With the NBA postseason tipping off April 15 and the puck dropping on the NHL playoffs April 19, fans were dreading the obvious – boring, uncompetitive series where the underdogs never have a chance. Fortunately, though, they were treated to the exact opposite.
While, in the 16 combined NBA and NHL first-round series, the lower seed won only four seven-game sets, nearly every matchup was contentious, with four series going to seven games and only two being sweeps. Here’s a look at the top three series of the first rounds.
Warriors v. Rockets
The Western Conference face-off between the Golden State Warriors and the Houston Rockets was perhaps the most entertaining series of any first round, with the San Franciscan old guard continuing to dominate in Texas, just like they did in 2019 – and 2018, 2016 and 2015.
Stephen Curry, who played in all those series, averaged 24 points per game this time around, with trade deadline acquisition Jimmy Butler scoring 18.3. Meanwhile, the up-and-coming Rockets were led in scoring by 22-year-old Alperen Sengun, veteran Fred VanVleet and sophomore standout Amen Thompson.
The Warriors took a 3-1 lead over the Rockets with a 109-106 win in the Bay, but Houston came right back, rolling to 131-116 and 115-106 wins to force game seven. Unfortunately, it was Golden State role player Buddy Hield who caught fire in the winner-take-all game, scoring 33 to send his Warriors to the second round with a 103-89 thrashing.
Stars v. Avalanche
While there was sorrow in Houston, there was joy in Dallas, as the Stars edged the Colorado Avalanche in seven games. While the Stars were the favorite, leading the Avs in the regular season standings by four points, they were trailing Colorado 2-0 with under 14 minutes to go in the third period of the win-or-go-home game.
That was until Dallas forward Mikko Rantanen, who Colorado traded away earlier this season, scored two goals in six minutes to tie the game, and Wyatt Johnston gave the Stars the lead for good with four minutes to go in the third period.
The series win was the fourth time the Stars knocked the Avs out in seven games, with the most recent – and famous – occurrence being when Joel Kiviranta, in overtime, sent Colorado home. Dallas and Colorado are two talented, well-built teams, and they’re likely to face off plenty more in the coming playoffs.
Blues v. Jets
The third period comebacks continued the next day when the St. Louis Blues traveled to Manitoba to take on the Winnipeg Jets in their own game seven. The Blues, who were white-hot going into the playoffs, had rallied back from a 2-0 and a 3-2 series deficit against the Presidents’ Trophy winners to force a do-or-die game, and it looked like St. Louis was heading to the second round until the Jets took off late.
Trailing 3-1 with under two minutes to go in the third, Winnipeg pulled Vezina Trophy shoe-in Connor Hellebuyck in a last-ditch effort to force a tie. The gamble worked once, as Jets forward Vladislav Namestikov potted one against Blues netminder Jordan Binnington, but that desperate feeling climbed until, with 1.6 seconds remaining, young gun Cole Perfetti sent the game to overtime.
Of course, one overtime wasn’t enough, and, after 36 minutes of additional play, forward Adam Lowry sent his Jets to the second round and the Winnipeg Whiteout home happy.