Caps Can't Close, Flames Won't Continue

It was most likely the game that the Washington Capitals needed to win, because going back to New York for Game 7 was not going to be good for the Capitals, but the Rangers managed to pull it off... a win at the Verizon Center in Game 6.

The opening frame belonged to Chris Kreider, who had goals in the first minute and the last minute of the frame, spotting the road team to an early 2-0 lead.  The opening frame was an incredible shooting gallery, as New York out-shot Washington, 20-17, and could have definitely been a higher scoring frame, if it wasn't for some stellar goaltending.

The Capitals tried to execute some push back in the 2nd period and managed to get themselves back in the game with a goal from Jason Chimera, also in the first minute of the period, but Henrik Lundqvist stood tall again, making 17 saves in the period.

And then, in the 3rd period, the Rangers made the most of their opportunities, scoring twice, once in the first minute again, and then again only four minutes, taking a 4-1 lead.  In total, the Rangers only had four shots on net in the period, so that wasn't too bad.  The Capitals tried to storm back, but two goals around the midway mark of the final frame was all they could muster, as they dropped the game, 4-3.

Your notable players in this game were Henrik Lundqvist, Chris Kreider and Derick Brassard for the Rangers, all scoring 2 points, while Joel Ward had 3 points in a losing cause for the Capitals.  You don't see that very often.

The Calgary Flames had to be the aggressor in Game 5 of their series against the Anaheim Ducks, as they stormed their building, trying to keep their playoff lives with an ounce of breath left in its lungs.

Got to give credit to the Flames, they did just that.  They were on the board in the 1st, thanks to a Jiri Hudler slap shot and they took a lead into the break.  The Ducks responded in the 2nd with a Ryan Kesler goal, which was met, even quicker, with a Johnny Gaudreau goal to retake the lead.  The Ducks were not going to be denied, as they opened the 3rd period with a goal in the first minute, thanks to Matt Beleskey and then the rest of the period was back and forth in a deadlocked fashion.

Overtime.  I had the feeling that we could have been in for a long one, but Corey Perry saw to that with a winning goal, less than three minutes into the frame and that was it.  The Ducks won, the Flames were ousted.

Frederik Andersen, Corey Perry, Jakob Silfverberg and Cam Fowler were your notable Ducks players in the hockey pool, all picking up 2 points, while Jiri Hudler and Dennis Wideman had 2 points each on the losing end.

The Flames, now eliminated, sees 61 selections now moved off of pool teams, Sean Monahan being the most popular player eliminated, taken 13 times.  Johnny Gaudreau also had 11 picks this year, as the second-most popular player.

Hudler and Gaudreau led the team with 9 points each in these playoffs.

With the results from Sunday night, Fontanna opened up a 4-point lead on Jesse P., 5 points on Sean L. and 9 points on Sairosh.  The race quickly went from being fairly close at the top to being a bit more spread out.

Thankfully, there are still games to be played in the second round, which may tighten things back up a little bit.

With the Flames now eliminated, there are still six teams currently in the playoff hunt, which means the maximum amount of players pool teams can have is 18.  Six teams in the pool are now sitting at 18 players and they are guaranteed to have 12 players in the third round of the playoffs.

On the flip side, 13 teams in the pool, already have 12 or less players on their active roster, the highest being 8th place, John S..

Game-Winning Goals
Fontanna also has a very solid hold on the bonus points, now sitting with 15, a couple ahead of Sean L., Tony C. and Sairosh, who all have 13.

Last year, a couple teams finished with 22 bonus points, so we are still a little ways from seeing some of those high numbers, but we still have two rounds to go and these pool teams still have ample amounts of players left for those bonus points.