Cody Eakin's five-minute major for crosschecking Joe Pavelski in the third period of Game 7 sparked an unbelievable turn of events, changing the course of the entire Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Eakin was ejected at the 9:13 mark of the final frame with the Vegas Golden Knights holding a 3-0 lead. With the five-minute power play, the San Jose Sharks scored four goals to take a 4-3 lead. Jonathan Marchessault tied it for Vegas with 47 seconds left before the Sharks won in overtime on the stick of Barclay Goodrow to advance to the second round.
Here's the play where Eakin, the centerman on the faceoff, was ejected:
— SiriusXM NHL Network Radio (@SiriusXMNHL) April 24, 2019
After the game, Marchessault voiced his disgust with the call on the ice.
"It's a fucking joke. It's embarrassing," he said postgame, according to The Athletic's Jesse Granger. "That's what it is. It changed the entire outcome of the game, and the season."
The supervising official of the series, Don Van Massenhoven, offered the following explanation for the ejection.
"The referees called a crosschecking penalty for an infraction that caused a significant injury," said Van Massenhoven, who officiated 1,366 games during his career, according to Granger. "In their judgement, the infraction and its result merited a major penalty."
Pavelski laid motionless on the ice momentarily with blood dripping from his head. The Sharks captain had to be helped to the dressing room and did not return.
Golden Knights head coach Gerard Gallant also had a difficult time accepting the way his team was bounced in Round 1.
"Last season we lost in the Stanley Cup Final, and that was hard," he told Granger. "But tonight, this is worse."
The Sharks, who overcame a 3-1 series deficit, will play the Colorado Avalanche in Round 2.
The NHL announced the dates for the second round of the playoffs following the completion of Tuesday's quarterfinal action. All but one first-round series has been decided.
Here's a look at the second-round schedules:
Eastern Conference
The final Eastern Conference second-round schedule won't be determined until after Wednesday's Game 7 between the Washington Capitals and Carolina Hurricanes.
If Capitals advance:
Blue Jackets vs. Bruins
Jamie Sabau / National Hockey League / Getty
Date
Time (ET)
Away
Home
TV
April 25
7 p.m.
Blue Jackets
Bruins
NBCSN/SN/CBC/TVA
April 27
TBD
Blue Jackets
Bruins
TBD
April 29
TBD
Bruins
Blue Jackets
TBD
May 1
TBD
Bruins
Blue Jackets
TBD
May 3*
TBD
Blue Jackets
Bruins
TBD
May 5*
TBD
Bruins
Blue Jackets
TBD
May 7*
TBD
Blue Jackets
Bruins
TBD
*If necessary
Capitals vs. Islanders
Patrick McDermott / National Hockey League / Getty
The Toronto Maple Leafs' 2018-19 campaign culminated Tuesday night with a familiar bitter feeling when they suffered a Game 7 defeat at the hands of the Boston Bruins for the second year in a row.
However, Toronto's regular-season leading scorer, Mitch Marner, believes all his club can do is use its latest defeat as motivation.
"It sucks," Marner told reporters postgame. "We believe in this team, we have a lot of confidence in this team. Obviously, when a season ends, it sucks. It's got to stay with us, we've got to be hungry for this next year and make sure we come back pissed off."
After earning a franchise-record 105 points in 2017-18, the Leafs reinforced an already dangerous lineup by signing John Tavares in the offseason and acquiring Jake Muzzin before February's trade deadline.
Toronto led the series on three occasions but failed to ever take complete control over a more experienced Bruins team. Still, Maple Leafs head coach Mike Babcock believes his club made progress this spring.
"I thought our series this year compared to last year, we were a way better hockey club," Babcock said. "I think we're really taking steps and going in the right direction, but we've got to push through and get through this. I mean, that's just the bottom line."
With Tuesday's elimination, the Maple Leafs remain without a playoff series win since 2004.
The trophy is awarded annually to the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice, and has made a significant humanitarian contribution to his community.
Henrik and Daniel Sedin won the award last year, with Zucker finishing as a finalist.
Golden Knights head coach Gerard Gallant had some choice words for Sharks bench boss Peter DeBoer. After DeBoer called out Gallant for 'chattering' at Sharks players earlier in the series, the 55-year-old fired back during a press conference ahead of Tuesday's Game 7.
"I really don't want to talk about that but I think I'm going to have to a little bit because for that clown to say that in the paper yesterday it's not right," Gallant said.
The 2018 Jack Adams Award winner then went on to address each event.
"There might have been two incidents that happened and I'll tell you both of the incidents," Gallant said. "Logan Couture I thought it was an embellishment so I was yelling at the referee, not yelling at Logan Couture.
"The other one, Game 2, Evander Kane's yelling at Ryan Reaves between the bench and Evander yells at me 'hey coach, when are you going to send your big guy out on the ice and play him more than four minutes?' I said 'he's played 10 minutes every game and he's going to play a lot more.'"
Gallant then defended himself further before expressing more disapproval of DeBoer's behavior.
"If I'm going to be a chirper and a loudmouth, I think people know me as a coach and respect me as a coach and if he's going to yap about that, that's a little non-classy for me," Gallant said.
The Sharks clawed back from a 3-1 deficit to force Game 7. San Jose will look to avenge its six-game defeat at the hands of the Golden Knights in 2018.
Dreger added that the Vegas Golden Knights and the Chicago Blackhawks are also in the mix for Mikheyev, who is expected to make his decision this weekend.
The 24-year-old has spent the last four full seasons playing for Omsk Avangard and has recorded 62 goals and 120 points in 224 career contests.
This season, the Russian posted 23 goals and 45 points in 62 games, adding 11 points in 13 playoff tilts.
Mikheyev also represented Russia at the World Hockey Championship last spring, contributing three goals and one assist in eight games.
The Maple Leafs dipped into the KHL player pool to sign defenseman Igor Ozhiganov from CSKA Moscow last summer.
Dreger added that the Vegas Golden Knights and the Chicago Blackhawks are also in the mix for Mikheyev, who is expected to make his decision this weekend.
The 24-year-old has spent the last four full seasons playing for Omsk Avangard and has recorded 62 goals and 120 points in 224 career contests.
This season, the Russian posted 23 goals and 45 points in 62 games, adding 11 points in 13 playoff tilts.
Mikheyev also represented Russia at the World Hockey Championship last spring, contributing three goals and one assist in eight games.
The Maple Leafs dipped into the KHL player pool to sign defenseman Igor Ozhiganov from CSKA Moscow last summer.
The Sharks will look to complete a 3-1 series comeback and avenge their six-game defeat at the hands of the Golden Knights last postseason with a huge win on their home ice. For Vegas, it'll be the expansion club's first-ever Game 7.
The Maple Leafs and Bruins have pushed their series to the limit for a third time in as many playoff matchups, with Boston coming out on top in Game 7 in both 2013 and 2018. Toronto will have to dig deep to pull out the victory and capture its first playoff series victory in 15 years.
Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Boston Bruins
Icon Sportswire / Icon Sportswire / Getty
Special teams battle
If the Maple Leafs are to have any hope of keeping their season alive in front of a raucous Bruins crowd at TD Garden, they'll need to flip the script when it comes to special teams. Since Boston scored on the man advantage nine minutes into the series, the power play has been at the crux of its success through six games.
Boston has converted seven of 16 power-play opportunities (43.8 percent) in the series, including two critical tallies in the first period of Game 6. The Maple Leafs' penalty kill has been glaringly poor, and their inability to respond on power plays of their own has made matters worse. Toronto's man advantage has been held off the scoresheet in four of the six contests, converting just three times.
Mike Babcock's club seems to hold a slight advantage if it can keep the game at even strength. The Leafs have outscored the Bruins 11-8 at five-on-five and own 52.63 percent of high-danger scoring chances thus far.
More from Maple Leafs' top line
The Maple Leafs' top line of Zach Hyman, John Tavares, and Mitch Marner needs to step up offensively. The trio has done a good job on the defensive side of the puck, and Tavares' presence alone has helped allow Auston Matthews enjoy a breakout postseason, but when the lights shine the brightest, Toronto needs its stars to sparkle.
The line combined for 94 goals in the regular season but has managed just four so far against the Bruins, with three of them coming in the opening contest. Tavares, whose 47 goals during the campaign led the team, never went longer than five games without a goal. With his only goal of the series coming in Game 1 ... well, you can do the math.
Leading after 40 minutes
During the regular season, the Leafs posted 36-0-1 record when leading after two periods, and the Bruins went 31-3-3. These defensive trends have continued through six games as neither team has faltered this series when carrying a lead into the third period.
Vegas Golden Knights vs. San Jose Sharks
Brandon Magnus / National Hockey League / Getty
Sharks need the good Martin Jones
Jones' uninspiring regular season was one of the major talking points heading into this series after the netminder posted a 36-19-5 record with a 2.94 goals-against average and .896 save percentage on the campaign. Among the 26 goalies who played at least 45 games, his save percentage ranked second last.
The Sharks have lived and died by their goaltender so far this postseason. Jones failed to play past the first period in two of the losses against the Golden Knights, allowing a combined five goals on 14 shots. While facing a 3-1 series deficit, however, Jones stopped 88 of 91 shots en route to two straight wins, including a 58-save overtime performance in Game 6.
Scoring first
The team that has scored first has won each time. Both squads will need to be ready from the get-go, as that all-important opening tally has been potted within the first 90 seconds in four of the six games.
Stone line can make or break
The Sharks did an excellent job in their previous two victories keeping the Golden Knights' most dangerous line of Mark Stone, Paul Stastny, and Max Pacioretty in check. After terrorizing San Jose with a combined 28 points through the first four contests, the trio was held pointless in Games 5 and 6.
It will be critical for the Sharks to stay out of the penalty box. The Stone line has been just average at five-on-five in the playoffs, posting a Corsi For rating of 51.18.
The veteran trio is packed with playoff experience, too. Stone, Pacioretty, and Stastny have suited up for a combined 155 postseason contests, including six Game 7s.
His mind and heart racing, Chris Kunitz moved through the Stanley Cup Final handshake line on June 11, 2017. He had just won his fourth Cup, and his third in a Pittsburgh Penguins uniform, so he knew the drill.
As he neared the end of the procession, Kunitz locked eyes with a visibly shaken Nashville Predator nursing a broken right hand. It was his old pal James Neal. The former Penguin extended his left hand, and Kunitz dropped his head to lean in, initiating a solemn bro hug. They exchanged a few words.
The interaction lasted four seconds, a relative eternity in the handshake line.
"It doesn't matter if you're best friends with somebody. You go out, you compete, you do whatever it takes to win. If that's fighting each other, slashing each other, so be it. But afterwards, you still want to look each other in the eye and show that respect," Kunitz said in March, speaking broadly about a tradition unique to hockey.
On Tuesday night, the Toronto Maple Leafs and Boston Bruins will form another line following Game 7 in their hotly contested first-round series. The Vegas Golden Knights and San Jose Sharks, also battling for one more game, will do the same a few hours later.
Teams aren't required to organize themselves in a single file and bid farewell. It happens organically, no matter who wins. The handshake line is a post-series activity passed down from generation to generation, an unbreakable custom governed by a set of unwritten rules.
So what's considered acceptable behavior in the line? What's frowned upon? How does it all work? And what goes through a player's head as they try to digest the outcome of a playoff series and interact cordially with a bitter rival?
In the leadup to the postseason, theScore enlisted the help of six active NHLers to find out. Here’s what we learned.
The winner's perspective
"Two completely different emotions" are associated with the handshake line, noted Patrick Marleau, who's approaching 200 career playoff games. And both parties must be cognizant of the other's headspace.
"Teams that win are excited, but they don't want to rub it in as they're walking through," Marleau said prior to the Maple Leafs' series with the Bruins. "And the other guys are defeated, but they still want to be gracious and give the other team some encouragement going forward."
That give-and-take between winner and loserbrings us to the meme-able clip from the final minutes of the Tampa Bay-Columbus broadcast last week.
Moments after the Blue Jackets put a bow on an upset for the ages by scoring three empty-net goals to complete a sweep of the Lightning, Nikita Kucherov joined his dazed teammates at center ice. The presumptive league MVP was stopped by Matt Duchene for a quick chat. Kucherov listened but didn't seem to offer Duchene much of a reply.
Then, Kucherov ran into fellow Russian and close friend Artemi Panarin. The victor grinned widely and went in for a big ol' high five. Kucherov left him hanging.
Via Fox Sports Ohio
The hockey gods can't be pleased by Panarin's actions. The star winger violated the first guideline on either side of the handshake: Be gracious.
Kucherov looked for a moment like he might drop the nuclear option - the cold shoulder - but he relented when Panarin grabbed his hand. They eventually embraced, and the misstep isn't so outrageous that it should affect their relationship.
The cold shoulder, most famously unleashed by Martin Brodeur in 2008 to snub Rangers forward Sean Avery, can be more insulting than excessive enthusiasm.
"For me, I think that's a little disrespectful," Florida Panthers forward Troy Brouwer said. "You've got to congratulate the guy and let him know you respect him. It's so hard to win in the playoffs. For a guy to be battling and doing his job, you can't be mad at him, in my opinion."
