Colorado Avalanche goaltender Philipp Grubauer left Game 1 against the Dallas Stars on Saturday with an apparent groin injury after stretching out to make a save in the second period.

Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar said postgame that "time will tell" how long Grubauer will be out, according to The Athletic's Ryan S. Clark. Bednar added that he doesn't expect Grubauer to be on the ice Sunday, and Pavel Francouz is the team's starting goalie for now.

Grubauer seemed to tweak something, and he grabbed his groin area before going down to the ice. He was then helped off without putting pressure on his leg.

Francouz stepped in to replace Grubauer. He's appeared in two games for Colorado this postseason, winning one and losing the other, and posting a .958 save percentage and 1.02 goals-against average.

Grubauer missed a number of games this season due to undisclosed lower-body injuries.

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Barclay Goodrow could have pumped the brakes on the forecheck, but instead, he hustled past a Blue Jackets defenseman in a tight race to the puck to negate an icing call.

Blake Coleman could have chipped the puck deep into Columbus' zone, but instead, he curled away from the goal line to find Ryan McDonagh at the point.

Yanni Gourde could have positioned himself for a pass from McDonagh, but instead, he parked himself in goalie Joonas Korpisalo's crease in anticipation of the point shot.

These three smart decisions, one from each of the Lightning's third-line forwards - Gourde, the center, and wingers Coleman and Goodrow - led to a huge goal in Game 1 of Tampa's opening-round series against Columbus.

McDonagh unleashed a slap shot that produced a mad scramble. Then, with Gourde in Korpisalo's kitchen, the puck redirected off the goalie and into the net.

The tally, which came on the first shift of the third period and tied the game 2-2, turned out to be the beginning of the end for an overworked Blue Jackets squad. Columbus never truly recovered from the marathon loss that required four-and-a-half overtime periods. Tampa rolled on to win three of the next four games, setting up a second-round date with Boston.

"We have different lines that can bring different elements to the games. Gourdo, Coleman, and Goodrow (were) phenomenal throughout the first series," Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman said Friday. "They bring that grit, they bring that hard forecheck game.

"But they chip in with big goals as well (four total against Columbus). I like the balance on our team and we expect the best out of everyone every night. We proved that in the first round."

Let's not kid ourselves here: The Lightning are the NHL's best team on paper. At every position, they boast high-end talent and enviable depth. The club's postseason fate, then, will largely rest with whether it can overwhelm opponents, especially up front. A dominant newly formed third line - and yes, Gourde-Coleman-Goodrow has been highly effective since the restart - takes pressure and attention away from Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point, Anthony Cirelli, and, if he returns from injury, Steven Stamkos.

"This is the reason we got them, right?" Lightning head coach Jon Cooper said after Game 4 when asked about Coleman and Goodrow, who were acquired from New Jersey and San Jose, respectively, ahead of February's trade deadline.

"We feel we're a playoff team," he added. "It all just comes down to winning in the playoffs. You go down our roster and it's hard to squeeze guys into the top six, but we didn't feel like that was our need. We needed to be harder to play against."

The bench boss added that while "harder" used to mean physicality and fighting, nowadays it refers to dialing up the foot speed, competitive drive, and pest-like tendencies.

Cooper likes to call his third line the Gnats because "they're always just buzzing around, and as you try and knock them away they just never leave." Defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk has been impressed, too. "They're just a really annoying line," he said.

Though Gourde and Coleman have both reached the 20-goal mark twice, there's nothing too fancy about the trio. All three are meat-and-potatoes forwards of the modern era - driven and trustworthy, with enough speed and skill to frustrate the opposition's best players. They're not green anymore either - Goodrow is 27 years old, and the others are 28 - so you know what to expect from these hard-working veterans every shift. And that's why Cooper started each period of the first round with them lined up at center ice.

The clip below, from the line's second shift of overtime in Game 5, is a shining example of the three causing havoc in the offensive zone to wear down the opposition. Over a 10-second stretch, Gourde applies puck pressure several times and nearly scores, Coleman takes the body to eliminate a defender from the play, and Goodrow fires a dangerous shot from the dot.

The line's puck-battle victories, fearlessness in front of the net, smart reads, responsible passing, and calories burned from skating end to end during the first round resulted in some eye-popping underlying numbers.

