2023 NHL Playoffs: Round 2, Game 3 Breakdown
Carolina Hurricanes @ New Jersey Devils
OHHHH FORGIVETH ME OH WAYNE GRETZKY, HOCKEY GOD, please forgive me for my disbelief in them New Jersey Devils. Or maybe it was the devil himself for doubting his team. Anyways, yeah the Devils for all their lack of grit and toughness went out there and speedbagged them so bad we saw a goalie change not even a minute into the 2nd period. That did little to change the tide as they scored 4 more on Pyotr Kochetkov and the Hurricanes.
Jack Hughes is elite. Crazy how his skill play matches his balls to challenge defenders and goalies regularly all the while sporting a 5’9 height. Angling with the body at his height and agility is deadly and seems to be a surgence of Martin St. Louis-esqe players. Carolina looked shocked and stunned and couldn’t build any momentum against the massive mountain stacked in front of them. They should go back to Andersen and give it one more go, hopefully with a much stronger first period.
Toronto Maple Leafs @ Florida Maple Leafs
The Luke Schenn blunder couldn’t have been worse by knocking out your goalie, taking a penalty which led to a goal, and giving the Panthers the momentum to climb on back and win, all the while going down 3-0 in the series on the road. Plus you cannot look at me and tell me Luke isn’t slightly concussed after that. His head hit so many things going so fast. Radko Gudas slammed his head in the corner of a goal post during the Bruins series and didn’t miss a beat. There are just some people in the league that are beyond human. You cannot give any room to these Panthers. They will scratch, claw, and fight every inch they can get against any team, especially these Leafs who seem to almost struggle as much with Florida’s toughness as they did with Tampa.
Justin Woll is the new goalie and maybe he can withstand the red wave of Florida but he better be ready for the toughest challenge in his life as the Leafs look to climb out of a 3-0 hole. Can the Panthers sweep the Leafs?! Nobody predicted this. Nobody. Sam Reinhart and Sam Bennett are two hard nosed players who had to be thrilled when the Panthers traded for Tkachuk.
Dallas Stars @ Seattle Kraken
Jordan Eberle will not be a hall of fame player but he will always be a household name because of his career. The guy is so savvy. A study vet like Eberle is the perfect player for this young team to learn from. The home crowd is chaotic! You love it! Feels like everybody is standing and pressing closer to the glass with every pass.
The under never stood a chance in this game. Jake Oettinger has shown that he is NOT the goalie that everybody thought he was. At least this year. I watched him thoroughly this year and definitely see him rebounding but every player on the Kraken has him figured out. I feel for the guy. Although iron sharpens iron and I think he is still the young rockstar the NHL will showcase as a goalie.
Las Vegas Golden Knights @ Edmonton Oilers
Imagine a world where the Oilers could prevent getting scored on more than twice. They would easily eclipse what the Bruins did this season. The Golden Knights came out ready to slay the Oil dragon and got off to a great start behind Jonathan Marchessault’s 2 goals in the 1st. Eichel came down and sniped Skinner which led to a goalie change, so now Jack Campbell goes in halfway through the game down 4-1 hoping to spark a comeback.
Annndddd we have our regular season Oilers back for Game 3. They just look so bad defensively, and it doesn’t matter who is in net when the team in front of you has 0 effort put in on defense. I just don’t see any fight or toughness from the Oilers back line. After finishing with a bit of nastiness last game, Vegas kept receipts and gave it back ten fold.
