The Chicago Blackhawks and New York Rangers won Game 1 of their respective conference finals in the National Hockey League (NHL) playoffs. The Blackhawks beat the Los Angeles Kings 3-1, and the New York Rangers crushed the Montreal Canadiens by a score of 7-2.
On Sunday, in the Western Conference Finals, the Blackhawks opened the scoring 14:46 into the 1st period on a power play goal by Brandon Saad. The Kings tied the score in the 2nd period at 4:35, on a tipped-in goal by Tyler Toffoli. But the Blackhawks took the lead for good 7 minutes later on a Duncan Keith long-range slapshot. Chicago added their final goal on a Jonathan Towes wristshot late in the 3rd period.
The Kings were eliminated last year by the Blackhawks in 5 games. That was the only series the Kings have lost in the last 3 years in the playoffs, winning the other 8 series. The Blackhawks seem to have their number, but you never know with these Kings. They are 6-0 in elimination games this year, including Game 7 on Friday, where the Anaheim Ducks went belly up for the first 35 minutes, spotting the Kings a 5-0 lead, that they couldn’t overcome.
The Eastern Conference Finals opened on Saturday with a resounding win by the Rangers in Montreal. The Rangers took an early lead on a wristshot by Martin St. Louis. 2 minutes later, they scored again on a Mats Zuccarello wristshot.
The Canadiens cut the lead to 2-1 on a wristshot by Rene Bourque 12:38 into the 2nd period. Then things started going really bad for the Canadiens late in the 2nd period. Chris Kreider scored with 1:01 left in the period, then just 49 seconds later Brad Richards made it 4-1 to end the scoring for the 2nd period.
The 3rd period continued the way the 2nd period ended. Within 4 minutes and 36 seconds, the Rangers blew the game wide open with goals by Ryan McDonagh, Derek Stepan, and Rick Nash. The Canadiens did score a short-handed goal by Lars Eller with 4:38 remaining, but they could get no closer.
You have to think the Canadiens will regroup and come back much stronger in Game 2 on Monday in Montreal. They got past the President’s Cup winning Boston Bruins in the last round, winning the last 2 games to do it.
The Kings and Blackhawks will play Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals on Wednesday, again in Chicago.
After the first 2 rounds of the NHL playoffs, all 4 division winners have been eliminated. The Ducks, Bruins and Pittsburgh Penguins all lost in 7 games in the 2nd round, while the Colorado Avalanche were knocked out in the first round in 7 games also.
The Blackhawks are the defending champion, and the Kings won the Stanley Cup 2 years, but the Rangers haven’t won it all since 1994, and the Canadiens were champions the year before that.
You never know what to expect in the NHL playoffs, and that’s what makes them so fun to watch. There are 4 teams left, and none of them won their division, but they got hot when it matters the most.
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