Ryan Johansen and Nathan MacKinnon showed the hockey world why they’re the future of the NHL with brilliant performances on Saturday.
Stanley Cup playoffs
Scores and highlights from Saturday night
Jamie Sabau
5 things to know
-
Discipline Counts
Taking unnecessary penalties is a recipe for disaster in the playoffs. Having won the Stanley Cup twice in recent years, Chicago should know that better than anyone. But, the Blackhawks abandoned discipline on Saturday, racking up 41 penalty minutes and giving St. Louis nine power plays to work with. The last two were the most costly. Bryan Bickell's knee-on-knee hit on Vladimir Sobotka swung momentum back in St. Louis' favor, and Brent Seabrook took out David Backes and lit a fire under the Blues. At that point, a comeback appeared inevitable. -
Ryan Johansen is the key for Columbus
Sergei Bobrovsky is massively important to the Blue Jackets. There's no getting around that. If he didn't refocus and make big stops late against Pittsburgh then the Blue Jackets wouldn't have won Game 2. But you could argue that Ryan Johansen can determine Columbus' fate in this particular series. The budding star shone brightest when the Jackets were on the ropes on Saturday. When Pittsburgh got out to an early 2-0 lead in the first period, Johansen scored less than a minute later to stop the bleeding. And when Columbus got a power play in the third, it was Johansen's pass that set up Jack Johnson's game-tying goal. The Blue Jackets can rely on Johansen as the series shifts back to Ohio.
-
MacKinnon's coming out party
Nathan MacKinnon is 18 years old. Let that sink in, because the show he put on in Game 2 in Colorado was one for the ages. MacKinnon started the game with one helluva speedy goal and never slowed down, registering a point on each of Colorado's four goals. That's seven points in his first two playoff games. It's probably safe to say hockey fans witnessed the birth of a superstar on Saturday.
-
Chicago needs some forwards to score
Despite how the game ended, Chicago's comeback to take the lead in the third period was impressive considering their forwards were struggling to generate any offense. Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews, two of the league's most prolific scorers, combined for two shots on goal through three and a half periods. Marian Hossa (eight shots on goal) had to become a one-man wrecking crew to try and jump-start the Blackhawks' offense. The Blackhawks won't mount a comeback in this series if they rely on their defense to score three goals every game.
-
Mike Yeo needs to find an answer for Colorado's top line
Any hope that Minnesota would benefit from Matt Duchene's absence from this series evaporated quickly on Saturday when the Avalanche's top line decimated the Wild. Patrick Roy struck gold by putting MacKinnon on a line with Paul Stastny and Gabriel Landeskog, as the trio racked up three goals and a combined eight points. Now, it's up to Minnesota coach Yeo to find a way to slow them down before the series gets out of hand.
Sunday's Schedule
See More:
