Vegas Golden Knights forward Cody Eakin earned a five-minute major and a game misconduct for crosschecking Joe Pavelski in the third period of Wednesday's Game 7, and the San Jose Sharks made him pay, scoring four power-play goals to erase a three-goal, third-period deficit.
Coming into Tuesday's winner-take-all tilt against the Boston Bruins, the polarizing defenseman already had the cringe-worthy lowlights from last year's Game 7, and the attachment to the Toronto Maple Leafs' historic collapse in spring 2013.
Gardiner had history - the worst kind - and then he turned the puck over late in the first period. The blunder led to Boston's second goal, the eventual game-winner in a 5-1 Bruins victory that ended the Leafs' season and potentially Gardiner's tenure in Toronto.
Claus Andersen / Getty Images
By night's end, Gardiner had been on the ice for three goals against, zero goals for. It was tough to watch such a poor showing.
Then again, when you take a step back and and add perspective, it's fair to say Gardiner was fine through six games. He wasn't good, or bad. But, considering he was battling a nagging injury and clearly far from his best self, he performed OK.
There are others to blame for the Leafs' third straight first-round exit, anyway.
Toronto opened the scoring in Game 6 on Sunday but blew a golden chance to advance. They could have avoided going back to Boston then and there, instead putting themselves in a vulnerable position. The Leafs didn't rise to the occasion in Game 7.
The head coach
There's no sugarcoating it: Mike Babcock flat out didn't perform.
The Leafs coach made some questionable decisions over the course of the series, refusing to step outside his comfort zone, and is now 0-3 in playoff series since president Brendan Shanahan hired him in 2015.
Icon Sportswire / Getty Images
Aside from sliding William Nylander over to center after Nazem Kadri's suspension - something the bench boss was essentially forced to do - Babcock didn't rock the boat in any significant way. He had ample time to bust out the line blender and try to spark offense at key moments - but didn’t.
You could pick apart Babcock's deployment and usage all day, but let's focus on a few of eyebrow-raising developments from the deciding game.
Patrick Marleau, 39, should be used sparingly at this stage in his career. Yet he played 14 minutes and 35 seconds in Game 7. Fourth-line center Frederik Gauthier should have been glued to the bench for the second half of the contest in an effort to free up extra shifts for Toronto's deadliest weapons. But he wasn't, despite the Bruins holding the lead for two-plus periods.
Meanwhile, Auston Matthews, one of the sport's utmost game-changing talents, finished with an underwhelming 18:48 of ice. That total is acceptable in the regular season. In a do-or-die playoff game, though, your best forward should probably be skating closer to 23 minutes.
Not double-shifting Matthews as the season slipped away seems counterproductive and legitimately odd. It's hard to imagine a scenario in which Nathan MacKinnon or Connor McDavid - two of Matthews' contemporaries - play fewer than 20 minutes in a Game 7.
Calling for Babcock's dismissal, like many Leafs fans are doing online, feels like an overreaction. But the man is no doubt deserving of heavy criticism.
The special teams
Neither Boston or Toronto gained a significant advantage during 5-on-5 play over seven games. It's the simple truth, as evidenced by the Leafs' advanced metrics:
CF%
SF%
SCF%
GF%
xGF%
50.8
48.8
51.5
52.2
51.1
[CF% = shot attempts for percentage; SF% = shots for percentage; SCF% = scoring chances for percentage; GF% = goals for percentage; xGF% = expected goals for percentage]
In summary, the Leafs narrowly won the even-strength battle in four of five categories. This suggests special teams greatly affected the series' outcome.
Now, the Leafs' power play did alright for itself, scoring three times on 16 tries. Boston, on the other hand, went haywire, netting seven goals on 16 man-advantage opportunities.
Icon Sportswire / Getty Images
Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy has an abundance of options on his first unit. Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, David Pastrnak, Torey Krug, and Marcus Johansson form a killer five, and they contributed five of Boston's PP goals despite not receiving a single opportunity in Game 7.
So, really, this isn't totally on Toronto's penalty kill. Boston, who had the third-ranked PP in the regular season, is a wrecking ball.
That being said, seven goals are simply too many. Those goals shifted the series in the Bruins' favor when Boston was being out-performed at 5-on-5, and it ultimately cost the Leafs the series.
The others
The Leafs could have easily won this best-of-seven drama, thanks to a handful of admirable performances.
Matthews scored five goals. Jake Muzzin and Nikita Zaitsev formed a solid shutdown pair. John Tavares contributed, especially on the defensive side of the puck. Morgan Rielly's tour de force kept Toronto in Game 6, when they fell apart in the second period.
Then there's some seesaw players.
Frederik Andersen deserves both praise and (dis)honorable mention. He was stellar through six games, but let in a couple of softies Tuesday. Like Gardiner, he should be judged on his entire body of work, not just 60 minutes. But in divvying up blame, he gets a passing nod of disapproval.
Mitch Marner's a similar case. He may have scored twice in the opening game, collected an assist in both Games 3 and 4, and blocked back-to-back shots in the dying seconds of Game 3, but he failed to mark the scoresheet in Games 5, 6, or 7. For that reason, the team's leading scorer is partly responsible for the series going sideways.
Lastly, Kadri.
The longtime Leaf took himself out of the lineup with that unnecessary cross-check on Jake DeBrusk. Prior to the hit, Kadri was one of Toronto's best players through nearly two games. The Leafs are built to win with a 1-2-3 punch down the middle, and he denied the club that advantage.
The Kadri hit was the beginning of the end. Game 6's second period was the confidence breaker. And the first period of Game 7, well, it brought Gardiner, the Leafs, and a tortured fan base back to familiar territory.
