The Colorado Avalanche are one game away from sending the No. 1 seed Calgary Flames out of the playoffs. Colorado was down 2-0 midway through the third period, but then J.T. Compher and Mikko Rantanen scored to tie the game. Rantanen struck again in overtime to give the Avalanche the win, and now they are up 3-1 in the series.
Mikko Rantanen with the slick one-timer to win it for the @Avalanche in OT! 🚨 pic.twitter.com/igj3IZ8RaS
— NHL on NBC (@NHLonNBCSports) April 18, 2019
Colorado is one game away from the conference semifinals. It’s been 11 years since the Avalanche won a first-round series and the Mile High City is anxious to see Colorado break through again. The Avalanche peppered Flames’ goalkeeper Mike Smith over the last two games with 56 shots in Game 3 and 52 shots in Game 4.
#NHLBRUINS WIN!!! 🙌
6-4 over the Leafs. Series is tied 2-2! pic.twitter.com/Gbc2rkczwR
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) April 18, 2019
The Boston Bruins used two David Pastrnak second period goals to move ahead of the Toronto Maple Leafs and eventually tie the series at two apiece with a 6-4 win. Boston head coach Bruce Cassidy shook things up by breaking up his first line of Pastrnak, Brad Marchand, and Patrice Bergeron, and that paid big dividends for the Bruins.
The @DallasStars' four goals in the first period tied the franchise record for the most goals scored in a single playoff period since the team moved to Dallas in 1993-94.
Here's @JoshBogorad & @Razor5Hole's call for all four. #GoStars | #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/hKUz954ZFL
— FOX Sports Southwest (@FOXSportsSW) April 18, 2019
Dallas took all the excitement out of Game 4 early, jumping on Nashville with four first-period goals. Three of those goals came off the power play, and the Stars’ Ben Bishop was great in net to tie the series at two.
Steven Stamkos suggested that if the Lightning knew the answer to what had gone wrong, it would have fixed it. #TBLightning #GoBolts @TBLightning #CBJ #TBLvsCBJ @dianacnearhos @TB_Times https://t.co/JriWVKVsfU
— TampaBayTimesSports (@TBTimes_Sports) April 17, 2019
The fallout continues in Tampa Bay as fans and the media try to figure out what went wrong with the Lightning. There are still no real answers for a team that collapsed harder than we’ve seen any other team collapse before, but the consternation is palpable.
Report: Only Crosby, Malkin 'untouchable' for Pens on trade market https://t.co/rpEPyTyJq0 pic.twitter.com/CbEdmz3yQL
— theScore NHL (@theScoreNHL) April 17, 2019
The Pittsburgh Penguins are another team looking for answers after a postseason collapse, but they seem far more likely to blow things up. The Athletic’s Rob Rossi reports that Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby are the only two untouchable pieces for the Penguins this offseason, as speculation ramps up that Phil Kessel may have played his last game in the Steel City.
Top Stories
- Rantanen scores in overtime as Avs edge Flames to take 3-1 series lead | TSN
- Leafs’ rally falls short as Bruins tie series | TSN
- Redemption story: Stars smash Predators in Game 4 as series heads back to Nashville | Dallas News
- The major casualty in the Lightning’s epic fold | Tampa Bay Times
- Did Phil Kessel just play his final game for the Penguins? | The Athletic
