Suspend him. Full stop.

At this point, if player safety really is important to the NHL, there’s no other option - Brad Marchand doesn't deserve the benefit of the doubt.

With the Boston Bruins winger once again skating past the line of healthy competition and into a zone of reckless behavior, the NHL's Department of Player Safety has a terrific opportunity to send a stern message.

In case you missed it: Marchand punched Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Scott Harrington in the back of the head following a whistle in the dying moments of Tuesday’s Game 3. The cheap shot went unpenalized, allowing Boston to continue peppering Columbus goalie Sergei Bobrovsky as the seconds ticked off.

The Jackets survived the six-on-five barrage to win Game 3 by a final score of 2-1 to take a 2-1 series lead. Nobody's focusing on Bobrovsky's 35-save performance, though. The Marchand-Harrington incident is the clear-cut No. 1 talking point from Tuesday’s tilt.

Marchand didn’t hit Harrington during the run of play. In fact, he waited about four seconds after the play had been whistled to deliver the blow. Making matters worse, Harrington, who was on his knees helping contain the puck under Bobrovsky's sprawled body, wasn’t roughing up one of Marchand’s teammates. He was in a vulnerable position.

If you focus solely on Marchand in the clip, it’s obvious he’s assessing the scene following the whistle, taking inventory of everybody’s whereabouts and temperaments. He waits until all four officials are consumed by a skirmish to the right of Bobrovsky, and then slyly approaches Harrington.

That’s clear premeditation, and the screen capture below - taken milliseconds before Marchand punches Harrington - shows the preoccupied officials.

You can certainly forgive the officials on the ice for missing this call. Marchand planned it out perfectly and, at best, the infraction itself was a flash in their peripheries.

But, in the aftermath of Game 3, the DoPS can take their sweet time evaluating every facet of this sequence. Department head George Parros and staff have the benefit of video review. And that’s important because this isn’t Marchand’s first rodeo, and his history should be a crucial part of the equation.

Here’s another angle, courtesy of Reddit:

Now, the hit itself - while irresponsible and cheap and completely unnecessary - was hard but not hard enough to knock out Harrington or even prevent him from getting up immediately. It's more of a jab than a vicious attack and, at least based on postgame media availabilities, Harrington seems fine.

So, the actual force used to commit the crime wasn’t record-breaking and the victim wasn't injured. Also important to note: The DoPS tends to dish out supplemental discipline differently in the playoffs. An identical infraction committed during the regular season would likely receive a stiffer penalty because the games aren't considered of equal value.

Those three factors should help Marchand and may ultimately earn him a fine, not a suspension.

What shouldn’t help Marchand and could tip the scales toward a suspension: He premeditated the cheap shot, he clearly tried to sneak one past the refs, and he's been assessed six suspensions over a 10-year NHL career. His rap sheet includes a five-game ban for elbowing, five games for clipping, three games for clipping, two games for elbowing, two games for slew-footing, and two games for spearing.

In other words, Marchand - the most polarizing hockey player on the planet - has pushed the boundaries yet again (let’s not forget he’s also a serial face-licker and, in Game 1, stomped on Cam Atkinson's stick). And that matters, especially since the hit itself, without context, probably wouldn't qualify as an automatic suspendable offense.

Marchand is a fabulous talent, an MVP-level player, and is entertaining as hell to watch. He's a pest who just recorded 100 points in the regular season, for crying out loud. In a vacuum, what's not to like?

These reckless acts, however, are also a part of Marchand’s brand, and he can’t seem to help himself. He's a repeat offender five times over, already.

Plus, how about the timing from a Bruins perspective? You’re down a goal with one minute left in a crucial playoff game and one of your best players decides to pull this stunt? Suboptimal move.

Again, suspend him. Even if it's for one game. Send a message to a guy who thinks he's untouchable.

John Matisz is theScore's National Hockey Writer. You can find him on Twitter @matiszjohn.

Copyright © 2019 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Cale Makar era was headed for a reality check. Despite the top-drawer talent level and cool demeanor, a letdown of some kind felt inevitable Friday.

After all, everything had been a little too rosy for Makar and the Colorado Avalanche since the smooth-skating defenseman left UMass for the pro ranks two weeks ago. Three straight wins over the Calgary Flames, highlight-reel rushes, one goal, one assist, and at least one hilarious in-arena kale sighting.

Then, the Avs met the Sharks in Game 1 of the second round, and lost 5-2. A victory seemed out of reach for Colorado around the midway point of the game, as Brent Burns and San Jose's third line of Joe Thornton, Marcus Sorensen, and Kevin Labanc dominated the scoresheet.

Makar finished the game with negative Corsi and Expected Goals ratings for the first time in his incredibly young career. While he generated offense close to his usual rate, the 5-foot-11, 187-pounder was on for his first-ever goal against. The puck actually deflected off Makar's upper-body and past Colorado goalie Philipp Grubauer to make it 4-1 San Jose.

In short, Makar wasn't at his best on Friday. That being said, he was still spectacular in certain moments. Special players find a way to affect the outcome of the game, regardless of their challenges with execution and luck.

It is such a small thing on the surface, but check out how poised Makar is with the puck when he's breaking out of the Avs zone at the end of the first period:

He dumps the puck into San Jose's end at the red line only because it was time to make a line change. When Makar isn't gassed, 99 times out of 100 that head-turning rush through the netural zone continues all the way to Martin Jones' kitchen. He loves to take control and create in transition, rarely taking his foot off the gas. As a viewer, it's difficult to take your eyes off No. 8.

For evidence, look no further than Makar's first shift of the game, when he entered the zone with possession and fired a backhand over the Sharks net. On his way back to the point, the 20-year-old gathered a loose puck and threw it at Jones, hoping for a deflection. The Avs opened the scoring two seconds later, with Makar picking up his second primary assist of the playoffs:

But the roller-coaster ride continued a few minutes later, when Makar gave the puck away in his own end, gifting the Sharks a prime scoring opportunity a few feet from Grubauer. Not ideal. And then, late in the third period, he turned the puck over again, this time on the halfwall in his own end while under pressure. Luckily for Makar, Samuel Girard bailed him out with a shot block:

Makar was chosen fourth overall in the 2017 NHL Draft and, in flashes, he looks every bit as good as Miro Heiskanen, who was picked two spots ahead. Hockey fans were already spoiled with four elite 22-and-under blueliners - Heiskanen, Rasmus Dahlin, Quinn Hughes, and Thomas Chabot - and now there appears to be a fifth member of that tier. Makar is as advertised.

