Emerging Storylines to Follow in 1st Round of 2015 NHL Playoffs

The 2015 Stanley Cup playoffs are only a few days old. None of the eight first-round series have been decided yet; several are knotted in 1-1 ties after the first two games solved nothing. So it's awfully early to be coming to any definitive conclusions about the players and teams participating.

It isn't too early to pick at some emerging storylines, however. In a relatively short period of time, we've already seen some significant happenings.

Established No. 1 goaltenders have been tossed aside in favour of almost unknown backups. Trade deadline acquisitions have paid off in spades already. Teams have shown an ability to overcome third-period deficits; players have shown the ability to carry their teams, at least for a short time. And, of course, there have been injuries. 

The following slideshow highlights some of the stories that have caught our eye.

Scott Darling Rising, Corey Crawford Falling

Mark Humphrey/Associated Press

Corey Crawford is the Chicago Blackhawks' starting goalie and a player with both a Stanley Cup ring and a significant reputation around the NHL. He has started 254 career games for the Blackhawks, has made 58 playoff appearances and appeared reasonably entrenched as the team's No. 1. But he was pulled after surrendering three goals in Game 1 of his team's series against Nashville and then surrendered six in Game 2, including several bad ones. He didn't start Game 3.

His replacement is 26-year-old rookie Scott Darling. Darling has played in 14 career regular-season games and pulled himself all the way up from the Louisiana IceGators of the SPHL to play in the majors. He wasn't even an especially intriguing minor leaguer until he emerged last season in the AHL with Nashville's affiliate in Milwaukee (the Admirals). He was brilliant in relief of Crawford in Game 1 and excellent again in a Game 3 win. 

Head coach Joel Quenneville's management of the situation is going to be interesting, as just three games into the playoffs, the Blackhawks have themselves a goaltending controversy.

Marc Bergevin's Cheap Trade Deadline Acquisitions Paying Off

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While a lot of teams loaded up at the trade deadline, Montreal Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin looked around for value. He added a couple of depth forwards from the bottom-feeding Buffalo Sabres, and he spent a second-round draft pick and change on a defenceman from the hapless Edmonton Oilers. Three games into the postseason, those moves look shockingly good.

The Habs' scoring lead is shared by those two Sabres castoffs; Torrey Mitchell and Brian Flynn both have three points through three playoff games. The cost for both was a fifth-round pick, a seventh-round pick and forward prospect Jack Nevins (who has now played in 48 career AHL contests and has a single assist to show for it).

The defenceman, Jeff Petry, was a little pricier (Montreal gave up a second-round pick and a conditional fifth-rounder), but he's been a worthwhile add, too. He's currently averaging 19 minutes and 59 seconds per game at even strength on the Canadiens blue line, a total that leads all Montreal defencemen, and he has chipped in on both special teams units, too.   

The Anaheim Ducks Are Never Out of a Game

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Twice in two playoff games the Winnipeg Jets have entered the third period with a lead on the Anaheim Ducks. Twice the Ducks have pulled off the comeback. 

Anaheim has outscored Winnipeg 5-0 so far in the third period. Discipline has been a problem for the Jets; Anaheim's power play is clicking at the moment and has contributed three of those five goals. Game 2 was particularly bad, as the Jets sat back while the Ducks peppered Ondrej Pavelec with 17 shots in the contest's final frame. 

Being able to overturn a lead in the postseason is a rare quality, but it's one the Ducks seem to have down pat.

Detroit's Goalie Controversy Isn't Going Away

Chris O'Meara/Associated Press

Detroit Red Wings head coach Mike Babcock had a tough decision to make as his team entered the playoffs. Would he play young upstart Petr Mrazek against the Tampa Bay Lightning, or would he opt for struggling incumbent Jimmy Howard? 

Babcock decided to go with the hot hand, and in Game 1, Mrazek made that look like a brilliant choice, turning aside 44 of 46 shots and almost single-handedly helping the Red Wings to victory. However, in Game 2, the choice looked less inspired—Mrazek surrendered four goals on 18 shots and got the hook in favour of Howard. 

This is a story that isn't going away any time soon.

A Nasty Turn to the Calgary-Vancouver Series

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The opening series between Calgary and Vancouver turned violent late in Game 2 and doesn't show any signs of cooling off.

The third period of Game 2 featured several fights and no fewer than 12 10-minute or game misconducts, including three leveled against Calgary's Deryk Engelland, who collected a remarkable 42 penalty minutes in one sequence but somehow avoided suspension. His coach, Bob Hartley, was not so lucky, picking up a $50,000 fine from the league.  

The NHL now has to decide if it wants to show leniency to the other side. Canucks forward Alexandre Burrows picked up a boarding minor, an instigator penalty and a fighting major with less than two minutes left in a Game 3 loss. Normally, an instigator that late would automatically result in a one-game suspension, but as Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman noted, the league already proved willing to exercise some discretion in applying that rule.

Sidney Crosby Can't Win Every Game for Pittsburgh, but He Can Win Some of Them

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Sidney Crosby is both blessed and cursed with the label of being the best player in hockey, and on nights when he isn't producing, the reaction can be hilariously overblown. Of course, everybody forgets about the nights when he takes over.

We've seen both versions of Crosby in the Pittsburgh Penguins' first-round series against the New York Rangers. There was the point-less, single-shot Crosby from Game 1, and then there was the score-two-goals-in-five-minutes Crosby from Game 2.

Penguins defenceman Ian Cole gave B/R's Dave Lozo a balanced take after the second outing: 

"When he does have a game where he doesn't have any points, everyone is like, 'Oh my God, what's going on?' But you know what? That's hockey. Then he bounces back with an unbelievable game like tonight and shows why he's arguably the best player in the world."

As Lozo notes, the Penguins have been riddled by injuries and, consequently, are in tough against a very good New York team. If Pittsburgh advances, it's a solid bet that it will be in large part because of Crosby's efforts. 

St. Louis Has a 1-Shot Scorer

Jeff Roberson/Associated Press

There is a stereotype that European players aren't really built for the NHL postseason. The Minnesota Wild would appreciate it if somebody would tell Vladimir Tarasenko all about it so that he could assume a quiet, supporting role and stop scoring goals.

Tarasenko picked up an assist in the St. Louis Blues' Game 1 loss to the Wild, but he was the difference in Game 2, hammering three goals home in a 4-1 win. He scored four goals in six games for the Blues in their first-round loss to Chicago last season and now has seven total markers in just nine playoff games. 

One of the knocks on the Blues has been that they lack the kind of dynamic offensive weapon that a lot of elite teams have. As a primarily defensive club, the importance of such a player could not be understated. They now have one in Tarasenko, who had a breathtaking 37 goals and 73 points in the regular season and looks just as capable now that the games really count.

Underrated Braden Holtby Is a Goalie to Watch

Alex Brandon/Associated Press

He may be 0-2 in this year's playoffs after an overtime loss to the New York Islanders, but Braden Holtby still managed something remarkable. After missing Game 2 of the Washington Capitals' first-round series against the Islanders with an illness, he returned to the Washington net and turned aside 40 of 42 shots in a game that was dominated by New York from the word "go."

The Islanders piled up 33 shots through two periods, as opposed to just 13 for Washington, but the Capitals stayed in the game, thanks to some exceptional work from Holtby. 

None of this is new for the Caps starter. His 73-game, .923-save-percentage performance in the regular season got him some overdue attention, but he's been an excellent playoff goalie for the entirety of his NHL career. Through 23 postseason games, Holtby boasts a .930 save percentage, and he's capable of taking over a series.

Shea Weber's Injury

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He's one of the best defencemen in the NHL, he's the Nashville Predators' captain and he's pivotal to the team's playoff hopes, but Shea Weber isn't in the lineup as the Preds attempt to beat the Chicago Blackhawks.

Weber was injured on a hit by Blackhawks forward Brandon Saad in the second period of Game 2 between the two clubs, leaving the contest and not returning. He also sat out Game 3 (a Nashville loss) and will not play in Game 4 against Chicago. 

Nashville head coach Peter Laviolette was philosophical in his comments to Thomas Willis and Brooks Bratten of the Predators' official website.

"It happens throughout the course of the playoffs; everybody gets injuries and you have to deal with them," Laviolette said. "[Game 2], I think was a real good sign that some guys did elevate their minutes and played in different situations and try to fill the void [left by Weber]...and we were successful in doing that."

The Predators are currently down 2-1 in their series against Chicago.