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Each series of the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs has made it through its first two games. Some are tied, some have seen the home team win both games, and one has seen the visitors return home with a 2-0 lead.

There has been the usual mix of controversial calls, goaltending drama and overtime heroics. But what are some of the larger themes our reporters have witnessed through the first 16 games of this year’s tournament? And what does it all mean looking ahead to the rest of the first round — and beyond?

ESPN reporters Ryan S. Clark, Kristen Shilton and Greg Wyshynski chime in with their top takeaways as the series shift to the lower seeds’ home buildings:


Heavy is the head that wears the crown

Taylor Hall told me that the Boston Bruins have discussed the unique pressures of entering the playoffs as the most successful regular-season team in NHL history. They could go wire-to-wire and win the Stanley Cup; they could fall short and become another Presidents’ Trophy curse footnote; or they could implode early and end up being a cautionary tale, like the 2019 Tampa Bay Lightning.

“The reason that we have these expectations is because we stuck with our process all season long to win 65 games, doing it in the fashion that we did it. Why would we change, right?” he said.

But things have changed for the Bruins in their series against the Florida Panthers, which is tied 1-1 heading into Game 3 on Friday night. The Panthers had a higher expected goals than Boston in those two games, earning the majority of the high-danger chances at 5-on-5. The Bruins allowed them to carry play for stretches in their Game 1 win. Boston’s Game 2 loss to Florida was even more uncharacteristic: 15 turnovers, some created by the Panthers but most gifted away by Boston through sloppy puck management.

“I think it was just trying to make plays when plays weren’t there to be made,” coach Jim Montgomery said.

But the biggest change for the Bruins through two games has been the absence of star captain Patrice Bergeron. At first, the team said he was suffering the effects of an illness that had swept through the team, but he also left the team’s regular-season finale against the Montreal Canadiens with an upper-body injury. Before Game 2, Montgomery defined the reason for his absence as “not an illness,” although the Bruins haven’t specified the nature of his injury. His status for Game 3 is questionable.

Bergeron contributes offensively on their top line. He’s considered the greatest defensive forward in NHL history, winning a record five Selke trophies and favored to add a sixth this season. He wins 61% of his faceoffs; against the Panthers, the Bruins are sub-50% in the dot. While he’s been a presence in the coaches’ room behind the scenes, they desperately miss him on the ice.

The Bruins are a machine that rolled through the regular season. It’s a 1-1 series that they’re still favored heavily to win. But the pressure on the best to finish the season as the best is real. Players like Brad Marchand acknowledged there were nerves in Game 1. What happens if the Panthers’ upset bid continues? — Wyshynski


Toronto and Tampa Bay: Blowout series?

The Maple Leafs and Lightning knew they’d be meeting in the first round for seemingly four months. All that pent-up energy appears to be manifesting in lopsided, high-scoring affairs.

In Game 1, the Lightning jumped all over the Leafs with a goal less than two minutes in and finished with a 7-3 victory.

In Game 2, the Leafs notched a power-play marker just 47 seconds into the first period and wound up winning 7-2.

Is that the direction this series will continue taking? Each side trading multi-goal victories until the final buzzer hits on Game 7?

Individual performances are fitting a pattern, too. Morgan Rielly notched four assists in Toronto’s Game 2 win, making him the fourth player in the 2023 playoffs to produce a four-point effort. That also tracks with the number of lopsided scores we’ve seen early in this postseason, including six games already determined by a four-goal margin.

From a purely competitive standpoint it’ll be interesting to see if that trend continues and how it impacts the outcomes ahead — Shilton


Hey, it must be the money

At some point, every front office throughout the NHL will encounter this problem if they haven’t already. There will come a time when they go from trying to find ways to spend their cap space to the challenge of trying to build a winner with limited funds.

One of the ways to solve that problem is finding contributors on cheap deals. It’s another reason why players on entry-level contracts offer value in several different ways. And as this postseason has already shown, there are a number of them who’ve already made an impact.

So far, there have been 26 players that are still on their ELCs who have played at least one playoff game. It’s a group that includes top-nine forwards such as Matty Beniers, Matthew Boldy, Quinton Byfield and Wyatt Johnston, plus top-four defensemen such as Evan Bouchard, Bowen Byram, K’Andre Miller and Nick Perbix. — Clark


The Devils aren’t ready for prime time

New Jersey is known for many things, but two of them are “The Sopranos” and the NHL’s Devils. So credit to star center Jack Hughes for finding a way to spiritually marry the two in his comments after the Devils’ 5-1 loss in Game 2, saying his team got “whacked for the second straight game” by the rival New York Rangers.

“We’re not playing to our standard, and it’s biting us in the a– right now,” he said.

No team in the Stanley Cup Playoffs looks less like their regular-season selves than the Devils. Consider:

  • The fun, puck-rushing team was fourth in the NHL in even-strength goals; against the Rangers, they’ve yet to score one.

  • The Devils used their speed to control pace and opponents; against the Rangers, they’ve climbed into the trenches to engage with them physically, amassing 71 penalty minutes in Game 2.

  • They were fourth on the penalty kill in the regular season; they’ve given up four power-play goals, all of them to the Rangers’ Chris Kreider, in two games.

They’re down 2-0 and have been outscored 10-2 by the Rangers. The playoff inexperience of many Devils players has been glaring, but it’s also the ineffectiveness of players that have been there before like Ondrej Palat and Timo Meier that’s contributed to this deficit. Goalie Vitek Vanecek has done what he can, but the Devils are seeing the different between having a goalie that might not lose you a series but isn’t designed to win one on his own.

To the Rangers’ credit, their top stars have been difference-makers while the Devils flail about. Kreider has four goals, Vladimir Tarasenko has two and Patrick Kane had his most impactful game as a Ranger in Game 2. Igor Shesterkin has stopped the Devils when they’ve gotten chances against him, leading to the robust collection of Rangers fans at the games in Newark to let their neighbors know that he’s “better” through their chants.

Devils coach Lindy Ruff has kept the faith. “This team has always been up for an incredible challenge,” he said after Game 2. “They’re going to battle to the bitter end. I’ve got a lot of faith in this team.” — Wyshynski


Carolina’s (horrendous) luck with injuries could spell trouble

It was bad enough the Hurricanes lost both Andrei Svechnikov and Max Pacioretty to long-term injuries before the postseason even started.

Now Teuvo Teräväinen is on the shelf too, courtesy of a broken hand suffered in Carolina’s 4-3 overtime win in Game 2. That leaves the Hurricanes down another top-line forward who had 12 goals and 37 points in the regular season.

It’s no wonder Hurricanes’ coach Rod Brind’amour was so frustrated discussing Teräväinen’s injury after the fact, admitting he was “a little ticked” with how Islanders’ forward Jean-Gabriel Pageau “absolutely tomahawk chop[ped]” his player. The silver lining for Carolina is their 2-0 series lead over New York. The dark cloud looming is that it could be 2-2 before the weekend is out. That’s postseason hockey, and Carolina is running out of healthy bodies to put pucks in the net. The Islanders are far from a prolific scoring team, but they are a top-notch defensive one (and boast a spectacular goaltender in Ilya Sorokin).

The Teräväinen injury could serve as a major turning point in what’s rapidly becoming an increasingly intense first-round matchup (the no-call on Scott Mayfield in Game 2 certainly upped the ante in that respect). How will Carolina respond and adjust to this latest bout of adversity? More importantly, is there another offensive threat waiting in the wings to fill the void? — Shilton


Could two eventually become one for the Minnesota Wild?

Marc-Andre Fleury said he didn’t make any “good key saves” in Game 2 against the Dallas Stars. Dean Evason said “nothing” was on Fleury but “it was all on us.” Clearly blame can be shared, but can the Wild win a playoff series by continuing to share their net between Fleury and Filip Gustavsson?

To Evason’s point, Natural Stat Trick’s numbers show the Wild had fewer scoring chances and high-danger scoring chances in 5-on-5 play in Game 2 compared to what they did in Game 1. Plus, the Stars scored four power-play goals against a unit that was the No. 10 penalty kill in the league. But that also comes with the caveat they had the seventh-most penalty minutes in the NHL.

Evason said after the 7-3 loss that the Wild will follow the same process they’ve used all season to determine who will start Game 3. And while that could hold true, has Evason already reached a point in which he may have to deviate from the tandem approach and name a clear No. 1 starter? — Clark


Tracking toward too many turnovers

Each team is two games into its postseason, and it feels like turnovers have been a hotter topic than years past.

Boston coach Jim Montgomery described the Bruins‘ giveaways in Game 2 as “catastrophic.” The Maple Leafs were practically passing the puck onto Lightning sticks throughout Game 1 — primarily while in front of their own net.

