The National Hockey League [NHL] playoffs are in full swing, and even though the 1st round isn’t halfway through, there have been some spills and thrills. The defending champions Tampa Bay Lightning already have their work cut out for them against the Toronto Maple Leafs, and it doesn’t get any easier when MVP candidate Auston Matthews is playing as good as he ever has after scoring the winner on Tuesday night to give the Leafs a 3-2 series lead. It may be an upset on the cards there as if the Leafs can get the defensive act together, they’ll be a hell of a force.

The Colorado Avalanche made the lightest of work possible sweeping the Nashville Predators like they were the Brooklyn Nets. I mean Nashville is nice, warm, and sunny in the Summertime so it is not all bad for the Predators. The Sydney Crosby-led Pittsburgh Penguins are up by three games to one in their series with the New York Rangers, even when the Rangers goaltender, Igor Shesterkin.

The Russian had the highest save percentage in the regular season [.935], and the fewest Goals conceded on average [2.07]. That was hard to notice when he conceded five goals in the 2nd period of play [6 overall], having to leave the ice for reserve goaltender Alexandar Georgiev to close out the 7-2 loss on Monday night.

A series to keep an eye out for would be the Florida Panthers vs. the Washington Capitals with a nail-biting OT win for Florida to even the series at 2. They do look to be a strong team, however, you can never count out the greatness of the 3rd highest goal scorer in NHL history, Alex Ovechkin. If Ovi gets his way and takes control of the series then it would be pointless to watch the rest of it, but for now, he hasn’t and it’s shaping up to be an actual best of seven series.

The Calgary Flames and Dallas Stars is a tie that could go either way after the Flames thrashed Dallas 4-1 on Monday. On Sunday, the Edmonton Oilers were shut out 4-0 by the Los Angeles Kings to level that series. The Kings could do with some well-needed momentum after that 8-2 clobbering on Friday, and as long as you go to center ice and see points leader Connor McDavid on the other side, this is not over.

Patrice Bergeron scored an important goal for the Bruins against the team with the best defensive record in the regular season the Carolina Hurricanes, and in other news, the water is wet. This man helped level the series at two, which does show how much more exciting the NHL playoffs are compared to the NBA. Unfortunately for them, in game five they lost 5-1 and are now facing elimination.

The 2018/19 Winner St. Louis Blues are looking to try and take the series away from the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday night, looking to hopefully make another Stanley Cup run since their first and only title four years ago. That took a massive step when they held off the Wild 5-2. The question remains, who will win it all? Will there be a new champion or a returning set of Kings?