Stanley Cup Playoffs Review May 26, 2021

MAPLE LEAFS GO 2-0 AT BELL CENTRE, LEAVE MONTREAL WITH 3-1 SERIES LEAD

Alex Galchenyuk (1-2—3) and Alexander Kerfoot (0-3—3) had three points apiece and Jack Campbell turned aside all 32 shots he faced in the Leafs 4-0 win over the Canadiens as Toronto took a 3-1 lead in its First Round series against Montreal.

The Maple Leafs, who are headed home after earning road wins on consecutive days, sit one victory away from winning a Stanley Cup Playoffs series for the first time in over 17 years (2004 CQF vs. OTT).

Campbell recorded the first playoff shutout of his NHL career and became the fourth different Maple Leafs goaltender to blank the Canadiens in the postseason. Campbell is the first to do so since Johnny Bower in Game 2 of the 1967 Stanley Cup Final at Montreal Forum.

ON THE SCORESHEET

• William Nylander opened the scoring for the Maple Leafs at 1:27 of the second period. Nylander has goals (4) and points (4-1-5) in four consecutive games to begin the postseason. He leads Toronto skaters in both goals (4) and points (5) through four games of the 2021 Stanley Cup playoffs. Nylander has 20 points (9-11-20) in 29 career postseason games. With his goal, he became the third player in franchise history to score at least one goal in four consecutive games to begin a playoff campaign, joining Gordie Drillon (5 GP, 1939) and Wendel Clark (4 GP, 1986), per NHL Stats. Only three players in Maple Leafs history have recorded a longer goal streak at any point in the postseason: Gordie Drillon (5 GP in 1939), Sid Smith (5 GP in 1951) and Dave Andreychuk (5 GP in 1993).

• Jason Spezza scored the second Toronto goal of the game at 12:28 of the second period before registering the primary assist on Joe Thornton’s second period goal. Tonight’s game is his 19th career multi-point game in the postseason and first as a Maple Leaf. Through four games of the 2021 postseason, he has registered three points (2-1-3). He has recorded 73 points (27 goals, 46 assists) in 89 career playoff games.

• Joe Thornton scored the third Maple Leafs goal of the night on the power play at 14:56 of the second period. Thornton’s goal is his first of the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs and his first playoff point as a Maple Leaf. With the goal, Thornton became the oldest player in Maple Leafs history to record a playoff goal, eclipsing Patrick Marleau (38 years, 222 days). He also became the oldest Maple Leaf to record a playoff point, a mark previously shared by Ron Francis (41 years, 62 days) and Allan Stanley (41 years, 62 days). Thornton has 134 career playoff points (32 goals, 102 assists in 183 games), which is tied with Guy Lafleur (58 goals, 76 assists in 128 games) and Brendan Shanahan (60 goals, 74 assists in 184 games) for 40th place on the NHL’s all-time postseason points register. 

• Alex Galchenyuk registered the primary assist on Nylander’s second period goal before recording the primary assist on Spezza’s second period goal and later scoring the four Toronto goal of the game into an empty net at 16:29 of the third period. Tonight’s game is Galchenyuk’s second career multi-assist and third career multi-point game in the postseason. He has a goal and two assists in three playoff games with the Maple Leafs this season. In 35 career Stanley Cup playoff games, he has recorded 16 points (5-11-16).

• Alex Kerfoot had the secondary assist on Nylander’s second period goal and later added the secondary assist on Thornton’s second period goal before collecting the lone assist on Galchenyuk’s third period goal. He has assists (4) in two consecutive games and points (1-4-5) in three consecutive playoff games. Tonight’s game is Kerfoot’s second career multi-assist and multi-point performance in the playoffs (Previous: August 6, 2020, Toronto at Columbus) and establishes new single-game career-highs for assists (3) and points (0-3-3) in a postseason game. With three points tonight, Kerfoot has established a new career-high for points in a postseason with five.

