Lightning’s top line dominates to take 3-1 series lead over Islanders

By Adam GretzSep 13, 2020, 6:03 PM EDT

The Tampa Bay Lightning are one step closer to a return to the Stanley Cup Final.

With their 4-1 win over the New York Islanders on Sunday afternoon, the Lightning now have a commanding 3-1 lead in the Eastern Conference Final and will have a chance to advance on Tuesday night.

Even though they allowed the first goal on Sunday, a 12-second stretch in the second period where they scored two goals helped swing the game in their favor.

Overall, it was their top line of Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point, and Ondrej Palat doing a lot of the heavy lifting in the win.

Palat’s goal (set up by Kucherov and Point) midway through the second period counts as the game-winner, while Point added a goal of his own early in the third period to help put the game out of reach. Point was making his return to the lineup after missing Game 3 of the series due to injury and made a very immediate — and very noticeable — impact. With their two point efforts on Sunday, they are now tied for the league scoring lead this season (Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche) with 25 points.

[NBC 2020 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFF HUB]

Overall, it wasn’t a bad effort from the Islanders on Sunday. They had moments where they pushed the play and had their share of chances. But that 12-second breakdown in the second period, as well as their inability to find an answer for the Kucherov-Point-Palat line, proved to be their undoing in this game. When that trio was on the ice during 5-on-5 play (just a little over 11 minutes) the Lightning held a 17-9 shot attempt advantage, a 12-2 shots on goal advantage, and a 2-0 goals advantage. They were the difference.

Now the big question for the Lightning becomes whether or not they can finish this series. This the third time in the past four years they have been the first team to three wins in the Eastern Conference Final, having previously done so against Pittsburgh in 2016 and Washington in 2018. In both of those instances they ended up losing the series when their offense went cold at the worst possible time. They have an opportunity to redeem themselves here. If they can get one more win in this series it will put them in the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since the 2014-15 season.

No. 2 Tampa Bay Lightning vs. No. 6 New York Islanders (Lightning lead series 3-1)

Series preview
Game 1: Lightning 8, Islanders 2. (recap)
Game 2: Lightning 2, Islanders 1 (recap)
Game 3: Islanders 5, Lightning 3 (recap)
Game 4: Lightning 4, Islanders 1
Game 5: Tuesday, Sept. 15, 8 p.m. ET – NBCSN
*Game 6: Thursday, Sept. 17, 8 p.m. ET – NBCSN
*Game 7: Saturday, Sept. 19, 7:30 p.m. ET – NBC

*if necessary

MORE STANLEY CUP COVERAGE:
• Stanley Cup Playoffs Conference Final schedule

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Adam Gretz is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @AGretz.

Flames name Geoff Ward head coach, removing interim tag

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By Adam GretzSep 14, 2020, 12:58 PM EDT

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The Calgary Flames announced on Monday that they have removed the interim tag from Geoff Ward, officially naming him the team’s head coach.

Terms of the contract were not announced by the team, but Pierre LeBrun reports Ward’s contract is a two-year deal.

He is the team’s fourth different head coach since the start of the 2015-16 season.

Ward had been serving as the Flames’ interim coach since late November when he took over for former coach Bill Peters. Peters had resigned from the team after his previous misconduct (including the use of a racial slur against former player Akim Aliu in the AHL, as well as physical incidents in Carolina) had been revealed. Before taking over on an interim basis Ward had been serving as an associate head coach with the Flames.

[NBC 2020 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFF HUB]

With Ward behind the bench the Flames closed out the 2019-20 regular season with a 24-15-3 record to qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

That regular season record under Ward’s watch was the fourth-best mark in the Western Conference during that time.

The Flames ended up beating the Winnipeg Jets (3-1) in the qualifying round before being eliminated in the First Round by the Dallas Stars.

This marks the first time in more than a decade that the Flames qualified for the playoffs in consecutive seasons.

MORE STANLEY CUP COVERAGE:
• Stanley Cup Playoffs Conference Final schedule

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Adam Gretz is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @AGretz.

NHL Power Rankings: Point takes over top spot in Conn Smythe race

By Adam GretzSep 14, 2020, 12:44 PM EDT

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It is time again for the NHL Power Rankings and the 2020 Conn Smythe Watch. We not only have a new leader at the top this week, but also a new contender making a strong push and rapid climb in the rankings.

