The two most beautiful words in sports? Game 7. Lucky for hockey fans, Saturday was filled with plenty of excitement as the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs first round saw three Game 7s on the same day.
Boston and Carolina opened Saturday’s action at PNC Arena, and like the series’ first six games, the home team prevailed. The Hurricanes punched their ticket to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs with a 3-2 victory over the Bruins. Max Domi led the way for Carolina with three points, including two goals in the second period. The Hurricanes have now won six consecutive Game 7s and will next play the winner of the Rangers-Penguins series, which will conclude Sunday in another Game 7.
The Lightning’s dream of a Stanley Cup three-peat is alive and well. Left wing Nicholas Paul scored twice for the Bolts in the first two periods — not a bad way to register his first two career postseason goals. The third period was scoreless but still saw a lot of action. Toronto left the net empty with about two minutes remaining in the game, but their comeback attempt fell short. Brayden Point did not see any minutes in the last period due to a lower body injury. The Maple Leafs had 31 shots on goal but struggled to score because of a solid performance by goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy. Their lone goal was scored by Morgan Reilly at the 13:25 mark in the second period.
“La Bamba” blasted through the speakers as Edmonton succeeded against a spectacular performance by Los Angeles goaltender Jonathan Quick, who was previously 4-0 in Game 7s. After a scoreless first period, the Oilers went on to register 24 shots on goal in the second set of 20 minutes. Their first goal came from Cody Ceci — his first one ever during the postseason — at the 13:15 mark of the second period with an assist by Connor McDavid. McDavid went on to register his own unassisted goal during the final period at the 16:07 mark. The Kings attempted a comeback but Mike Smith was also tough to penetrate and did not allow many second chances. Edmonton wrapped up the night with a 41-29 shot on goal advantage.
