Four Stanley Cup playoff games on Saturday delivered three games that went to overtime and the first-ever fight between 60-goal scorers in league history when Steven Stamkos and Auston Matthews dropped the gloves.
The Rangers, Maple Leafs, Golden Knights and Avalanche will look to take a commanding 3-1 series lead before the home venues switch for pivotal Game 5s on Wednesday.
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During the Stanley Cup playoffs, The Athletic’s writers will make their straight-up picks. You’ll find picks, coverage and the latest odds here. Our in-depth NHL coverage is linked below the picks.
All odds from BetMGM and update live.
Game 4 – Devils at Rangers
Rangers lead 2-1
7 p.m. on ESPN, SN360
New Jersey needed overtime to win its first game of the series against the Rangers. Akira Schmid got the start for the Devils — his first of the playoffs after Vitek Vanecek got the first two starts — and made 36 saves in the 2-1 win. Schmid has played fewer than 30 NHL games, but it was the performance that the Devils needed.
Our experts have been backing the Blueshirts to win this series, and they’ve been proven right. Most expect the Rangers to bounce back in Game 4 and pick up another win.
Jack Hughes had a great game in Game 3 and will look to keep that going at Madison Square Garden after the Rangers shut him down in the first two games in New Jersey. If the Devils want to make this a series, they’ll need Hughes, Nico Hischier and Dougie Hamilton to step up.
Game 4 – Maple Leafs at Lightning
Maple Leafs lead 2-1
7:30 p.m. on TBS, SN, CBC
Tampa Bay dominated Game 3, outshooting Toronto 39-27, but lost when it allowed a game-tying goal in the final minute of regulation by Ryan O’Reilly and also allowed a last-minute goal in overtime off a faceoff by Morgan Rielly. It’s safe to say Maple Leafs goalie Ilya Samsonov stole that one.
The Lightning-Leafs series already had plenty of bad blood between the two teams after last year’s series that went seven games. Saturday’s Game 3 introduced a war of words between the two coaches, with Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe saying Stamkos engaging with Matthews was “a classic example of a veteran championship team like Tampa Bay manipulating the officials and taking advantage of a situation.”
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Tampa Bay thought it was going on the power play after Rielly was called for a five-minute boarding major that the officials reversed. Instead, the Lightning killed a Toronto power play after all of the fights that broke out and saw Stamkos, Matthews, Nikita Kucherov and O’Reilly all serve five-minute fighting penalties.
Morgan Rielly gets a five minute major for boarding Brayden Point, but after review the penalty is completely overturned. pic.twitter.com/T0LPDoWmoI — Shayna (@hayyyshayyy) April 23, 2023
“Was the incident reckless? For sure, and it looked awful,” Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said. “When you see that, you’re thinking the worst. The fact (Point) came back and played? I was amazed (of that) in itself. But he went through so many different tests, and he was struggling. It looked like he was in a car accident the way he went into the wall. … Hopefully, he’s going to be OK to play tomorrow.”
Game 4 – Avalanche at Kraken
Avalanche lead 2-1
10 p.m. on TBS, SN360
The Kraken took an early lead in Game 3 in their first playoff game on home ice, but the Avalanche scored three straight before the Kraken scored two straight to end the second period tied. Of course, the Avalanche scored three straight goals in the third period with Mikko Rantanen scoring two of those goals to give Colorado a 2-1 series lead.
Rantanen now leads all scorers in the series with three goals, while Nathan MacKinnon has added two goals. Seattle must find a way to slow down this dynamic duo, or its first playoff appearance could be a quick exit after beating the Avalanche in the first game.
Game 4 – Golden Knights at Jets
Golden Knights lead 2-1
9:30 p.m. on ESPN, SNW
Winnipeg defenseman Josh Morrissey will miss the rest of this series with an injury after he suffered a knee-on-knee hit early in Game 3. He’s their No. 1 defenseman and plays the most minutes. It’ll be difficult for the Jets to replace his production. He’s the heartbeat of the Jets’ defensive game and also jumps into plays frequently.
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The Jets did erase a 4-1 deficit in the third period in Game 3, including the game-tying goal by Adam Lowry with 21 seconds left in regulation before losing in double-overtime on a Michael Amadio goal.
It was another huge win for a Vegas team that was playing in front of a crazy Winnipeg whiteout crowd. The Golden Knights continue to build momentum as the West’s No. 1 seed.
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(Photo of Lightning’s Tanner Jeannot and Maple Leafs’ John Tavares: Andrew Bershaw / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)