Avs coach Jared Bednar is certainly on board, giving Makar second-unit power play time already and 18 minutes a night overall. Ever-confident with the puck on his stick, the Calgary native has three total points to his name, and, according to NaturalStatTrick.com, is helping Colorado to a 59% Corsi rating when he's on the ice at 5-on-5.

Bumps along the way noted, Makar's fitting in just fine. Must see TV, too.

Mrazek over Lehner, barely

The New York Islanders and Carolina Hurricanes grinding Game 1 into a pile of dust was the least surprising development from Friday's double billing.

For the vast majority of the ‘Canes 1-0 overtime win, the neutral zone was a death trap. Offensive players had no choice but to chip and chase as they approached the attacking blue line. Even when an opponent watched from the penalty box, there was no shot barrage. Both power plays were abysmal.

Yet, strangely, the series opener had its fair share of edge-of-your-seat moments. Scoring chances, as rare as they were, seemed to exclusively come on breakaways, or partial breaks. And the netminders, Carolina's Petr Mrazek and New York's Robin Lehner, were most definitely up to the task, both making a handful of stops requiring extreme flexibility and/or quick reflexes.

The Isles typically generate the bulk of their offense from between the dots, rarely shooting from the perimeter. Friday was no exception. Here's a sample:

The margin of error was minuscule over the game's 64 minutes. Lehner faced one extra shot on goal than Mrazek, and that shot was the difference. Carolina center Jordan Staal buried a loose puck that popped out from behind the Isles' net. Lehner called it a "shit bounce" in his postgame media availability.

If Game 1 is any indication, this series could easily stretch to six or seven games. The style of play will not only be strongly tied to effective team defense but also to the battle in goal. Is Sunday's Game 2 for Lehner?

John Matisz is theScore's National Hockey Writer. You can find him on Twitter @matiszjohn.

Copyright © 2019 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Boston Bruins' top-six forward group requires no introduction.

Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand, David Pastrnak, David Krejci, and Jake DeBrusk are household names, and the sixth piece, sophomore winger Danton Heinen, is playing his way into the hockey world's consciousness.

Meanwhile, Marcus Johansson and Charlie Coyle, two more recognizable faces, drive the third line. The duo starred in Boston's 3-2 overtime victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday, with Coyle scoring the game-tying and game-winning goals. The Bruins now lead the best-of-seven, second-round series 1-0.

Now, while the top six plus Johansson and Coyle - let's call it the top eight - no doubt carries the Bruins' offense, four forwards still need to fill out head coach Bruce Cassidy's lineup card every night. Usually, that's third-line right winger Chris Wagner and a fourth line consisting of Sean Kuraly, Joakim Nordstrom, and Noel Acciari.

But these relatively anonymous NHLers aren't hanging on for dear life, or simply enjoying the playoff ride. The fourth line, in particular, has managed to put its stamp on the early stages of Boston's run. The trio's contributed only 15 percent of the team's 26 goals, but its production has coincided with some key moments, including Acciari's shorthanded marker on Thursday.

Acciari, who went unpicked in the NHL draft and then signed with the Bruins as a college free agent in 2017, hopped on his horse midway through the first period and made the Jackets pay. Pierre-Luc Dubois had turned the puck over at the Bruins' blue line and Acciari countered with a straight-line rush:

The 27-year-old Acciari is in his second full NHL season. He's earning every cent of his $725,000 salary, leading all Boston forwards in shorthanded ice time so far by skating on the penalty kill for just over two minutes per game.

Kuraly, a Cassidy favorite, is Acciari's PK partner. The 133rd pick in the 2011 draft was acquired in the Martin Jones trade with the San Jose Sharks and makes $1.275 million. The feisty, smart, and responsible 26-year-old missed the first four contests of Round 1 to nurse a broken hand before scoring a huge goal in Game 7 against the Toronto Maple Leafs while adding an assist.

Nordstrom, a 2010 third-round pick of the Chicago Blackhawks, is also in his mid-20s (27) and cheap ($1 million). An unrestricted free-agent signing last July, he plays 1:29 a night on the PK and has a pair of goals and an assist in these playoffs.

When you do the math, that's four goals and three assists for seven points in eight postseason games from three penalty-killing fourth-liners. The Bruins' PK, by the way, has allowed just three goals on 20 power-play opportunities. Combined, Acciari, Kuraly, and Nordstrom eat up roughly $3 million in cap space.

Not. Too. Shabby.

Tarasenko burns Stars

The St. Louis Blues-Dallas Stars series, which also opened Thursday, is being viewed by many through the lens of goaltending. And why not? Jordan Binnington and Ben Bishop are two of the world's finest netminders right now.

Yet, as the Blues drew first blood, winning Game 1 in Missouri by a final score of 3-2, it was forward Vladimir Tarasenko who stole the show.

Tarasenko had a trying regular season by his lofty standards, finishing with 33 goals and 35 assists for 68 points in 78 games. Then he bagged two in St. Louis' opening-round series against the Winnipeg Jets. Decent.

Was it all a warm up? A warning to the rest of the Western Conference?

On Thursday, Tarasenko solved Bishop twice, doubling his playoff goal tally in the process. The Russian's sniping ability was the difference in a game with only 49 combined shots.

His first of the night went five-hole and capped off a pretty few seconds of post-faceoff puck movement from the Blues' top power-play unit. It was the definition of a goal-scorer's goal. Accurate as hell. Released quick. Vintage Tarasenko:

On his second, Tarasenko blew past Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen off the rush and roofed the puck after eluding a Bishop poke check. It came at five-on-five against a stud rookie, but boy, you could see the goal coming from a mile away.

Plain and simple: If Dallas plans on stealing one game on the road, it better have an answer for No. 91 in blue during Game 2 on Saturday afternoon.

John Matisz is theScore's National Hockey Writer. You can find him on Twitter @matiszjohn.

