Best of opening night: Chicago backup goalie, 2OT win highlight Game 1s
Best game: Chicago 4, Nashville 3 (2OT). Everybody loves a redemption story and they don't get much better than Chicago backup goalie Scott Darling's. Darling sank so low in his career and life that he played the 2010-11 season with the Louisiana IceGators of the Southern Professional Hockey League while drowning his demons in alcohol. On Wednesday, with the Blackhawks in a 3-0 hole in Nashville after one period, Darling relieved Corey Crawford for his first NHL playoff action and promptly stopped all 42 shots he faced as the 'Hawks rallied for an improbable win. Chicago star Patrick Kane returned to action — five weeks earlier than expected from a broken left clavicle — and set up a pair of goals; one to Patrick Sharp and one to Jonathan Toews to tie the game late in the second period. Nashville had the edge in play through both overtimes, but Chicago has the experience of winning two Stanley Cups. Defenseman Duncan Keith, who logged a game-high 39:51, sent a blast through traffic off a Marian Hossa feed that found the back of the net and stuck a giant pin in all that early Nashville enthusiasm. The Predators have dropped seven straight games and the specter of another deep Chicago playoff run is alive and well.
Joel Quenneville called Scott Darling's effort, "one of the greatest relief performances you're going to see." #Blackhawks
— Chris Kuc (@ChrisKuc) April 16, 2015
Best stat line: Brian Flynn, C, Montreal: One goal, two assists vs. Senators. Flynn had never played in an NHL playoff game before Wednesday because he had the unfortunate task of playing for Buffalo the first two-plus seasons of his career. What a debut it was for the Habs' trade-deadline acquisition. Flynn had the primary assists on two Montreal goals (to make it 1-1 and 3-2), then scored the game-winner late in the second period to cap a six-goal second period by both teams — including five goals in a 4:43 span — and help the Canadiens overcome a lack of composure and the loss of P.K. Subban for a 4-3 win in Game 1. With the score tied 3-3, Brandon Prust slipped the puck to Flynn behind the net and Flynn kicked it up onto his stick before charging out in front and jamming the puck through goalie Andrew Hammond as Bell Centre erupted. "Our line had a really good night," Flynn told reporters. "We kept it really simple. On the goals that (Torrey Mitchell) and I scored, it was getting in on the forecheck, forcing the turnover, working down low and then putting it in the back of the net."
Best visual: Darling's dandy save. Chicago backup goalie Scott Darling was spectacular in his first playoff appearance, stopping all 42 shots he faced including this gem on Nashville's Ryan Ellis:
Scott Darling's toe may get No. 1 star tonight. #Blackhawks
— Tracey Myers (@TramyersCSN) April 16, 2015
Best at being worst: Braden Holtby, G, Capitals. Holtby had a terrific season, finishing tied for the most shutouts in the league (nine), fifth in goals against average (2.22), seventh in save percentage (.923) and tied for second in wins (41). None of that mattered Wednesday when he allowed a pair of short-side goals to set the tone, and three goals on 26 shots as the Islanders wrested the home-ice advantage away from Washington with a 4-1 win in DC.
Best quote: "It's quite simple: It's a vicious slash on an unprotected part of the body. I think it's an easy solution: You either suspend him, or when one of their best players gets slashed just give us five (minutes)." — Cameron, Senators coach, via The Associated Press, on what should happen to Montreal's Subban after his blatant slash on Ottawa's Stone.
GIF: another look, that’s a pretty vicious slash. and Stone is hurt. officially a game misconduct pic.twitter.com/t6uc36oqDy
— Stephanie Vail (@myregularface) April 16, 2015
Best forgotten story: The Calgary Flames. Minnesota and Ottawa were on such strong second-half rolls in their respective conferences that most people forgot Calgary was supposed to finish at the bottom of the Western Conference. The Flames made the playoffs despite the loss of their captain and early Norris Trophy candidate, Mark Giordano, but that wasn't enough. The Flames rallied from a one-goal deficit in Vancouver on Wednesday and won 2-1 on defenseman Kris Russell's blast from the point with 29.6 seconds left. The Flames hadn't made the playoffs since 2009 and they haven't won a series since they went to the Cup Finals in 2004. One streak is over; the other may be soon.
Best thing to look forward to Thursday: Wild at Blues, 9:30 p.m., ET. Both teams have a legitimate chance to win the Stanley Cup; one will be out in the first round. After acquiring goalie Devan Dubnyk, Minnesota went a staggering 28-9-3, the top winning percentage in the NHL over that period. Since Dubnyk's arrival, the Wild have allowed two or fewer goals in 29 of their 40 games. Dubnyk finished with the NHL's second-best save percentage (.929) and second-best goals against average (2.07). St. Louis won the NHL's best division, the Central, and scored more goals than any other playoff team in the West (248). The Blues added Paul Stastny in the offseason for center depth they hope will end one of the league's most surprising stats: The Blues have won just one playoff series in the past 11 years.
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