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3 underdogs that could surprise in 24-team Stanley Cup Playoffs

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The Stanley Cup Playoffs are impossible to predict in a normal year, so who knows what may transpire with 24 teams in the fold this summer.

Playoff hockey in the midst of a pandemic will be different – no fans, no home-ice advantage, and an extra round – but if you can bank on one thing to remain the same, it would be upsets. All 24 teams entering the expanded playoffs in Toronto and Edmonton will be coming off four months of rest, which could create chaos in the league’s bracket experiment.

While we may not know what exactly lies ahead, here we predict three teams that have what it takes to go on a surprise run this postseason.

New York Rangers

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Opponent: Carolina Hurricanes
2019-20 record: 37-28-5 (.564)
Key stat: 4-0 vs. Hurricanes this season

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The No. 11 Rangers were surging before the shutdown, and by no means will be an easy out despite coming into the tournament as the second-lowest seed in the Eastern Conference. Led by MVP candidate Artemi Panarin and dynamic pivot Mika Zibanejad, New York boasts one of the league’s most dangerous top lines. However, the club’s true X-factor lies in goal.

Russian phenom Igor Shesterkin put the Rangers on his back after making his highly anticipated NHL debut, winning 10 of 12 starts while posting a .932 save percentage. It will be weird seeing the Blueshirts competing in the playoffs without Henrik Lundqvist between the pipes, but the club rallied around Shesterkin in the regular season and will likely turn to the 24-year-old again in the qualifying round to quell Carolina’s possession-heavy offense.

Carolina is one of the deepest teams in the East but were one of two clubs (along with Tampa Bay) to vote against the 24-team format before it was finalized – potentially due to the fact they were winless against the Rangers in 2019-20. The regular-season series wasn’t particularly close, either, with New York outscoring Carolina 17-9 across four contests.

Minnesota Wild

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Opponent: Vancouver Canucks
2019-20 record: 35-27-7 (.558)
Key stat: Led league in xGA (107.12)

The No. 10 Wild have struggled to find any playoff success for much of the past decade, but Minnesota has potential to be a dark horse in the expanded postseason. The Wild were mediocre for much of the campaign, but they quietly put together a 16-10-4 record (a near 100-point pace over 82 games) after the calendar flipped to 2020, and were 8-4 under new head coach Dean Evason.

Minnesota was able to find success by shutting down its opponents, boasting the league’s stingiest defense by way of expected goals against. On top of a rock-solid blue line, the Wild discovered a spark when they turned to backup Alex Stalock in goal, who usurped Devan Dubnyk and posted a .920 save percentage over his final 18 starts of the season.

Also working in Minnesota’s favor is the stark contrast in experience between the two teams. The Canucks are a young, explosive bunch hoping to take a big step as a franchise and make some noise in the playoffs for the first time with their up-and-coming core. As exciting as the opportunity is, most of Vancouver’s key players haven’t tasted playoff hockey yet, whereas the Wild – a veteran group that can rely on the likes of Ryan Suter, Zach Parise, and Eric Staal – should be able to temper expectations and keep their composure once the stakes get higher.

Montreal Canadiens

Francois Lacasse / National Hockey League / Getty

Opponent: Pittsburgh Penguins
2019-20 record: 31-31-9 (.500)
Key stat: 2nd in NHL with 54.01 xGF%

The Canadiens-Penguins matchup, on paper, is easily the most lopsided series on our list. That said, watch out for the 12th-seeded Montreal team in a shortened series with minimal margin for error. Montreal is lucky to be in the playoffs after losing more games than they won in the regular season, but the Habs shouldn’t be taken lightly this summer.

First, the Canadiens were one of the best possession teams in the league by numerous metrics, ranking second in five-on-five Corsi (54.43) and expected goals (54.01) this past season. Despite the strong underlying numbers, Montreal’s lack of finishing talent – which is far inferior to Pittsburgh’s – hindered its offensive results.

To stifle the Penguins’ offensive advantage, the Canadiens have Carey Price, whose inclusion in the postseason picture reportedly irked numerous teams during the planning stages due to his ability to take over a shortened series. Price is far removed from his MVP form, but is still regarded as the best goalie in the world by many of his peers and perhaps will benefit from a lengthy rest. It’s not completely unreasonable to imagine he’s able to outplay one of Matt Murray or Tristan Jarry in three of five contests.

Finally, Montreal enters this postseason with nothing to lose. The Penguins’ annual expectations are Stanley Cup or bust, so all the pressure to perform is on them. The Canadiens, on the other hand, aren’t expected to go anywhere this postseason, and are a sneaky good long shot team.

Source:- theScore

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Canucks place goalie Thatcher Demko on long-term injured list

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The Vancouver Canucks have placed all-star goalie Thatcher Demko on the long-term injured reserve list retroactively.

“It’s just cap related,” coach Rick Tocchet said after practice Wednesday. “We get some cap relief, that’s all it is.”

The 28-year-old netminder has been considered week to week since being sidelined with a lower-body injury midway through Vancouver’s 5-0 win over the Winnipeg Jets on March 9.

That injury designation hasn’t changed, Tocchet said.

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Demko boasts a 34-18-2 record this season, with a .917 save percentage, a 2.47 goals-against average and five shutouts.

Casey DeSmith has taken over the starting job for Vancouver, going 3-2-1 since Demko’s injury. He has a .899 save percentage on the season with a 2.73 goals-against average and one shutout.

The earliest Demko could be back in the Canucks’ lineup is April 6 against the Kings in Los Angeles.

He’s expected to be a key piece as Vancouver (45-19-8) prepares for its first playoff appearance since the COVID-shortened 2019-20 campaign.

Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin also announced Wednesday that the club has called up forward Arshdeep Bains from the Abbotsford Canucks of the American Hockey League.

“I’d like to see where [Bains is] at,” Tocchet said, noting he isn’t sure whether the 23-year-old winger will slot into the lineup when the Canucks host the Dallas Stars on Thursday.

WATCH | Bains makes NHL debut

 

Surrey, B.C.’s Arshdeep Bains makes Canucks debut

1 month ago

Duration 2:20

Arshdeep Bains from Surrey, B.C., has made his NHL debut with the Vancouver Canucks Tuesday night against the Colorado Avalanche. As CBC’s Joel Ballard reports, it’s been a hard-fought journey for the hometown kid to the big leagues.

Bains played five games for the NHL team in February before being sent back to Abbotsford.

“He went down, he’s done a couple of things that we like, and he’s got some speed,” Tocchet said.

Vancouver may get another forward back in the lineup Thursday.

Dakota Joshua practised in a full-contact jersey on Wednesday for the first time since suffering an upper-body injury in Vancouver’s 4-2 win over the Blackhawks in Chicago on Feb. 13.

The physical winger, who’s set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, has a career-high 26 points (13 goals, 13 assists) this season.

Sitting out injured “hasn’t been fun,” Joshua said.

“It feels like forever,” he said. “But at this point, that’s behind me and I’m moving forward.”

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Senators score 5 in 1st, cruise past Sabres

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“I thought that we were ready to go,” Ottawa coach Jacques Martin said. “We got some pucks at the net, we got people at the net. Took advantage of our opportunities and, I think, built a nice lead. And then I thought, in the third period, we continued again. Our goaltending was good. Made some key saves. But I thought we shut them down in the third period good.”

Shane Pinto had a goal and three assists, and Brady Tkachuk, Boris Katchouk, Jakob Chychrun and Drake Batherson each had a goal and an assist for the Senators (31-36-4), who have won three in a row. Korpisalo made 34 saves.

“If you want to win, you need balance,” Pinto said. “And we had that tonight and it’s going to be big for the back-to-back tomorrow (against the Chicago Blackhawks) to have that same thing. So, going to need all the guys on board.”

JJ Peterka and Connor Clifton scored for the Sabres (34-34-5), who have lost four of six. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen allowed four goals on nine shots before he was replaced by Devon Levi, who made 31 saves in relief.

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“We wanted, I guess, to play as individuals,” Clifton said. “I’m disappointed we let ‘Upie’ down, he’s the heart and soul of this team. He’s kept us in so many games, and just to not show up and play that careless style, give them freebies all over the place. … Yeah, obviously, the first 20 really dictated the rest of the game.”

Artem Zub gave Ottawa a 1-0 lead at 2:37 of the first period. He stuffed in a loose puck on the goal line after Katchouk’s shot was redirected by Mark Kastelic between Luukkonen’s pads.

Katchouk made it 2-0 at 4:56, tipping Parker Kelly’s shot from the top of the right face-off circle past Luukkonen.

“It’s keeping the consistency with good effort, right habits,” Katchouk said. “The small things matter so much in this game. And obviously, it worked out tonight with the tip. But kudos to my linemates. ‘Kels’ and ‘Kassy,’ they worked hard to get the puck as well. Those two battle hard every night as well. We feed off each other, and it’s good to play with them.”

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Vasilevskiy stops 23 as surging Lightning beat Bruins – Sportsnet.ca

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