Copyright © 2019 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Jake Gardiner's the easy target.

Coming into Tuesday's winner-take-all tilt against the Boston Bruins, the polarizing defenseman already had the cringe-worthy lowlights from last year's Game 7, and the attachment to the Toronto Maple Leafs' historic collapse in spring 2013.

Gardiner had history - the worst kind - and then he turned the puck over late in the first period. The blunder led to Boston's second goal, the eventual game-winner in a 5-1 Bruins victory that ended the Leafs' season and potentially Gardiner's tenure in Toronto.

By night's end, Gardiner had been on the ice for three goals against, zero goals for. It was tough to watch such a poor showing.

Then again, when you take a step back and and add perspective, it's fair to say Gardiner was fine through six games. He wasn't good, or bad. But, considering he was battling a nagging injury and clearly far from his best self, he performed OK.

There are others to blame for the Leafs' third straight first-round exit, anyway.

Toronto opened the scoring in Game 6 on Sunday but blew a golden chance to advance. They could have avoided going back to Boston then and there, instead putting themselves in a vulnerable position. The Leafs didn't rise to the occasion in Game 7.

The head coach

There's no sugarcoating it: Mike Babcock flat out didn't perform.

The Leafs coach made some questionable decisions over the course of the series, refusing to step outside his comfort zone, and is now 0-3 in playoff series since president Brendan Shanahan hired him in 2015.

Aside from sliding William Nylander over to center after Nazem Kadri's suspension - something the bench boss was essentially forced to do - Babcock didn't rock the boat in any significant way. He had ample time to bust out the line blender and try to spark offense at key moments - but didn’t.

You could pick apart Babcock's deployment and usage all day, but let's focus on a few of eyebrow-raising developments from the deciding game.

Patrick Marleau, 39, should be used sparingly at this stage in his career. Yet he played 14 minutes and 35 seconds in Game 7. Fourth-line center Frederik Gauthier should have been glued to the bench for the second half of the contest in an effort to free up extra shifts for Toronto's deadliest weapons. But he wasn't, despite the Bruins holding the lead for two-plus periods.

Meanwhile, Auston Matthews, one of the sport's utmost game-changing talents, finished with an underwhelming 18:48 of ice. That total is acceptable in the regular season. In a do-or-die playoff game, though, your best forward should probably be skating closer to 23 minutes.

Not double-shifting Matthews as the season slipped away seems counterproductive and legitimately odd. It's hard to imagine a scenario in which Nathan MacKinnon or Connor McDavid - two of Matthews' contemporaries - play fewer than 20 minutes in a Game 7.

Calling for Babcock's dismissal, like many Leafs fans are doing online, feels like an overreaction. But the man is no doubt deserving of heavy criticism.

The special teams

Neither Boston or Toronto gained a significant advantage during 5-on-5 play over seven games. It's the simple truth, as evidenced by the Leafs' advanced metrics:

[CF% = shot attempts for percentage; SF% = shots for percentage; SCF% = scoring chances for percentage; GF% = goals for percentage; xGF% = expected goals for percentage]

In summary, the Leafs narrowly won the even-strength battle in four of five categories. This suggests special teams greatly affected the series' outcome.

Now, the Leafs' power play did alright for itself, scoring three times on 16 tries. Boston, on the other hand, went haywire, netting seven goals on 16 man-advantage opportunities.

Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy has an abundance of options on his first unit. Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, David Pastrnak, Torey Krug, and Marcus Johansson form a killer five, and they contributed five of Boston's PP goals despite not receiving a single opportunity in Game 7.

So, really, this isn't totally on Toronto's penalty kill. Boston, who had the third-ranked PP in the regular season, is a wrecking ball.

That being said, seven goals are simply too many. Those goals shifted the series in the Bruins' favor when Boston was being out-performed at 5-on-5, and it ultimately cost the Leafs the series.

The others

The Leafs could have easily won this best-of-seven drama, thanks to a handful of admirable performances.

Matthews scored five goals. Jake Muzzin and Nikita Zaitsev formed a solid shutdown pair. John Tavares contributed, especially on the defensive side of the puck. Morgan Rielly's tour de force kept Toronto in Game 6, when they fell apart in the second period.

Then there's some seesaw players.

Frederik Andersen deserves both praise and (dis)honorable mention. He was stellar through six games, but let in a couple of softies Tuesday. Like Gardiner, he should be judged on his entire body of work, not just 60 minutes. But in divvying up blame, he gets a passing nod of disapproval.

Mitch Marner's a similar case. He may have scored twice in the opening game, collected an assist in both Games 3 and 4, and blocked back-to-back shots in the dying seconds of Game 3, but he failed to mark the scoresheet in Games 5, 6, or 7. For that reason, the team's leading scorer is partly responsible for the series going sideways.

Lastly, Kadri.

The longtime Leaf took himself out of the lineup with that unnecessary cross-check on Jake DeBrusk. Prior to the hit, Kadri was one of Toronto's best players through nearly two games. The Leafs are built to win with a 1-2-3 punch down the middle, and he denied the club that advantage.

The Kadri hit was the beginning of the end. Game 6's second period was the confidence breaker. And the first period of Game 7, well, it brought Gardiner, the Leafs, and a tortured fan base back to familiar territory.

John Matisz is theScore's National Hockey Writer. You can find him on Twitter @matiszjohn.

Copyright © 2019 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Jake Gardiner's the easy target.

Coming into Tuesday's winner-take-all tilt against the Boston Bruins, the polarizing defenseman already had the cringe-worthy lowlights from last year's Game 7, and the attachment to the Toronto Maple Leafs' historic collapse in spring 2013.

Gardiner had history - the worst kind - and then he turned the puck over late in the first period. The blunder led to Boston's second goal, the eventual game-winner in a 5-1 Bruins victory that ended the Leafs' season and potentially Gardiner's tenure in Toronto.

By night's end, Gardiner had been on the ice for three goals against, zero goals for. It was tough to watch such a poor showing.

Then again, when you take a step back and and add perspective, it's fair to say Gardiner was fine through six games. He wasn't good, or bad. But, considering he was battling a nagging injury and clearly far from his best self, he performed OK.

