The Tampa Bay Lightning players obviously don’t want to just show up in the 2020 playoffs and have let the Florida Panthers know, they corrected 5-0 in a contested exhibition game Wednesday afternoon in Toronto.
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Eliminated in the first round by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the spring of 2019, the Lightning looked more like the club having amassed 128 points in the 2018-19 season. Thanks in particular to Brayden Point and Nikita Kucherov, he took control of the situation and was in no way disturbed by his rivals.
Point set the tone with a double in 6:13 minutes during the initial engagement. After Kucherov stole the record from Lucas Wallmark along the strip, Ondrej Palat joined No.21 in the enclave and the latter beat Sergei Bobrovsky from the back. Then, with five seconds to go in the period, he did it again, slipping off the wing to land a shot that went over the goaltender’s shoulder.
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While Point added two assists to his crop, Kucherov scored two goals, with the other winning goal coming from Luke Schenn. Former Montreal Canadiens defenseman Mikhail Sergachev got an assist.
The latter has also thrown the gloves against Brian Boyle. The two had already traded a few punches in the playoffs in 2018.
In the win, Andrei Vasilevskiy repelled 26 shots, compared to 29 for his Panthers vis-à-vis.
They will face the New York Islanders in the qualifying round, while the Lightning will compete in the Eastern Conference Leaders Mini-Tournament. The Florida club could count on defenseman Victor Hedman, who is expected to join his teammates on Friday, according to the official website of the National Hockey League (NHL).
Avalanche guns are ready
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Nathan MacKinnon and Gabriel Landeskog both hit the mark in a Colorado Avalanche 3-2 win over the Minnesota Wild in Edmonton.
Joonas Donskoi was the other scorer in the victory, while Matt Dumba and Eric Staal provided the reply.
The Wild will face the Vancouver Canucks in the qualifying round and the Avalanche will be in the lead round robin tournament in the West.
Ovechkin has not forgotten anything
Alexander Ovechkin picked up where he left off before the forced leave, scoring a power-play goal using a typical receiving shot he has no secrets for, in a 3–2 win for the Washington Capitals. against the Carolina Hurricanes.
The captain of the club from the American capital added a second goal in the meeting. His teammate Evgeny Kuznetsov also threaded the needle.
Vincent Trocheck and Teuvo Teravainen were the two scorers for the Hurricanes, who will cross swords with the New York Rangers in the qualifying round. The Capitals will be in the Eastern round robin.
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