The Ottawa Senators and New Jersey Devils are on the chopping block tonight. Can they stave off elimination? And will being back home get the Kings back on track against the Oilers?
LAST NIGHT'S ACTION
FLORIDA PANTHERS 4 TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING 2 (Panthers lead series 3-1)
This series continues to be the ugliest of them all, and we're not just talking about Brad Marchand. Actually it's funny, that in a series that has seen multiple egregious fouls, that Marshmont hasn't been involved in any of it. Anyway, the latest edition of this war on ice ended with Niko Mikkola getting tossed for boarding (and apparently being fined but not suspended)
and Aaron Ekblad being scheduled for a call with DoPS to chat about an unpenalized hit on Brandon Hagel.
That's some garbage hockey from the Cats, for real. Seth Jones' first of the playoffs would secure the win for the Panthers, who can advance to the next round with a win on Wednesday night as the series shifts back to Tampa.
DALLAS STARS 6 COLORADO AVALANCHE 2 (Stars lead series 3-2)
Wyatt Johnston scored nine seconds into the game and added another as the Stars cruised to a 6-2 win, setting up an elimination Game Six in Denver Thursday night. Mikko Rantanen got his first of the series against his old team, and Nathan MacKinnon added his fifth of the playoffs in a losing cause.
TONIGHT'S ACTION
TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS (3-1) vs OTTAWA SENATORS (1-3)
SCOTIABANK ARENA, TORONTO, ON
4:00 PM PST/ 7:00 PM EST
TV: SPORTSNET, CBC
The Sens were able to avoid the sweep on Saturday night at home, but they've been outplayed by the Leafs in both games in Toronto. The question here is: was this just a fluke, or are the Leafs actually going to do this again? As much as it's tempting to say that this one's going seven games (and lord knows there isn't anyone aside from Leafs fans that isn't desperate to see this), I feel like the Leafs are going to come out and snuff out all that talk tonight. Then again, nobody thought Bruce Fanjoy was going to take out Pierre Poliviere, either.
Eastern Conference First Round, Game 5
7 p.m. ET; CBC, TVAS, SN, ESPN
Maple Leafs lead best-of-7 series 3-1
Senators projected lineup
Brady Tkachuk -- Tim Stutzle -- Claude Giroux
David Perron -- Dylan Cozens -- Drake Batherson
Ridly Greig -- Shane Pinto -- Michael Amadio
Nick Cousins -- Adam Gaudette -- Fabian Zetterlund
Jake Sanderson -- Artem Zub
Thomas Chabot -- Travis Hamonic
Tyler Klevin -- Nikolas Matinpalo
Linus Ullmark
Anton Forsberg
Scratched: Dennis Gilbert, Leevi Merilainen, Matthew Highmore, Nick Jensen
Injured: Hayden Hodgson (lower body)
Maple Leafs projected lineup
Matthew Knies -- Auston Matthews -- Mitch Marner
Pontus Holmberg -- John Tavares -- William Nylander
Bobby McMann -- Max Domi -- Max Pacioretty
Steven Lorentz -- Scott Laughton -- Calle Jarnkrok
Morgan Rielly -- Brandon Carlo
Jake McCabe -- Chris Tanev
Simon Benoit -- Oliver Ekman-Larsson
Anthony Stolarz
Joseph Woll
Scratched: Dakota Mermis, Philippe Myers, Nicholas Robertson, David Kampf, Ryan Reaves, Artur Akhtyamov
Injured: Jani Hakanpaa (lower body)
CAROLINA HURRICANES (3-1) vs NEW JERSEY DEVILS (1-3)
LENOVO CENTER, RALEIGH, NC
4:30 PM PST/ 7:30 PM EST
TV: SN360
The Devils are banged up, and could be without Brett Pesce and Jonas Siegenthaler, but they could seize on the opportunity of Carolina being without G Frederik Andersen. Pyotr Kochetkov will start, and this could be the thing that allows the Devils back into the series. It'll be tough, trying to do it on the road, and down so many key pieces, though.
Eastern Conference First Round, Game 5
7:30 p.m. ET; FDSNSO, MAX, MSGSN, TBS, TVAS2, SN360
Carolina leads best-of-7 series 3-1
Devils projected lineup
Ondrej Palat -- Nico Hischier -- Timo Meier
Erik Haula -- Dawson Mercer -- Jesper Bratt
Paul Cotter -- Cody Glass -- Stefan Noesen
Tomas Tatar -- Justin Dowling -- Nathan Bastian
Brian Dumoulin -- Brett Pesce
Jonas Siegenthaler -- Dougie Hamilton
Seamus Casey -- Simon Nemec
Jacob Markstrom
Jake Allen
Scratched: Kurtis MacDermid, Nolan Foote, Curtis Lazar, Daniel Sprong, Dennis Cholowski, Dennis Cholowski
Injured: Luke Hughes (undisclosed), Brenden Dillon (undisclosed), Johnathan Kovacevic (undisclosed)
Hurricanes projected lineup
Andrei Svechnikov -- Sebastian Aho -- Jackson Blake
Taylor Hall -- Jesperi Kotkaniemi -- William Carrier
Jordan Martinook -- Jordan Staal -- Seth Jarvis
Logan Stankoven -- Mark Jankowski -- Eric Robinson
Jaccob Slavin -- Brent Burns
Dmitry Orlov -- Jalen Chatfield
Shayne Gostisbehere -- Sean Walker
Pyotr Kochetkov
Spencer Martin
Scratched: Jack Roslovic, Tyson Jost, Alexander Nikishin, Riley Stillman, Ruslan Khazheyev
Injured: Frederik Andersen (undisclosed)
VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS (2-2) vs MINNESOTA WILD (2-2)
T-MOBILE ARENA, LAS VEGAS, NV
6:30 PM PST/ 9:30 PM EST
TV: SPORTSNET EAST, SPORTSNET 360
If you had told me the Wild would be outscoring Vegas 15-12 after four games I would have hard time believing that could happen, but here we are. Despite a one goal loss in Game Four, the Wild have shown they can hang with the Golden Knights, even on the road, and that confidence could lead them to a fairly stunning first round upset. A lot of hockey still to be played, but Minnesota's showing a lot more than anyone thought they'd see in this series.