There are others to blame for the Leafs' third straight first-round exit, anyway.

Toronto opened the scoring in Game 6 on Sunday but blew a golden chance to advance. They could have avoided going back to Boston then and there, instead putting themselves in a vulnerable position. The Leafs didn't rise to the occasion in Game 7.

The head coach

There's no sugarcoating it: Mike Babcock flat out didn't perform.

The Leafs coach made some questionable decisions over the course of the series, refusing to step outside his comfort zone, and is now 0-3 in playoff series since president Brendan Shanahan hired him in 2015.

Aside from sliding William Nylander over to center after Nazem Kadri's suspension - something the bench boss was essentially forced to do - Babcock didn't rock the boat in any significant way. He had ample time to bust out the line blender and try to spark offense at key moments - but didn’t.

You could pick apart Babcock's deployment and usage all day, but let's focus on a few of eyebrow-raising developments from the deciding game.

Patrick Marleau, 39, should be used sparingly at this stage in his career. Yet he played 14 minutes and 35 seconds in Game 7. Fourth-line center Frederik Gauthier should have been glued to the bench for the second half of the contest in an effort to free up extra shifts for Toronto's deadliest weapons. But he wasn't, despite the Bruins holding the lead for two-plus periods.

Meanwhile, Auston Matthews, one of the sport's utmost game-changing talents, finished with an underwhelming 18:48 of ice. That total is acceptable in the regular season. In a do-or-die playoff game, though, your best forward should probably be skating closer to 23 minutes.

Not double-shifting Matthews as the season slipped away seems counterproductive and legitimately odd. It's hard to imagine a scenario in which Nathan MacKinnon or Connor McDavid - two of Matthews' contemporaries - play fewer than 20 minutes in a Game 7.

Calling for Babcock's dismissal, like many Leafs fans are doing online, feels like an overreaction. But the man is no doubt deserving of heavy criticism.

The special teams

Neither Boston or Toronto gained a significant advantage during 5-on-5 play over seven games. It's the simple truth, as evidenced by the Leafs' advanced metrics:

[CF% = shot attempts for percentage; SF% = shots for percentage; SCF% = scoring chances for percentage; GF% = goals for percentage; xGF% = expected goals for percentage]

In summary, the Leafs narrowly won the even-strength battle in four of five categories. This suggests special teams greatly affected the series' outcome.

Now, the Leafs' power play did alright for itself, scoring three times on 16 tries. Boston, on the other hand, went haywire, netting seven goals on 16 man-advantage opportunities.

Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy has an abundance of options on his first unit. Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, David Pastrnak, Torey Krug, and Marcus Johansson form a killer five, and they contributed five of Boston's PP goals despite not receiving a single opportunity in Game 7.

So, really, this isn't totally on Toronto's penalty kill. Boston, who had the third-ranked PP in the regular season, is a wrecking ball.

That being said, seven goals are simply too many. Those goals shifted the series in the Bruins' favor when Boston was being out-performed at 5-on-5, and it ultimately cost the Leafs the series.

The others

The Leafs could have easily won this best-of-seven drama, thanks to a handful of admirable performances.

Matthews scored five goals. Jake Muzzin and Nikita Zaitsev formed a solid shutdown pair. John Tavares contributed, especially on the defensive side of the puck. Morgan Rielly's tour de force kept Toronto in Game 6, when they fell apart in the second period.

Then there's some seesaw players.

Frederik Andersen deserves both praise and (dis)honorable mention. He was stellar through six games, but let in a couple of softies Tuesday. Like Gardiner, he should be judged on his entire body of work, not just 60 minutes. But in divvying up blame, he gets a passing nod of disapproval.

Mitch Marner's a similar case. He may have scored twice in the opening game, collected an assist in both Games 3 and 4, and blocked back-to-back shots in the dying seconds of Game 3, but he failed to mark the scoresheet in Games 5, 6, or 7. For that reason, the team's leading scorer is partly responsible for the series going sideways.

Lastly, Kadri.

The longtime Leaf took himself out of the lineup with that unnecessary cross-check on Jake DeBrusk. Prior to the hit, Kadri was one of Toronto's best players through nearly two games. The Leafs are built to win with a 1-2-3 punch down the middle, and he denied the club that advantage.

The Kadri hit was the beginning of the end. Game 6's second period was the confidence breaker. And the first period of Game 7, well, it brought Gardiner, the Leafs, and a tortured fan base back to familiar territory.

John Matisz is theScore's National Hockey Writer. You can find him on Twitter @matiszjohn.

Copyright © 2019 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

His mind and heart racing, Chris Kunitz moved through the Stanley Cup Final handshake line on June 11, 2017. He had just won his fourth Cup, and his third in a Pittsburgh Penguins uniform, so he knew the drill.

As he neared the end of the procession, Kunitz locked eyes with a visibly shaken Nashville Predator nursing a broken right hand. It was his old pal James Neal. The former Penguin extended his left hand, and Kunitz dropped his head to lean in, initiating a solemn bro hug. They exchanged a few words.

The interaction lasted four seconds, a relative eternity in the handshake line.

"It doesn't matter if you're best friends with somebody. You go out, you compete, you do whatever it takes to win. If that's fighting each other, slashing each other, so be it. But afterwards, you still want to look each other in the eye and show that respect," Kunitz said in March, speaking broadly about a tradition unique to hockey.

On Tuesday night, the Toronto Maple Leafs and Boston Bruins will form another line following Game 7 in their hotly contested first-round series. The Vegas Golden Knights and San Jose Sharks, also battling for one more game, will do the same a few hours later.

Teams aren't required to organize themselves in a single file and bid farewell. It happens organically, no matter who wins. The handshake line is a post-series activity passed down from generation to generation, an unbreakable custom governed by a set of unwritten rules.

So what's considered acceptable behavior in the line? What's frowned upon? How does it all work? And what goes through a player's head as they try to digest the outcome of a playoff series and interact cordially with a bitter rival?

In the leadup to the postseason, theScore enlisted the help of six active NHLers to find out. Here’s what we learned.

The winner's perspective

"Two completely different emotions" are associated with the handshake line, noted Patrick Marleau, who's approaching 200 career playoff games. And both parties must be cognizant of the other's headspace.

