There’s nothing better in all of sports than Playoff hockey, unless you’re a Toronto Maple Leafs fan. The Leafs haven’t won a Stanley Cup since 1967 and they haven’t won a series since 2004. In addition they were eliminated in the first round in each of the past six postseasons. That can change on Thursday when the Leafs host three-time defending Eastern Conference champion Tampa Bay in Game 5 with a 3-1 series lead. Toronto won a third straight coming back from a three-goal third period deficit on Monday to beat the Lightning in overtime tallying 16 goals during the winning streak. The Vegas Golden Knights also won three in a row and can eliminate Winnipeg. With the Rangers and Devils splitting the first four games, the Battle of the Hudson will go at least six games. Game 5 is set for Thursday with New Jersey looking to become the first home team to win a game in the series.
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NHL Playoffs Schedule for Thursday, April 27
Tampa Bay at Toronto, 7 p.m. ET (TBS)
NY Rangers at New Jersey, 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN2)
Winnipeg at Vegas, 10 p.m. ET (ESPN2)
NHL Playoffs Picks for Thursday, April 27, 2023
Winning a fourth game in a best-of-seven is always the most difficult, and when you haven’t done it in a while players tend to grab the stick a little tighter. The Maple Leafs are on the verge of eliminating Tampa Bay and they know it’s not going to be easy.
Toronto needed to win one of two remaining games in last year’s first round series but dropped both by a single goal. They have a bigger cushion this time around after sweeping the Bolts in Tampa and they may have deflated them in the process.
Rallying from a 4-1 third-period deficit, the Leafs scored three times in less than seven minutes with Auston Matthews getting a pair. They then got a power play goal in overtime for the second straight OT win and third straight overall. The Leafs are doing it on the offensive end having cracked the code on Andrei Vasilevskiy. They dropped seven on him in Game 2 and are averaging 5.33 goals over the past three games. With multiple points in every game Mitch Marner became the first to reach double digits with two goals and eight assists. Tampa won 11 of its past 12 playoff series and the Bolts aren’t going quietly. Like champs do, I expect them and their goalie to rebound on Thursday.
The young Devils found their legs, got over the playoff jitters and posted a pair of impressive wins inside MSG to knot their series with the Rangers. Jersey looked overwhelmed and overmatched in the first two games dropping both by identical 5-1 scores. The fourth-highest scoring team during the season, the Devils managed just seven goals in four games with Jack Hughes netting three of them. The defense tightened up and Akira Schmid was brilliant taking over for Vitek Vanacek reducing the series to a best of three.
The home team has yet to win a game, which doesn’t bode well for the Devils since they have home ice. But I don’t expect that trend to continue. And with New Jersey showing off their superior speed pucks will find the back of the net with constant pressure on Igor Shesterkin.
The Winnipeg Jets are not only running out time, they’re running out of players. Top defenseman Josh Morrisey, who had 76 points during the regular season, was hurt early in Game 3 and speedy forward Nikolaj Ehlers, who scored 38 points in 45 regular season games has yet to play in the series. Making matters worse top goal scorer Mark Scheifele exited Game 4 with an upper body injury, and though he hasn’t been ruled out for Game 5, it doesn’t look good.
Complacency could be an issue for Vegas knowing the shorthanded Jets will be in desperation mode. And Winnipeg’s lone win in the series came in Vegas in Game 1. However, the Jets had a fuller complement of players in the opener and the production lost is hard to replace. This is a golden opportunity for the Knights and they will take advantage with a series clincher.
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