* Tuesday featured Wild Card teams going 2-0 to open the Second Round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs and 38-year-old Joe Pavelski potting four goals in his return to the Stars’ lineup.
* Patrice Bergeron, Nico Hischier and Mitchell Marner were announced as finalists for the 2022-23 Frank J. Selke Trophy, while Jack Hughes, Anze Kopitar and Brayden Point are the three for the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy.
* The two other Second Round series open Wednesday, with one featuring Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel going head-to-head in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time in their NHL career.
GOURDE GETS OVERTIME WINNER AFTER PAVELSKI’S FOUR GOALS PULL STARS EVEN
Yanni Gourde got the overtime winner after 38-year-old Joe Pavelski potted his third and fourth goals to erase Seattle’s 4-2 third-period lead as the Kraken quelled the Stars’ comeback attempt to take Game 1.
* Gourde became the second Seattle player to score an overtime goal this postseason, joining Jordan Eberle in Game 4 of the First Round. The Kraken became the eighth club in NHL history to earn wins in each of their first two playoff overtime games, with that cohort also including the Stars franchise in 1968 (when they were known as the Minnesota North Stars).
* Seattle, which built its lead via three first-period tallies in 52 seconds, became the fourth team in Stanley Cup Playoffs history to earn a win despite allowing an opposing player to score four goals. The Kraken joined the Capitals (Game 5 of 1993 DSF; Ray Ferraro), Maple Leafs (Game 2 of 1986 DSF; Denis Savard) and Flyers (Game 4 of 1977 QF; Lanny McDonald).
* Tuesday’s edition of #NHLStats: Live Updates featured more notes on the performance by Pavelski, who became the oldest player in Stanley Cup Playoffs history with four goals in a game – he shattered the previous mark set by Maurice Richard over 66 years ago.
PANTHERS POT FOUR GOALS TO TAKE 1-0 LEAD IN SECOND ROUND SERIES
Matthew Tkachuk (0-3—3), Brandon Montour (1-0—1) and Carter Verhaeghe (1-0—1) continued to roll while Sergei Bobrovsky (34 saves) backstopped Florida to its fourth straight win as the Panthers surpassed their goal total from the entire 2022 Second Round and took a 1-0 series lead. Florida earned its first win in a Game 1 since the 1997 Conference Quarterfinals and its first in a contest after the opening round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs since Game 7 of the 1996 Conference Finals.
*Tkachuk (5-9—14 in 8 GP) tied the franchise record for most assists in a playoff contest and moved ahead of Stars forward Roope Hintz (5-7—12 in 7 GP) for sole possession of the League lead in points this postseason. Tkachuk has tallied 45-78—123 in 2022-23 (regular season & playoffs) and passed Jonathan Huberdeau (120 in 2021-22) for sole possession of the highest combined single-season point total in club history.
* Montour (6-3—9 in 8 GP) leads all defensemen with six goals this postseason and matched the franchise record for most points in a playoff year by a Florida blueliner, a mark set by Ed Jovanovski in 1996 (1-8—9 in 22 GP). Montour became the seventh different defenseman in NHL history with six goals through eight games in a postseason and first since Rangers blueliner Brian Leetch in 1995 (6-8—14 in 8 GP).
* Verhaeghe (11-13—24 in 24 GP), who passed Ray Sheppard (10-8—18 in 26 GP) and Dave Lowry (10-7—17 in 27 GP) for sole possession of the most goals in franchise playoff history, scored the winner in consecutive postseason contests for the second time in his NHL career (also Game 4-6 in 2022 R1). Verhaeghe’s six game-winning goals since the start of the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs moved him ahead of Chris Kreider (5) for the most in the NHL over that span.
FINALISTS NAMED FOR 2022-23 FRANK J. SELKE, LADY BYNG MEMORIAL TROPHY
The NHL began announcing finalists for the 2023 NHL Awards on Tuesday, starting with the Frank J. Selke and Lady Byng Memorial Trophy. Finalists for each of nine individual NHL Awards will be announced by Canada and U.S. national broadcast rightsholders ESPN, TNT, Sportsnet and TVA Sports during their Stanley Cup Playoffs coverage through Friday, May 12, with the three for the Calder Memorial Trophy set to be revealed Wednesday.