Western Conference First Round, Game 5
9:30 p.m. ET, FDSNNO, SCRIPPS, ESPN, SNE, SN360, TVAS
Best-of-7 series tied 2-2
Wild projected lineup
Kirill Kaprizov -- Joel Eriksson Ek -- Matt Boldy
Marcus Johansson -- Ryan Hartman -- Mats Zuccarello
Marcus Foligno -- Frederick Gaudreau -- Gustav Nyquist
Yakov Trenin -- Marco Rossi -- Justin Brazeau
Jonas Brodin -- Brock Faber
Jacob Middleton -- Jared Spurgeon
Jon Merrill -- Zach Bogosian
Filip Gustavsson
Marc-Andre Fleury
Scratched: Zeev Buium, Declan Chisholm, Vincent Hinostroz, Devon Shore, Jesper Wallstedt
Injured: None
Golden Knights projected lineup
William Karlsson -- Jack Eichel -- Pavel Dorofeyev
Brandon Saad --Tomas Hertl -- Mark Stone
Ivan Barbashev -- Nicolas Roy -- Reilly Smith
Tanner Pearson -- Brett Howden -- Keegan Kolesar
Noah Hanifin -- Alex Pietrangelo
Brayden McNabb – Shea Theodore
Nicolas Hague -- Zach Whitecloud
Adin Hill
Akira Schmid
Scratched: Alexander Holtz, Ben Hutton, Kaedan Korczak, Tanner Pearson, Ilya Samsonov, Cole Schwindt
Injured: None
So is Tanner Pearson on the 4th line or in the press box? Make up your mind, nhl.com!
LOS ANGELES KINGS (2-2) vs EDMONTON OILERS (2-2)
ROGERS PLACE, EDMONTON, AB
7:00 PM PST/ 10:00 PM EST
TV: SPORTSNET, CBC
While the Kings were the better team in Games One and Two, and granted the Oilers played better in their home games, the losses in Game Three and Four for the Kings were self-inflicted wounds. Baffling coaching decisions and an insistence on running a ridiculously shortened bench allowed the Oilers back into the series. The Kings need to get back to what worked for them this season and just hammer shots at Calvin Pickard, while hoping Darcy Kuemper shows his Game Two form rather than how he's played the rest of the series. The goaltending from both teams has been comically bad in this series, and it's gonna end up being the reason one of these teams goes out early.
Western Conference First Round, Game 5
10 p.m. ET; MAX, TBS, KCAL, TVAS2, SN, CBC
Best-of-7 series tied 2-2
Oilers projected lineup
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins -- Connor McDavid -- Zach Hyman
Vasily Podkolzin -- Leon Draisaitl -- Viktor Arvidsson
Evander Kane -- Adam Henrique -- Connor Brown
Trent Frederic -- Mattias Janmark -- Corey Perry
Darnell Nurse -- Evan Bouchard
Jake Walman -- John Klingberg
Brett Kulak -- Ty Emberson
Calvin Pickard
Stuart Skinner
Scratched: Derek Ryan, Kasperi Kapanen, Olivier Rodrigue, Joshua Brown, Max Jones, Jeff Skinner, Cam Dineen
Injured: Mattias Ekholm (undisclosed), Alec Regula (knee), Troy Stecher (undisclosed)
Kings projected lineup
Andrei Kuzmenko -- Anze Kopitar -- Adrian Kempe
Warren Foegele -- Phillip Danault -- Trevor Moore
Kevin Fiala -- Quinton Byfield -- Alex Laferriere
Jeff Malott -- Samuel Helenius -- Alex Turcotte
Mikey Anderson -- Drew Doughty
Vladislav Gavrikov -- Jordan Spence
Joel Edmundson -- Brandt Clarke
Darcy Kuemper
David Rittich
Scratched: Kyle Burroughs, Akil Thomas, Trevor Lewis
Injured: Tanner Jeannot (undisclosed)
GAME DAY BATTLE HYMN
An absolute beast of a song from the UK's EMPLOYED TO SERVE is on deck today. Off their new album 'Fallen Star' (and featuring guest vocals from Jesse Leach of Killswitch Engage), this is "Whose Side Are You On?"
While we may have dodged a bullet yesterday, the threat from far right fascists remains. Stay vigilant and lend your voice to keep this country free and fair for all. Enjoy the games, eh? Oh, and Fuck Trump.
