Hey everybody! Did you enjoy the first night of the NHL playoffs? I hope you did, but the real question on everybody's mind: How did the first night of the Yelnats Cup Playoffs go? We had but two games on the plate last night since the two byes fell at the same time. Here was the schedule:
Colorado Avalanche @ St-Louis Blues
Dallas Stars - bye
Carolina Hurricanes - bye
New York Islanders @ New Jersey Devils.
Those who need a reminder of just what the hell I'm talking about here, get up to speed HERE
Let's get to the good stuff! Join me after the jump.
Colorado Avalanche @ St-Louis Blues:
1st period:
St-Louis got things kicked off in a hurry with a Vladimir Sobotka goal, assisted by David Backes and Matt D'Agostini at the 0:34 mark. Chris Porter would follow with a goal of his own to make it 2-0 after 3:45. His goal was assisted by Nikita Nikitin and Cam Janssen. The Avs didn't pack up and leave however as they responded almost exactly 2 minutes later on a PP goal by David Jones, assisted by Adam Foote and Milan Hejduk. Ryan O'Byrne tied things up at the 9:49 mark with helpers by Paul Stastny and Matt Duchene. The 1st period ended 2-2.
2nd period:
Colorado jumped to their first lead of the game on an early period marker by Matt Hunwick, assisted by Jay McClement and Daniel Winnik. Later in the period, Backes scored, helpers by D'Agostini and Andy McDonald. Backes and D'Agostini led all players with 2 points each. Colorado seemed to have set the tone in the second frame, as evidenced by their 10-4 shot advantage in that period. The score was 3-3 after 40 minutes, pretty tight game!
3rd period:
St-Louis reclaimed the lead at the 5:45 mark on a McDonald goal, lone A went to Adam Cracknell, but Colorado responded quickly, tying the game at 4 with a McClement goal, assisted by Milan Hejduk and Erik Johnson at the 8:03 mark. David Jones later tallied his second goal of the night, assisted by John-Michael Liles and this would prove to be the game-winner as Matt Duchene added a back-breaker goal with under 5 minutes to go in the game. Liles and Kevin Porter with the assists, 6-4 Colorado, final.
Game Summary:
Period 1 2 3 OT Total
COL 2 1 3 - 6
STL 2 1 1 - 4
PIM STL: 4 2 2 - 8
PIM COL: 2 2 2 - 6
SOG STL: 15 4 11 - 30
SOG: COL: 9 10 14 - 33
3 stars:
#1: David Jones (2 goals, GWG)
#2: David Backes (G, A)
#3: John-Michael Liles (2A)
New York Islanders @ New Jersey Devils
1st period:
The first period featured a pretty tight battle as both teams exchanged the lead. Ilya Kovalchuk drew first blood as he scored at the 6:07 mark, helped by Zach Parise and Travis Zajac. Matt Martin responded a minute and a half later with assists going to Josh Bailey and John Tavares and a Frans Nielsen goal put the Isles in front 2-1 to end the period. Assists went to Matt Moulson and Zenon Konopka. Shots were nearly even, 13-12, advantage Isles.
2nd period:
Here's where the wheels started to fall off for the Devils. Jesse Joensuu and John Tavares scored a minute apart around mid-period to bring the score up to 4-1 for the Isles. Blake Comeau assisted on both goals and P.A. Parenteau and Radek Martinek added assists of their own. Mark Fayne got a major penalty.
3rd period:
Simulations can be crazy sometimes. Michael Grabner made it 5-1 for the Isles, assisted by Radek Martinek and Ty Wishart... and apparently, Ilya Kovalchuk found a way to make it 5-2...one second later.... O.K... Anyhoo, assists went to Henrik Tallinder and Travis Zajac for that one, making it 2 goals for Kovy and 2 helpers for Zajac. There would be no comeback however, as Bruno Gervais made it 6-2, aided by Matt Moulson and that would be the final. New York found a way to accumulate 18 PIM in that period, while the Devils got 2.
Game summary:
Period 1 2 3 OT Total
NYI 2 2 2 - 6
NJ 1 0 1 - 2
PIM NYI 4 2 18 - 24
PIM NJ 0 5 2 - 7
SOG NYI 13 13 12 - 38
SOG NJ 12 9 11 - 32
3 stars:
#1 John Tavares ( G, A, )
#2 Jesse Joensuu (GWG)
#3 Ilya Kovalchuk (2G)
Well, that's what the first night of the Yelnats Cup Playoffs looked like. What do you guys think? I know the game summary format is horrendous right now, I did it in a big hurry. Anyone have any suggestions?
Don't forget to send in your Yelnats (info before the jump) and Stanley Cup Brackets (info HERE) before friday!
Today, we've got a full menu of games:
Edmonton Oilers @ Calgary Flames
Columbus Blue Jackets @ Minnesota Wild
Florida Panthers @ Toronto Maple Leafs
Ottawa Senators @ Atlanta Thrashers
Have a nice day everyone, and tell EVERYONE about this. Non-Playoff teams need our love more than ever.
The Yelnats Cup Playoffs: History will be simulated.