And then there were six — perhaps an unexpected six, at that.
If you told us the first two teams eliminated in the second round would be Florida in four games and Calgary in five, we would’ve been stunned. But that’s why they play the games, baby — and why we rank them accordingly. Were we wrong about Florida and Calgary all season? No, we’re never wrong — we just shift the goalposts each week to make sure we’re more correct than the week before. That’s the Power Rankings Promise.
This week we’ve got you covered with lots of words about the remaining six teams, the two losers, and something incredibly stupid for the other 24 teams. You’re welcome.
1. Tampa Bay Lightning
Series: Won 4-0 against Florida
Last week: 2
Dom rank: 1
Sean rank: 1
Dom: After the way Tampa Bay dispatched Toronto with Andrei Vasilevskiy coming up clutch when needed most, everyone figured the Lightning weren’t messing around. They wanted a three-peat badly. But no Brayden Point against the deepest team in the East? That looked like it would be a tough battle.
Nope. Sweep, sweep, sweep.
I’m still dumbfounded at just how easy that series was for Tampa Bay while missing one of its best forwards – but it really all comes down to Vasilevskiy. After a so-so start to the playoffs against the Leafs, you had to figure he’d turn his game around for Florida. He did, and then some. In four games Vasilevskiy had… *checks notes* … no, that can’t be right… *double checks notes* … uhhh, no way… *triple checks notes* … a .981 save percentage??? What? And also, how?
It makes sense that it would be absurdly high considering the Panthers scored just three goals in four games, but .981? Good lord. Perhaps more impressive is putting that in the context of expectations: Florida was expected to score 13 goals in the series, meaning Vasilevskiy saved 10.2 goals above expected. In just four games. Yeesh.
Sean: And the funny thing was, the Lightning … kinda needed it? Sergei Bobrovsky was at .919 for the series and had games where he allowed one and two goals, respectively. It’s funny how this stuff works; if Toronto beats Vasilevskiy one more time in the first round, a big part of the Tampa postmortem probably would’ve revolved around how ordinary Vasilevskiy looked in that series. Instead, he slid into form sometime during the second intermission of Game 6. In the 338:12 minutes of play since then, he’s allowed four goals, total, against the regular season’s top two scoring teams and eliminated them both. Not ordinary. Not close.
We also should probably shout out Corey Perry, who slid into Brayden Point’s spot on the Tampa Bay power play — in the slot, where he’s rarely played over the course of his career — and scored twice against the Panthers. He’s tied for the team lead in overall goals, with five. Perry’s Hart season was a while ago, but man, it must be nice to plug-and-play a guy like that and get real, live, important production out of him.
2. Colorado Avalanche
Series: Up 3-2 on St. Louis
Last week: 1
Dom rank: 2
Sean rank: 2
Dom: Oh Colorado, you were so close.
Up 3-0 with five minutes left in the second, up 3-1 with 10 minutes left in the third, and up 4-3 with a minute left after a ridiculous goal scored by Nathan MacKinnon. How does a team possibly lose after the immaculate vibes created from this Herculean effort?
Nathan MacKinnon just did that. Go-ahead goal to complete the hat trick? pic.twitter.com/tSP4VvmeYg
— Shayna (@hayyyshayyy) May 26, 2022
That’s an extremely tough loss after two dominant showings on the road, one that sprinkles some doubt about this team’s ability to get over the hump. The conference finals have eluded this exact team for three straight seasons and we’re learning each year that the hump — whatever it is for any team — is real. With all due respect to their opponent, this shouldn’t have been that difficult of a matchup for the Avalanche and…
Read More: NHL power rankings: The remaining teams 1-6, two goodbyes and 24 ‘rebrands’