Stanley Cup Playoffs Buzz: MacKinnon roll continues for Avalanche

Welcome to the Stanley Cup Playoffs Buzz, a daily in-depth look at the 2022 NHL postseason. There is one playoff game scheduled for Friday, the 33rd day of the postseason.

  On Tap

Tampa Bay Lightning at New York Rangers (8 p.m. ET; ESPN, ESPN+, CBC, SN, TVAS)

The Rangers are in the unusual position of leading a best-of-7 playoff series, and look to extend it in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Final at Madison Square Garden on Friday. New York won 6-2 in Game 1 on Wednesday to win a series opener for the first time this postseason. They trailed after Game 1 in each of their first two series, against the Pittsburgh Penguins (who the Rangers trailed 3-1) in the first round and the Carolina Hurricanes (who New York trailed 2-0 and 3-2) in the second round. The Rangers can extend the longest home playoff winning streak in their history to eight games and be the first team to accomplish that since the Los Angeles Kings in 2013. The Lightning are not in unfamiliar territory, however; they are 17-0 in playoff games following a loss since the start of the 2020 Stanley Cup Qualifiers, and 15-5 following a loss during the conference finals/Stanley Cup Semifinals. Tampa Bay defeated New York in seven games in the 2015 Eastern Conference Final after losing Game 1. 

What we learned

MacKinnon on a mission for Avalanche

Nathan MacKinnon scored a power-play goal in the Colorado Avalanche’s 4-0 win against the Edmonton Oilers in Game 2 of the Western Conference Final at Ball Arena on Thursday, giving him three points (two goals, one assist) in the series, and the center now ranks fifth all-time in Avalanche/Quebec Nordiques history with 12 power-play goals during the playoffs, having passed Peter Stastny (11). But his impact goes beyond the numbers. “I don’t think Nate’s probably getting enough credit for what he’s doing,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. “I think I look at Nate, and I see a guy that’s totally committed to winning. It doesn’t matter if he’s the guy getting on the scoresheet or not. He isn’t cheating, not one time, in this series to date. Offensively, he’s getting on the right side of the puck. He’s still finding a way to contribute. It’s a whole team effort. You don’t just check them with two guys. It’s all five guys on the ice that have to be committed to that.” — Nicholas J. Cotsonika, columnist

Oilers have to clean things up

Edmonton didn’t give up eight goals as it did in Game 1, but two of the three goals it allowed in a span of 2:04 in the second period of Game 2 were off lapses and another off a lost face-off. Bad passing led to Colorado forward Artturi Lehkonen’s deflection of center Nazem Kadri’s shot for a 1-0 lead. The Oilers lost the face-off that led to a goal by Avalanche defenseman Josh Manson 15 seconds later. The third Colorado goal, by forward Mikko Rantanen, came on a 2-on-1 after a bad line change by Edmonton. The Avalanche are talented enough to create their own havoc; the Oilers can’t afford to contribute to that. — Tracey Myers, staff writer

  About Last Night

Colorado Avalanche 4, Edmonton Oilers 0

Pavel Francouz made 24 saves, and the Avalanche extended their series lead to 2-0 in the best-of-7 Western Conference Final. With his second career playoff shutout, Francouz became the third goalie in Colorado/Quebec history with multiple postseason shutouts, joining Patrick Roy (18) and Philipp Grubauer (2). Francouz started for the second time this postseason after Darcy Kuemper sustained an upper-body injury during an 8-6 win in Game 1 on Tuesday. Francouz also started Game 4 of the first round against the Nashville Predators on May 9, when Kuemper was out with an eye injury. Colorado won that game 5-3 to complete a sweep. Lehkonen and Rantanen each had a goal and an assist, and Kadri had three assists for the Avalanche, the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference. Mike Smith made 36 saves for the Oilers, the No. 2 seed in the Pacific Division. Forward Kailer Yamamoto left in the second period because of an upper-body injury; there was no immediate update Thursday.