The 2019-20 NHL season was unlike anything the sport has ever seen. The league was forced to pause its season after the COVID-19 pandemic and did not return until August.
The Tampa Bay Lightning lost just four games in the entire postseason on their way to their second Stanley Cup title in the history of the NHL bubble franchise in Canada. Tampa Bay defeated the Dallas Stars in six games, with defense star Victor Hedman winning the Conn Smythe Trophy for the Stanley Cup final MVP.
On Wednesday, the championship returned to play and offered a list of five very fun games.
The action started with a battle in Pennsylvania, in which the Philadelphia Flyers defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 6-3. The Flyers had top-down production in their squad, but winger Joel Farabee was the story in this one. Farabee scored four points (one goal and three assists) and helped with the team’s two power play goals.
One of the most impressive stories of the night was that of the Stanley Cup champion, Tampa Bay Lightning. Lightning looked absolutely dominant against the Chicago Blackhawks, who won 5-1. Tampa Bay jumped Chicago in the opening period with goals from Ondrej Palat, Mathieu Joseph and Anthony Cirelli. Nor did it hinder the fact that goalkeeper Andrei Vasilevskiy was a brick wall in the net, interrupting 22 shots in the night.
The Toronto Maple Leafs were also in action when facing the Montreal Canadiens and wanted to leave behind the early elimination of last season’s postseason. Montreal was certainly impressive from the start and jumped to a 3-1 lead in the second period. However, the Maple Leafs recovered and scored four of the last five goals in the game, including Morgan Reilly’s winner in the 5-4 win in overtime. John Tavares and William Nylander scored three points each to beat Toronto.
In another clash north of the border, the Vancouver Canucks was trying to build its playoff sequence in 2020, after losing the postseason in the previous four campaigns. The Edmonton Oilers found themselves playing catch-up against the Canucks overnight. Each time the Oilers tied the game, the Canucks scored and regained the lead. Winger Brock Boeser scored two goals to make way for a Vancouver team that started their season with a 5-3 win.
To end the night, two of the most talented teams in the Western Conference fought while the Colorado Avalanche hosted the St. Louis Blues. The Avalanche showed its lethal attack early on, with Andre Burakovsky scoring on a timer just five minutes into the game. However, the Blues responded with three consecutive goals from names like Oskar Sundqvist (two goals), Jordan Kyrou and Kyle Clifford and St. Louis won 4-1. Goalkeeper Jordan Binnington deflected 26 shots to slow Colorado’s offensive attack.
Wednesday Schedule