* Leon Draisaitl tallied four times in a contest just 24 hours after Stars forward Joe Pavelski did so, marking the second instance in Stanley Cup Playoffs history where a player had a four-goal performance on consecutive days.
* Matty Beniers, Owen Power and Stuart Skinner were announced as the three finalists for the 2022-23 Calder Memorial Trophy.
* The Maple Leafs and Stars will look to rally from a 1-0 series deficit after doing so in the 2023 First Round.
SECOND ROUND OPENS WITH TWO STRAIGHT UN-FOUR-GETTABLE NIGHTS
Leon Draisaitl scored four goals just one day after Joe Pavelski did so for the Stars, but the Golden Knights hung on to take Game 1 in their Second Round series with the Oilers. It marked the second instance in Stanley Cup Playoffs history where a player had a four-goal performance on consecutive days, following April 9-10, 1988 (John Tucker w/ BUF & Tony Hrkac w/ STL).
* Vegas and Seattle became the fourth and fifth teams in NHL history to earn a playoff win despite allowing an opposing player to score four times – prior to Tuesday, clubs with a four-goal scorer held an all-time record of 36-3 in the postseason. There have been just 27 instances in League history of a team winning a regular-season game after an opposing player had four goals.
* The 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs marked the first postseason to feature multiple four-goal performances at any point since 1992. Dino Ciccarelli (Game 4 of DSF w/ WSH) and Kevin Stevens (Game 3 of CF w/ PIT) accounted for the two that year.
* Wednesday’s edition of #NHLStats: Live Updates featured more notes on the performance by Draisaitl (11-4—15 in 7 GP), who matched the franchise record for most goals in a playoff game and became the first player with a double-digit total this postseason.
CAROLINA CRUISES TO 1-0 LEAD IN SECOND ROUND SERIES WITH NEW JERSEY
Brett Pesce, Seth Jarvis and Jesperi Kotkaniemi each tallied as the Hurricanes raced to a 3-0 lead in the opening 21:55 en route to a Game 1 win in their Second Round series. Carolina earned its 15th all-time postseason victory versus New Jersey, which mark its third most against one franchise behind Boston and Montreal (16 vs. both).
* Pesce, who was born roughly 40 miles from Newark and played minor hockey for the North Jersey Avalanche and New Jersey Hitmen programs, opened the scoring with Jordan Staal drawing the assist. Staal (10-18—28 in 55 GP), who also factored on the 5-1 goal, passed Justin Williams (12-14—26 in 47 GP), Ray Whitney (12-14—26 in 42 GP) and Cory Stillman (9-17—26 in 25 GP) for sole possession of eighth place on the Hurricanes/Whalers franchise’s all-time playoff points list.
* Jarvis (6-7—13 in 21 GP) scored the sixth postseason goal of his NHL career and first playoff game winner. He became the third player in franchise history with six postseason goals before age 22, following Eric Staal (9-19—28 in 25 GP) and Andrei Svechnikov (9-11—20 in 26 GP).
BENIERS, POWER AND SKINNER VOTED CALDER TROPHY FINALISTS
Kraken forward Matty Beniers, Sabres defenseman Owen Power and Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner are the three finalists for the 2022-23 Calder Memorial Trophy, awarded “to the player selected as the most proficient in his first year of competition.” Click here to read more.
* 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 James Norris Memorial Trophy set to be revealed Thursday.
STANLEY CUP CENTRAL RETURNS TONIGHT
The NHL’s new second-screen experience, “Stanley Cup Central,” returns tonight at 7 p.m. ET during Game 2 of the Panthers-Maple Leafs series. Streaming live on the NHL’s YouTube Channel, the show brings a conversational style and analysis of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Hosted by Alexa Landestoy, Jonny Lazarus and Anna Dua, Thursday’s slate of guests include Pat Monahan (Lead Singer of TRAIN), John & Luke Viveiros (Hot Take Hockey Podcast), Todd Furhman (Vegas Insider), Michael Leboff (Action Network) and Pierre McGuire (NHL Analyst).
QUICK CLICKS
* 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs Second Round schedule
* Dougie Hamilton‘s relationship with Carolina pig still going strong
* Matthew Tkachuk, Sam Bennett reunited, wreaking havoc for Panthers in playoffs
* Rooting against Maple Leafs bonding experience for father, daughter
* Rangers look to recent Cup winners for optimism after early playoff exit
MAPLE LEAFS, STARS LOOK TO BOUNCE BACK IN GAME 2 ONCE AGAIN
A doubleheader broadcast nationally in the U.S. (TNT) and Canada (SN, TVAS, CBC) features the higher-seeded Maple Leafs and Stars looking to even their respective Second Round series against the Panthers and Kraken. Teams that dropped Game 1 in the 2023 First Round owned a series record of 6-2, with Toronto and Dallas accounting for two of the wins.
* Auston Matthews (5-5—10 in 7 GP) and Morgan Rielly (3-6—9 in 6 GP) enter Thursday with active point streaks of seven and six contests, respectively, with the latter’s run kickstarted by a four-assist performance as the Maple Leafs rebounded in Game 2 of the First Round.Rielly needs one point to become the third defenseman in franchise history to reach 10 within a postseason in eight contests or fewer, following Tim Horton in 1962 (3-8—11 in 7 GP) and Ian Turnbull in 1978 (3-7—10 in 8 GP).
* Carter Verhaeghe can become the second player in League history to score three consecutive winning goals within a postseason multiple times in his NHL career, joining Jaromir Jagr (1992 & 2000). Florida would be the fifth franchise since 1979-80 (when the League expanded its postseason structure to include 16 teams) with a five-game winning streak after entering the playoffs with the fewest regular-season points among all clubs (outright or tied), following Montreal in 2021 (7-0), Philadelphia in 2010 (6-0), Nashville in 2017 (5-0) and Toronto in 1987 (5-0).
* Yanni Gourde, who got the overtime winner in Game 1, and Seattle will look to keep its momentum going at American Airlines Center and improve to 5-1 as visitors in the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Kraken would be the fifth franchise in NHL history with five or more road wins during their first trip to the postseason, joining the Golden Knights (6-4 in 2018), Wild (6-4 in 2003), Panthers (5-6 in 1996) and Islanders (5-5 in 1975).
* Joe Pavelski made his presence known in his return to the Stars’ lineup when he potted four goals as Dallas erased a 4-2 third-period deficit in Game 1. Pavelski can become the 11th different player in NHL history with five goals in a postseason at age 38 or older and first since Mark Recchi did so with the eventual-champion Bruins in 2011 (5-9—14 in 25 GP).