Tampa’ Brayden Point takes over the No. 1 spot this week, jumping over Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen, as he has helped the Lightning get to within a win of the Stanley Cup Final.

Also making an appearance this week for the first time is Dallas goalie Anton Khudobin.

Who else makes this week’s NHL Power Rankings list?

To the rankings!

1. Brayden Point, Tampa Bay Lightning. He has at least one point in all but two of his games this postseason, and in one of those two games he only played eight minutes before leaving with injury. He has six multi-point games, two-game winning goals (both in overtime, including one series-clincher) and has been the best and most impactful player on a team that is one win away from the Stanley Cup Final.

2. Miro Heiskanen, Dallas Stars. After a long run at the top Heiskanen drops down one spot. That drop has more to do with what the guy now ahead of him has done recently than anything Heiskanen has or has not done. He is still the best overall defenseman going in the playoffs and the best skater on the Dallas roster.

[NBC 2020 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFF HUB]

3. Anton Khudobin, Dallas Stars. The Conn Smythe Trophy tends to weigh the conference finals and Stanley Cup Final over everything that happens in the first two rounds, and that is what gives Khudobin such a huge jump. After being solid, and at times really good, in the First and Second Rounds, Khudobin has gone into superman mode in the Western Conference Final. He is the single the biggest reason, and maybe the only reason, the Stars are so close to advancing. Without him standing on his head over the first four games of this series it might already be over in Vegas’ favor. Entering Monday’s Game 5 (8 p.m. ET, NBCSN; livestream), he has a .952 save percentage against the Golden Knights, while the Stars have won three games by a single goal. The Stars have scored 1, 3, and 2 goals in those wins. Goaltending is the difference.

4. Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay Lightning. Kucherov and Point have been a nearly unstoppable duo offensively for the Lightning, and it is because of their dominance that the team has been able to overcome the absence of Steven Stamkos. He has averaged two points per game over his past eight games.

5. Shea Theodore, Vegas Golden Knights. Consistently the most impressive skater in the Vegas lineup, Theodore has been a top offensive threat from the blue line and also helped control the pace of every game when he is on the ice. Their best overall player at the moment.

[NHL Conference Final schedule]

6. Jamie Benn, Dallas Stars. He has been productive, timely, and quite honestly looked like the Jamie Benn of old. He has some fierce Conn Smythe competition within his own team, however.

7. Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay Lightning. At one point he had a goal in four consecutive games this postseason for the Lightning. He does not tend to get as many headlines as the forwards, but he is arguably the engine that makes this machine run every season. He is one of the best all-around players in hockey.

8. Brock Nelson, New York Islanders. He took a beating in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Final series only to come back in Game 3 and score a huge game-winning goal to keep the Islanders in the series. He has been one of their top offensive players throughout the postseason.

9. Ondrej Palat, Tampa Bay Lightning. Palat is making a late push for the way he has played over the past two rounds. Since the start of the Second Round he has 11 points in nine games, including eight goals.

10. Mathew Barzal, New York Islanders. He is usually the most noticeable Islanders forward, and with 15 points in 20 games has also been one of their most productive. He has had a really strong playoff run and continues to establish himself as the foundational piece for the Islanders organization moving forward.

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Adam Gretz is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @AGretz.

Golden Knights-Stars stream: NHL Stanley Cup Western Conference Final

By Sean LeahySep 14, 2020, 11:45 AM EDT

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NBCSN’s coverage of the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs continues with Monday’s Western Conference Final matchup between the Golden Knights and Stars. Pre-game coverage begins at 7 p.m. ET on NBCSN. Watch the Golden Knights-Stars stream on the NBC Sports app by clicking here.

After falling behind 1-0 on Alec Martinez’s power play goal in the second period, the Stars rebounded to score twice later in the period. Joe Pavelski tied the game at 1-1 with his ninth goal this postseason. Dallas captain Jamie Benn provided the game winner on his power play tally with 59 seconds left before intermission. Dallas netminder Anton Khudobin, once again, stood tall in goal, stopping 32 of 33 shots.

Khudobin has responded after getting pulled after the second period of Game 2 by stopping 70 of 73 shots he faced in Games 3 and 4. He eclipsed 500 saves in the 2020 postseason with his 32-save outing in Game 4 (527). His 527 saves are the third-most by a Stars/North Stars goaltender in a single playoff year, behind Ed Belfour (606 in 2000 and 574 in 1999).

