JVSportsTalk Recap: 5/5/22

Avs Go Up 2-0 With OT Win; Stars Bounce Back With Shutout

• The Colorado Avalanche were not as dominant as they were in Game 1 at home, but that did not stop them from taking a 2-0 series lead with a 2-1 overtime win over the Nashville Predators.
• Cale Makar scored 8:31 in to overtime, as the Avs continued to defend home ice.
  
• Makar found the rebound and slammed home the game-winner, giving Darcy Kuemper the win on his 32nd birthday.
  
• Kuemper made 25 saves in the win, this after the Avs blew out the Predators, 7-2, in Game 1.
  
• The young star Makar set a franchise playoff record with 12 shots on goal in the win.
  
• Nathan MacKinnon also scored for the Avalanche, who overcome 34 blocked shots from Nashville.
  
• Yakov Trenin scored the lone goal from the Predators, who will host Game 3 on Saturday night.
  
• The Dallas Stars were shut out in Game 1 on Tuesday night, but they bounced back with a shutout of their own, 2-0, over the Calgary Flames in Game 2 on Thursday night.
  
• The victory evens the series at one-apiece as they shift to Dallas for Game 3.
  
• Jake Oettinger made 29 saves in his second career Stanley Cup Playoff start. 
  
• It was his first postseason shutout, doing his best Jacob Markstrom impression.
  
• Joe Pavelski scored for the Stars, while Michael Raffl's empty netter sealed the win in the third.
• Markstrom made 21 saves on 22 shots in the loss.
  
• The Flames came on strong in the third, attempting to tie the game and out-shooting the Stars, 12-7, in the final 20 minutes.
  
• Games 3 and 4 will be in Dallas on Saturday and Monday respectively. 
  

Other key Game 2 scores saw Artemi Panari post a goal and two assists as the New York Rangers tied the series with a 5-2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins. And Aleksander Barkov and Aaron Ekblad each scored as the Florida Panthers came back to even the series with a 5-1 rout of the Washington Capitals.

Mets Stun Phillies With Rally; Ohtani Deals in Fenway Debut

• The New York Mets had a 0.1% chance of winning their game on Thursday night entering the ninth inning, but that 0.1% came through as they stunned the Philadelphia Phillies with an 8-7 victory.
• The Mets overcame a 7-1 deficit with a seven-run ninth inning.
• They had lost their previous 330 games in franchise history when trailing by six runs entering the ninth inning.
• Starling Marte had the go-ahead RBI double off the left-center field wall, getting the first place Mets back over 19-9.
• Francisco Lindor had a two-run shot in the ninth, while Mark Canha, J.D. Davis, and Brandon Nimmo had RBIs in the rally.
• Marte also homered earlier in the night, giving the Mets eight unanswered runs overall after falling behind, 7-0.
• Bryce Harper and Nick Castellanos had back to back long balls to help the Phillies build this big lead, which included a four-run first inning.
• This marks the first time the Mets trailed by at least six runs in the ninth and scored since September 1997.
• Shohei Ohtani shined on the mound and at the plate in his Fenway Park pitching debut, as the Los Angeles Angels shut out the Boston Red Sox, 8-0.
• Ohtani threw seven shutout innings and struck out 11 without walking a batter in his third win of the season.
• He induced a career-high 29 swings and misses, which is the most from any pitcher this year.
• The outing also saw 81 of his 99 pitches be for strikes, which was also a career high.
• The two-way player also got it done at the plate, with a pair of doubles, including an RBI double during their five-run eighth inning.
• The slugger/pitcher is now hitting .302 with two home runs in 10 games at Fenway Park.
• Jared Walsh had the official go-ahead long ball in their 17th win of the season, while the Red Sox dropped to 10-16 this year.

Other key scores saw Manny Machado homer twice in the San Diego Padres' 2-1 win over the Miami Marlins. Austin Hays and Ryan Mountcastle both went deep to power the Baltimore Orioles over the Minnesota Twins, 5-3. Steven Kwan hit his first long ball as the Cleveland Guardians edged the Toronto Blue Jays, 6-5. Yadier Molina's home run and Tommy Edman's three RBIs led the St. Louis Cardinals' 7-1 rout of the San Francsico Giants. And Mike Zunino went deep against his former team as the Tampa Bay Rays slipped past the Seattle Mariners, 4-3.

Grizzlies' Dillon Brooks Suspended For Game 3

• The NBA has made a move on Memphis Grizzlies forward Dillon Brooks, suspending him for Game 3 following his hard foul in Game 2.
• Brooks fouled Gary Payton II hard across the head in mid-air, causing him to fall awkwardly on his elbow, subsequently breaking it.
• The forward was given a flagrant 2 foul and ejected less than three minutes in to the game.
• This one-game suspension will cost Brooks $84,138. 
• Payton is expected to miss three to five weeks on the injury.
• The Grizzlies will visit the Warriors for Game 3 on Saturday night, in a series that is tied one-apiece.

Warriors' Draymond Green Fined $25K

• Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green said he would take the fine after Game 2 in Memphis, and that he did, as the league docked him $25,000 for flipping off the fans.
• The incident occurred when the crowd at FedEx Forum was booing Green after he was injured.
• He flipped the fans off as he was walking to the locker room in the first quarter to get stitches in his eye after taking an elbow to the face.
• Green didn't hide his frustration at the fans and didn't regret what he did, saying he would take the fine.
  
• The forward was ejected with less than two minutes left in Game 1 for hitting Grizzlies forward Brandon Clarke in the head and pulling on his jersey.
  

Chargers Add Veteran OLB Kyle Van Noy

• The Los Angeles Chargers agreed  to a deal with veteran outside linebacker Kyle Van Noy on Thursday night, which was announced by the team.
• The official terms of the deal were not announced.
  
• Van Noy joins Khalil Mack, J.C. Jackson, and Sebastian Joseph-Day as defensive players to join the Chargers this off-season.
• The linebacker was released by the New England Patriots in March, clearing about $4.1 million in salary cap space.
  
• He played in 16 regular season games for the Pats last season, ranking fourth on the team with 66 tackles.
  
• The 31-year-old won two Super Bowls in two separate stints with the Patriots in 2016 and 2019.
  
• The former fourth round draft pick of the Detroit Lions has 28.5 sacks over eight NFL seasons.