In other words, the star power isn’t just on Edmonton’s side. play. Plenty of storylines will revolve around the 12th-seed Canadiens being underdogs pushing the Penguins, and understandably so. Draisaitl factored into all three Oilers goals (two goals, one assist) and carried Hockey Twitter might want to “free Connor McDavid,” but some sympathy should be saved for Draisaitl, too.Honestly? 2020 NHL Playoffs Central: Bracket, schedule, scores, highlights, analysis; 2 Related. Connor McDavid scored on the power play in Game 2 to take their PP up to 44.4% in this series (4/9).Even without fans, the Oilers continued to sell raffle tickets for their 50/50 draw. Tough break for the only NHL team to reach 100 standings points, but that’s the nature of the beast as COVID-19 disruptive both life and sports. It might be easier to see how it flows this way, then:Via the NHL, here’s how “home-ice” will play out before the 2020 Stanley Cup Final:Finally, the league shared this “home-ice” info for the 2020 Stanley Cup Final:Before Thursday, some expected that the First Round, and possibly the Second Round, might instead be best-of-five series. Obviously, they didn’t even it make it that far. Tough break for the only NHL team to reach 100 standings points, but that’s the nature of the beast as COVID-19 disruptive both life and sports. (Also, more best-of-seven series definitely strengthens the “toughest ever” arguments.) There was the impression that, for once, this series wouldn’t be about merely “outscoring your problems.”To start the last collapse, the Blackhawks made it 3-3 with less than six minutes remaining in the third period when (Even if Toews might have been lucky to get credit for the game-winner, the Blackhawks captain was a beast in Game 3. In particular, But Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl were there to bail their teammates out.Draisaitl scored Edmonton’s first two goals, helping the Oilers stay in the portions of Game 3 where the Blackhawks seemed primed to pull away.For a significant stretch in the ensuing third period, it seemed like the Oilers might actually protect a lead. Other Penguins struggled, including polarizing defenseman Jack Johnson.jack johnson’s game score tonight was -3.4 which is Not Good (third worst game of the playoffs so far)While Weber got caught on that Malkin-to-Hornqvist goal, he enjoyed one of the best performances of any Canadiens player, collecting a goal and two assists. At times during Game 3, they absolutely outplayed the Penguins.For better or worse, this isn’t one of the recent back-to-back game situations, so the Penguins get until Friday to shake off the shock of this Game 3 loss to the Canadiens. Two of the Penguins’ three goals came on the power play, while the Canadiens scored all four of their Game 3 goals at even-strength. That nastiness may climb after If Ennis is out, consider that a tough injury loss stacked upon the Oilers’ gut-punch Game 3 defeat. Check out the 2020 NHL Playoff bracket and NHL streams for the Qualifying Round and Round Robin below. 2020 NHL Playoffs: First Round through the 2020 Stanley Cup Final To reiterate, following the Qualifying Round (best-of-five) and Round Robin for … In the Eastern Conference, the four teams which have earned a bye into the first round, according to initial seeding, are: But Game 3 was very much a team effort, and team win, for the Canadiens against the Penguins.The Canadiens generally acquitted themselves very well against the Penguins at even-strength. 2020 NHL Playoffs Central: Bracket, schedule, scores, highlights, analysis. Maybe a hard, un-penalized hit by Or maybe the Canadiens merely took advantage of some sloppiness from the Penguins, from Even with a late power-play opportunity, the Penguins couldn’t get much going once they fell behind 4-3.So, again, the main story doesn’t boil down to the Penguins vs. Carey Price, but that doesn’t mean goalies weren’t a talking point in Game 3.

But the entire playoff tournament could last 68 days, which might pose challenges if a second wave of coronavirus hits in the fall.If it all works out, then the “integrity” of the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs is definitely emphasized.