To extend this series to a Game 6, the Golden Knights will likely need more from some of its big names who have hit cold streaks:

• Jonathan Marchessault: 0 goals in last 10 games
• Reilly Smith: 0 goals in last 10 games
• Max Pacioretty: 0 goals in last 7 games
• Mark Stone: 1 goal in last 8 games

Since the conference format was adopted ahead of the 1981-82 season, teams that hold a 3-1 lead in the Conference Finals own an all-time series record of 34-1.

[NBC 2020 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFF HUB]

WHAT: Vegas Golden Knights vs. Dallas Stars
WHERE: Rogers Place – Edmonton
WHEN: Monday, September 14, 8 p.m. ET
TV: NBCSN
ON THE CALL: John Forslund, Eddie Olczyk, Pierre McGuire
LIVE STREAM: You can watch the Golden Knights-Stars stream on NBC Sports’ live stream page and the NBC Sports app.

No. 1 Vegas Golden Knights vs. No. 3 Dallas Stars (DAL leads 3-1)

Stars 1, Golden Knights 0 (recap)
Golden Knights 3, Stars 0 (recap)
Stars 3, Golden Knights 2 [OT] (recap)
Stars 3, Golden Knights 1 (recap)
Game 5: Monday, Sept. 14, 8 p.m. ET – NBCSN (livestream)
*Game 6: Wednesday, Sept. 16, 8 p.m. ET – NBCSN
*Game 7: Friday, Sept. 18, 9 p.m. ET – NBCSN

*if necessary

Golden Knights staying confident facing elimination vs. Stars

By Sean LeahySep 14, 2020, 11:00 AM EDT

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Jonathan Marchessault and his Golden Knights teammates don’t see a mountain in front of them. Down 3-1 to the Stars in the Western Conference Final, they can no longer afford to just play well but lose. Beginning Monday in Game 5 (8 p.m. ET, NBCSN; livestream), Vegas must start winning.

“We can’t feel sorry for ourselves or anything,” said Marchessault. “The playoffs are never over until it’s over. You can’t look it like a big mountain right now. Let’s focus on [Game 5]. We have a lot of scoring chances. We’ve created a lot still. We just can’t find the back of the net.”

The Golden Knights are no strangers to this experience. In the Second Round, they couldn’t solve Thatcher Demko in Games 5 and 6, which allowed the Canucks to get back into the series and force a Game 7. This round, it’s Anton Khudobin who is their main nemesis.

Vegas is winning the possession battle and has more high-danger chances for at even strength through four games, but the Stars goaltender has played his way into the Conn Smythe Trophy discussion. Khudobin has a .965 5-on-5 save percentage in the series and been vital as Dallas has changed from an offensive force earlier in the playoffs into a shutdown defensive unit.

[NBC 2020 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFF HUB]

“He’s fronting a lot of pucks. We’re making his life a little easy. We’ve got get more bodies in front,” Marchessault said.

Part of finding a way by Khudobin is getting the top guys involved. Some of Vegas’ bigger offensive stars have been in a rut since their last round series against Vancouver. Marchessault and Reilly Smith haven’t scored in their last 10 games; Max Pacioretty is goalless in his last seven; and Mark Stone has one goal in his last eight games. The chances have been there, but a familiar obstacle is in their away again.

DeBoer is keeping the faith. He did so in the Vancouver series and he has no choice but to right now with their season on the line for at least the next three games — if they even get a chance to play them all.

“The worst thing we can do is analyze this to death and start changing a bunch of things,” DeBoer. “If you can throw out double the amount of high-danger scoring chances on a given night, you’re going to win most games. You’ve got to trust that eventually that will come around and swing your way.”

DeBoer has good reason to be confident. Just a year ago he was on the winning side of a 3-1 series comeback against the Golden Knights while coaching the Sharks. Winning three in a row isn’t impossible, and with the way Vegas has been playing it’s just a matter of the breaks finally going their way.

“All we need is to finish. The effort’s there. We’re creating a lot of really good looks,” DeBoer said. “Their best player, Joe Pavelski, takes a backhander, it rolls up the shaft of the stick and over our goalie’s shoulder. We haven’t gotten any of those and we gotta stick with it until we do.”

No. 1 Vegas Golden Knights vs. No. 3 Dallas Stars (DAL leads 3-1)

*if necessary

MORE: Full NHL Conference Finals schedule

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Sean Leahy is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @Sean_Leahy.