John Matisz is theScore's National Hockey Writer. You can find him on Twitter @matiszjohn.
Coming into Tuesday's winner-take-all tilt against the Boston Bruins, the polarizing defenseman already had the cringe-worthy lowlights from last year's Game 7, and the attachment to the Toronto Maple Leafs' historic collapse in spring 2013.
Gardiner had history - the worst kind - and then he turned the puck over late in the first period. The blunder led to Boston's second goal, the eventual game-winner in a 5-1 Bruins victory that ended the Leafs' season and potentially Gardiner's tenure in Toronto.
Claus Andersen / Getty Images
By night's end, Gardiner had been on the ice for three goals against, zero goals for. It was tough to watch such a poor showing.
Then again, when you take a step back and and add perspective, it's fair to say Gardiner was fine through six games. He wasn't good, or bad. But, considering he was battling a nagging injury and clearly far from his best self, he performed OK.
There are others to blame for the Leafs' third straight first-round exit, anyway.
Toronto opened the scoring in Game 6 on Sunday but blew a golden chance to advance. They could have avoided going back to Boston then and there, instead putting themselves in a vulnerable position. The Leafs didn't rise to the occasion in Game 7.
The head coach
There's no sugarcoating it: Mike Babcock flat out didn't perform.
The Leafs coach made some questionable decisions over the course of the series, refusing to step outside his comfort zone, and is now 0-3 in playoff series since president Brendan Shanahan hired him in 2015.
Icon Sportswire / Getty Images
Aside from sliding William Nylander over to center after Nazem Kadri's suspension - something the bench boss was essentially forced to do - Babcock didn't rock the boat in any significant way. He had ample time to bust out the line blender and try to spark offense at key moments - but didn’t.
You could pick apart Babcock's deployment and usage all day, but let's focus on a few of eyebrow-raising developments from the deciding game.
Patrick Marleau, 39, should be used sparingly at this stage in his career. Yet he played 14 minutes and 35 seconds in Game 7. Fourth-line center Frederik Gauthier should have been glued to the bench for the second half of the contest in an effort to free up extra shifts for Toronto's deadliest weapons. But he wasn't, despite the Bruins holding the lead for two-plus periods.
Meanwhile, Auston Matthews, one of the sport's utmost game-changing talents, finished with an underwhelming 18:48 of ice. That total is acceptable in the regular season. In a do-or-die playoff game, though, your best forward should probably be skating closer to 23 minutes.
Not double-shifting Matthews as the season slipped away seems counterproductive and legitimately odd. It's hard to imagine a scenario in which Nathan MacKinnon or Connor McDavid - two of Matthews' contemporaries - play fewer than 20 minutes in a Game 7.
Calling for Babcock's dismissal, like many Leafs fans are doing online, feels like an overreaction. But the man is no doubt deserving of heavy criticism.
The special teams
Neither Boston or Toronto gained a significant advantage during 5-on-5 play over seven games. It's the simple truth, as evidenced by the Leafs' advanced metrics:
CF%
SF%
SCF%
GF%
xGF%
50.8
48.8
51.5
52.2
51.1
[CF% = shot attempts for percentage; SF% = shots for percentage; SCF% = scoring chances for percentage; GF% = goals for percentage; xGF% = expected goals for percentage]
In summary, the Leafs narrowly won the even-strength battle in four of five categories. This suggests special teams greatly affected the series' outcome.
Now, the Leafs' power play did alright for itself, scoring three times on 16 tries. Boston, on the other hand, went haywire, netting seven goals on 16 man-advantage opportunities.
Icon Sportswire / Getty Images
Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy has an abundance of options on his first unit. Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, David Pastrnak, Torey Krug, and Marcus Johansson form a killer five, and they contributed five of Boston's PP goals despite not receiving a single opportunity in Game 7.
So, really, this isn't totally on Toronto's penalty kill. Boston, who had the third-ranked PP in the regular season, is a wrecking ball.
That being said, seven goals are simply too many. Those goals shifted the series in the Bruins' favor when Boston was being out-performed at 5-on-5, and it ultimately cost the Leafs the series.
The others
The Leafs could have easily won this best-of-seven drama, thanks to a handful of admirable performances.
Matthews scored five goals. Jake Muzzin and Nikita Zaitsev formed a solid shutdown pair. John Tavares contributed, especially on the defensive side of the puck. Morgan Rielly's tour de force kept Toronto in Game 6, when they fell apart in the second period.
Then there's some seesaw players.
Frederik Andersen deserves both praise and (dis)honorable mention. He was stellar through six games, but let in a couple of softies Tuesday. Like Gardiner, he should be judged on his entire body of work, not just 60 minutes. But in divvying up blame, he gets a passing nod of disapproval.
Mitch Marner's a similar case. He may have scored twice in the opening game, collected an assist in both Games 3 and 4, and blocked back-to-back shots in the dying seconds of Game 3, but he failed to mark the scoresheet in Games 5, 6, or 7. For that reason, the team's leading scorer is partly responsible for the series going sideways.
Lastly, Kadri.
The longtime Leaf took himself out of the lineup with that unnecessary cross-check on Jake DeBrusk. Prior to the hit, Kadri was one of Toronto's best players through nearly two games. The Leafs are built to win with a 1-2-3 punch down the middle, and he denied the club that advantage.
The Kadri hit was the beginning of the end. Game 6's second period was the confidence breaker. And the first period of Game 7, well, it brought Gardiner, the Leafs, and a tortured fan base back to familiar territory.
John Matisz is theScore's National Hockey Writer. You can find him on Twitter @matiszjohn.
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.
