WaFd Bank Weekly Warmup: Aug. 24

The second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs is rolling out with three Game 1's played over the weekend and the fourth series starting Monday. A postseason that sported 24 teams Aug. 1 is down to eight quarterfinalists. By the end of the month, the list will be whittled, though there might be a Game 7 or four (fingers crossed) in the early days of September.
Let's drop the
WaFd Bank
Weekly Warmup for the fourth time this month:

2020 Version of Seattle Hockey

A big summer of announcements for the Seattle Kraken and Climate Pledge is even sweeter when you preview the New York Islanders vs. Philadelphia Flyers second-round series that begins Monday (4 p.m., NBC Sports Network). Yes, these are two venerable franchises, each with a dynasty period in their history. Of course, we are talking division rivals from two heavily populated metro areas within a two-hour drive. But this series is dripping with Seattle-driven talent and drama. You say NYI vs Philly, we say Seattle vs. Everett, T-Birds vs. Silvertips, Mathew Barzal vs. Carter Hart.
Barzal, 23, the former Seattle Thunderbirds star, scored the overtime-winning goal in Game 3 against higher seed Washington in the first round, providing the Islanders with what turned out to be an insurmountable 3-0 lead in games during the best-of-seven series. Barzal will face a familiar foe in the Flyers net when he faces former Everett Silvertips standout goalie Carter Hart, who turned 22 during the postseason. Hart posted back-to-back shutouts in Games 3 and 4 during Philly's victorious first-round series against Montreal, bouncing back from a Game 2 loss in which he was pulled. Hart leads all NHL postseason goalies (minimum of six starts) in save percentage with a stellar .943.
Hart and Barzal faced each other more than 20 times during the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons in spirited games between the then top-two teams in the U.S. division of the Western Hockey League. They have faced each twice on the NHL level; Barzal has scored one goal against his past-present-and-sure-to-be-future rival.
Net Loss for Avalanche

Colorado entered the second-round looking strong on offense and defense. The defensive part unraveled a stick-tape swirl or two when its No. 1 goaltender Philipp Grubauer left Game 1 with an injury (he was favoring his left leg after a save attempt) that will surely keep him out of Monday's Game 2 (6:45pm, NBC Sports Network) with the Avalanche down 3-1 in the second period. Backup goalie Pavel Francouz was solid but did allow two goals in 20 shots in a 5-3 loss to the Dallas. Adding to troubles on "D," Avalanche veteran defenseman Erik Johnson is looking questionable for Monday's game.
Grubauer was 5-0-1 in the postseason going into the Saturday game vs. Dallas. He was Colorado's starting goalie until mid-February when another injury put Francouz in the net for 12 of the next 13 games before the NHL season was halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Francouz was 8-2-2 in those games. "It was like having another starter when 'Gruby' went out, and that's what we're going to need for him to be like again," said Avs coach Jared Bednar. "Pavel is an easy guy to like, our guys play hard for him. He's always been a hard worker and holds himself to a high standard."
Coaching Change in D.C.

Washington Capitals Todd Reirden was 86-46-16 in two regular seasons as head coach, but winning 40 more games than the Caps lost winning two straight Metropolitan division titles turned out to be not enough for Reirden to keep his job. He was fired Sunday, clearly because Washington, after winning the 2018 Stanley Cup, exited the 2019 and 2020 playoffs after first-round series. Losing this summer included dropping a series at the hands of New York Islanders coach Barry Trotz, who parted ways with the Capitals after the historic 2018 Cup run. Caps GM Brian MacLellan indicated during a media conference that he plans to high a coach with NHL head coaching experience, instantly creating a buzz that places former Vegas coach Gerard Gallant and ex-Nashville coach Peter Laviolette as front runners.
"We have an experienced group," MacLellan said. "We need someone to come in and push some buttons on some players -- some good players. I think one thing that happened for us in the bubble is our structure didn't seem to be there. We couldn't find team structure. I know individuals were working hard individually, but as a team, a team structure, resulted or was a big cause of our performance in Toronto. We're going to need someone that can come in and establish that as a big part of our identity."
Health Report from the 'Bubbles'
The National Hockey League today released the following statement on COVID-19 testing results in the hub cities of Toronto and Edmonton: "The NHL completed the fourth week of its Phase 4 Return to Play with no positive test results for COVID-19 among the 4,644 tests administered. Testing was administered on a daily basis to all members of the clubs' 52-member travelling parties, including players, during the period from Aug. 16 through Aug. 22. The NHL will continue to provide regular updates on COVID-19 testing results. The League will not be providing information on the identity of any individuals or clubs."

Second-Round Schedule
The hockey feast continues for fans this week. Here are the full schedules for remaining games in the second round (all times in Pacific):
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Philadelphia Flyers (No. 1 seed) vs. New York Islanders (6)
Monday, Aug. 24, 4pm: Islanders at Flyers | NBC Sports Network
Wednesday, Aug. 26, 12pm: Islanders at Flyers | NBCSN
Thursday, Aug. 27, 4pm: Flyers at Islanders | NBCSN
Saturday, Aug. 29, 9am: Flyers at Islanders | NBC
\Monday, Aug. 31, TBD: Islanders at Flyers | TBD
\Wednesday, Sept. 2, TBD: Flyers at Islanders | TBD
\Thursday, Sept. 3, TBD: Islanders at Flyers | TBD
Tampa Bay Lightning (2) vs. Boston Bruins (4)
(Boston leads series, 1-0)*
Game 1: Bruins 3, Lightning 2
Tuesday, Aug. 25, 4pm: Bruins at Lightning | NBCSN
Wednesday, Aug. 26, 5pm: Lightning at Bruins | NBCSN
Friday, Aug. 28, 4:30pm: Lightning at Bruins | USA Network
\Sunday, Aug. 30, TBD: Bruins at Lightning | TBD
\Tuesday, Sept. 1, TBD: Lightning at Bruins | TBD
\Wednesday, Sept. 2, TBD: Bruins at Lightning | TBD
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Vegas Golden Knights (1) vs. Vancouver Canucks (5)
(Vegas leads series, 1-0)*
Game 1: Golden Knights 5, Canucks 0
Tuesday, Aug. 25, 6:45pm: Canucks at Golden Knights | NBCSN
Thursday, Aug. 27, 6:45pm: Golden Knights at Canucks | NBCSN
Saturday, Aug. 29, 5pm: Golden Knights at Canucks | NBCSN
\Monday, Aug. 31, TBD: Canucks at Golden Knights | TBD
\Tuesday, Sept. 1, TBD: Golden Knights at Canucks | TBD
\Thursday, Sept. 3, TBD: Canucks at Golden Knights | TBD
Colorado Avalanche (2) vs. Dallas Stars (3)
(Dallas leads series, 1-0)*
Game 1: Stars 5, Avalanche 3
Monday, Aug. 24, 6:45pm: Stars at Avalanche | NBCSN
Wednesday, Aug. 26, 7:30pm: Avalanche at Stars | NBCSN
Friday, Aug. 28, 7pm: Avalanche at Stars | NBCSN
\Sunday, Aug. 30, TBD: Stars at Avalanche | TBD
\Monday, Aug. 31, TBD: Avalanche at Stars | TBD
\Wednesday, Sept. 2, TBD: Stars at Avalanche | TBD
\ if necessary
TBD - To Be Determined