Four teams went into Day 7 up 2-1 in their series, and those four teams left with the series tied 2-2.
Missed anything? Here’s a recap of the night’s action.
Bruins’ Big 3 come to play in 5-2 win
There’s a reason why the Carolina Hurricanes weren’t looking forward to a matchup with the Boston Bruins. It’s because even with their backs against the walls, the Bruins just don’t quit.
That's the case especially when you have one of the best trios in the league in Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak. While they haven’t been bad in this series, they haven’t been that dominant force that every team fears. But they finally broke out in Game 4, scoring four of the Bruins goals in a 5-2 win when they were missing top defenseman Charlie McAvoy, who landed in COVID-19 protocol before the game.
The biggest contributor was Marchand, who had two of those goals, including the game winner, and five points. Bergeron had the first goal for the Bruins, as well as two assists. Pastrnak had the smallest total of the three, but scored the goal that gave them a 4-2 lead in the third, and an assist as well.
It wasn’t just the Bruins “Perfection Line” that made a big impact on the game. What made it easier for them to take over was the undisciplined play of the Hurricanes, giving the Bruins NINE power plays in the game. They had plenty of problems in this game despite the return of goalie Antti Raanta, but they didn’t do themselves any favors by giving the Bruins that many power plays.
Marchand also played a big role in that, particularly when he got under the skin of Canes defenseman Tony DeAngelo.
It’s safe to say that DeAngelo wasn’t happy with Marchand by the end of the game.
Binnington gets first postseason win since 2019 as Blues win 5-2
The last time Jordan Binnington won a game in the playoffs, he hoisted the Stanley Cup afterward. It’s been that long. For the only two games the St. Louis Blues won in the bubble in 2020, Jake Allen was in net. In 2021, they were swept by the Colorado Avalanche in the first round. And in the first three games of their series with the Minnesota Wild, Ville Husso was in net.
But, after Husso allowed nine goals in the previous two games and posted a .906 save percentage in the series as the Blues were down 2-1 to the Minnesota Wild, the Blues went back to their Cup-winning goaltender to see if that would make a difference. And it did.
Binnington would be vital to the Blues' success in Game 4, as it was either tied or a one-goal game up until the final two minutes of the third period. Binnington would stop 28 of the 30 shots he faced, and he made sure the Blues never trailed in the game, especially after Kirill Kaprizov tied the game late in the first. Jordan Kyrou would score two goals, David Perron would get two goals and an assist, and Ryan O’Reilly would get a goal and two assists to carry the load for the Blues offense in the game, as they would win 5-2.
Lightning catch Leafs by surprise in 7-3 blowout win
Every game has seen a three-goal lead by one team in this series, but Game 4 saw the quickest three-goal lead yet. It took 7:58 for Steven Stamkos, Pierre-Edouard Bellemare and Pat Maroon to score and give the Lightning a 3-0 edge, and the Leafs played like they were caught in the headlights. For a deeper dive into the game, Matt Larkin has you covered.
Quick rebounds with shutout as Kings draw even with Oilers
Jonathan Quick certainly had a couple games to forget, allowing 10 goals (and getting pulled early in Game 3) in the Kings back-to-back losses. But if Mike Smith can rebound from his poor performance in Game 1, it should be no surprise that Quick could do the same.
Not only did he play well enough for the Kings to win and tie the series, he stopped all 31 shots he faced to get a shutout. That would mark the first time Quick has had a shutout in the playoffs in eight years, the last one occurring in Game 3 of the 2014 Stanley Cup Final against the New York Rangers. It felt like 2014 again with some of the saves Quick was making, including a couple without his glove late in the second.
The Kings didn’t need Quick to be perfect, either. They got 46 shots on net, and kept some of the Oilers’ big guns stifled, while also getting three goals on Mike Smith, and another on the empty net to finish it off. Carl Grundstrom would lead the way with two goals and an assist.
Grundstrom’s first would be the more controversial of the two, as he scored a goal while sliding into the net. At first, it was reviewed to see if he scored with his glove, but that was deemed legal. Then, it got another look for interference with Smith, but that didn’t overturn the goal either, as the reason Grundstrom was sliding into Smith was because he was tripped by Darnell Nurse. It didn’t matter in the long run, as it was the 3-0 goal late in a game with a 4-0 final score, but it probably sucked the energy out of any potential Oilers comeback. Was it a good goal, or was it goalie interference or scored with Grundstrom’s glove?
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