Welcome to the new landscape of the Pacific Division, where mid-playoffs series set exclusively California are a thing of the past.
The Ducks had a much easier first round, sweeping the wild-card Calgary Flames in four games, continuing their recent domination of the matchup. However, it was not an easy series. Still, he finished the series with two goals and two assists, while linemate Draisaitl finished with one goal and two assists.
Another impressive player for the Oilers came in the form of Leon Draisaitl. That extra rest should help the Ducks while the Oilers did not clinch their series until Saturday at San Jose.
Subban then set up another power-play goal for the Predators. Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry and others were involved in "histrionics". But with his great play in the playoffs, Larsson is finally starting to get proper respect from outsiders as well, folks such as Mike Johnson of the NHL Network who is recognizing what Larsson brings to the game both on defence and, surprisingly, on the attack. The Oilers used their speed to get through a slow and ageing Sharks team to win the series.
Betting line: The Ducks opened as -140 favorites (wager $140 to win $100); the total is at five goals, according to sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark. Their goaltending was pretty solid in the series, as well.
Anaheim is 9-2 SU in its last 11 games at home against Edmonton.
"He doesn't have a very good shot". Two goals that largely silenced a sellout Honda Center crowd showed that they've got a lot of work ahead of them. Craig Anderson was excellent, captain Erik Karlsson continues to marvel, Bobby Ryan came up with some big goals in the opening round and Clarke MacArthur supplied the series clincher in overtime after missing a good chunk of the past two seasons with post-concussion syndrome. They have scored three of more goals in 14 of their last 15 games dating back to the regular season.
The Oilers won their first playoff series since 2006 when they defeated the San Jose Sharks in six games. They did it with a mix of timely, balanced scoring and some good defensive play when they needed it. Theodore and Ryan Getzlaf led the way offensively against Calgary with two goals and three assists apiece. This is a case of two teams who are on a serious roll right now with two goalies who proved nearly unbeatable in round 1.
Teams using dogs, drones to look for missing Joliet toddler
The Will County sheriff's office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation executed a search warrant about 11 p.m. The child was last seen wearing a gray long-sleeved shirt with a cat face on it, and dark jeans.
Two of the five Canadian clubs advanced to the second round, the Ottawa Senators joining the Oilers after dispatching the Boston Bruins.
Cam Talbot was stellar between the pipes for Edmonton. That was vintage Fuhr mitt, flying against teams who seem to feel Talbot's glove might be one of his few weak links. Hampus Lindholm left late in Game 4 with an injury and hadn't practiced as of Monday.
Part of Peter Chiarelli's makeover of the Oilers since taking over as general manager in 2015 was to add more beef to their lineup.
Unfortunately, the most anticipated match-up of these playoffs is coming in the second round, but it should be a dynamite series. They can both play a similar game and, on paper, are close to even. Sami Vatanen missed the final three games vs. the Flames with an upper-body injury and should be ready. That will be a key for Anaheim if they want to slow down McDavid and his line.
The next test for the Oilers gets much tougher. The Ducks win in six and face St. Louis in the West Finals. I did not take into account, however, their lackluster play going into the playoffs. If you look at this chart, organized by weighted average age of National Hockey League teams, you will see that the Oilers are the seventh youngest group.
Anaheim has been one of the hottest teams since March. Anaheim has now won eight straight games to get to 50-23-13 overall and 31-8-4 at home.
Last but certainly not least, the Penguins looked solid as they eliminated the Columbus Blue Jackets in five games.
The Ducks lost defenceman Kevin Bieksa for the third period. If we're to put any stock into the regular season, then that situation might not be so rosy for Anaheim.
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