Boston Bruins forward Noal Acciari appeared to score a season-saving overtime goal Friday in Game 5, but it was disallowed after video review due to goaltender interference on the part of Sean Kuraly.
Judge for yourself:
The reaction on Twitter was, in a word, befuddled:
The Toronto Maple Leafs had the NHL's second-best power play throughout the regular season, but it was their inability to generate any sort of offense with the man advantage that cost them a crucial Game 5 tilt with the Washington Capitals on Friday night.
The Leafs went 0-for-4 on the power play, failing to take advantage of the Capitals' undisciplined penalties. They didn't just fail to score while up a man, they weren't able to generate much pressure, either.
Power play
Shots attempted
Shots on goal
1st
0
0
2nd
1
0
3rd
5
2
4th
5
2
Toronto only managed to throw four pucks on goal during four power plays, and at least two of them were weak shots from the outside.
Their one glorious opportunity with the man advantage came when Washington turned the puck over off a Toronto dump-in, leaving James van Riemsdyk all alone in front. He attempted to slide the puck through Braden Holtby's five hole, rather than waiting out the netminder and lifting it over his right pad.
The most glaring issue was that Toronto's zone entries on the power play were stymied by Washington's penalty killers.
Gardiner appears to be channeling his inner Captain Obvious.
(Courtesy: Action Images)
Maybe it's Toronto's zone entries that need an adjustment.
"Well, not winning any faceoffs and our entries haven't been very good," head coach Mike Babcock told reporters when asked why the power play struggled. "We'll have to go back to the drawing board.
"They've done a good job on that and then obviously they've got in our head a little bit there because we're not coming with the same kind of pace we normally do on entries," said Babcock.
Like many teams, the Leafs opt to skate the puck up to the neutral zone and drop it back to a deep player with a full head of steam. Whether that puck-carrier was Matthews, Nylander, or Mitch Marner, nobody was very successful.
This tactic was awfully successful throughout the regular season, but in a seven-game series, opponents begin to catch on.
Even in the few occasions where they were able to get the puck into Washington's zone, their setup was short-lived. The Capitals did a great job taking away time and space from Toronto's skilled players on the half wall, and of blocking shots when Toronto was able to find some space.
Whatever adjustments need to be made with their power play, the Leafs have arguably the best coach in the business in Babcock to find and fix the issues.
If the Maple Leafs can't get their power play going in Game 6, there likely won't be a Game 7.
Despite being on the brink of elimination, Mike Babcock appears quite confident in the Toronto Maple Leafs chances in Game 6.
The club dropped Game 5 in Washington on Friday thanks to an overtime tally by Justin Williams just over a minute into the extra period. The loss puts the Maple Leafs just one loss away from elimination, but as Babcock left Verizon Center he appeared confident he would be back for Game 7 in a few days:
It appears Babcock has already mapped out just how the rest of the series is going to go.
"We’ve got to go home and win a game now," Babcock said, according to Sportsnet's Chris Johnston. "We want to be right here in overtime in Game 7."
Despite leaving the ice late in the first period, Ovechkin saw 19:29 of ice time in the overtime win, recording three shots and six hits. He was in the locker room when the Capitals opened the scoring, but maintained he wasn't being tended to by the medical staff.
Known for some highly entertaining announcements from center ice, the NHL official was at it again in Friday's Game 5 between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Washington Capitals, firmly announcing no goal after some in Verizon Center thought Evgeny Kuznetsov had scored.
Any confusion on the play stemmed from a ridiculous glove save on the part of Frederik Andersen.
After receiving a breakout pass from Nicklas Backstrom in transition, Nazem Kadri came flying in and clipped Alex Ovechkin with a hip check to the knee, sending the Great Eight spiraling into the air.
Ovechkin left the game favoring his left knee and didn't return for the final two-and-a-half minutes in the first period, but has since returned for the second period. Kadri received a two-minute minor for tripping on the play.
The hip check is a lost art in today's game, begging the question: Was Kadri's hit clean or dirty?
The three players finished the season atop the scoring leaderboard among players at their position, and were separated in terms of points per game by the slimmest of margins.
Player
Games
Goals
Assists
Points
Points/GP
Brent Burns
82
29
47
76
0.93
Victor Hedman
79
16
56
72
0.91
Erik Karlsson
77
17
54
71
0.92
Burns, it should be noted, held the lead in shots by a wide margin, while Karlsson ranked second in blocked shots - an area in which he previously lagged behind.
All three logged heavy minutes in all situations, and clearly stood out as the top defenders in the NHL this season.
Karlsson will be vying for his third Norris Trophy, while a win for either Burns or Hedman would be a first.
The Calgary Flames clearly aren't satisfied with simply advancing to the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
General manager Brad Treliving addressed the media Friday in the aftermath of an opening-round series sweep at the hands of the Anaheim Ducks, and he made it quite clear that several more postseason games should be the norm moving forward.
How that bar will be raised, Treliving believes, is through growth within the team's core group of young players.
One position that must be addressed immediately is in net, where both Brian Elliott and Chad Johnson are set to become unrestricted free agents come July 1. The former posted a .880 postseason save percentage, and doesn't appear to be the long-term answer for the Flames after one season as the starter.
"We'll take a step back, exhale, and then start looking at the goaltending and all of our positions," Treliving said.
The GM's contract, it should be noted, is also set to expire, with no deal in place past this season. It's expected the sides will meet next week to discuss his future, and he didn't seem to be overly concerned, saying "My situation, that'll get dealt with when it gets dealt with," per Odland.
Treliving has served as GM since April 28, 2014, and the Flames have advanced to the playoffs twice during his tenure.