By: Chris Nosek

Each day, throughout the playoffs, we’ll review what each game brought for us and what it might mean for the series going forward. We’ll review how the predictions hold up throughout the series and see how much the series’ momentum changes.

Ottawa Senators @ Carolina Hurricanes

This game was a shining example of why Brady Tkachuk should not be wearing the captain’s C for any team. He dropped the gloves to fight Jordan Staal only three seconds into the game in an attempt to set a tone. The problem with this was that it set the wrong tone for the Senators. Carolina is a team that has no issues with playing a physical game, and they were the home team. The best way the Senators could have taken the crowd out of the game would have been to score an early goal – especially with Frederik Andersen as the starting goaltender.

Andersen hasn’t played well all season, and a quick goal would have started the Hurricanes organization starting to question their need to insert Brandon Bussi and when. Instead, the Senators posted a mere 10 shots in the first two periods, allowing the crowd to stay in the game and boost the environment after Logan Stankoven put the Canes up 1-0. The Senators needed to come out and put as many pucks on goal as possible. Now, the Hurricanes were able to get a shutout under Andersen’s belt to start their playoff run, while Brandon Bussi remains on the bench. The Canes have complete control of this series. Linus Ullmark isn’t the reason they lost the game, nor will he be the reason they lose the series; however, if the Senators keep playing this way, they’ll be done really quickly. The statements from Travis Green and Brady Tkachuk postgame indicate they won’t be changing their approach. If that’s the case, the Canes will make this a short series.

Original Prediction: Ottawa Senators win in 7 games

New Prediction: Carolina Hurricanes win in 6 games

Minnesota Wild @ Dallas Stars

This game really exposed the weaknesses in Jake Oettinger’s game. He’s a goaltender who benefits greatly from his own size. He is able to get in the way of the puck a lot, but reading the play and controlling rebounds have been major struggles for him. His struggles come to the forefront even more in bigger games and critical moments. The Wild were able to take advantage of this and put 4 goals past him. Meanwhile, Jesper Wallstedt made several saves in crucial situations and on critical shots.

Key players for the Wild were dominant. Brock Faber led the Wild, being on the ice for four of their goals, while Kaprizov and Hughes were on for three each. Zuccarello, Eriksson Ek, and Boldy contributed three points each. On the other side, some of the best players for Dallas struggled. There were five penalties for each team; however, for Dallas, it was Mikko Rantanen with two minor penalties, spending four minutes in the box. Rantanen, Johnston, and Harley need to be better for Dallas to fight their way back. The Wild proved they can shut down Dallas’s best players while keeping their offense going. The series is still very likely to go all seven games, but based on the first game, the advantage has swung in favor of Minnesota.

Original Prediction: Dallas Stars win in 7 games

New Prediction: Minnesota Wild win in 7 games

Philadelphia Flyers @ Pittsburgh Penguins

The moment wasn’t too big for the young Flyers. This was easily the biggest question as they headed into the series. Porter Martone scored the first playoff goal of his career and looked in place going against the rugged veterans of Crosby and Malkin. There is clearly buy-in for what Rick Tocchet is preaching for the Flyers, and they showed they can get under the skin of Crosby. He took two penalties, including a slashing penalty, which was clear retaliation toward Travis Sanheim, at the 18:51 mark of the third period. This took him off the ice for the end of the game as the Penguins tried to battle back from their 3-1 deficit.

Rust was able to score one goal with the empty net to make the deficit a single goal, and the Penguins still had a minute to work with on the clock. Having Sidney Crosby in the box for that time definitely hurt them. Going into Pittsburgh and continuing the great hockey they had been playing was a huge statement by the Flyers. They’ve put themselves in a great position for the series. The response we see from Pittsburgh in Game 2 will indicate significantly more about where this series is going. I still believe the experience that Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and the other veterans have will help them advance. They know how to respond, and what it takes to win a series when down 0-1.

Original Prediction: Pittsburgh Penguins win in 6 games

New Prediction: Pittsburgh Penguins win in 6 games