Friday Four: Penguins look like team to beat again for Cup

Each Friday throughout the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Kevin Weekes will bring you his Friday Four. He will be blogging about four players, teams, plays, or trends that have caught his eye.

Sidney Crosby was Sidney Crosby with a natural hat trick, Jake Guentzel had four points (one goal, three assists) and Carl Hagelin had a goal and an assist. In all, 12 Penguins skaters had points and that's with Evgeni Malkin only having one and Phil Kessel going scoreless.

The defense was great and Matt Murray, who struggled during the regular season, had a 24-save shutout, his third straight in the playoffs dating to 2017. Murray is a big-time player: he's 23-9 with a 1.89 goals-against average, .930 save percentage and five shutouts in his career in the playoffs.

Bruins impressive against Maple Leafs

The Boston Bruins missed out on the top seed in the East by losing on the final day of the season and as a result, have to play the Toronto Maple Leafs in the Eastern Conference First Round. Toronto was 3-1-0 against Boston during the regular season. But that means nothing now, as the Bruins showed in Game 1 on Thursday.
Boston was dominant, outshooting Toronto 40-27 and taking over in the second period on the way to a 5-1 win. The Bruins scored three times on six power plays and didn't allow a goal on three shorthanded opportunities. The special-teams battle was the difference here.
The Bruins got goals from five different players, with Brad Marchand, David Krejci and Torey Krug each having two points and David Pastrnak finishing with three. Tuukka Rask (26 saves) was at his best. The Bruins were able to hold Auston Matthews and Mitchell Marner without a point, which is definitely a recipe for success against Toronto.

Golden Knights not going away

There was a question as to how the Vegas Golden Knights would hold up against the playoff-tested Los Angeles Kings in their first postseason game. We got that answer on Wednesday, and Vegas proved it wasn't weren't just a regular-season fluke. Defenseman Shea Theodore scored the only goal and Marc-Andre Fleury made 30 saves for a shutout.
Vegas scored early in the first period and managed to clamp down defensively. I'd expect every game in this series to be close and physical, as this one was. There were 127 hits in the game -- 68 for the Kings and 59 for the Golden Knights. Adrian Kempe, Trevor Lewis and Alec Martinez each had seven hits for the Kings; William Carrier had 10 and Jonathan Marchessault had eight for the Golden Knights. Carrier was all over Kings defenseman Drew Doughty the entire game, and Doughty couldn't seem to get going. Los Angeles will miss Doughty in Game 2, as he was suspended one game by the NHL for a hit on Carrier.
As good as Fleury was, we can't forget about Jonathan Quick. The 2012 Conn Smythe Trophy winner made 27 saves and kept the Kings in it. This series is likely to be determined by the play of the goalies, who've combined for five Stanley Cup titles.

Kane, Hall shine in playoff debuts

Evander Kane waited nine seasons and played 574 games before appearing in the playoffs. Taylor Hall waited eight seasons and 529 games. Each made his playoff debut on Thursday and didn't disappoint.

Kane, a forward who was traded to the San Jose Sharks by the Buffalo Sabres on Feb. 26, had 14 points (nine goals, five assists) in 17 games with the Sharks, then began his playoff career with two goals in a 3-0 win against the Anaheim Ducks. He also finished with six shots on goal, three hits and one blocked shot. That's what Kane brings; he's a physical presence who can score and also deliver a big hit. He may just be the missing piece for the Sharks, who are trying to win that elusive Stanley Cup.
Hall, a Hart Trophy candidate after finishing the season with an NHL career-high 93 points (39 goals, 54 assists), had a goal and an assist in his postseason debut. The veteran left wing scored the New Jersey Devils' first goal of the game in the second period to make it 3-1 and assisted on Travis Zajac's third-period goal that made it 3-2. Ultimately, the Devils lost 5-2 to the Tampa Bay Lightning but it wasn't because of the play of Hall.
If the Sharks and Devils are to have success in the playoffs, it will likely be because of Kane and Hall.
HONORABLE MENTION
Forward Artemi Panarin came up huge for the Columbus Blue Jackets in overtime Thursday to give them a 1-0 series lead against the Washington Capitals. Columbus was down 2-0 after one period and 3-2 in the third but came back for a 4-3 victory and was one of only two road teams to win Game 1 (with the Sharks). Panarin had three points, including a spectacular goal in overtime. If they can win Game 2, the Blue Jackets would be in the driver's seat heading home and looking for the first playoff series win since entering the NHL in 2000.