"Teams that win are excited, but they don't want to rub it in as they're walking through," Marleau said prior to the Maple Leafs' series with the Bruins. "And the other guys are defeated, but they still want to be gracious and give the other team some encouragement going forward."

That give-and-take between winner and loser brings us to the meme-able clip from the final minutes of the Tampa Bay-Columbus broadcast last week.

Moments after the Blue Jackets put a bow on an upset for the ages by scoring three empty-net goals to complete a sweep of the Lightning, Nikita Kucherov joined his dazed teammates at center ice. The presumptive league MVP was stopped by Matt Duchene for a quick chat. Kucherov listened but didn't seem to offer Duchene much of a reply.

Then, Kucherov ran into fellow Russian and close friend Artemi Panarin. The victor grinned widely and went in for a big ol' high five. Kucherov left him hanging.

The hockey gods can't be pleased by Panarin's actions. The star winger violated the first guideline on either side of the handshake: Be gracious.

Kucherov looked for a moment like he might drop the nuclear option - the cold shoulder - but he relented when Panarin grabbed his hand. They eventually embraced, and the misstep isn't so outrageous that it should affect their relationship.

The cold shoulder, most famously unleashed by Martin Brodeur in 2008 to snub Rangers forward Sean Avery, can be more insulting than excessive enthusiasm.

"For me, I think that's a little disrespectful," Florida Panthers forward Troy Brouwer said. "You've got to congratulate the guy and let him know you respect him. It's so hard to win in the playoffs. For a guy to be battling and doing his job, you can't be mad at him, in my opinion."

Brouwer's enjoyed playoff runs in Chicago, Washington, St. Louis, and Calgary, but it's hard for him to evaluate his etiquette in the 2010 Cup handshake line between the Blackhawks and Philadelphia Flyers. Since Patrick Kane's Game 6 overtime goal required video review, Brouwer and his teammates celebrated twice, with the second go-round bleeding into the handshake line.

It's all a blur.

"Guys are still hugging each other. You're patting the guy's back in front of you while shaking the guys on the other team's hands and waiting for the Cup to come out," Brouwer said. "So, honestly, I don't really remember that handshake. You're so caught up in the moment. It's not like it takes a backseat - your mind is just elsewhere.” (Brouwer, for what it's worth, appears to have been well-behaved.)

The winning team holds the hammer in the handshake line - usually offering a friendly greeting first - but one of Brouwer's Panthers teammates says every participant has a method of payback at his disposal when it comes time to meet a particular foe.

"Maybe squeeze a little harder than normal," defenseman Keith Yandle said with a smile.

The loser's perspective

Because it offers closure, the handshake line can be a cathartic experience for those on the losing end.

"You realize you're done, you're going to hang up your equipment for the last time, and that's all slowly running through your mind as you go down the line," Kunitz said. "You obviously want to give that respect to the other team, even after the nasty series. Let them know that you left it all out there."

Connor Brown can relate.

In 2014, the Leafs winger was captain of the Erie Otters, and at the conclusion of the OHL Western Conference final, he saw his childhood flash before his eyes. Matt Finn, Brown's longtime friend, wore the "C" for the victorious Guelph Storm.

"That was the end of my junior career so it was a pretty emotional day for me. I don't think I said much," Brown recalled. "I grew up playing with him since I was 4 years old. He's one of my best buds. It almost makes it a little tougher, but it's something in years to come we'll look back on."

Not many players in the history of the NHL are as familiar with the tradition's highs and lows as the Staal brothers. Jordan Staal's Pittsburgh Penguins ended brother Marc and his New York Rangers' season in 2008. The next year, Jordan did the same to Eric when the Penguins swept the Carolina Hurricanes.

Trying to find the right words to say to your own blood in such a raw moment is dizzying; special, overwhelming, and bittersweet.

"Those ones are hard. But that's the first thing that pops into my mind," Jordan Staal answered when asked for his top handshake line memories.

"I love going out there and competing and working hard," he continued. "And whether you're on the right side of it or not, you show that respect after. It's one of my favorite things about the playoffs."

For the losing side, being gracious is paramount. It may be tempting to make a final statement but, the typical thinking goes, don't make it all about you. Don’t be a sore loser.

Milan Lucic notoriously abandoned this guideline in 2014 when he went out of his way to bark at a pair of Montreal Canadiens, Dale Weise and Alexei Emelin, after the Boston Bruins’ season ended in the second round of the playoffs. "I'm going to kill you next year," Lucic apparently said, and the controversy buzzed for days.

On the other hand, a positive interaction with a respected rival can help put a gut-wrenching moment into perspective. Might a few complimentary remarks from, say, the legendary Nick Lidstrom soften the blow of being eliminated from the playoffs?

"He was my guy, my idol - a guy that I look up to and still do," Yandle said as he recalled the Phoenix Coyotes' first-round loss to Lidstrom's Detroit Red Wings in 2010. "I remember getting that handshake, that half-hug - the bro hug or whatever you call it - and it was pretty special."

As in everyday life, waiting can be agonizing. The interval between the final buzzer and the formation of the line can drag on for the defeated team, especially since the ecstasy is palpable but not accessible. You might undo your helmet strap, lean on your stick, stare into the abyss, shed a few tears.

"You're real disappointed, but the wait is almost the worst part," Brouwer said, describing watching the San Jose Sharks celebrate making the final at the Blues' expense in 2016. "You just want to get off the ice and go share those moments with your teammates. It's always tough."

By all accounts, dialogue in the line is mostly generic: Good series. Nice job. Best of luck moving forward. You played great. There might be an extra word or two for the goaltenders since they often have a strong effect on the outcome of a series, but overall, it's not a Shakespeare play.

"Hockey players don't know exactly what to say when it comes to that kind of stuff," Brown explained. "But you know the intention, and that's all that matters."

John Matisz is theScore's National Hockey Writer. You can find him on Twitter @matiszjohn.

Copyright © 2019 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

TORONTO - Around the halfway point of Game 6 on Easter Sunday, Boston Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy looked up at the scoreboard hanging over the red line at Scotiabank Arena.

A giant eight - denoting the Maple Leafs' shot count - stared back.

The single digit confirmed to Cassidy what his eyes were leading him to believe: The Bruins were in complete control and it would be the series-leading Leafs - not the team facing elimination - needing to rediscover their offense in a hurry.

“When they get their shot attempts, their shots on net, they’re really humming,” Cassidy said of the Leafs, relaying his mid-game thought process. “So I thought, ‘Listen, we’re on our way now.’”

The Bruins, up 3-1 then, finished off the second period strong, withstanding a push from the Leafs in the third to earn a 4-2 victory. The teams have alternated wins through six games to send the first-round series back to Boston for a Tuesday night finale.

"Let's put on our surprise face. Game 7, TD Garden, Boston and Toronto," Cassidy quipped to wrap up his postgame press conference.

Then he rubbed his hands together and clapped. Cassidy is pumped, but Toronto - the city and the team - is decidedly not.

Despite opening the scoring on Sunday, the Leafs again whiffed on their attempt to advance to the second round. The last time the Original Six franchise won a series, back in 2004, Pat Quinn was behind the bench. Up next for the current coach: Slaying those ugly Game 7 demons.

“We started really well, we played really well and then, boom,” Mike Babcock said. “Once they scored, we didn't recover very good. We talked about it and prepared for it, but it didn't happen.”

A sleepy stretch against a talented Bruins team that doesn't back down from a challenge wasted exceptional showings from goalie Frederik Andersen (37 saves) and blue-liner Morgan Rielly (one goal, six shots).

For the Bruins, five players - Torey Krug and Brandon Carlo on the back end, Jake DeBrusk and Brad Marchand up front, and Tuukka Rask between the pipes - registered notable performances, and the team limited Toronto’s potent attack.

In Game 6, the Leafs generated just 54 shot attempts, 24 shots on goal, and 26 scoring chances. In the five games prior, they averaged 62 attempts, 33 shots, and 32 chances per game, according to NaturalStatTrick.com. Keep in mind, those early-series numbers were deflated by a low-event Game 5.

The Leafs couldn’t find much space to operate for large chunks of a crucial game.

“I think today we did a really good job containing those stretch passes that were getting behind us (earlier in the series),” said Carlo, who skated for nearly 24 minutes. "The D had good gaps, forwards were great on the forecheck, and we didn’t really allow them to get behind us too much."

"When you don’t let them get into the offensive zone too much it silences the crowd and the team," he added.

On the other side of the puck, the Bruins’ power play continued to soar. Ranked third in the regular season, the unit hasn’t missed a beat through six playoff games, scoring at least once in every contest but Game 5. Overall, Boston has capitalized on seven of 16 power-play opportunities in the series.

On Sunday, as Toronto adjusted its penalty kill to collapse in front of Andersen, Marchand scored off a Patrice Bergeron faceoff win to make it 1-1. Six minutes later, Krug pounced on a blocked shot and buried a wrister.

“He really stepped up tonight, shot the puck a little more,” Cassidy said of Krug, who recorded a game-high nine shots. “We talked about getting some more traffic, some more action at the net, and I thought we did a good job with that. He sort of set the precedent.”

A precedent is there for Game 7, too, after the Leafs lost the deciding game of Round 1 last year in Boston. So, who has the mental edge after Game 6?

“I don’t know," Krug said. "I mean, it’s Game 7, anything can happen. That’s a question you’ll have to ask over there, in their locker room.”

Over to you, Leafs.

John Matisz is theScore's National Hockey Writer. You can find him on Twitter @matiszjohn or shoot him a note at john.matisz@thescore.com.

Copyright © 2019 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

All Mike Babcock could do was grin.

Since Game 5 against the Boston Bruins started with back-to-back Maple Leafs stick infractions - first, a questionable tripping call on winger Zach Hyman, then a borderline hooking call on forward Patrick Marleau - the bench boss did what we all do when we feel wronged but can't change the outcome of the matter at hand.

He smiled, once for each perceived slight.

The opening-round series' on-and-off officiating controversy - which peaked during a whistles-away Game 2 - reappeared Friday. The Leafs powered through the noise, though, bagging two even-strength goals over a two-minute span in the third period before holding off a late Bruins surge.

Toronto won 2-1 and now leads the series 3-2. With a victory Sunday at home, the high-profile club can advance to the second round for the first time since 2004.

"Obviously, the hardest game to win is the fourth game to put the other team out, especially a proud group of guys," Babcock told reporters postgame, tipping his cap to the Bruins. "It is something that we haven't been able to do in the last three years."

This version of Boston-Toronto has been very tight. Both clubs have scored 14 goals and have mostly received quality goaltending. Truthfully, nobody's running away with the series.

[Other = penalty-shot, empty-net, or pulled-goalie goals]

The Leafs have been the better team at five-on-five, limiting the formidable trio of Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, and David Pastrnak to three even-strength goals. The Bruins, meanwhile, have dined on special teams, collecting five power-play markers in Games 1 through 4 while holding Toronto to just three on the PP. (Neither team scored on the PP in Game 5.)

Since the Leafs' two goals on Friday were so clean and well-executed, and occurred in what could be the series' turning-point contest, let's take a closer look at both sequences:

1-0 (Auston Matthews)

This goal was a complete group effort.

Defenseman Nikita Zaitsev made a terrific pass to Hyman, sending the puck from the Leafs' hash marks all the way to the far blue line. Toronto loves its stretch passes, and this particular attempt led to a clean zone entry.

Boston defenseman Charlie McAvoy then ran into Hyman, forcing him to find a streaking Kasperi Kapanen, who immediately handed off to Auston Matthews. Without puck support from Kapanen and Matthews, this play dies.

Matthews quickly deferred to Jake Muzzin hanging out at the point. Muzzin - who's having a tremendous series and became a father Thursday - wound up for a slap shot, faked it, then fed Matthews with an accurate pass. The big center had found a nice, open spot on his off wing and nailed the one-timer.

Boston goalie Tuukka Rask had no chance on Matthews' series-leading fourth goal. "He's a big guy so when he opens up you see him out of the corner of your eye," Muzzin said. "And great finish by him."

Hyman's role in the goal triggered a challenge from the Bruins, however. Coach Bruce Cassidy claimed the workhorse winger interfered with Rask.

The Situation Room - the league's centralized video room - took over for the on-ice officials and determined, yes, Hyman did interfere with Rask but the act wasn't egregious enough to overturn what had originally been ruled a good goal.

The bar is high for the Situation Room to overturn good-goal and no-goal calls made at ice level, and Hyman's interference didn't pass its threshold. There was contact, but the contact was 1) outside the blue paint, and 2) not compelling enough to justify a change.

2-0 (Kasperi Kapanen)

In a Game 5 defined by a dearth of scoring opportunities from either team in the first 50 minutes, the Leafs managed to once again create offense by committee.

Two minutes after opening the scoring, Matthews swooped deep into Toronto's zone to receive a short breakout pass from defenseman Ron Hainsey. Matthews then found Hainsey's partner, Morgan Rielly, cruising through the middle of the ice.

Untouched, Rielly exited the Leafs' zone and entered the Bruins' zone in style before passing to winger Andreas Johnsson. When the Leafs are rolling as a cohesive unit, they're a runaway train. You could sense what was coming.

Johnsson went cross-ice to Kapanen and the 22-year-old Finn fired the puck into the open net. After accumulating 11 shots but zero goals in the first four games, Kapanen had his first of the playoffs. Babcock labeled it "huge" for the speedster's confidence.

"It doesn't matter who you are, at times when it isn't going good for you, you question yourself a little bit," the coach said. "That is what the National Hockey League is about. It takes your confidence away at times. You just keep grinding. I thought he was great tonight."

The game itself wasn't great Friday. It was slow and devoid of action until midway through the third. But it picked up, and following the Leafs' goals, Boston's David Krejci scored with Rask pulled to launch a short-lived comeback.

Combined with a shutdown performance from John Tavares, Matthews has been a gigantic difference-maker this series, especially since third-line center Nazem Kadri's been sidelined due to a suspension.

If Kapanen, Matthews, and the rest of the Leafs can replicate that Game 5 performance on Sunday, there's a strong chance the Leafs will be seeing the Columbus Blue Jackets in the next round.

Wouldn't that bring a smile - of a different variety - to Babcock's face.

John Matisz is theScore's National Hockey Writer. You can find him on Twitter @matiszjohn.

Copyright © 2019 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

That was a dismantling, not a playoff series. A whooping, not a battle.

An epic collapse.

The Tampa Bay Lightning, quite literally one of the greatest regular-season teams in NHL history, were swept in the first round of the playoffs by the Columbus Blue Jackets. A 7-3 loss on Tuesday sealed Tampa’s fate.

The Lightning looked like a shell of themselves from the second period of Game 1 until the final buzzer in Game 4, which sent Nationwide Arena into a tizzy. Tampa is the first-ever Presidents' Trophy winner to be swept in the opening round, and it lost to a team that needed 81 games to earn a playoff spot.

Let’s pour one out for the juggernaut and tip our cap to Columbus, the worthy underdog. Here are four takeaways from the upset:

Will can overpower skill

If the first week of the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs has taught us one thing, it’s this: The postseason is an entirely different animal than the regular season.

Yes, the go-time switch is flipped every spring, but this year feels different. The phenomenon is more pronounced than in previous playoffs, or so it seems.

The Blue Jackets sweeping the Lightning, and the Islanders sweeping the Penguins, both count as surprises. One, of course, is infinitely more surprising than the other, but in both instances the hungrier team dominated.

On paper, Tampa is a powerhouse blessed with a tantalizing mix of high-end skill and talent, as well as depth and changeability. Columbus, on paper, is a pretty damn good hockey team too but, like 30 other teams, not quite comparable to peak Tampa.

Now, as the likes of power forward Josh Anderson, burgeoning sniper Oliver Bjorkstrand, and versatile defenseman David Savard proved, hockey isn’t won on paper. All three were tremendous against the Lightning, winning puck battles, scoring goals, and shutting down some of the opposition’s best players. They outplayed Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point, and Steven Stamkos.

The Blue Jackets' main bus drivers - forwards Matt Duchene, Artemi Panarin, and Cam Atkinson, defensemen Zach Werenski and Seth Jones, as well as goalie Sergei Bobrovsky - most certainly did their parts too.

Together, the John Tortorella-led group out-willed a more talented Tampa squad. Once the team gained an edge, they never let it go.

Bobrovsky’s choke job is over

Cancel the classic narrative, because Bobrovsky’s playoff demons have officially been slain.

Bobrovsky turned aside 108 of 115 shots to earn a sterling .940 save percentage in four games. In 24 previous playoff appearances, he had accrued an .891 save percentage, countless boos, and a reputation as the two-time Vezina Trophy winner with no big-game clout.

Bobrovsky's five-on-five netminding was so outstanding in this series that it makes you wonder how long he can sustain such a high level of play. With Columbus' penalty kill conceding four goals, the pending UFA actually allowed on average just one even-strength marker per game despite facing 25 five-on-five shots.

At the other end of the rink, Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy wasn’t sharp (.856 save percentage) or supported well enough (faced 83 scoring chances). This early playoff exit is only partially his fault.

Jon Cooper never loses his cool

Lightning coach Jon Cooper is by nature a calm individual. He always appears to be in control of his emotions and prefers to take a glass-half-full approach to life. It’s what makes him who he is.

So maybe we shouldn’t be surprised that the first sign of life from Cooper - at least publicly - came Tuesday after he won an offside challenge and was caught by TV cameras trying to charge up the bench?

Still, it was a little odd that Cooper didn’t go off on a tirade behind the bench or deliver a soundbite through the media in the five days between the club’s worrisome series-opening loss and that series-closing challenge. It was low-hanging fruit.

Perhaps, though, Cooper didn’t want to break the mold, no matter what transpired.

These Lightning were so incredibly steady all year. They made winning 62 games, and never losing more than two in a row, look surgical. Cooper was a gigantic part of their season-long success and is in contention for coach of the year honors. Why change now, right?

Clearly, the guy knows what he’s doing. And he did encounter a number of injuries and a suspension to Kucherov, his best player. He had built-in excuses.

Yet, in a weird, lingering way, Cooper’s calmness projected a strange vibe.

These Blue Jackets might do more damage

Looking ahead, what’s the ceiling for the Blue Jackets?

It’s fair to recalibrate our expectations for this Eastern Conference wild-card team, seeing as it just walked all over everybody’s unanimous Stanley Cup pick and should have plenty of time to rest. Its second-round opponent will be the winner of the Maple Leafs-Bruins series, which may go seven games.

What's more, the Blue Jackets' previously woeful power play - somehow, with that personnel, it ranked 28th in the NHL during the regular season - is really clicking. Relying on five different scorers, Columbus rectified the situation against Tampa, bagging five tallies on just 10 opportunities.

Duchene, picked up from the Ottawa Senators in late February, collected four goals and three assists in the opening round and looks every bit the player Columbus hoped it had acquired. His presence adds another dynamic up front.

The stock of this group, as a whole, is sky-high right now. The Blue Jackets just won the first playoff round in franchise history against an all-time squad. They are dialed in and playing a brand of hockey that can upend just about any team in the East.

The best part? Whatever's next is gravy.

John Matisz is theScore's National Hockey Writer. You can find him on Twitter @matiszjohn.

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TORONTO - Typically, Andreas Johnsson is a support piece for the Toronto Maple Leafs. He'll contribute, sure, but he isn't expected to do anything spectacular.

Once in a while, though, when the rookie is bolting, buzzing, and bumping around the ice, his impact rises exponentially. Monday's Game 3 against the Boston Bruins was one of those occasions - and the timing was impeccable.

Just hours after veteran center Nazem Kadri was given a series-long suspension, Johnsson scored a goal, earned a primary assist, and, as coach Mike Babcock described it afterward, had "all the details in his game."

Throughout Toronto's 3-2 home victory over Boston, which gave the Leafs a 2-1 series lead, the feisty winger bolted, traveling from zone to zone with that choppy yet efficient stride of his; buzzed, rattling bodies along the boards and in the corners; and bumped, smartly redirecting the puck from the middle lane to the periphery of the offensive zone on the power play.

"Johnny's a gamer," teammate Trevor Moore said, sizing up the turbo-charged performance. "That’s Mango," added Zach Hyman, dropping Johnsson's nickname.

Now, this Boston-Toronto series shouldn't be about guys like Johnsson. Stripped down to its bare bones, it should be laser-focused on two of the top forward lines in the NHL.

For the Bruins, that's the longtime Best Line in Hockey™ - Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand, and David Pastrnak. For the Leafs, it's John Tavares, Mitch Marner, and Hyman, a trio that lives one rung below best-in-class status.

Conventional wisdom suggests whoever wins the five-on-five battle between those lines will advance to the second round. And so far, the matchup has been tight.

Bergeron, Marchand, and Pastrnak have been on the ice for a combined two goals for and five against, making them minus-3 with a collective Corsi of 52.6 percent. Tavares, Marner, and Hyman have been on the ice for a combined four goals for and five against, making them minus-1. Their collective Corsi is 45.9 percent.

With a better goal differential, Toronto holds the edge in the clash of formidable first lines. But only barely.

That brings us back to Johnsson and the rest of Toronto's forward group. Sans Kadri, which players filled the void at even strength and on special teams during Game 3 at Scotiabank Arena?

Two Swedes acted as a Kadri Frankenstein of sorts. While Johnsson assumed Kadri's usual high-slot spot on the PP's first unit, countryman William Nylander slid over to the third-line center spot at five-on-five.

Nylander, who scored a goal in Game 1 but submitted an error-ridden Game 2, semi-redeemed himself on Monday. Unlike Kadri, the crafty 22-year-old will never wow you with his defensive acumen. But when he's engaged and unafraid of contact - more or less a requirement of playing center in the NHL - he can hold his own without the puck. All in all, Nylander did his part in Game 3.

Check out this defensive-zone sequence from the second period. Nylander (No. 29 in blue) identifies the open man (Jake DeBrusk, No. 74 in white), skates toward him, blocks his shot, and then proceeds to awkwardly pin him against the boards. The puck pops out to a Toronto teammate. Crisis averted.

Johnsson, who's found a nice home on Auston Matthews' left wing, asserted himself a handful of times during his playoff-high 18 minutes and 30 seconds of ice time. His effectiveness shone brightest through his ferocious forechecks, though his PP goal showed he's perfectly capable of manning the Kadri spot on the first unit.

In the clip below, notice how Johnsson (No. 18 in blue) taps his stick to call for the pass from Morgan Rielly. Upon reception, he immediately and intelligently bumps the puck to Matthews and then drives to the net. Thanks to a beautiful behind-the-back pass from Tavares, the puck ends up on his stick in a prime scoring area. Uncontested, Johnsson patiently switches from forehand to backhand before going top corner on Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask.

That goal gave the Leafs a 3-1 lead and capped off a gigantic opening 40 minutes for the team, during which Moore and Matthews joined Johnsson in the goal column and goalie Frederik Andersen stopped 24 of 26 shots. The Leafs had a firm grip on the Bruins, especially in the second period.

Meanwhile, Matthews' power-play goal was his first point of the series, and don't be surprised if the face of the franchise carries his swagger into Wednesday's Game 4. Earlier Monday, Babcock had hinted the big center was close to breaking through.

"Skill is a wonderful thing," the coach said pregame in response to a question about Matthews. "Will is more important at this time of year, and determination."

Overall, one could argue that not a single Leafs forward took the night off in Game 3 (though Patrick Marleau would lead the non-factor list). Moore and fellow fourth-liners Tyler Ennis and Frederick Gauthier were active throughout the contest. Marner continued to display his all-around game, fearlessly blocking consecutive shots by Pastrnak in the dying seconds of the third period.

"To me, that's team-building," Babcock said of Marner's defensive plays. "That's just laying it on the line when you need to and it makes everyone else around you better. Good for him and good for us."

All things considered, it was a great night for Toronto's forward group. No Nazem, no problem. At least through one tilt.

(Advanced stats courtesy Natural Stat Trick)

John Matisz is theScore's National Hockey Writer. You can find him on Twitter @matiszjohn.

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