Trailing Teams Face Pressure
- Several playoff clubs that lost Game 1 now face immediate must-adjust pressure to avoid series holes. (espn.com) - ESPN flagged the Stars and Penguins among teams that need timely responses to even their series. (espn.com) - Early-game deficits in a best‑of‑seven often force tactical shifts around goaltending and special teams this week. (espn.com)
Dallas and Pittsburgh opened the Stanley Cup playoffs with home losses, leaving both teams chasing a split before their series shift on April 22. (nhl.com) The Minnesota Wild beat the Dallas Stars 6-1 on April 18 in Game 1 of their Western Conference first-round series, with Matt Boldy and Joel Eriksson Ek scoring two goals each and rookie goalie Jesper Wallstedt making 27 saves in his playoff debut. (nhl.com) The Philadelphia Flyers beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-2 on April 18 in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference first round, with Travis Sanheim scoring the go-ahead goal in the third period and 19-year-old Porter Martone adding his first playoff goal. (nhl.com) Game 2 for both trailing teams is Monday, April 20, with Flyers-Penguins set for 7 p.m. Eastern and Wild-Stars for 9:30 p.m. Eastern. If Dallas and Pittsburgh lose again, they head on the road down 2-0 in best-of-seven series. (nhl.com) That early hole changes the math fast. NHL.com’s first-round schedule shows Game 3 in both series on April 22, meaning the Stars would go to Minnesota and the Penguins to Philadelphia needing a turnaround away from home. (nhl.com) Dallas has the bigger scoreboard problem after giving up six goals in Game 1. Minnesota got two power-play goals, Kirill Kaprizov finished with a goal and two assists, and Wallstedt gave the Wild a steady first start in the postseason. (nhl.com) Stars forward Mikko Rantanen said after the loss that Dallas “didn’t deserve to win,” while the team’s own site said the club needed a “quick reset” before Game 2. (nhl.com 1) (nhl.com 2) Pittsburgh’s problem looked different. The Penguins managed five shots on goal in each of the first two periods, took 10 penalty minutes, and got pulled into the scrums Philadelphia wanted. (nhl.com) Evgeni Malkin said the Penguins needed to “be a little bit smarter,” and Sidney Crosby said they had to stay out of the extra stuff and trust Philadelphia to be the undisciplined team. (nhl.com) This matchup already carries extra weight in Pittsburgh. The Flyers-Penguins series is the first “Battle of Pennsylvania” in the postseason since 2018, and the Penguins are back in the playoffs for the first time since 2022. (nhl.com) Across the bracket, other Game 1 results have already put favorites on alert: Buffalo leads Boston 1-0, Montreal leads Tampa Bay 1-0 in overtime, Carolina leads Ottawa 1-0, and Colorado leads Los Angeles 1-0. (nhl.com)
