Dallas tied the series in Vegas, Florida blew out Tampa Bay at home and celebrates advancement

Dallas defeated Vegas 4-2 at home to even the series. Moreover, it was once again confirmed that the home team does not win in this tight series. Florida won 6:1 to advance to the next stage of the playoffs.

Vegas failed again and Dallas tied the series

This very evenly matched series between the defending Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights and the best team in the Western Conference is shaping up to be decided by which of the two teams succeeds on home ice. So far in all 4 games played, the away team has won.

This is the only series so far in the ongoing playoffs where the home team has not won a single game. In the 4th meeting, Stars goalie Jake Oettinger made 33 saves and contributed significantly to the 2-2 draw.

Vegas did take the lead with a goal from Michael Amadio in the 15th minute of the opening period. However, it didn’t take long for the Stars to respond. Yevgeny Dadonov tied the game before the end of the period. At the start of the second period, Oettinger scored his last goal of the game off the stick of Jack Eichel.

Of course, that would lo the last time in this game when the home team led. The visitors took control of the game and Dallas turned the game around before the end of the second 20 minutes. It was Logan Thompson who was outplayed by Wyatt Johnston and Ty Dellandrea and Roope Hintz sealed the victory with a goal into an empty cage.

Florida clearly clinched the promotion

Florida decided its victory at home in the 3rd period, when Tampa Bay scored 4 goals and there was no doubt about the winner of the game. The Panthers fully confirmed their role as the favourite in this series, as they did not let the Lightning do anything and dominated the series 4:1 after a 6:1 victory. In the next round this dangerous team will challenge one of the duo Boston – Toronto.

After a scoreless first period, although the Lightning scored one goal, but the video interfered and Cirelli’s goal didn’t count, as is usual in this series, the Florida team enjoyed the first goal of the game. Goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy was beaten by Carter Verhaeghe early in the second period.

Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov scored shorthanded in the 33rd minute. The Lightning evened the game by the end of the second period with a goal by defenseman Victor Hedman, but that was all they did in this game.

On the other hand, in the last act it was an exhibition by the home team, when Barkov and Rodrigues scored again. Of course, Tampa had no other choice but to play the bait and with 4 minutes left in the game they played with an open cage. The Panthers took advantage of this and Verhaeghe and Mikkola added another goal to set the final score at 6:1.

The Panthers thus decisively confirmed their advancement to the next stage of the knockout fights and will be a very tough opponent most likely again for the Boston team. Last season, Florida defeated the Bruins in seven games.

“There were a lot of things that didn’t go our way tonight. A lot of things that didn’t go our way in this series, and believe me, I’ve been through those winning moments in the past and I know very well how fortunate our teams have been when we’ve won. And we had our opportunities in this series. Again, history won’t ask, clearly the series ended 4-1 for the Panthers, but we all know full well that there were some big moments where we should have taken our chances. They did and they’re advancing,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said.

Source: NHL