Biggest Takeaways from Tuesday's NHL Playoff Action

As the second week of the NHL's 2013 playoffs began, we witnessed goaltending drama galore, an underdog that won't quit and our first team to advance to its conference semifinals.

The New York Islanders matched the favoured Pittsburgh Penguins goal for goal, eventually earning a 6-4 win to tie their Eastern Conference quarterfinal at two games apiece.

In Ottawa, the Senators erased a 2-0 deficit in the third period. After Montreal's Carey Price went down with an injury, Ottawa went on to win in overtime and take a 3-1 stranglehold in its series against the Canadiens.

Minnesota's stalwart backup goalie, Josh Harding, also left his game with an injury, forcing third-stringer Darcy Kuemper into action as the Wild fell 3-0 to the Chicago Blackhawks, giving the Blackhawks a 3-1 series lead.

Finally, at the Shark Tank, San Jose became the first team to grab a berth in Round 2 when it beat the Vancouver Canucks 4-3 in overtime to record its first series sweep in franchise history.

Here are the final scores from all four games:

• Ottawa 3, Montreal 2 (OT): Senators lead 3-1
• New York Islanders 6, Pittsburgh 4: series tied 2-2
• Chicago 3, Minnesota 0: Blackhawks lead 3-1
• San Jose 4, Vancouver 3 (OT): Sharks sweep series 4-0

Here's a look at the most significant takeaways from Tuesday night's action.

The Hockey Gods May Not Reward Gluttony

When the Pittsburgh Penguins acquired Brenden Morrow, Douglas Murray, Jarome Iginla and Jussi Jokinen in the days leading up to the 2013 trade deadline, many were ready to award them the Stanley Cup right then and there.

The Penguins were already having an outstanding regular season. The new additions looked like just what they'd need to push them over the top.

But hockey is not a mathematical equation. "Most total talent" usually doesn't equate to "Stanley Cup champions."

The Penguins showed their vulnerability last year in their wild first-round loss to the Philadelphia Flyers. Now, after four games against the upstart New York Islanders, the series is tied 2-2. The Islanders picked up a 6-4 victory at Nassau County Coliseum on Tuesday night.

Despite loading up on playoff-style performers, one of this year's prohibitive favorites now finds itself in a best-of-three showdown against one of the league's longtime cellar dwellers.

Did they feast too much on the trade-deadline crop? There's a reason why gluttony is known as one of the Seven Deadly Sins.

Fleury Falters—Will Vokoun Start Game 5?

For all the chatter about Pittsburgh's trade deadline acquisitions, it turns out their most important deal may have been their trade for goaltender Tomas Vokoun in June 2012.

Four games into their first-round series, Penguins starter Marc-Andre Fleury is faltering again. Two late goals were the difference in Tuesday's game. Fleury has now given up a whopping 44 goals in his last 10 playoff starts.

Vokoun posted a solid regular-season record of 13-4-0 in 20 appearances, with three shutouts and a goals-against average of 2.45. He played some big games and kept the Penguins' juggernaut alive when Fleury's play dipped.

Dan Bylsma has the option of turning to Vokoun to try to change the momentum of the series when it returns to Pittsburgh on Thursday. Will he make the bold move and switch up his starter?

Is Carey Price out of Action?

For Montreal Canadiens fans, it was bad enough seeing their team's 2-0 lead disappear in the dying seconds of the third period of Game 4. It was worse to see star goalie Carey Price laboring as the horn sounded at the end of the third, then see backup Peter Budaj take over in the crease for the start of overtime.

Elliotte Friedman of Hockey Night in Canada tweeted after the game that Price was out with a lower body injury while Brandon Prust was sidelined with an upper body injury.

"

Therrien says he does not know if either player will be available for Game 5

— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) May 8, 2013

"

Now down 3-1 in the series, the Habs have to be hoping that Price will be available on Thursday as they face elimination at home in the Bell Centre.

Senators' Victory Tainted with Controversy

The Montreal Canadiens kept the Ottawa Senators off the scoresheet for 51:55 in Game 4.

An unusual faceoff call led to a controversial scoring play that ultimately spurred a Senators victory. Here's how it went down:

Play was stopped at the 11:49 mark after Daniel Alfredsson took a shot on Carey Price. Here's how Canadiens coach Michel Therrien explained the rest to Arpon Basu of nhl.com:

"

I don't understand why they decided to put the faceoff on the right side when [Daniel] Alfredsson shot the puck from the left side. When Carey stopped the puck, we sent a left centerman because it wasn't even close. Every detail counts.

