Stanley Cup Playoffs Round 2 Recap & Round 3 Rooting Guide - BC Edition

Round 2 Recap

Anaheim vs. Calgary

Unfortunately, Johnny Gaudreau's Flames were eliminated in Round 2. Gaudreau picked up 2 goals and 1 assist against Anaheim, and he ended up being the Flames' leading postseason scorer.

Chicago vs. Minnesota

No BC alumni on their rosters.

Montreal vs. Tampa Bay

Brian Boyle and Tampa are heading into Round 3. During Round 2, Boyle picked up 1 assist. He also registered a few hits every game and remained important to Tampa's face-off success.

NYR vs. Washington

Chris Kreider's first goal of Round 2 was scored 38 seconds into Game 2. Kreider ended up scoring 4 goals in Round 2, all of which came in the first or last 2 minutes of a period. He is the first player in New York Rangers history to score in the first and last minute of the same period in a playoff game. Kevin Hayes scored for the Rangers in their Game 7 win.

Brooks Orpik and the Capitals are out of cup contention after losing to NY. Orpik continued to be a heavy hitter, and registered as many as 9 hits in 1 game. Orpik was on the ice for over 20 minutes in every Round 2 game.

Round 3 Rooting Guide

East: New York Rangers vs. Tampa Bay Lightning

There are many BC favorites in this series. Recent grads Chris Kreider and Kevin Hayes both play for New York. Brian Boyle, 2007 BC alum and former NY Ranger, plays for the Lightning. No matter who wins this series, there will be at least 1 BC alumn in the Stanley Cup Finals.

Root For: The Rangers, but only because 2 BC players > 1 BC player.

West: Anaheim Ducks vs. Chicago Blackhawks

Neither team has a BC player on their roster. Barry Almeida plays for the Ducks' ECHL affiliate, but Chris Calnan was drafted by the Blackhawks. There are no BU players on either team, so we can't even use our rivalry to decide who to root against. For this series, it really comes down to which team will be easier for either Eastern Conference team to beat. Chicago split their regular season games against both Tampa and New York. Anaheim dropped both games to both Tampa and New York this regular season. Despite the fact that Anaheim is a 1 seed and Chicago is a 3 seed, both remaining Eastern teams have done better against Anaheim this year.

Root For: Anaheim has a slight edge, but really it depends on how each team plays. Root for whichever team looks like they'd be easier to beat!