2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Day 19

Both home teams won on Day 19 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Does that mean anything?  We'll see.  It's good for both of them, though.

First, Minnesota vs. Chicago.

Chicago is up 2-0 after winning 4-1 Sunday.

In the first and third, they had the advantage in shots on goal.  To me, that means they were the better team.  But I could be uninformed in that regard.

At any rate, Bickell and Hossa are making things happen for Chicago.  It helps that Bryzgalov is in net for Minnesota; so far he's been decent at best.  The fourth Chicago goal was an empty-netter, so Bryz allowed three.

Oddly, both goaltenders had the save amount of saves, eighteen.  Crawford's shutout bid ended early in the third period.  No matter, as he's looking a lot better than he did against St. Louis.  That could be a function of the Blues being a stronger possession and offensive team.

We'll see how things go in Minnesota, though.  Remember that the Avalanche took a 2-0 lead on Minnesota and eventually lost the series in 7 because they couldn't win on the road.  Apparently, Minnesota is a tough place to play.

Then again, the Blackhawks shouldn't have too much trouble playing in hostile environments.  They're the defending champs, after all.

Chicago leads 2-0.  Game 3 is Tuesday.

Last, NY Rangers vs. Pittsburgh.

Out of the four goaltenders on the ice today, I think nobody but Pens fans would expect Fleury to be the one coming out of Sunday's action with a shutout.

And yet, that's what happened.

I suppose the narrative about the Rangers' inconsistency will continue.  And really, there's no reason it shouldn't.  They won Game 1 (in OT, no less) and then stumbled in Game 2, not even managing a goal.  The usually reliable Lundqvist gave up two (the third was an empty-netter), and that was that.

Two goals isn't an insurmountable deficit, by any means.  So I think this one has to go on the Rangers' offense, which despite all the "names" doesn't really produce proportionally.

And hell, they got shutout by Fleury.  I mean, that's great for Fleury and the Penguins.  But that has to be tough for the Rangers to swallow.

Kris Letang earned the second star of the night with a goal and two assists. I'm glad he had a good game, because people have been on him for various things.  The guy came back from a stroke and now it looks like he's coming on.  Good for him.

The series is tied 1-1.  Game 3 is Monday (I'm confused, too).

Later today, Game 3 in NYC and Game 2 in Anaheim.

I'm not sure why Penguins/Rangers is on a back-to-back.  That seems odd.