"

Ottawa won the draw, and six seconds later the puck was in the net. Chris Neil's shot deflected off Canadiens defenseman Jarred Tinordi, then went into the net off Mika Zibanejad's skate, leading to a long video review that ultimately upheld the goal.

From the Situation Room blog at nhl.com:

"

At 11:55 of the third period in the Canadiens/Senators game, video review upheld the referee's call on the ice that the puck deflected off Mika Zibanejad's left skate and into the net in a legal fashion. Good goal Ottawa.

According to Rule 49.2 "A puck that deflects into the net off an attacking player's skate who does not use a distinct kicking motion is a legitimate goal."

"

Yahoo!'s Puck Daddy has the video. Click here to take a look for yourself.

Zibanejad's goal lit a spark among the Senators' young guns. Cory Conacher and Kyle Turris went on to score to secure the victory and force Montreal to the brink of elimination.

Duncan Keith: Good Father and Good Teammate

May 7 is a day that Chicago Blackhawks blueliner Duncan Keith will remember for a long time.

His wife gave birth to their first child on Tuesday morning. Keith was able to fly home to Chicago to be with her, then back to Minnesota in time to suit up for Game 4.

He played a team-high 23:57 and was a plus-two in the Hawks' 3-0 shutout win over the Minnesota Wild.

Tracey Myers of CSN Chicago reports that Keith did it all with no sleep since Sunday night. Adrenaline can be a powerful tool.

The Wild Test Their Goaltending Depth

Shortly after Carey Price vacated his net in Ottawa on Tuesday night, word came down that Josh Harding of the Minnesota Wild had also been forced out his game due to injury.

Harding seemed to suffer a lower body injury on a collision with Jonathan Toews late in the first period. He finished the period but appeared to be in some discomfort. Backup Darcy Kuemper took over between the pipes to start the second and played the remainder of the game.

Harding had played all three previous games after Niklas Backstrom was injured during his warmup for Game 1. After Harding's injury, Backstrom appeared as a backup on the Wild bench in the third period, leading to speculation that he might be soon be available.

With just one loss now separating the Wild from the offseason, a return by Backstrom couldn't come at a better time for the team.

Are the Sharks Shedding Their "Soft" Reputation?

With their 4-3 overtime victory over the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday night, the San Jose Sharks have become the first team to advance to Round 2 of the 2013 Stanley Cup playoffs.

Hockey poolsters who picked the Sharks to beat the Canucks are sitting pretty even with the layoff before the second round. Joe Pavelski and Logan Couture lead the playoff points race with eight points apiece. Meanwhile, Pavelski and Patrick Marleau each have four goals, topping that list.

For many years, Marleau and Joe Thornton have suffered from the reputation of disappearing in the playoffs. While "Little Joe" and Couture might have grabbed the spotlight in Round 1, "Big Joe" and Marleau were both key players in every Sharks victory. They played big minutes on the pivotal power play and Marleau ultimately fired the kill shot with his Game 4 overtime winner—assisted by Thornton.

The series win is the first-ever sweep in Sharks' history, and the last three teams who beat the Canucks all went on to win the Stanley Cup: Los Angeles in 2012, Boston in 2011 and Chicago in 2010.

Could this be the start of a new Sharks dynasty?

What Will Become of the Canucks?

It's impossible to paint the Vancouver Canucks' 2013 playoffs as anything other than a complete disappointment.

They couldn't score. They couldn't defend. Their special teams were horrible. They were undisciplined. And the goaltending saga became more of a circus than ever—which didn't even seem possible.

The Canucks had chances to make good things happen, but couldn't guide even one game all the way to a "W." For that, they're looking at another long summer.

After losing to the Los Angeles Kings last year—then seeing that team roll on to win the Stanley Cup—there was some comfort in the idea that the Canucks were a good team that got caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. As history repeats itself one year later, the sad truth looks a lot clearer. The current Canucks team is not good enough.

After their drubbing in Game 3, speculation began about changes that the Canucks could face. At this point, change is absolutely necessary, whether it's at a management, coaching or player personnel level. The magic of 2011 is gone.

With the easy availability of playoff tickets in Vancouver and the general apathy toward the team around town this spring, they've already lost the fans.

The Vancouver Canucks need to forge a new identity if they hope to recreate the excitement—and the winning atmosphere—that they enjoyed a couple of years ago.

Thanks for reading. Enjoy the games—I'll be back on Thursday with another round of takeaways.

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