* Bruins captain Patrice Bergeron, Devils captain Nico Hischier and Maple Leafs forward Mitchell Marner are the three finalists for the 2022-23 Frank J. Selke Trophy, awarded “to the forward who best excels in the defensive aspects of the game.” Click here to read more.
* Devils forward Jack Hughes, Kings captain Anze Kopitar and Lightning forward Brayden Point are the three finalists for the 2022-23 Lady Byng Memorial Trophy, awarded “to the player adjudged to have exhibited the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability.” Click here to read more.
“STANLEY CUP CENTRAL” DEBUTS ON YOUTUBE
Stanley Cup Central, a new second-screen experience that brings a conversational style and analysis of the 2023 Stanley Cup to fans live on the NHL’s YouTube Channel, made its debut Tuesday during Game 1 of the Panthers-Maple Leafs series. Produced by NHL Productions, the interactive show will cover one Playoff game each night, Monday through Thursday, every week leading up to the 2023 Stanley Cup Final. Click here for more information.
QUICK CLICKS
* 2023 First Round across ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC delivers double-digit viewership increases
* 2023 NHL Draft Lottery time changed for May 8
* CHEL Intel: European Championship Preview — Issue No. 13
* Matthew Knies becomes 10th player in Maple Leafs history to score first career NHL goal in playoffs
* Matthew Tkachuk of Panthers, Leon Draisaitl of Oilers among First Round playoff MVPs
TWO MORE SECOND ROUND SERIES BEGIN WEDNESDAY
More Second Round action will get underway Wednesday when the Devils and Hurricanes take to the ice at PNC Arena in Raleigh, while the Oilers and Golden Knights drop the puck at T-Mobile Arena in Vegas. Both matchups feature clubs who battled for top spot in their respective division down the regular-season stretch, with Carolina finishing one point ahead of New Jersey in the Metropolitan and Edmonton falling two points back of Vegas for the Pacific crown.
* Carolina and New Jersey split their four-game series during the regular season (CAR: 2-2-0; NJD: NJD: 2-1-1) and will now go head-to-head in their fifth-ever meeting in the Stanley Cup Playoffs following the 2001 Conference Quarterfinals, 2002 Conference Quarterfinals, 2006 Conference Semifinals and 2009 Conference Quarterfinals. In their previous matchups, the team that advanced made it to the Stanley Cup Final three times (NJD in 2001; CAR in 2002 & 2006).
* Jack Hughes (3-2—5 in 7 GP) and Sebastian Aho (4-3—7 in 6 GP) each concluded the First Round productively, finding the score sheet in each of the final two and three games, respectively. Aho, with goals in Game 4-6, can match the longest playoff goal streak in franchise history and Hughes can become the third player age 21 or younger with four or more goals in a single postseason for the Devils/Scouts/Rockies (also Scott Gomez: 5 in 2001, 4 in 2000; Scott Niedermayer: 4 in 1995).
* This marks the first all-time postseason meeting between Edmonton and Vegas; the Oilers own an all-time series record of 10-6 in their first head-to-head playoff round with a franchise while the Golden Knights are 7-3. Eight players have played for both franchises (min. 1 GP in regular-season or playoffs), including current Golden Knights netminder Laurent Brossoit who went 4-1 in the First Round (2.42 GAA, .915 SV%).
* Familiar adversaries will clash as Connor McDavid (3-7—10 in 6 GP) and Jack Eichel (3-2—5 in 5 GP) go head-to-head after being selected with the first- and second-overall pick in the 2015 NHL Draft. Only four other duos selected No. 1 and No. 2 overall in the same NHL Draft have competed for a spot in the Conference Finals in the past 30 years: Alex Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin (2018 R2, 2017 R2, 2016 R2 & 2009 CSF), John Tavares and Victor Hedman (2016 R2), Pierre Turgeon and Brendan Shanahan (1998 CSF) as well as Mike Modano and Trevor Linden (1994 CSF).