Al Bello / Getty Images
Brouwer's enjoyed playoff runs in Chicago, Washington, St. Louis, and Calgary, but it's hard for him to evaluate his etiquette in the 2010 Cup handshake line between the Blackhawks and Philadelphia Flyers. Since Patrick Kane's Game 6 overtime goal required video review, Brouwer and his teammates celebrated twice, with the second go-round bleeding into the handshake line.
It's all a blur.
"Guys are still hugging each other. You're patting the guy's back in front of you while shaking the guys on the other team's hands and waiting for the Cup to come out," Brouwer said. "So, honestly, I don't really remember that handshake. You're so caught up in the moment. It's not like it takes a backseat - your mind is just elsewhere.” (Brouwer, for what it's worth, appears to have been well-behaved.)
The winning team holds the hammer in the handshake line - usually offering a friendly greeting first - but one of Brouwer's Panthers teammates says every participant has a method of payback at his disposal when it comes time to meet a particular foe.
"Maybe squeeze a little harder than normal," defenseman Keith Yandle said with a smile.
The loser's perspective
Because it offers closure, the handshake line can be a cathartic experience for those on the losing end.
"You realize you're done, you're going to hang up your equipment for the last time, and that's all slowly running through your mind as you go down the line," Kunitz said. "You obviously want to give that respect to the other team, even after the nasty series. Let them know that you left it all out there."
Dennis Pajot / Getty Images
Connor Brown can relate.
In 2014, the Leafs winger was captain of the Erie Otters, and at the conclusion of the OHL Western Conference final, he saw his childhood flash before his eyes. Matt Finn, Brown's longtime friend, wore the "C" for the victorious Guelph Storm.
"That was the end of my junior career so it was a pretty emotional day for me. I don't think I said much," Brown recalled. "I grew up playing with him since I was 4 years old. He's one of my best buds. It almost makes it a little tougher, but it's something in years to come we'll look back on."
Mike Stobe / Getty Images
Not many players in the history of the NHL are as familiar with the tradition's highs and lows as the Staal brothers. Jordan Staal's Pittsburgh Penguins ended brother Marc and his New York Rangers' season in 2008. The next year, Jordan did the same to Eric when the Penguins swept the Carolina Hurricanes.
Trying to find the right words to say to your own blood in such a raw moment is dizzying; special, overwhelming, and bittersweet.
"Those ones are hard. But that's the first thing that pops into my mind," Jordan Staal answered when asked for his top handshake line memories.
"I love going out there and competing and working hard," he continued. "And whether you're on the right side of it or not, you show that respect after. It's one of my favorite things about the playoffs."
For the losing side, being gracious is paramount. It may be tempting to make a final statement but, the typical thinking goes, don't make it all about you. Don’t be a sore loser.
Milan Lucic notoriously abandoned this guideline in 2014 when he went out of his way to bark at a pair of Montreal Canadiens, Dale Weise and Alexei Emelin, after the Boston Bruins’ season ended in the second round of the playoffs. "I'm going to kill you next year," Lucic apparently said, and the controversy buzzed for days.
On the other hand, a positive interaction with a respected rival can help put a gut-wrenching moment into perspective. Might a few complimentary remarks from, say, the legendary Nick Lidstrom soften the blow of being eliminated from the playoffs?
"He was my guy, my idol - a guy that I look up to and still do," Yandle said as he recalled the Phoenix Coyotes' first-round loss to Lidstrom's Detroit Red Wings in 2010. "I remember getting that handshake, that half-hug - the bro hug or whatever you call it - and it was pretty special."
As in everyday life, waiting can be agonizing. The interval between the final buzzer and the formation of the line can drag on for the defeated team, especially since the ecstasy is palpable but not accessible. You might undo your helmet strap, lean on your stick, stare into the abyss, shed a few tears.
"You're real disappointed, but the wait is almost the worst part," Brouwer said, describing watching the San Jose Sharks celebrate making the final at the Blues' expense in 2016. "You just want to get off the ice and go share those moments with your teammates. It's always tough."
By all accounts, dialogue in the line is mostly generic: Good series. Nice job. Best of luck moving forward. You played great. There might be an extra word or two for the goaltenders since they often have a strong effect on the outcome of a series, but overall,it's not a Shakespeare play.
"Hockey players don't know exactly what to say when it comes to that kind of stuff," Brown explained. "But you know the intention, and that's all that matters."
John Matisz is theScore's National Hockey Writer. You can find him on Twitter @matiszjohn.
