Evan’s Daily: Chaotic First Night of NHL Playoffs, The Return of Makar

There’s no better time than the first round of the NHL playoffs, and Monday night was a good reminder of that. Every game was close, and the two late games went to overtime. The Central Division matchup, in particular, got a little crazy.

For the Colorado Avalanche, Jared Bednar didn’t want to tell the media whose in and whose out, but Cale Makar spilled the beans anyway.

All that and more in this Tuesday edition of Evan’s Daily.

Colorado Hockey Now

Our series preview turned to defense, as the Avalanche might finally have their defense healthy and ready to go for the playoffs.

Why do we think the Avalanche might finally have their full defense at their disposal? Well, because Cale Makar spilled the beans, confirming he’ll be ready to go on Tuesday. Bednar didn’t really want to give that info out.

Goaltending is always a focus come playoff time, and Alexandar Georgiev doesn’t have any playoff experience. Will that even matter against a Kraken duo that has been sub-par all year long?

NHL Playoffs

The flu was going through Boston, but it wasn’t bad enough to stop the Bruins. Even without Patrice Bergeron, they took care of business on home ice against the Florida Panthers, winning by a score of 3-1.

If you’re looking for the story from the Panthers perspective, check it out here.

The Islanders failed to take advantage on the powerplay against the Carolina Hurricanes, falling in game one.

The Minnesota/Dallas matchup was pure chaos, with the Wild winning in double overtime on a goal by Ryan Hartman, but all anyone could talk about was the hit by Matt Dumba on Joe Pavelski. The veteran winger looked to be in real bad shape after the game. The refs originally called a five minute major, but overturned it after review. What do you all think? To me, it looks shoulder to shoulder, but a little late and predatory. Pavelski’s head hitting the ice is tough to watch. While Dumba didn’t get the major on the ice, he may get a call from the department of player safety.

Dumba hit on Pavelski. All three angles. pic.twitter.com/XTB7YqdQu4

— Rob Taub (@RTaub_) April 18, 2023

And in Edmonton, the Oilers choked away a two goal lead and eventually lost in overtime to the Los Angeles Kings. Their fans reacted in a completely normal way, by throwing things on the ice…