Haula Scores in Second OT, Knights Lead 2-0
The Las Vegas Golden Knights' history-making season has transferred into the postseason, following a win in their first ever playoff game two days ago, they played a marathon on Friday night. Erik Haula got a nice feed from James Neal and scored the game-winner past Jonathan Quick for a 2-1 victory and a 2-0 series lead. The game-winner came with less than five minutes left in the second overtime period, sending the crowd of 18,588 into celebration in their second straight home game. They also out-shot the Kings by a large margin, forcing Quick to make 54 saves in a losing effort. Marc-Andre Fleury only faced 30 shots, stopping 29 of them, including 19 after the third period. Los Angeles kept the physicality up that we saw in Game 1 by out-hitting the Knights, 80-56. The two regulation goals both came early on in the night, with Alex Tuch giving his team the lead in the first period with his first career playoff goal. The Kings evened things up in the second period on Paul LaDue's power-play tally, and that would be it for over 60 minutes of playing time. The game lasted over four hours of real time, and in the first two games of the series, they have combined for just four goals. The Knights will take their 2-0 series lead on to the road for Game 3 of the series, which will be at the Staples Center on Sunday night.
Jets Take 2-0 Series Lead, Flyers Even Things Up
The Winnipeg Jets are also extra excited about bringing playoff hockey back to Winnipeg, and they are capitalizing on that excitement. The Jets took a 2-0 series lead on Friday night with their second straight home win, 4-1, over the Minnesota Wild. The Jets held a 1-0 lead for a majority of the night, before pulling away with three goals in the third. Paul Stastny, Andrew Copp, and Patrik Laine all scored in the third period, while Tyler Myers scored the first goal of the game in the second period. Myers also added an assist, while rookie Jack Roslovic recorded two assists while replacing the injured Mathieu Perreault. Zach Parise had the lone goal of the night for the Wild, which was his second of the series, as they will return home with the series deficit on Sunday night. Meanwhile, the Philadelphia Flyers bounced back from a Game-1 blowout loss with a blowout victory of their own, 5-1, over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday night to even the series at one-apiece. Sean Couturier had a goal and two assists, while Brian Elliott made 34 saves to help the Flyers avenge a 7-0 embarrassment in Game 1 on Thursday. Shayne Gostisbehere, Travis Konecny, Andrew McDonald, and Nolan Patrick all scored for Philadelphia, who will host Game 3 of the series on Sunday afternoon. After recording a natural hat trick in Game 1, Sidney Crosby, along with Evgeni Malkin, were held in check, as Patric Hornqvist scored the lone goal of the night in the loss for the Penguins.
Mets Improve Hot Start With Ninth Straight Win
After an up and down season a year ago, it seems as if the New York Mets may have finally gelled under new manager, Mickey Callaway. They won their ninth straight game on Friday night, 6-5, over the Milwaukee Brewers at home. Todd Frazier hit his first two home runs with the Mets, while Jose Lobaton hit a big triple in his first at-bat with New York. The win improved the Mets to 11-1 on the season, as they are the first team to start that hot since 2013, and just the 22nd to do so in MLB history. 13 of those teams have missed the playoffs, with only three of the eight that have made it winning the World Series. Although, it is way too early in the season to talk postseason or World Series, so lets focus on Friday's contest. Steven Matz snapped a winless streak that dated back to June 28th, as the Mets are now on their longest win streak since winning 11 straight games in April of 2015. Jay Bruce, Adrian Gonzalez, and Dan Jennings all contributed to a four-run fifth inning that broke a 2-2 tie. Zach Davies struggled for the Brewers, who fell to 7-7 on the season, and just 5-2 on the road, but their starter allowed five runs on seven hits in 4.1 innings. These two teams will go at it again at Citi Field on Saturday and Sunday to end the series.
The Las Vegas Golden Knights' history-making season has transferred into the postseason, following a win in their first ever playoff game two days ago, they played a marathon on Friday night. Erik Haula got a nice feed from James Neal and scored the game-winner past Jonathan Quick for a 2-1 victory and a 2-0 series lead. The game-winner came with less than five minutes left in the second overtime period, sending the crowd of 18,588 into celebration in their second straight home game. They also out-shot the Kings by a large margin, forcing Quick to make 54 saves in a losing effort. Marc-Andre Fleury only faced 30 shots, stopping 29 of them, including 19 after the third period. Los Angeles kept the physicality up that we saw in Game 1 by out-hitting the Knights, 80-56. The two regulation goals both came early on in the night, with Alex Tuch giving his team the lead in the first period with his first career playoff goal. The Kings evened things up in the second period on Paul LaDue's power-play tally, and that would be it for over 60 minutes of playing time. The game lasted over four hours of real time, and in the first two games of the series, they have combined for just four goals. The Knights will take their 2-0 series lead on to the road for Game 3 of the series, which will be at the Staples Center on Sunday night.
Jets Take 2-0 Series Lead, Flyers Even Things Up
The Winnipeg Jets are also extra excited about bringing playoff hockey back to Winnipeg, and they are capitalizing on that excitement. The Jets took a 2-0 series lead on Friday night with their second straight home win, 4-1, over the Minnesota Wild. The Jets held a 1-0 lead for a majority of the night, before pulling away with three goals in the third. Paul Stastny, Andrew Copp, and Patrik Laine all scored in the third period, while Tyler Myers scored the first goal of the game in the second period. Myers also added an assist, while rookie Jack Roslovic recorded two assists while replacing the injured Mathieu Perreault. Zach Parise had the lone goal of the night for the Wild, which was his second of the series, as they will return home with the series deficit on Sunday night. Meanwhile, the Philadelphia Flyers bounced back from a Game-1 blowout loss with a blowout victory of their own, 5-1, over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday night to even the series at one-apiece. Sean Couturier had a goal and two assists, while Brian Elliott made 34 saves to help the Flyers avenge a 7-0 embarrassment in Game 1 on Thursday. Shayne Gostisbehere, Travis Konecny, Andrew McDonald, and Nolan Patrick all scored for Philadelphia, who will host Game 3 of the series on Sunday afternoon. After recording a natural hat trick in Game 1, Sidney Crosby, along with Evgeni Malkin, were held in check, as Patric Hornqvist scored the lone goal of the night in the loss for the Penguins.
Mets Improve Hot Start With Ninth Straight Win
After an up and down season a year ago, it seems as if the New York Mets may have finally gelled under new manager, Mickey Callaway. They won their ninth straight game on Friday night, 6-5, over the Milwaukee Brewers at home. Todd Frazier hit his first two home runs with the Mets, while Jose Lobaton hit a big triple in his first at-bat with New York. The win improved the Mets to 11-1 on the season, as they are the first team to start that hot since 2013, and just the 22nd to do so in MLB history. 13 of those teams have missed the playoffs, with only three of the eight that have made it winning the World Series. Although, it is way too early in the season to talk postseason or World Series, so lets focus on Friday's contest. Steven Matz snapped a winless streak that dated back to June 28th, as the Mets are now on their longest win streak since winning 11 straight games in April of 2015. Jay Bruce, Adrian Gonzalez, and Dan Jennings all contributed to a four-run fifth inning that broke a 2-2 tie. Zach Davies struggled for the Brewers, who fell to 7-7 on the season, and just 5-2 on the road, but their starter allowed five runs on seven hits in 4.1 innings. These two teams will go at it again at Citi Field on Saturday and Sunday to end the series.