Edmonton has already been credited with 30 (!) turnovers. Minnesota has 29. New Jersey has 28. And on down it goes, to the apparently much more disciplined New York Rangers (only nine for them). Unsurprisingly, the Rangers are up 2-0 heading back to Madison Square Garden.

Self-inflicted wounds are a team’s worst nightmare. It’s one thing to lose; it’s another to see results slip away because of your players’ own sloppy execution. Will the trend continue? Or could this just be an indication of early-series nerves across the board? If some of these clubs don’t tighten up it could be a short spring. — Shilton

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Sources: Tkachuk dodges discipline, will play G4

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Sources: Tkachuk dodges discipline, will play G4

Florida Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk will not receive supplemental discipline for his hit on Tampa Bay Lightning forward Jake Geuntzel in Game 3, sources told ESPN on Sunday.

Tkachuk’s hit, in the third period of his team’s 5-1 loss, received a five-minute major. According to sources, the NHL Department of Player Safety determined that was enough, considering Guentzel had recently touched the puck and Tkachuk didn’t make contact with Guentzel’s head.

The department also believed that the force in which Tkachuk hit Guentzel was far lesser than the hit Tampa’s Brandon Hagel made on Florida captain Aleksander Barkov in Game 2, which earned Hagel a one game suspension.

The plays led both coaches to trade jabs in the media. After Barkov went down in Game 2, Florida Panthers coach Paul Maurice said: “The only players we hit are the one with pucks.”

Barkov missed the end of the third period, but played in Game 3. Game 4 is Monday at Amerant Bank Arena.

At his postgame press conference, following Tkachuk’s hit on Guentzel, Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper deadpanned the exact same line as Maurice.

Tkachuk leads the series in scoring with three goals and an assist through three games. Guentzel has two goals and two assists for Tampa Bay.

The Battle of Florida is living up to the billing as one of the most contentious rivalries in hockey; either Tampa or Florida has made it to the Stanley Cup Final in each of the last five seasons.

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Jets’ Hellebuyck allows five goals, pulled again

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Jets' Hellebuyck allows five goals, pulled again

ST. LOUIS — Connor Hellebuyck, a two-time Vezina Trophy winner who is among the favorites to win the award again this season, allowed five goals before being pulled early in the third period as the top-seeded Winnipeg Jets fell to the St. Louis Blues 5-1 on Sunday, evening their Western Conference first-round series at 2-2.

Hellebuyck has now been pulled in back-to-back games in St. Louis, during which he has allowed 11 goals and posted a paltry .744 save percentage. Eric Comrie made five saves in relief of Hellebuyck on Sunday, but the game had long been decided by that point.

His performances have not only energized the Blues, the No. 8 seed who lost the first two games of this series, but their fans, as well. In the third period Sunday, the St. Louis faithful chanted, “We want Connor” as he sat on the Jets’ bench.

Brayden Schenn, Tyler Tucker and Justin Faulk each scored second-period goals to give the Blues a 4-1 lead, and Robert Thomas scored 2:01 into the third, ending Hellebuyck’s day.

Across the ice, St. Louis goaltender Jordan Binnington, who defeated Hellebuyck in the 4 Nations Face-Off final in February when Canada outlasted Team USA, made 30 saves in the win. The Blues have now won 14 straight regular-season and playoff games at home dating back to Feb. 23.

“The last 10 minutes, we gave up three goals,” Winnipeg coach Scott Arniel said of the second period. “Those are coverage goals, and those are situations that we usually handle pretty well. They are finding ways to get that puck in the net.”

Kyle Connor scored for the Jets, staking the road team to a 1-0 lead, but the powerful Winnipeg offense that helped the club win the Presidents’ Trophy was never heard from again.

“This is obviously not what we wanted,” Winnipeg forward Mark Scheifele said. “But it’s a best two-of-three series now.”

Hellebuyck has been pulled in consecutive games only one other time in his career, and given the Jets lost in Round 1 last season to the Colorado Avalanche, the Winnipeg goaltending situation figures to be a storyline the rest of this series.

“At the end of the day, you know what, they took advantage of home ice,” Arniel said of the Blues. “We’ve put ourselves in this position. And our best players have to be better than their best players.”