• Jake Muzzin picked up the secondary assist on Spezza’s second period goal. Muzzin’s assist is his first point of the 2021 postseason. He has recorded 23 points (7-16-23) in 63 career playoff games. Muzzin recorded eight points (1-7-8) in 10 games against the Canadiens during the 2020-21 regular season.

• Jack Campbell stopped 32 shots to earn his first career shutout in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. With tonight’s win, Campbell is the seventh Maple Leaf goaltender to earn a shutout against Montreal in the postseason and the first since Johnny Bower (April 22, 1967 at Montreal).

THORNTON, NYLANDER ADD THEIR NAMES TO FRANCHISE RECORD BOOKS

Joe Thornton scored his first goal of the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs to establish a new franchise record, while William Nylander also tallied to climb an all-time Maple Leafs list:

Thornton (41 years, 327 days) became the oldest player in franchise history to record a playoff point, eclipsing Allan Stanley and Ron Francis who both had postseason assists at exactly 41 years and 62 days old. The oldest Toronto player with a playoff goal prior to Thornton was his longtime Sharks teammate Patrick Marleau (38 years, 222 days) in Game 7 of the 2018 First Round.

Nylander (4-1—5) extended his postseason-opening goal streak to four games, matching the longest by a Maple Leafs player in the NHL’s modern era (since 1943-44).

STAAL SCORES OVERTIME WINNER AS HURRICANES TAKE 3-2 SERIES LEAD

After Martin Necas and Yakov Trenin had dueling multi-goal performances in regulation, Jordan Staal scored the winner just 2:03 into overtime as the Hurricanes snapped a two-game slide to take a 3-2 lead in their First Round series. Carolina is one victory away from winning at least one postseason series for a third consecutive year.

Staal scored the second playoff overtime goal of his NHL career (also Game 1 of 2019 R2). He became the fourth player to score two or more with the Hurricanes/Whalers franchise, joining Niclas Wallin (3), Cory Stillman (2) and Kevin Dineen (2).

Three series in the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs have featured three straight overtime games (BOS vs. WSH, WPG vs. EDM & CAR vs. NSH). That’s tied for the highest such total in a single postseason – three series also featured three straight overtime games in both 1993 (DSF: NYI vs. WSH; DF: MTL vs. BUF; SCF: MTL vs. LAK) and 2001 (CQF: DAL vs. EDM; CSF: PIT vs. BUF; CF: COL vs. STL).

THREE GAME 6s FEATURED ON WEDNESDAY’S SLATE

Tonight’s schedule features three Game 6s, with the Islanders, Lightning and Golden Knights each looking to punch their ticket to the Second Round of the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

FLORIDA, MINNESOTA LOOK TO FORCE GAME 7 AFTER FACING 3-1 SERIES DEFICIT

The Panthers and Wild will look to stave off elimination again and force Game 7 in their First Round series against the Lightning and Golden Knights, respectively.

There have been five instances in NHL history in which a team forced a Game 7 after rallying from a 3-1 series deficit against the defending Stanley Cup champions (1975 SF: NYI vs. PHI; 1989 DSF: LAK vs. EDM; 1991 DSF: CGY vs. EDM; 2002 CQF: LAK vs. COL; 2017 R1: WSH vs. PIT). Los Angeles is the only club among that group to also claim the winner-take-all showdown, doing so in the 1989 Division Semifinals.

Spencer Knight, who backstopped Florida to victory in Game 5, can become the fourth goaltender in League history to earn multiple wins in potential elimination games before age 21.

Minnesota has rallied from a 3-1 series deficit to force Game 7 two times in franchise history (2003 CQF & 2003 CSF). The Wild went on to win the decisive showdown in each instance.

Kirill Kaprizov and Nico Sturm accounted for two of Minnesota’s four goals in Game 5. The most rookie goals in potential elimination games by one NHL team within a single playoff series is six, a mark set by the Flyers during the 1968 Quarterfinals (Rosaire Paiement: 3 G; Don Blackburn; 1 G; Andre Lacroix: 1 G; Bill Sutherland: 1 G).