipeg before the series shifted to St. Louis, where the Blues exploded for 7-2 and 5-1 victories to even the series.
“It’s a best-of-three,” Blues defenseman Colton Parayko said after Game 4 on Sunday.
In the East, meanwhile, all four series stand at 3-1 after the Florida Panthers came from behind to beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-2 on Monday night in Sunrise, Florida.
Most of the matchups in the East have been just as close and competitive as those in the West. Nine of the 17 games were within a goal in the final two minutes.
The Toronto Maple Leafs had the first opportunity to advance, but they lost 4-3 in overtime to the Ottawa Senators on Saturday — the third straight overtime game in the series.
“It’s been close,” Toronto forward Matthew Knies said. “It’s great hockey out there. I’m sure it’s fun to watch.”
Based on regular-season point totals, the West had the stronger conference heading into the playoffs, particularly at the top.
Six of the nine NHL teams that reached triple digits in points during the regular season compete in the West.
Even the lower-seeded teams in the Western Conference had more success than their Eastern counterparts.
The Flames missed the postseason for the third straight season despite accumulating 96 points, the same as the Blues, while the Montreal Canadiens and New Jersey Devils made the Eastern Conference field with 91 points apiece.
When it came to individual goaltending during the regular season, nobody turned away shots better than Connor Hellebuyck of Winnipeg.
He led the NHL in wins (47), goals-against average (2.01) and was a close second in save percentage (.925). But he has struggled mightily in the postseason, particularly over the past two games.
Hellebuyck surrendered 11 goals on 43 shots in Games 3 and 4 and was replaced in the third period of both.
“I am going to be better,” Hellebuyck said after giving up five goals on 18 shots in Sunday’s 5-1 loss to the Blues. “That’s my job and that’s the foot that I’m putting forward. I can’t be giving up this many goals.”
He’s not alone.
Darcy Kuemper of the Los Angeles Kings and Andrei Vasilevskiy of the Lightning joined Hellebuyck as finalists for the Vezina Trophy — awarded annually to the NHL’s top goalie — but they’ve also been subpar in the playoffs.
Kuemper had the second-best GAA during the regular season (2.02), but ranks 20th (3.74) in the postseason. Vasilevskiy had the fourth-best mark (2.18), but is currently 15th (2.79) in the playoffs.
The hottest goalie has been Frederik Andersen of the Carolina Hurricanes, but he left in the second period of Sunday’s 5-2 win against the Devils after New Jersey forward Timo Meier collided with him.
Getting helped off the ice was an ominous sign for Andersen, who missed nearly three months of the regular season after undergoing knee surgery in November.
Pyotr Kochetkov would start Game 5 on Tuesday if Andersen is unavailable.
“He’s a capable goalie,” Carolina captain Jordan Staal said of Kochetkov. “We’ve always been comfortable with either goalie.”
The NHL’s top scorers have remained productive in the postseason.
Nathan MacKinnon of the Avalanche became the first player with five playoff goals when he scored on Monday night.
Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers — the highest-scoring teammates in the NHL over the past seven seasons — have each recorded nine points through four games, tied with Adrian Kempe of the Kings for the postseason lead.
Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals, who broke Wayne Gretzky’s NHL career scoring record late in the season before finishing with 44 goals, has maintained his touch with three goals through four games, including his first career overtime playoff winner in Game 1.
Tampa Bay forward Nikita Kucherov, who led the league with 121 points in 78 games during the regular season, has four assists through the first three games.
William Nylander of the Maple Leafs, who scored the second-most goals behind Draisaitl during the regular season (45), has just one goal through four games, but has added five assists.
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