With five games already being played in all of the first-round series, Thursday, May 12, will be a moving day for the NHL.
Everyone is either fighting to force a Game 7 or to move on to the next round. While all of the series have gone back-and-forth, there are a few teams facing elimination some may not have expected.
Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers will have to stave off elimination on the road in Game 6. Here’s a look at some of the games and things to look out for.
Can McDavid save the season?
Edmonton plays a fun brand of hockey and has the star power with McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. However, the Oilers haven’t looked good since they won Games 2 and 3 in convincing fashion. Edmonton was shut out in Game 4 before losing a heartbreaker in overtime in Game 5.
The Oilers’ stars have produced points, but it hasn’t been consistent throughout the series. McDavid has nine points (two goals, seven assists), Draisaitl has seven (five goals, two assists), and Evander Kane has six points (five goals, one assist). But Edmonton’s problem has been of its own doing.
Los Angeles dominated in shots, holding a 43-28 advantage in Game 5. The Kings also forced Edmonton into a lot of mistakes.
Los Angeles went on the power-play five times in Gam 5. While the Kings only scored on one of them, Edmonton had to expand a ton of energy defending.
There will be a lot of pressure on the Oilers in Game 6, as they haven’t advanced past the first round of the playoffs since the 2016-17 season.
Los Angeles +128 to close out the series at home may have some value. The Kings’ defense seems to have been able to figure out a way to mitigate Edmonton’s attack just enough.
Tired legs
What the Tampa Bay Lightning have done the past two seasons is incredible. However, the Toronto Maple Leafs have made life difficult as the Lightning pursue a three-pet.
Toronto grabbed a 3-2 series lead by scoring a 4-3 victory in Game 5. The Maple Leafs were able to win despite being outshot 35-25 and outhit 41-31.
Where Toronto has found an edge is inside the faceoff circle. The Maple Leafs have also gotten strong performance from star player Auston Matthews. Matthew has seven points in five games, including the game-winning goal in Game 5.
Tampa Bay will have to get better goaltending from Andrei Vasilevskiy than they did in Game 5. The usually reliable Vezina winner only had a .840 save percentage, allowing four goals in 25 shots. Vasilevskiy’s postseason save percentage has been .888, which is well below his season average of .916.
Flip a coin
The Minnesota Wild and St. Louis Blues were only separated by four points in the regular-season standings, so it’s no surprise that they are in the middle of a hotly-contested series. Wild goalie Marc-Andre Fleury has been torched in the last two games by the Blues.
Fleury has allowed ten goals in a pair of 5-2 losses. When Minnesota won Games 2 and 3, Fleury’s save percentage was well above .900. Blues winger Vladimir Tarasenko had a big Game 5 for St. Louis, recording a hat trick.
The Wild will need to be more disciplined with the puck in Game 6 if they want to survive. Minnesota gave the puck away seven times in Game 5. St. Louis also dug in on defense, blocking 21 shots to make life difficult on the Wild.
On home ice, St. Louis will likely be able to close out the series. The Blues seem to have Fleury figured out and will be able to close out Minnesota at -110.
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