Playoff Buzz: Nikita Zaitsev out for Maple Leafs

Crosby’s line will not be held downCrosby’s line, with Jake Guentzel and Conor Sheary, was dynamic in Game 2 after being relatively quiet in Game 1. The three combined for six points (two goals, four assists) and 10 shots on goal. Crosby scored his 50th career playoff goal and had two assists. Guentzel scored a goal and had an assist and Sheary had an assist. Pittsburgh won Game 1 without a contribution from its best line. It wasn’t going to be quiet two games in a row.Columbus can’t take penaltiesPittsburgh is too dangerous on the power play for the Blue Jackets to spend time in the penalty box. Although the Penguins technically didn’t score on either of their two power plays in Game 2, Crosby did set up Evgeni Malkin for a goal at 2:01 of the third period, one second after Brandon Dubinsky came out of the penalty box. The Penguins’ other power play came at 19:25 of the third period, when they had already put the game out of reach and were just playing out the final seconds.Safe is deathThe Rangers took a 3-2 lead when Mats Zuccarello scored at 14:47 of the second period. From that point on, the Rangers appeared content to play without the puck and defend that lead. The Canadiens came at them in waves and the Rangers held on for dear life until Tomas Plekanec tied the game with 17.3 seconds left in the third period. That momentum carried over into overtime, eventually resulting in Alexander Radulov’s series-tying goal. If the Rangers find themselves up a goal in Game 3 on Sunday, they might want to choose a different strategy.Brendan Gallagher is Brendan Gallagher againCanadiens forward Brendan Gallagher had a difficult regular season, one derailed by a broken hand that cost him 18 games, but he looked like his old self on Friday. Gallagher drove the net, won board battles and was a general thorn in the Rangers’ side all night, much of which was spent parked right next to Lundqvist’s crease. The Rangers’ defensemen were clearly annoyed by his presence after two games, so this is something that bears monitoring as the series goes along.Edmundson is a gamerThe second-year Blues defenseman, who had three goals in 69 games during the regular season, scored his second goal in as many games to help St. Louis take the 2-0 lead.Wild need a big goalMinnesota opened its series with back-to-back 2-1 losses to the Blues. In Game 1, Edmundson scored in overtime. On Friday, Jaden Schwartz broke a 1-1 tie with 2:27 left in the third period. The Wild say each game could have gone their way, but that didn’t happen because the Blues got the clutch goal each time.Oilers not just all talkAfter a fading effort in Game 1 of this series, Edmonton talked about lessons learned. The Oilers backed up that talk by playing confidently from start to finish in Game 2. They initiated contact, outhitting San Jose 41-21, and limited the Sharks to 16 shots on goal.Sharks weren’t specialNot only did San Jose go 0-for-6 on the power play, it allowed two shorthanded goals. The Sharks, who had the sixth worst power-play percentage (16.7) during the regular season, are 1-for-12 with the man-advantage in the first two games of the series. Joe Thornton can’t come back soon enough.