Morning Flurries: A contentious first round of the NHL playoffs continues

There won’t be a single round one sweep this postseason!

The NHL Playoffs are among the most exciting tournaments and competitions in sports, and that has remained true this postseason, with each side in each series still around to stake their claim to Stanley Cup glory. Before the postseason began, I broke down a few of the series that I saw as renewed rivalries, and we’ve seen those rivalries bubble to the surface with plenty of extracurriculars and controversial hits, plays, and outcomes!

Kings and Oilers tied

The Kings have had the Oil right where they want them, but have been unable to get rid of them entirely. Their OT loss last night ties the series at 2-2, despite them seemingly having a foothold throughout the series thus far. We know how that feels here in Denver, as the Avalanche have trailed for less than two minutes in four games but are also tied at two wins apiece.

Hometown heroes

The Avalanche, unlike the Kings, played their best game by far in this series and hope to build on that going forward. That all starts tonight, so keep an eye out for our game five preview set to drop later this morning! Gabe Landeskog’s first goal in 1,041 days could and should catapult this team into a real groove, and when the Avalanche are playing their best hockey, not a lot of teams can hang in with them. Let’s see if that materializes tonight.

Every series in the West is tied at two games a side, meaning the first round will be decided via a best-of-three series for each matchup. That should make for at least a couple of game sevens, and that’s great news for hockey lovers.

On the brink

There’s a bit more separation on the East side of the bracket without Toronto, Washington, and Carolina all one victory from advancing into the division final. It should come as no surprise, but the Florida and Tampa Bay series has been a contentious one, and I’d wager that it’s a series that goes six or seven games at a minimum.

We even saw bench-clearing stuff from the Canadiens and Capitals that culminated in a fight on the bench between, you guessed it, Tom Wilson and Josh Anderson.

What do you think about the playoffs so far? Let us know in the comments!