The Winnipeg Jets scored their third marker of the game before the 10-minute point of the first period despite the fact that the goal was originally waived off due to goaltender interference.
In fact, two reviews took place: one to see if Joel Armia kicked the puck in the net, and then another to see if he interfered with goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury. Both rulings turned out in Winnipeg's favor, and the Jets took an early three-goal lead as a result.
Nashville Predators players are heading to Denmark in flocks like the swallows of Capistrano.
On Friday, the team announced seven of its players would head overseas to take part in the World Championship, but TSN's Ryan Rishaug is reporting one more player is on his way.
New Westminster, British Columbia native Kyle Turris has been added to Canada's roster and will join the team in a few days, per Rishaug.
Turris has a wealth of international experience, most recently at the 2014 World Championship, in which he potted three goals and added three helpers in eight games.
In a season split between the Ottawa Senators and the Predators, Turris collected 51 points in 76 games.
Canada was decimated on Saturday, falling to team Finland by a score of 5-1.
Goaltending proved to be an issue for the Canadians, as Curtis McElhinney was pulled after allowing three goals, and Darcy Kuemper didn't fare much better upon his entry into the game, giftingEeli Tolvanen a fourth goal for the Fins.
While Canada's play in the crease is certainly concerning, that wasn't the sole reason it lost. It only managed to score once against journeyman netminder Harri Säteri. Canada's struggles to generate scoring chances likely come from its inability to stay out of the penalty box, as it collected 22 minutes in penalties.
Mikko Rantanen, Teuvo Teravainen, and Tolvanen were the offensive catalysts for the Finns, combining for four goals and two assists.
Canada will close out the round robin on Monday and Tuesday with games against Latvia and Germany before the medal round begins.
Vasilevskiy had played every minute in the Lightning crease this postseason prior to being pulled.
Domingue has no NHL postseason experience, but he managed to post a .914 save percentage and a 2.89 goals-against average with the Lightning this year after a midseason trade from the Arizona Coyotes.
The Swedish center left Game 5 of the second round against the Pittsburgh Penguins with an upper-body injury and proceeded to miss the series-clinching Game 6.
Even though the Capitals were able to beat the Penguins without Backstrom, his absence can't be understated. He had yet another 70-point regular season and was off to a strong start in the postseason, collecting 13 points in 11 games.
Lars Eller will once again be counted on for big minutes down the middle in Backstrom's absence.
With the second round of the playoffs wrapped up and only four teams remaining, we take a look at the leading candidates for the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.
Holtby is coming off the worst regular season of his career, but he's making up for it in a big way this postseason.
4. Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay Lightning
GP
G
A
P
+/-
10
6
6
12
0
The Bolts have won eight games so far in the playoffs and Kucherov has scored in five of them, notching the game-winning tally on three occasions. However, after picking up 10 points against a relatively easy first-round opponent in the New Jersey Devils, Kucherov's production tailed off a bit in the second round against a better Boston Bruins team, which is why he's somewhat low on this list as Tampa Bay's representative.
3. Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals
GP
G
A
P
+/-
12
8
7
15
+3
Ovechkin still managed to be productive during the Capitals' playoff failures, so it's not surprising that he's been playing at an extremely high level during the franchise's deepest postseason run this century.
Arguments can be made that Holtby or Evgeny Kuznetsov have been Washington's most valuable players this postseason, but the Caps march to the beat of Ovechkin's drum. He's the heart and soul of the team, which he leads in both goals and points in these playoffs.
2. Mark Scheifele, Winnipeg Jets
GP
G
A
P
+/-
12
11
5
16
+6
The most impressive part about Scheifele's spectacular performance this spring is that nine of his 11 goals have come away from home, including an NHL-record seven road goals in one series against Nashville - not exactly an easy place to play. He was also clutch when it mattered most in Winnipeg's Game 7 win over the Presidents' Trophy-winning Predators, finding the twine twice.
1. Marc-Andre Fleury, Vegas Golden Knights
GP
W-L
GAA
SV%
SO
10
8-2
1.53
.951
4
Anyone who disagrees with ranking Fleury at the top of this list probably hasn't watched more than a minute of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. He's been nothing short of sensational, and has single-handedly stolen four wins. If Vegas is going to continue its miraculous run all the way to the final, Fleury will be the reason why.
