What a night of hockey we had on Thursday. First, the Rangers and Hurricanes were vying for victory in Game 5 of the series in Carolina, and the battle for Alberta continued into the night. Let’s start with the game between the Oilers and the Flames.
It’s over for Calgary!
To the surprise of many, the Edmonton Oilers had a chance to finish the series in five short games against the Flames who, let’s remember, were dominant in the regular season.
Edmonton can thank the brilliance of their captain Connor McDavid, who has been fired up since the start of the playoffs.
Back to the game. It was the Flames who knocked on the door first of the game, courtesy of a goal scored by Andrew Mangiapane midway through the first half.
It was the first goal scored in this crazy game:
๐๐๐ #Stanley Mug
๐บ๐ธ: @espn โก๏ธ https://t.co/bzWaMzC7Pw
๐จ๐ฆ: @Sportsnet โก๏ธ https://t.co/Yo7rYYsIXb pic.twitter.com/T7oWrvh56y– NHL (@NHL) May 27, 2022
In a few moments, you’ll understand why I refer to the game as “completely insane.”
In the second half no less than seven (!!!) goals were scored between the two teams.
Backlund, Nurse, Puljujarvi, Hyman, Gaudreau, Jarnkrok and Bouchard hit the mark… leading both teams to the locker room tied at four goals each.
Here, in a few words, all the goals of the second:
Game 5. The Battle of Alberta. Seven goals in the second half…
Yes, this series is AMAZING. ๐ #Stanley Mug
๐บ๐ธ: @espn โก๏ธ https://t.co/bzWaMzC7Pw
๐จ๐ฆ: @Sportsnet โก๏ธ https://t.co/Yo7rYYsIXb pic.twitter.com/R9Tp8BIT1M– NHL (@NHL) May 27, 2022
Everything calmed down in the third half, when we felt the nervousness between the two formations. The game was a little closer and the nervousness among the players was noticeable, both among the Flames and among the Oilers.
No goals were scored in the last period, which entitled us to extra time to determine a winner in the game.
And who else but Captain McDavid to send the Flames on vacation?
The 97 Oilers shoot unannounced while stationed at the enclave to give their team the victory while also eliminating the Flames.
Connor McDavid (@cmcdavid97) sends the @edmontonoilers to the Western Conference finals! ๐ฅถ #Stanley Mug pic.twitter.com/3RHXewWSxT
– NHL (@NHL) May 27, 2022
A pleasant surprise at the end!
The Hurricanes take the lead in the series.
After the Rangers won Games 3 and 4 at home, the series between New York and Carolina moved to the home of the Hurricanes for the fifth meeting between the two formations.
The Hurricanes have been burning at home since the start of the playoffs and have yet to be beaten. Therefore, the opportunity was good for the Rangers to end this winning streak.
However, the Canes were the first to score in the match, with a simply magnificent goal from Vincent Trocheck. Enjoy the staging of Captain Jordan Staal:
Yddddd we’re going with the sauce! ๐ธ #Stanley Mug
๐บ๐ธ: @espn โก๏ธ https://t.co/afftaLxXIl
๐จ๐ฆ: @Sportsnet โก๏ธ https://t.co/9U1Fw2tRY8 pic.twitter.com/QsOvhkR1d7– NHL (@NHL) May 26, 2022
The Rangers’ heavy weapons, fairly quiet in the first two games in the series, seem to have finally woken up.
Mika Zibanejad, assisted by Artemi Panarin and Adam Fox, hits a powerful single shot to bring everyone back to square one. After the first half of the game, the score was one to one.
It’s a 1-1 hockey game after the first! #Stanley Mug
๐บ๐ธ: @espn โก๏ธ https://t.co/afftaLxXIl
๐จ๐ฆ: @Sportsnet โก๏ธ https://t.co/9U1Fw2tRY8 pic.twitter.com/jRZMkllK4X– NHL (@NHL) May 26, 2022
The rest of the game’s business went to the Carolina side, which muzzled New York’s offense with only 17 short shots in the game.
In the second half, Teuvo Terevainen scored his team’s second goal using a power play to give his team the lead. A good goal, by the way:
Teuvo Teravainen power play counts! ๐ #Stanley Mug
๐บ๐ธ: @espn โก๏ธ https://t.co/afftaLxXIl
๐จ๐ฆ: @Sportsnet โก๏ธ https://t.co/9U1Fw2tRY8 pic.twitter.com/1M9v2LqWRr– NHL (@NHL) May 27, 2022
Although the lead was only one goal, we felt that Rangers were demotivated after Terevainen’s net. Nothing was working anymore and the players seemed a bit desperate.
Let’s still give credit to the Hurricanes, who played solid hockey in the game.
To deliver the coup de grรขce, Andrei Svechnikov broke away in the third period, hit a magnificent backhand feint and slipped the puck between Igor Shesterkin’s two pads.
At the same time, it was all over for the Rangers in this match:
Andrey Svechnikov (@ASvechnikov_37) fill in the leadโผ๏ธ #Stanley Mug
๐บ๐ธ: @espn โก๏ธ https://t.co/afftaLxXIl
๐จ๐ฆ: @Sportsnet โก๏ธ https://t.co/9U1Fw2tRY8 pic.twitter.com/8D6tb3aHdT– NHL (@NHL) May 27, 2022
Thus, the Hurricanes take a 3-2 series lead and will have a chance to eliminate the Rangers in the next game.
A lot of
– Awesome.
Leon Draisaitl (0-4-4) took into account four of the @edmontonoilersFive goals to boost his 2022 #Stanley Mug Playoffs stands at 7-19โ26 (12 GPs), tied with teammate Connor McDavid (7-19โ26 in 12 GPs) for the NHL lead in points.
#StatisticsNHL: https://t.co/GsrxOmZ19p pic.twitter.com/yXoCCgnsWRโ NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) May 27, 2022
โ The Hurricanes are dominant at home.
There is no place like home for @Canes.
Carolina extended its postseason-opening home win streak to seven games and joined the 2013 Kings (8 GP) and 2014 Blackhawks (7 GP) as only the third team to do so in the past decade. #Stanley Mug #StatisticsNHL: https://t.co/GsrxOmZ19p pic.twitter.com/qTMSy2LvfZ
โ NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) May 27, 2022
โ Only one game tonight. Avalanche vs Blues, at 8 pm!
#Series #Recap #Connor #McDavid #sends #Flames #vacation