The Jets and Blues return to Winnipeg for Game 5 on Wednesday night.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Williams out as Yanks’ closer; Weaver to get a shot

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Williams out as Yanks' closer; Weaver to get a shot

NEW YORK — Devin Williams has been removed from his role as New York Yankees closer “for right now,” manager Aaron Boone said Sunday.

The move comes two days after Williams endured another rough outing and was booed off the mound at Yankee Stadium in a loss to the Toronto Blue Jays. The 30-year-old right-hander has a 11.25 ERA with career-worst marks in strikeout rate (18.2%), whiff rate (24.1%) and walk rate (15.9%) in eight innings across 10 appearances this season.

“He’s still got everything to be great, right? This is a guy that is in the prime of his career and he’s just going through it a little bit,” said Boone, who informed Williams of the decision Saturday. “I tell our players all the time, you make a career that’s long enough and you’re going to face some challenging moments. You’re going to face some adversity along the way. And good news for Devin is he’s got everything to get through this and come out better on the other side. And that’s my expectation.

“But, for right now, I think it’s best for everyone that we pull him out of that role and try and start building some good rhythm and confidence and momentum and fully expect him to be a central figure for us moving forward.”

Boone said setup man Luke Weaver, who has a 0.00 ERA in 13 innings pitched this season, will assume “a lot of” the team’s save opportunities. Boone maintained he is open to using Weaver in high-leverage spots earlier in games and other relievers to close.

As for Williams, Boone said he won’t have a specific role — whether pitching in low-leverage situations or tight spots just earlier in games — as he seeks to re-establish himself for a team with the ninth-best bullpen ERA in the majors despite his struggles.

The key will be for Williams to avoid falling behind in counts as he did against the three hitters he faced Friday, leading to the home crowd again showering him with loud boos while adding a “We want Weaver!” chant.

Williams wound up surrendering two runs on three hits without recording an out to blow the save and continue his alarming troubles.

The Yankees hope his changeup-fastball mix will baffle hitters again and allow him to return to the pitcher he has been for his entire career.

“Count leverage is a big thing for pitchers, understandably, as it is for hitters,” Boone said. “And I think he’s been behind a number of times. He’s also had it not bounce his way in a number of these games where it’s gotten away.

“But I think the biggest thing for a guy as good as he is, as good as his track record is, and where he is from an age standpoint in the prime of his career, it’s just about, I think, man, having it start to click, getting in a good rhythm and then off we go.”

The Yankees acquired Williams in December to replace Clay Holmes as the club’s closer with one year of team control remaining before reaching free agency. The trade, which sent left-hander Nestor Cortes and prospect Corbin Durbin to Milwaukee, figured to cement the Yankees’ bullpen as one of the best in the majors.

Williams established himself as one of baseball’s premier relievers over six seasons with the Brewers using a singular screwball-like changeup known as “The Airbender.” The right-hander posted a 1.83 ERA with a 39.4% across 241 appearances in Milwaukee. He won the 2020 National League Rookie of the Year Award as a setup man for Josh Hader and made two All-Star teams. His status was undisputed.

But Williams’ Yankees tenure has been turbulent from start. After emerging as the catalyst to have the Yankees’ decades-long no-beard policy changed during spring training, he was booed at Yankee Stadium during his sloppy debut on Opening Day against his former club.

Boone acknowledged the fans’ treatment could have an impact on Williams’ performance.

“I think there’s that adjustment,” Boone said. “Devin’s really been nothing but successful at the big-league level. He’s dominated. So, that’s all part of it. That’s what I talk to these guys all the time about is like, again, you’re going to go through a tough moment. When I came here in 2003 at the trade deadline, Mariano Rivera was getting booed in August. I couldn’t believe it. And then he’s still Mariano Rivera, recoups and goes on to do what he does.

“So, I’m sure there’s some shock to that and some … getting settled. He’s with a new team in a new environment. That’s all part of it. But my reminder to him is you have all the equipment to do this at an elite level and that’s still a reality.”

In other developments, Luis Gil, the reigning AL Rookie of the Year Award winner, started his throwing program Sunday. He has been sidelined since Feb. 28 because of a high-grade lat strain, is on the 60-day injured list and is projected to return in June at the earliest.

Also, right-hander Jonathan Loáisiga, who is returning from internal brace elbow surgery, started his rehab assignment for Class A Tampa on Saturday and threw 11 pitches with one strikeout in a clean inning. He could rejoin the Yankees as early as late May.

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