And while Scheiefle has been remarkable, Fleury's had a greater impact on the direct outcomes of games, giving him the edge.
The Winnipeg Jets took control of Game 7 against the Nashville Predators and never looked back, winning 5-1. Here are three players who stepped up in the winner-take-all affair, and three who did not.
Studs
Connor Hellebuyck
Hellebuyck was calm, cool, and collected in the Jets' crease, stopping 36 of 37 shots that came his way. The only puck that beat him was off a P.K. Subban power-play blast that went in off the post. Even when the Predators amped up the tempo late, Hellebuyck was there to weather the storm.
Paul Stastny
Maybe the best trade-deadline acquisition of all time? Stastny notched two goals in Game 7, including the game-winner. The Jets generated 62.96 percent of the shot attempts and 66.67 percent of the scoring chances while Stastny was on the ice (at 5-on-5), both of which led the team.
Mark Scheifele
Scheifele had two goals, though one was an empty-netter. It's tough to choose between him and linemate Blake Wheeler since they both had phenomenal games, but Scheifele gets a slight edge. In addition to his nose for the net, he also had three hits and three blocked shots in the contest.
Duds
Pekka Rinne
Game 7 nightmares could keep Rinne up at night all summer long. He allowed two early goals and was yanked less than 11 minutes into the game. To make matters worse, both goals were awfully ugly on his part.
Ryan Ellis
It was also a game to forget for Ellis. He could've been much more aggressive on Statsny's first goal, as he allowed him to walk in and get not one, but two shots on Rinne - even if they were both from a bad angle. He finished with two giveaways, was on the ice for three goals against, and nine scoring chances against at 5-on-5 - the second-most on the team.
Roman Josi
Given that he's paired with Ellis, it's not all that surprising that Josi didn't have his best game, either. He had two giveaways, was on the ice for three goals and a team-high 10 scoring chances against at 5-on-5. We're accustomed to the Josi-Ellis pairing controlling the game and driving offense, but they failed to do that when it mattered most.
Both goals were from terribly poor angles, prompting the move to pull Rinne in favor of backup Juuse Saros.
It's been a rocky postseason for the Vezina Trophy nominee, as he owned a pedestrian 2.94 goals-against average and a .907 save percentage heading into Game 7.
The 23-year-old Saros had stopped all 26 shots he's faced in relief of Rinne these playoffs prior to entering Game 7. In the regular season, he posted a 2.45 GAA and a .925 save percentage in 26 contests.
Even after getting annihilated 6-2 in Game 5 by the Winnipeg Jets, P.K. Subban is awfully confident his Nashville Predators can win Game 6 and force a Game 7 back in the Music City.
"We're going to go (to Winnipeg), we're going to win a game and come back here. It's that simple," he said, according to Adam Vingan of the Tennessean.
The charismatic Subban is no stranger to bold predictions. After going down 2-0 against the Pittsburgh Penguins in last year's Stanley Cup Final, he guaranteed a win in Game 3, which the Preds won 5-1.
Can he go two-for-two? We'll find out Monday in Game 6.
"John took a high hit. He was unsuspecting, with about a minute left. He's being evaluated right now," he said, according to ESPN's Greg Wyshynski. "I know the standard's been set, so I'm going to leave it up the league. It was a head shot in my opinion."
— Domenic Allegra #ButlerDidIt (@DomenicAllegra) May 6, 2018
Carlson is the Capitals' top blue-liner, so any time missed would be detrimental to the team's chances of moving on. This is especially true considering Tom Wilson is still suspended for one more game, Andre Burakovsky hasn't played since Game 2 of the first round, and Nicklas Backstrom left Game 5 with an upper-body injury.
On the flip side, Guentzel has 10 goals and 21 points this postseason, so if he were to be suspended, the Penguins would be missing an irreplaceable piece of their offense.
Game 6 is set for Monday night in Pittsburgh, as Washington holds a 3-2 series lead.
