In the hockey league NHL, the first playoff round is coming to an end. Carolina failed to capitalize on its first game ball against the New York Islanders. Dallas, in turn, acquired a first game ball by winning over Minnesota.
In the NHL playoffs, the Dallas Stars have turned a 1–2 deficit into a 3–2 lead in the playoff series against the Minnesota Wild. In Dallas, Roope Hintz was behind three goals as the team defeated Minnesota 4–0 at home.
Roope Hintz has started the playoffs impressively, to say the least. In four games, the Finn has been recorded for 4+7=11 points.
Last night, the Finn played until Tyler Seguin’s 1-0 goal (2.22), Jason Robertson’s 2-0 goal (11.04) and Mason Marchement’s 3-0 goal (21.19). At the end, Ty Dellandrea punctuated the game with the 4-0 puck into an empty net.
It was Minnesota that won the shooting statistics with 27-25 but Jake Oettinger in the home goal was spotless with 27 saves on 27 shots.
Miro Heiskanen pulled a heavy load in the Dallas defense. The Finn was noted for 28.20 in ice time and was the match’s only player to appear for 25 minutes. Ryan Suter played for just over 21 minutes and was second in ice time in Dallas.
| Player | Point |
|---|---|
| 1. Roope Hintz, DAL | 4+7=11 |
| 2. Leon Draisaitl, EDM | 6+4=10 |
| 3. Mitch Marner, TOR | 2+8=10 |
| 4. Evan Bouchard, EDM | 2+6=8 |
| 5. Connor McDavid, EDM | 2+6=8 |
| 13. Mikko Rantanen, COL | 5+1=6 |
| 15. Sebastian Aho, CAR | 3+3=6 |
| 22. Miro Heiskanen, DAL | 0+6=6 |
Carolina fumbled the first match ball
The Carolina Hurricanes had the opportunity to secure advancement in the NHL playoffs but did not succeed. The New York Islanders, who were under pressure to win, won 3–2 on the road, reducing the playoff series to 2–3 in games.
Carolina won shots on goal 36–22, but did not have the margins on their side. Sebastian Aho reduced, on an assist from Jesperi Kotkaniemi, to 2–3 when 50.28 had been played but otherwise did not have the margins on his side.
Late in the first period, Aho made a nice play leading up to Stefan Noesen’s power play goal, but the Islanders appealed and the subsequent video review revealed that the goal was ruled offside 20 seconds earlier.
In the same power play, Aho had a neat crossbar a minute later.
Early in the second period the bad luck continued. The Finn was parked in front of his own goal when Pierre Engvall’s shot hit him in the face. The puck landed on the stick of Brock Nelson who could easily score the Islanders’ 2–0 lead. Aho received a few stitches but was quickly back in the match.
– Engvall probably didn’t aim at the face. It’s hockey, things like that happen, says Aho after the game according to the NHL website.
Jesse Puljujärvi was noted for his first playoff point when he played up to Paul Stastny’s 1–2 cut midway through the half period.
Mathew Barzal extended the Islanders’ lead to 3–1 when 38.05 had been played and in the final period Carolina got no closer than Aho’s 2–3 reduction.
“The puck didn’t bounce our way”
Carolina thus failed to take advantage of their first match point. The team now leads 3-2 in games and the next game will be played on Long Island on Friday at 11:00 p.m.
– Playoff hockey must be tough. We were prepared for a long series, notes Aho.
Aho’s coach Rod Brind’Amour was not
– We were tough and I liked the way we played. We had to make up for a few mistakes, but they weren’t very numerous. The puck just wasn’t bouncing our way, says the Carolina coach.
The article is being updated…
Results
Carolina–NY Islanders 2–3
CAR: Sebastian Aho 1+0, +/- 0, 18.41
CAR: Jesperi Kotkaniemi 0+1, -2, 14.02
CAR: Jesse Puljujärvi 0+1, +1, 12.42
CAR: Antti Raaanta 19/22 räddningar
Carolina leads 3–2 in games.
Dallas–Minnesota 4–0
DAL: Jani Hakanpää 0+0, +/- 0, 20.35
DAL: Miro Heiskanen 0+1, +2, 28.20
DAL: Roope Hintz 0+3, +1, 16.18
DAL: Joel Kiviranta 0+0, +/- 0, 10.55
FROM: Esa Lindell 0+0, +/- 0, 19.01
Dallas leads 3-2 in games.
Edmonton–Los Angeles 6–3
LAK: Joonas Korpisalo 15/19 räddningar (utbytt 31.49)
LAK: Rasmus Kupari 0+0, +/- 0 11.34
Edmonton leads 3–2 in matches.
