Five things to know about the NHL playoffs

The Florida Panthers are looking to make the Memorial Weekend extra special when they host the New York Rangers today at Amerant Bank Arena, where the Cats insist the home crowd gives them an extra edge.

The Oilers, who feel robbed heading home to Edmonton with a split in their first two games with the Stars in Dallas, have a day off to refocus on trying to become the first Canadian team to win a Stanley Cup since the 1993 Montreal Canadiens.

Here are five things to know about the NHL playoffs:

IT'S GETTING H-OETTINGER

It was 34 Celsius in Dallas when the puck dropped for Game 2 of the Edmonton Oilers-Stars' series.

The only thing hotter after that was Dallas netminder Jake Oettinger.

The 25-year-old American made 28 saves, including 15 in the opening period when the Oilers pushed the pace, to lead the Stars to a tough 3-1 win.

Oettinger also got a lot of help from his teammates, who blocked 22 shots — as many as Oilers netminder Stuart Skinner — and took away passing lanes from the speedy Oilers, who got zero production from Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Zach Hyman.

CATCHING UP ON HINTZ, HENRIQUE

The goal-starved Stars played again last night without their second-leading scorer from the regular season as Roope Hintz remained out of the lineup. Stars coach Pete DeBoer said yesterday that Hintz might be ready for Game 3 in Edmonton.

Hintz suffered an upper-body injury in the first period of Game 4 against the Colorado Avalanche and hasn't played since.

For the Oilers, Adam Henrique took the pre-game warm-up yesterday but didn’t make it into the lineup. The team said he was "98 per cent ready" to go, but opted to save him for future games.

BIG D NEEDS TO CALM DOWN

Travis Kelce of the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs watched last night's Stars-Oilers' game from a private suite along with professional golfer Bryson DeChambeau and former Major League Baseball pitcher Cole Hamels.

Kelce, who is dating music superstar Taylor Swift, was booed by some of the crowd at American Airlines Center when shown on the big screen during the second period.

GOODROW ON A GOOD ROLL

Barclay Goodrow scored four goals, one of them a game-winner, on 61 shots in 80 regular-season games for the Rangers.

In a dozen playoff games, he has four goals, two of them game-winners, on just 12 shots.

He was asked to explain that improvement yesterday and was stuck for words.

Goodrow, the only skater in the Rangers' lineup who has won a Stanley Cup, insisted he's just trying to bring energy to the rink and do whatever he can to help the team win.

OFFICER BOB GIVES STREAK A-REST

Officer Bobrovsky is one of the nicknames for the Russian goalie who patrols the crease beat for the Florida Panthers.

"Nearly unbeatable" seems to be a close second in these NHL playoffs.

So when Barclay Goodrow scored 14 minutes into overtime on Friday night, the New York Rangers were breathing a lot easier knowing they got two pucks past Bobrovsky in one game and salvaged a split in the first two games at Madison Square Garden.

The Rangers also halted Bobrovsky's 12-game winning streak in playoff contests that required overtime, which dated to Game 2 of the 2019 second round with the Columbus Blue Jackets. Bobrovsky’s streak was tied with Patrick Roy (12-0 from 1993 to 1996) for the longest run in Stanley Cup playoffs history.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 26, 2024.

The Canadian Press