The three generated 45 scoring chances and 16 high-danger shot attempts at five-on-five while surrendering just 18 chances and five high-danger attempts in 75 minutes and 30 seconds against Columbus, according to Natural Stat Trick. Tampa's three other lines finished 95-81 in chances and 39-20 in high-danger attempts. Those are excellent ratios, but not quite as lopsided as the play of the tone-setting third line.

Here's a look at the Lightning with and without its third line on the ice against Columbus (all numbers five-on-five):

	with 3rd line	without 3rd line
Time on ice	75:30	222:55
Attempts	70%	56%
Chances	71%	54%
High danger	76%	60%
Goals	80%	60%

Part of the third line's success can probably be attributed to Columbus lacking forward depth. The Bruins, whose bottom six includes guys like Charlie Coyle, Sean Kuraly, and Jack Studnicka, pose a stiffer test for Tampa.

"(The Gourde line) brought other forward lines into the fight there, as far as the intensity that you need to play with and the simplicity to your game, too - winning your battles, not turning the puck over, and then getting rewarded for it, getting on the scoresheet in different fashions," McDonagh said.

"They're going to be counted on again in a lot of situations here and hopefully our forward group, as a whole, gets brought into the fight with those guys leading the charge and we can just keep rolling all four lines throughout the whole game and our depth can prevail and be an asset for us," he added.

The Lightning infamously flamed out in last year's opening round, losing in four games to the Blue Jackets following an exhilarating 62-win regular season. The franchise has been agonizingly close to a championship since Cooper's first full campaign with the team in 2013-14, losing in the Stanley Cup Final once and the Eastern Conference Final twice.

However, the contention window with this core won't remain open forever, hence general manager Julien BriseBois' willingness to part with two first-round picks to acquire depth pieces like Goodrow and Coleman. Prior to the season pause, neither forward had enough time to fully acclimate, and earlier in the campaign, Gourde went goalless for over two months.

Playoff success for the trio wasn't preordained, and although the advanced stats suggest they won't be a one-series flash in the pan, thriving against the Presidents' Trophy-winning Bruins is far from a guarantee. From BriseBois to Cooper and the players, Tampa nevertheless seems determined to do whatever it can to focus on the early returns and push forward. The Gnats are game-changers, which is exactly what the team needed.

"They've contributed so much for us in these playoffs and I'm just so glad that they're getting rewarded for their efforts, because those are the types of players we needed, we got them, and it's paying off for us," Cooper said.

John Matisz is theScore's national hockey writer.

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It's safe to say Allan Walsh isn't happy about Marc-Andre Fleury's diminished role in the 2019-20 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

On Saturday, the prominent hockey agent, who represents the Vegas Golden Knights goaltender, tweeted an image showing a sword with head coach Peter DeBoer's surname inscribed on its blade stabbing Fleury through the back.

DeBoer recently indicated the Golden Knights' other primary netminder, Robin Lehner, would continue to start when Vegas begins its second-round series against the Vancouver Canucks.

Lehner has usurped the starter's role from Fleury in the postseason. The Golden Knights acquired the former New York Islanders goalie from the Blackhawks at this year's trade deadline.

Fleury played in only one of the Golden Knights' five games against the Chicago Blackhawks - a 2-1 Vegas victory in Game 3 - during the opening round of the playoffs. He also started in just one of the team's three round-robin contests.

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This is the first edition of theScore's rankings of the top candidates to be named 2019-20 playoff MVP. We've featured only players still competing in the postseason, which officially included the qualifying round and round-robin stage.

1. Carter Hart

One of the biggest question marks heading into the playoffs was how Hart would perform in his first taste of postseason action, but the 22-year-old Philadelphia Flyers goaltender has delivered in spades. His save percentage ranks first among puck-stoppers who've played at least three games, and he boasts the third-best goals saved above average at five-on-five among all netminders in the postseason.

Hart's play is even more impressive when considering he's excelling without much offensive help from his teammates. The Flyers have managed only 2.44 goals per game - second-lowest among teams still playing - and yet he's looked more than comfortable in the Philadelphia crease, making the strongest case to be the Conn Smythe Trophy front-runner.

2. Nathan MacKinnon

MacKinnon is arguably the leading candidate for the Hart Trophy this season, and the Colorado Avalanche superstar continues to provide immense value in the playoffs, as well. Prior to the start of the second round, he sits tied for first in both points and assists despite playing fewer games than his counterparts. He's also logged his usual 20-plus minutes per contest while registering truly dominant possession figures.

Several other Avalanche players have made big contributions during the team's run, but there's no doubt MacKinnon's been the catalyst and one of the most impactful players this postseason.

3. Miro Heiskanen

Now that John Klingberg has six seasons under his belt, Heiskanen has emerged as the Dallas Stars' best young defenseman and been critical to their playoff success. The 21-year-old has looked like a grizzled vet since the restart.

The talented blue-liner erupted for four points in the Stars' series-clincher against the Calgary Flames, joining a relatively short and impressive list in the process. However, it wasn't just that one game that cemented his spot on this list. Heiskanen sits in a tie for second in points among all skaters through first-round action, and only Tampa Bay Lightning rearguard Ryan McDonagh has logged more ice time among players on teams still competing.

4. Elias Pettersson

If these playoffs have taught us anything, it's that Pettersson has shed the "phenom" label and is now a full-fledged star. The 21-year-old is tied with MacKinnon for the postseason points lead through the opening round, albeit in two more contests than the Avalanche dynamo.

Pettersson has been typically consistent in his first taste of playoff competition. The productive Swede was held off the score sheet only once in the Vancouver Canucks' six-game series win over the St. Louis Blues, and, similarly, just once did he fail to notch a point in the four games the Canucks needed to dispatch the Minnesota Wild in the qualifying round.

5. Semyon Varlamov

Varlamov is the biggest reason the New York Islanders made such quick work of both the Washington Capitals and Florida Panthers. New York's No. 1 goaltender has been stellar throughout the postseason, sitting in a tie with Vancouver netminder Jacob Markstrom for the most wins and ranking second behind Markstrom in GSAA at five-on-five despite playing one fewer game than his Western Conference counterpart through the opening round.

The Islanders goalie hasn't needed to make more than 27 stops in any of his nine postseason appearances, but New York wouldn't have eliminated the Capitals in five or the Panthers in four without him.

Honorable mentions: Mark Stone, Nazem Kadri, Anthony Beauvillier, Markstrom, Philipp Grubauer, Bo Horvat, Brayden Point, David Krejci

(Analytics source: Natural Stat Trick)

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And then there were eight.

With the second round of the playoffs set to begin Saturday night, we outline one key storyline for each series.

Eastern Conference

Philadelphia Flyers (1) vs. New York Islanders (6)

If you love goals, this series isn't for you - this will be a defensive battle for the ages.

The Isles (1.67) and Flyers (1.78) are allowing the second- and third-fewest goals per game, respectively, in the postseason so far. Philadelphia (.937) ranks second in save percentage, with the Islanders (.934) in third.

New York has a substantial advantage in the underlying numbers, though, ranking fourth in expected goals against per 60 minutes at five-on-five, while the Flyers rank 20th out of 24 teams.

With goals at a premium, the obvious X-factors are netminders Carter Hart and Semyon Varlamov. But what could actually make or break this series is special teams. The Islanders' penalty kill (75%) ranks 22nd after struggling against potent Florida and Washington units. The Flyers' power play (10.3%) has been equally poor, ranking 22nd in the playoffs. Meanwhile, the Isles' power play and Flyers' PK have both been average.

Tampa Bay Lightning (2) vs. Boston Bruins (4)

Despite reverting back to the old 1 vs. 8 reseeding playoff format for a year, we still get an Eastern Conference Final-caliber matchup a round earlier than we should. This is a powerhouse meeting between the two best teams in the conference and the past two Presidents' Trophy winners. Tampa and Boston rank first and second in points, respectively, in the NHL over the past three regular seasons.

These two teams last met in the playoffs in 2018, when the Bolts won four straight contests after dropping Game 1 to take the series in five games. Much has changed since, though. Not only did each squad add numerous different role players to fill out the lineup, but each is missing a star player.

Steven Stamkos (undisclosed) has yet to appear in the postseason and his status for Round 2 is unclear. His return would be massive considering the Lightning haven't generated consistent offense from anyone other than Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point.

