Playoff Open Thread: June 7th
Montreal could be in the semis by this time tomorrow
Yesterday’s Games:
Winnipeg Jets 1 @ Montreal Canadiens 5
And just like that, the Montreal Canadiens are winners of 6 straight and are on the verge of sweeping the team that swept Connor McDavid. Last night’s affair featured a fairly disinterested Winnipeg team. They did hit their fair share of crossbars, but they rarely get within 6 feet of Carey Price’s net. Montreal, for their part, have played well and played smart. My consolation is they should get trounced by whoever they play next round.
Colorado Avalanche 1 @ Vegas Golden Knights 5
The mirror of Game 1, in which the Avs won 7-1, this game was all Vegas after the first period. It’s a reminder that these are (in my opinion) the two best teams in the league. Anything can happen in the playoffs, but whoever wins this series should win it all.
Tonight’s Games:
New York Islanders @ Boston Bruins (6:30 pm ET, series tied 2-2)
This has been a fascinating series, with the Bruins’ top-end talent going up against the Islanders playing an overall team. Semyon Varlamov and Tuukka Rask have both been up to the task, making goals hard-fought. And Jean-Gabriel Pageau has looked really good trying to take on the Patrice Bergeron line. Tonight, the Bruins will have the last change, so we’ll see if Bruce Cassidy opts to get the Perfection Line away from JGP et compagnie.
Winnipeg Jets @ Montreal Canadiens (8:00 pm ET, Canadiens lead 3-0)
The Jets had about 24 hours to pick themselves up after a disappointing loss and be ready to play again tonight. If the Habs win, Montreal will be rocking like we haven’t seen since... the mid-90s, at least. If the Jets win, the focus will immediately shift to the next game, because the Jets will need to do everything right to come back from 3-0 down. We’ll see if Paul Stastny decides to gift Montreal a pair of powerplays tonight, or if he shakes off some of his Game 3 rust before it’s very, very too late.