Vegas Survives Draisaitl's 4 Goals to Win Game 1

Good morning and happy Thursday, May 4th.

Today’s lineup:

• Vegas survives Draisaitl's 4 goals

• Hurricanes smother Devils in Game 1

• NHL announces Calder finalists

• And more 👇

Joe Pavelski and now Leon Draisaitl have reaffirmed beyond a reasonable doubt that a strong team effort trumps a great individual performance when it comes to winning NHL playoff games.

Draisaitl became the second NHLer in 24 hours to score four goals in a playoff game only to find himself on the losing end of the game. Draisaitl’s effort couldn’t prevent the Vegas Golden Knights from beating the Edmonton Oilers 6-4 Wednesday.

Pavelski netted four goals for the Dallas Stars Tuesday in a 5-4 overtime loss to the Seattle Kraken.

This was the second time in Stanley Cup Playoffs history that players posted four-goal efforts on consecutive days. Buffalo’s John Tucker and St. Louis’ Tony Hrkac did it on April 9-10, 1988.

This is the first time the NHL has had two players produce four goals in a playoff year since 1992 when Washington’s Dino Ciccarelli and Pittsburgh’s Kevin Stevens accomplished it.

Teams that have four-goal scorers in a playoff contest usually win: Seattle and Vegas were the fourth and fifth NHL teams to win a playoff contest while allowing an opposing player to find the net four times.

Teams with a four-goal scorer in a playoff game are 36-5 in NHL history. That’s an 87.8% winning percentage.

The Golden Knights won with a strong overall team effort. Vegas scored three times in the third period. Ivan Barbashev had two goals, while Mark Stone and Jack Eichel each chipped in a goal and an assist. Vegas goalie Laurent Brossoit posted 23 saves.

The Edmonton Sun headline read: Oilers waste Draisaitl magic.

Draisaitl now has 11 goals in the first seven games of these playoffs. Not even Wayne Gretzky or Mark Messier did that. They had the Oilers team record of nine goals in the first seven playoff games before Draisaitl’s big night. This was Edmonton’s first four-goal playoff game since Jarri Kurri scored four in 1987.

🌀 Carolina Hurricanes smother New Jersey Devils in 5-1 Game 1 win. The Devils recorded one shot on goal in the first period, a 74-foot dump on net at 12:15, and only 18 shots the entire game. By the time the Devils started to find their game in the 2nd period, the Hurricanes had already established a 3-0 lead thanks to goals from Brett Pesce, Seth Jarvis, and Jesperi Kotkaniemi. Nathan Bastian finally got New Jersey on the board in the 2nd before Carolina’s Brady Skjei and Jesper Fast padded the ‘Canes lead to 5-1 in the 3rd.

🏆 The NHL announces Beniers, Power, and Skinner as Calder Trophy finalists. The Calder is awarded annually to the best rookie in the NHL as voted on by the Professional Hockey Writers Association. Matty Beniers of the Kraken led NHL rookies in points (57) and plus-minus rating (plus-14), and was tied with Wyatt Johnston of the Stars for most goals (24). Owen Power of the Sabres led rookie defensemen in assists (31) and points (35), and was tied for second in plus-minus rating (plus-10) with Dylan Samberg of the Jets. Stuart Skinner of the Oilers led rookie goalies in wins (29) and games (50) and was third in save percentage (.914) and fifth in goals-against average (2.75) among rookies to play at least 10 games.

Who led the Seattle Kraken in penalty minutes this season? This one surprised us!

• Why it’s time for the Maple Leafs to play the villain in series with Panthers

• Devils' Meier misses Game 1 vs. Hurricanes

• Matthew Knies is a gift to the Toronto Maple Leafs

• Ekholm's arrival has brought out the best in Oilers' Bouchard

• Panthers’ Matthew Tkachuk punishes opponents with matured game

• Kane, Tarasenko mull futures after Rangers' ousted by Devils

• Veteran Predators defenseman Mark Borowiecki retires

• Subban launches show showcasing diverse world of hockey

• Senators proving to be 'treasure' original owner Firestone was told they would be

• Capitals plan to interview Lightning assistant Halpern

• ⏱️ Barbashev & Stephenson fire up Vegas fans with 2 goals 50 seconds apart

• 🚨 Nathan Bastian scores pretty chip over Andersen’s blocker

• 💥 Jordan Martinook rocks Jonas Siegenthaler

• 🎯 Mike Amadio snipes Skinner glove side

• 🔁 Jesperi Kotkaniemi buries backdoor feed

• Olympic breakout pass drill

• 4 off ice exercises to increase your first step take off

TRIVIA ANSWER

Yanni Gourde led the Seattle Kraken with 76 penalty minutes this year 🤯