Everything You Need To Know About the First Night of NHL Playoffs

The NHL Playoffs kicked off on Monday with a total of four games: Islanders vs. Hurricanes, Panthers vs. Bruins, Wild vs. Stars, and Kings vs. Oilers. Tuesday night had four more matchups with the Rangers vs. Devils, Lightning vs. Maple Leafs, Jets vs. Golden Knights, and the Kraken vs. the Avalanche.

Prior to the playoffs, the Islanders had an overall record of 42-31-9 and a 5-4-1 record in their last 10 games played. This team was ranked fourth in the Metropolitan division, scored 243 goals, accumulated 93 points, and ended the regular season with a win. The Hurricanes, on the other hand, stood at 52-21-9 with a 5-5-0 record in their final 10 games. They gathered 113 points, scored 266 goals, and had a streak of two wins.

These two teams were matched up four times this season with the Hurricanes taking home three of those wins. The first game was in late October and had the Islanders coming out victorious with a 6-2 win. The Hurricanes turned things around the next time they met with the Islanders, finding a three-point shutout in early December. The Hurricanes kept up that same trend, winning 5-2 in January, and 2-1 earlier this month.

Game one came to a close, with the Islanders falling to their opponent. The Hurricanes scored the only goal in the first period, which was followed by both teams scoring one a piece in the second. A lack of scoring in the third put the Carolina Hurricanes one win closer to the second round of the playoffs.

The second game of the night was the Panthers vs. the Bruins. The Panthers were fourth in the Atlantic division while the Bruins resided in the top spot. The Boston based team made history with a winning record of 65-12-5, earning 135 points and 305 goals. In their last 10 games, they had a record of 9-1-0 and a winning streak of eight. The Florida Panthers had an overall record of 42-32-8; they gathered 92 points, and 290 goals this season. In their recent 10 games, they had a record of 6-3-1 and ended the regular season with two losses.

When the Bruins and Panthers met four times this season, each team took home two wins a piece. In their first game, the Bruins came out on top with a 5-3 score. About a month later, the Panthers matched that same energy earning themselves a win of 5-2. Then December came along and the Bruins found another win at 7-3, which was followed by the Panthers having the last word at 4-3.

The Bruins secured another win on Monday night with a two-point win over their Florida rival. The Bruins made their first goal in the first period and followed up with two more points in the second. The Panthers were able to put one point on the board in the second, but it didn’t quite do the trick.

Heading over to the Stars vs. Wild game, we saw the second and third seeded teams duke it out for a chance to continue on. The Stars held a 47-21-14 record, earning 108 points and putting 285 pucks in the net. Their final 10 games had a record of 8-2-0, and ended the regular season with a winning streak of six. The Wild finished out the regular season with an overall record of 46-25-11, earning 103 points with 246 goals. Their streak of two losses came from the last 10 game record being 5-3-2.

Once again, these two teams met four times this season with the first being back in early December. Similar to the Bruins vs. Panthers, each team took home two wins with the first being made by the Wild at 6-5. Only a few weeks after their first game, the teams were paired up again. The tables were turned and the Stars were able to get three points on their opponent, taking home a win of 4-1. Early February had the Stars coming back for a second time in a row with a win of the same exact score. Ending their four-time matchup, the Wild gathered one last win with a score of 2-1.

This playoff game was a nail-biter with the teams going into double overtime. The Minnesota Wild led in the first period by a single point and added another in the second. The Dallas Stars found their way in the second and knotted the score at two points. A scoreless third period led to overtime, which was then shifted into double overtime before the Wild came out on top at 3-2.

The final game of the night was the Edmonton Oilers vs. LA Kings. The Oilers stood in second for the Pacific division with an overall record of 50-23-9. Their opponent happened to be in the seed behind them with a record of 47-25-10. Edmonton gathered 109 points this season with 325 goals and finished out the regular season with a streak of nine wins. LA earned 104 points, netted 280 goals, and ended their season with two wins. In their final 10 games, the Oilers had a record of 9-0-1, while the Kings ended with 5-5-0.

In mid-November, the teams took to the ice and had the Kings taking home a win at 3-1. They then had almost two months to prepare for the matchup, which led to another win from the Kings with a score of 6-3. The Oilers managed to change things around for the last two games, winning both with a two point shutout in late March and 3-1 win at the beginning of this month.

Closing out the night was a game with another overtime win. The Oilers led with two points in the first period, putting them on top through a scoreless second. The Kings suddenly made way with their three points, ultimately tying the score when the Oilers made another goal. The game went into overtime with the final point being made by the Kings.