Against all odds, the expansion Vegas Golden Knights advanced to the NHL’s Final Four. So did the powerhouse Tampa Bay Lightning.
Monday night the upstart Winnipeg Jets and long-frustrated Washington Capitals will try to advance in the bracket as well. That would create championship matchups few NHL experts forecast.
The huge surprise, of course, was Vegas. Not only did the Golden Knights win two playoff rounds after their inaugural season, they did so convincingly.
First they shut down the Los Angeles Kings, with goaltender Marc Andre-Fleury allowing just three goals in their four-game sweep. Then they blasted the San Jose Sharks for 22 goals while winning in six games.
Rolling four lines and playing with uncommon speed, the Golden Knights built on their NHL regular season success with even stronger postseason performances.
“I think we’ve made ourselves a good team,” Fleury told reporters. “We had great chemistry right from the start. We kept improving throughout the season. I feel like we’re using everybody in the lineup to get wins. That’s what made us successful all season, and that’s why we’re still having success.”
LIGHTNING STRUCK DOWN BRUINS
Tampa Bay suffered a baffling lull late in the regular season, losing seven times during a span of 13 games. But the Lightning regrouped and regained their dominant form for the playoffs.
They dispatched the New Jersey Devils in five games and did the same to the Boston Bruins, winning the last four games by a combined score of 15-7. They didn’t give up a 5-on-5 goal in the final 187:30 of the series.
The deep and talented Lightning reached the NHL’s Eastern Conference Final for third time in four years. They will be a handful for either the Capitals or Penguins.
“We won four in a row, I don’t think it has anything to do with our mindset other than we got over a hill, we needed to do to beat the Boston Bruins, who I can’t say enough that they’re an exceptional hockey team,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper told reporters. “But it just gives us rest. There’s some banged up bodies in there. That’s what happens when you go through playoff rounds. Anything you get the rest, not only the body but also the mind, it’s huge for us.”
CAPITALS TRY TO DETHRONE PENGUINS
The Capitals have not advanced to the NHL’s Final Four since 1998. In recent seasons the powerful Penguins have stood in their path.
Pittsburgh has won the last two Stanley Cups. No team has won three straight Cups since 1980-83, when the New York Islanders won four in a row.
So while the Penguins try to construct a contemporary dynasty, the Capitals are trying to ease the franchise’s decades-old frustration. Up 3-2 in the series, they will get two shots at knocking off the defending champions, starting in Game 6.
“You’ve just got to take this as an opportunity,” Capitals coach Barry Trotz told reporters Sunday. “We’ve got a little more wiggle room than them. We’ve got to bring our best our game, and we’ve got to push our game to the next level. There’s no ifs, ands or buts; we’ve got to do that. This is a very good opponent, and we’re going to have to be really, really good.”
JETS LOOK TO CLOSE OUT PREDATORS
Nashville is down 3-2 in the series with Game 6 looming in Winnipeg, where the Jets have enjoyed a remarkable home-ice edge all season. The Predators are in a tough spot, but Nashville defenseman P.K. Subban guaranteed victory nonetheless.
“We’re gonna go to Winnipeg. We’re gonna win a game,” Subban told reporters after the Jets routed the Predators 6-2 in Game 5. “We’re going to come back here. It’s that simple.”
Well, we’ll see. The Jets are deeper offensively than Nashville and they have the hotter goaltender in Connor Hellebuyck, who has a 2.29 goals-against average and .925 save percentage in the playoffs.
On the other hand, the Predators beat the Jets 2-1 the last time they played in Winnipeg. They can also draw on last spring’s playoff run that extended all the way to the Stanley Cup Final.
If they can get their series back to Nashville for Game 7, they will have a good shot at advancing to a showdown with Vegas.
