Holy shit, do we have a great final on our hands. Both games were incredible theatre. Both games were one by one goal with the most recent game reaching OT. So far, this series has been everything you could ask for as a hockey fan. Oh, and a Dylan Larkin trade request just came out of nowhere and blew up the whole offseason while we were watching hockey, but we’ll get there.
Vegas spent 2/3rds of game 2 completely dominating the Hurricanes. The Knights were doing to Carolina what Carolina has spent the entire playoffs doing to everyone they’ve faced. It was looking like a defensive masterclass was about to ensue, putting the series basically on life support. Then Rasmus Andersen decided to eat a puck behind the net, turned it over, and Carolina got on the board. They evened the score at 2 a couple of minutes later. Momentum shifts are such a huge part of the Stanley Cup Playoffs and Carolina appeared to seize all the momentum.
The building was rightfully going crazy as Carolina tied the game and stole all the momentum. Then the game itself got as crazy as the fans in the building. Complete chaos ensued around the Carolina goal as Vegas attempted a wrap-around and the puck was seemingly loose in the paint. Eventually, the puck found its way into the net but was waved off, on the ice, by the officials. The refs deemed that there was goaltender interference on the ice, not that they blew their whistles, which is an important factor for what followed.
Torts ends up challenging the call. Obviously, the challenge needed to be to reverse goaltender interference, not that the puck was loose, and since we all know that refs have absolutely no idea what goaltender interference is, the call on the ice stood as called. As with any other failed challenge, the opposite team was sent to the powerplay. To be honest, I think this was a reasonable gamble by Torts, the puck was loose, and there were definitely angles that helped support the puck was going in without the aid of any interference. Also, Carolina’s powerplay has been dreadful so getting a kill should have been easy enough. Things are never easy in the finals though, as Jordan Staal scored his second of the series to put the Canes up by one with under five minutes to play. The building completely erupted.
Then Jackson Blake took one of the most flabbergasting interference penalties that I have ever seen. For absolutely no reason he threw his ass into a Vegas back checker.
Being mad about that call is completely bananas. I don’t know what this dude was crying about in the box, buddy you literally hit the dude with your ass on purpose.
Carolina did get the kill, but Vegas scored two seconds after the penalty expired to send the game into overtime.
Really unsure why Freddy punched at the shot from Marner with his blocker. Maybe the bodies in front made it difficult for him to track the puck, but throwing this puck directly back in front of you is almost always a horrible, horrible, idea. I wasn’t going to complain though because I want every single finals game to enter extra time, it’s just too thrilling.
Unfortunately for the drama, fortunately for my bedtime, the game was ended quickly in overtime. I spoke after game 1, and most of hockey’s media has spoken about it too, the top line for Carolina needed to get going. Well, they looked like they weren’t going to ever figure it out. They were non-factors to the point that Joradn Martinook got placed on the top line with Svechnikov and Aho. Seth Jarvis was sent down to the third line. Though those changes didn’t really bear any fruits, it might have jolted Jarvis back to life. Jarvis remained at his typical spot on the top powerplay unit and absolutely wired a puck into the net to even the series. If that goal gets Jarvis going, finally, then this series will become even more compelling than it has been so far.
Thank God Carolina won. Not because I am rooting for them, but if they had lost this game, it just smelled like a sweep was upcoming. I want every single final to go seven games, and I feel like that would have been impossible if the game last night had a different result. Also, if the games are going to continue to be this good we all deserve seven games of this series. So much for this being a boring defensive clinic.
Other big news hit the NHL yesterday. I was going to write a rumor roundup, but when a rumor this big comes around nothing else seems consequential. Dylan Larkin, Red Wings captain, has requested a trade.
What an insane day in the NHL. Now, we have no info on where Larkin is heading. We also don’t know if Yzerman is going to bend to his captain’s request. However, if he is traded, I cannot wait to see where he goes. Yes, part of that excitement is because I think Dubas should be all over this player. Larkin is cost controlled, about to turn 30 but has wheels, and he is an ideal second line center behind Crosby. Larkin controls his fate because of his no-move clause, and maybe Dubas soft tampered when he pitched Pittsburgh as a place to come for people exactly like Larkin in his season ending presser.
The thoughts of a Chinny-Larkin-Malkin second line would feed families. You also may get him a discount if he basically chooses his destination and would leave the Penguins with ample assets to get other distressed assets like a Jason Roberton, or Pavel Mintyukov. Whatever happens, I just love player movement of this magnitude hopefully it doesn’t disappoint.
Also, Darnell Nurse seems destined to finally be moved out of Edmonton. Definitely don’t want him coming to Pittsburgh unless it’s Nurse for Graves straight up. What a horrible contract.