Meanwhile, it's Jaroslav Halak's crease for the Bruins after Tuukka Rask opted out and departed the bubble. Halak was sharp against the Hurricanes, but he owns an .893 save percentage and a 2.93 goals-against average in 10 career games against the Lightning.

Western Conference

Vegas Golden Knights (1) vs. Vancouver Canucks (5)

These teams are built similarly. Both employ a high-powered top-six forward group and a distinctly different bottom-six group, the latter intended to bring grit and simply not be scored upon. Each team also has stellar goaltending, and both Jacob Markstrom and Robin Lehner happen to be unrestricted free agents at season's end.

The biggest discrepancy comes on the blue line, where the Golden Knights have a sizable advantage. Vegas doesn't have anyone as dynamic as Quinn Hughes, but its collective top four featuring Nate Schmidt, Brayden McNabb, Alec Martinez, and Shea Theodore is better than what the Canucks offer.

Vancouver's already beat two of the league's best blue lines, though. It dispatched Minnesota in the qualifier and then took down defending Stanley Cup champion St. Louis in Round 1. Neither of those teams received strong goaltending, though, and Vegas has two capable netminders.

The Canucks will have to work extremely hard to generate their chances against one of the best puck-possession teams in the league, and Elias Pettersson, Bo Horvat, and company will have to continue to capitalize on their opportunities, especially on the power play, as they did against St. Louis. Easier said than done, though.

Colorado Avalanche (2) vs. Dallas Stars (3)

This series showcases a head-to-head matchup between two of the best players in the NHL. One of these players - Nathan MacKinnon - is obvious. The other - Miro Heiskanen - doesn't garner the same attention.

MacKinnon's abilities are well known. He has blazing speed, soft hands, and a lethal shot - a nightmare combination for any defenseman. But if there's one blue-liner left in the playoffs who might have the best chance of slowing him down (other than Victor Hedman, perhaps), it's Heiskanen.

The 21-year-old is a sensational skater, and always seems to be in the right position to break up scoring chances. The Stars have outshot their opponents 99-72 and generated 57.3% of expected goals when Heiskanen's been on the ice at five-on-five in the playoffs. He also leads the team offensively with 12 points in nine games.

If Heiskanen can contain MacKinnon - and maybe even outshine him, though that's a big ask - not only will the Dallas defender start to receive the national recognition he deserves, but the Stars will have a chance to upset the Avalanche. If MacKinnon runs wild, Dallas has no chance.

(Analytics source: Natural Stat Trick)

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The NHL is ready to drop the puck for the second round and unveiled the schedule for the eight remaining playoff teams Saturday.

Round 2 will begin Saturday evening, three days ahead of schedule, so the Stanley Cup is likely to be awarded before Oct. 1, according to TSN's Frank Seravalli.

All times ET

Philadelphia Flyers (1) vs. New York Islanders (6)

*If necessary

Tampa Bay Lightning (2) vs. Boston Bruins (4)

Vegas Golden Knights (1) vs. Vancouver Canucks (5)

Colorado Avalanche (2) vs. Dallas Stars (3)

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After 10 seasons and only 14 games of NHL postseason experience, Taylor Hall wants to spend the next chapter of his career in the playoffs on a more regular basis.

"I think, honestly, it's probably all winning," the Arizona Coyotes forward said Friday when asked what's most important as he heads to unrestricted free agency for the first time in his career, according to NHL.com's Nick Cotsonika.

"Any player at this stage in their career that has had the career that I've had, 10 seasons, only make the playoffs twice, that's really what I'm after," the 28-year-old said. "So we'll see what happens there."

The Coyotes have made the playoffs just once in the last eight years, but Hall isn't ruling out a return to the desert.

"I think the Coyotes have a bright future," he said. "They have some great guys, some good young players. When I get around to crossing that bridge and I kind of come to what I want to do, we'll see."

Hall understands he likely won't get paid as much due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has caused the league to institute a flat salary cap - rather than a rising one - for multiple years. That's placed a premium on winning.

"But yeah, I'd say it's pretty much all winning," he said. "I don't think the money's going to be what it was maybe before COVID or before the season, but that's fine. I think we get paid a lot of money to play a game, and we'll see what happens."

Hall recorded 16 goals and 52 points in 65 regular-season games. He added six more points in nine playoff contests. He and St. Louis Blues captain Alex Pietrangelo are expected to headline this offseason's free-agent class.

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