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Emily KaplanESPN
The Stanley Cup is anyone’s for the taking, and this year’s playoffs is shaping up to be a wacky one.
The Calgary Flames were eliminated by the Colorado Avalanche after losing 5-1 in Game 5 on Friday night, meaning the top seeds in both conferences have been ousted in the first round. The Tampa Bay Lightning, the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, were swept by the Columbus Blue Jackets earlier in the week.
Even crazier? The Lightning, who matched an NHL record with 62 regular-season wins, and the Flames combined for only one win in their first-round exits.
According to Elias, the teams with the best record in each conference have never both been eliminated in the opening round of either the Stanley Cup Playoffs or the NBA Playoffs in the same year. It has happened five times in MLB during the wild-card era (2000, 2002, 2008, 2011, 2014).
The Avalanche won four straight games to complete a 4-1 series win over the Flames, marking Colorado’s first playoff series win since 2008. The Avalanche had the NHL’s 17th-best record for the regular season.
The Flames had the NHL’s second-best offense, averaging 3.52 goals per game. Yet after defeating the Avalanche 4-0 in Game 1, Calgary only managed seven goals over the next four losses.
Calgary goalie Mike Smith, making his first postseason appearance in seven years, had a rough time Friday night, especially when his team left him to dry by allowing 56 shots in Game 3, a 6-2 Colorado win.
Calgary coach Bill Peters decided to make veteran winger James Neal a healthy scratch in do-or-die Game 5. Neal, 31, signed a five-year $28.75 million deal in free agency after a long playoff run with the Vegas Golden Knights last spring. Neal underperformed this season, scoring a career-low seven goals.
The Avalanche won Game 2 in overtime, thanks to a goal by Nathan MacKinnon. Colorado got a boost in Game 3 with the arrival of recently signed college player Cale Makar, the 2019 Hobey Baker Award winner. Makar’s University of Massachusetts team lost in the NCAA title game last Saturday night. By Sunday, he signed his NHL contract and on Monday, made his NHL debut and scored a goal, to boot. Makar is a Calgary native and his parents happen to be season ticket-holders.