Morning Playoff Notes (May 1)

The Tampa Bay Lightning answered the bell in Game 2, maybe needing that first game to overcome the rust of the extended break, as they came out with more of a purpose against the Boston Bruins on Monday night.  The Lightning were far more engaged, they were in the game straight away and the final results really showed, as Brayden Point had points on all four goals, including an empty-netter to salt the game away, in a 4-2 win.

Point, with his goal and 3 assists, was the only notable skater on the selection sheet, while Andrei Vasilevskiy only had to make 18 stops for the win and his 2 points.  Game 2 of this second round series was the first game that the Bruins top line had points and lost a game, as Brad Marchand also picked up 2 points in the loss, the only notable Bruins pool player.

Game 3 between the Golden Knights and Sharks went down at the Shark Tank on Monday night and this has really become a good series.  The Sharks came back in Game 2 and the back-and-forth play from that game continued on through into Game 3.  Vegas took a 3-1 lead into the 3rd period, which has been fairly safe most night this season, but the Sharks fought back in the final frame to force overtime.  Unfortunately for the home side, William Karlsson found the net once again for a game-winner and the Golden Knights won 4-3, taking a 2-1 series lead.

Karlsson, with the bonus point, had a 3-point night, and so did Jonathan Marchessault, while Reilly Smith, James Neal and Marc-Andre Fleury all walked out with 2 points in the win.  Only single points on the Sharks side, but there were a few, so there were some points to be had there.  Evander Kane returned from his suspension to score a goal in the comeback in the 3rd period.

Both series on Monday night will resume on Wednesday, same times as last night, 5pm and 8pm MT starts.