The Stars are alive and well in the second round of the playoffs. But you’ll have to go down to Cedar Park to see them play, rather than Dallas.
The AHL affiliate of the Dallas Stars got off to a good start in their second round matchup against the Grand Rapids Griffins, winning Game 1 of the series by a score of 5-2. They also got off to a good start in that particular game, scoring a pair of goals 13 seconds apart… and only three and a half minutes in to the game. Of course, barely a minute later Grand Rapids cut that deficit back to one. Talk about your breathless start…
Jyrki Jokipakka (another young defenseman to get excited about) had two primary assists on the night, Curtis McKenzie (another AHL rookie to get excited about) scored a breakaway goal, Dustin Jeffrey (who it’s probably too late to get excited about…) had a pair of goals, and Travis Morin and Chris Mueller both also had points on the night.
Game 2 of the series will be Saturday night in Cedar Park, so if you’re not in Allen cheering on the Americans, you should be there.
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Speaking of, the Allen Americans also won their game last night, taking a 2-1 series lead over the Denver Cutthroats in the CHL Finals. [Sports Day DFW]
In NHL playoff news, the Ducks and Kings would appear to be desperate to give away home-ice advantage this series. After Anaheim dropped the first two at home, last night was the turn of L.A. to send their fans home unhappy. [NHL.com]
Coincidentally, it was the same story over in Montreal, where a scoreless game was ended early in overtime… when the Bruins scored. [NHL.com]
So P.K. Subban wasn’t able to play the role of hero (or villain) last night. He’s been doing a pretty good job of it so far though… [Bruins Daily]
You know who did play the hero though? Or the villain if you’re a Habs fan? Matt Fraser! Anybody remember him? He went over to Boston in a barely-remembered deal that also involved Loui Eriksson and Reilly Smith and a guy named Tyler Seguin. And then in his first NHL playoff game, he scores the overtime game winner. Well played Matt. [Puck Daddy]
So the four teams from last year’s Conference Finals are all either currently winning, or tied, in their second round matchups. Giving us a certain percentage chance that we’ll see a repeat of the Final Four for the first time since 1977! Sean McIndoe talks about what makes these teams these teams. [Grantland]
The Toronto Maple Leafs knew coaching changes were gong to be necessary after the teams epic collapse this season. Why those changes didn’t include Randy Carlyle though I don’t know… [Puck Daddy]
Exactly what the Minnesota Wild need to have a chance in their series against the Blackhawks… the return of a universally reviled player. [Puck Daddy]
And lastly, he’s one of us! Tyler Seguin on transitioning to life in Texas:
“I say y’all once in a while. Fixin’ to do things. It takes a little while transitioning, but I am comfortable saying this is home.” [Stars Inside Edge]