The President’s Trophy Curse is real. Only two of the last 13 President’s Trophy winners have gone on to win the Stanley Cup, and the Tampa Bay Lightning might make that 2 of 14 soon. The Lightning are now down 0-2 to Columbus, and are facing a must-win situation on Sunday night. To make matters worse, they may be without Art Ross Trophy winner Nikita Kucherov for at least Game 3.
Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov will have a hearing with the NHL Department of Player Safety on Saturday for boarding Blue Jackets defenseman Markus Nutivaara with 4:26 left in Game 2, a 5-1 Columbus win. The Blue Jackets lead the best-of-7 series 2-0. https://t.co/C9Qpdm1PE4
— NHL.com (@NHLdotcom) April 13, 2019
Nikita Kucherov will find out whether he is suspended for Game 3 on Saturday. Late in Tampa Bay’s 5-1 loss to Columbus in Game 2, Kucherov tripped and then boarded Markus Nutivaara. He earned a tripping minor and a boarding major for his actions, and the NHL’s SOP is to suspend a player for a game afterward. Losing the league’s points leader would be a huge loss for an already struggling Tampa Bay.
2-0 series lead. ☑️
Game 2️⃣ recap presented by @Ticketmaster: https://t.co/h4YMSEiFiH
— New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) April 13, 2019
Another one of the Eastern Conference favorites is in a 2-0 hole as the New York Islanders knocked off the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-1 on Friday night. The Islanders’ raucous crowd has been one of the stories of the series, but Pittsburgh didn’t help matters by committing six penalties in the loss.
Good morning, #stlblues fans! pic.twitter.com/QFhJpZRh3S
— St. Louis Blues 🏆 (@StLouisBlues) April 13, 2019
Winnipeg’s end of the season slump has carried into the playoffs, and the Jets are in real trouble. They are now down 0-2 to the St. Louis Blues after a 4-3 loss on Friday night, and the series will shift to St. Louis for the next two games. Teams that go up 2-0 in a series go on to win the series 86.4 percent of the time, so the Blues have to like their chances.
Mark Stone is our forever mood pic.twitter.com/bME6Za7tZM
— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) April 13, 2019
The game of the night was the late one, as the Sharks erased a 3-0 first period deficit in the span of three minutes. That wasn’t enough for the win though, as the Golden Knights stormed back to win 5-3 and knot the series at one apiece. San Jose fans are disappointed after what appeared to be a go-ahead goal was nullifed with Vegas being awarded a penalty instead, and head coach Pete DeBoer was very blunt with his assessment after the game.
Game over. 🇨🇦 is edged by 🇫🇮 and will play for bronze.
Game stats: https://t.co/PvzruTlxZY #WomensWorlds pic.twitter.com/659VXzZOig
— Team Canada Women (@HC_Women) April 13, 2019
Hosts Finland stunned Team Canada at the IIHF Women’s Ice Hockey World Championships on Saturday, forcing the Canadians to play for bronze. Most observers were expecting Team Canada and Team USA to play for gold, but that won’t be happening.
Top Stories
- NHL playoffs 2019: Lightning’s Nikita Kucherov could be facing further punishment after hit in Game 2 | Sporting News
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The Islanders Return to Nassau Coliseum, and to Winning in the Playoffs | New York Times
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Blues get Jets again, return with 2-0 series lead | St. Louis Post Dispatch
- DeBoer: Interference call on Sharks ‘a travesty’ | ESPN
- Raty helps Finland stun Canada in women’s worlds semis | TSN
