Slafkovsky's power‑play trick

Juraj Slafkovsky opened Montreal’s playoffs with three power-play goals, including the overtime winner in a 4-3 Game 1 win over Tampa Bay on April 19. (espn.com) The winning goal came 1:22 into overtime at Benchmark International Arena after Lightning forward Jake Guentzel took a high-sticking minor with 21 seconds left in regulation. Slafkovsky beat Andrei Vasilevskiy from the left faceoff circle for his first career playoff hat trick. (nhl.com) Slafkovsky is 22 years and 20 days old, and ESPN said that made him the youngest player in National Hockey League history to score a hat trick in his team’s postseason opener, passing Wayne Gretzky’s mark from 1983. ESPN also said he is the first player in league history to score three power-play goals in a playoff game that included the overtime winner. (espn.com) Montreal’s special teams drove the result. The Canadiens went 3-for-5 on the power play, Tampa Bay went 2-for-5, and five of the game’s seven goals came with the man advantage. (espn.com) That first win shifts the math of the series. In National Hockey League playoff history, the team that wins Game 1 of a best-of-seven series goes on to win the series 68% of the time, according to ESPN. (espn.com) For Montreal, the night also filled a franchise gap. NHL.com said Slafkovsky became the first Canadiens player ever to score three power-play goals in a Stanley Cup playoff game, and the first Montreal player with any playoff hat trick since Rene Bourque in 2014. (nhl.com 1) (nhl.com 2) The performance landed against a team that expected to control the matchup. Tampa Bay entered the round as the No. 2 seed in the Atlantic Division, Montreal as the No. 3 seed, and Lightning coach Jon Cooper said after the loss that four offensive-zone penalties gave the Canadiens “an opportunity to win.” (nhl.com) Game 2 was set for Tuesday night in Tampa, with Montreal trying to turn one power-play eruption into a series lead that history says is hard to give back. (nhl.com)