Friday night’s Game 1 win for Portland at Angel of the Winds Arena in Everett was a message delivered to the U.S. Division champions. They jumped on the Silvertips early and took control after Everett pushed back on their way to a 5-2 win.
Everett responded with an emphatic 6-0 win, tying their best-of-seven series with Portland at one win apiece and head down to Portland’s Veteran Memorial Coliseum with the momentum in the series.
Patrick Bajkov led the way for Everett with his best game in the playoffs so far, notching a hat-trick and adding an assist. Garrett Pilon and Sean Richards both had two point nights as well and 11 different ‘Tips found the score sheet in the lop-sided win.
Carter Hart, who gave up five goals in Game 2 of Everett’s first round series with Seattle before responding with a stellar showing in Game 3, bounced back again in Game 2 of this series after giving up a quintet of makers as he turned away all 26 Portland shots in this one.
The clean sheet was Hart’s second of the 2018 playoffs and fourth ever in the post-season.
Who jumps on the other team early and converts scoring chances have been incredibly key early on in this second round series. After Portland scored twice in the first period of Game 1 and controlled the game on their way to a win, Everett netted two goals in the first in Game 2 and never looked back.
Just over a minute into the first period Everett took their first lead of the series. Richards got his stick on a shot from Jake Christiansen and after video review it was ruled that his redirection was a legal one. Richards now has three points in the first two games for Everett.
A big moment in Game 1 was when Everett’s all time leading scorer Bajkov was unable to get a shot off on a clear breakaway. In Game 2 he made sure that he made his breakaway opportunity count. Instead of forcing the play to his backhand like he did in Game 1, he faked the backhand, then went forehand and beat Portland goalie Cole Kehler.
Everett out shot Portland 15-10 in the first and had a 2-0 lead.
Martin Fasko-Rudas picked up a goal in the second and then Everett got a gut punch of a marker off the stick of Bajkov on the power play.
3-0 seemed like a deficit that Portland could overcome as they were creating chances and shots were nearly even, but after John Ludvig (the hero of Game 1) got mixed up with Dawson Butt and got an extra two minutes, the Silvertips went on the man advantage.
A shot from Kevin Davis took a fortunate bounce off a Winterhawks defender who was trying to block the shot and ended up on Bajkov’s stick. He powered home a shot by Kehler for his second of the night and more importantly a 4-0 lead less than five minutes into the second.
Pilon added a marker later in the second to put Everett up 5-0 and then in the third period and on the power play Bajkov sealed the deal with a snipe and the hat-trick marker. 6-0 final.
Kehler was pulled after the goal by Pilon and gave up five goals on 22 shots. Shane Farkas came in and turned away nine of 10.
After neither team got many chances on the power play in Game 1, both teams got three opportunities in Game 2. Everett converted on two of theirs. Portland failed to convert and is now 0-for-4 in the series and 5-for-27 in the playoffs.
Everett has now converted on 6-of-22 power plays on the post-season.
Notes:
-Everett split up d-men Christiansen and Davis for this series. They elected to load up the pairing of Ondrej Vala and Davis and put Christiansen with Vala’s former partner Wyatte Wylie. That decision did not pay off in Game 1, but in Game 2 , Portland’s top line found tough sledding against the overage Davis and Dallas Stars prospect Vala.
-Alex Overhardt went 13-of-21 at the face off dot, while Cody Glass was 8-of-10, Jake Gricius was 6-of-14 and Skyler McKenzie went 0-for-3.
-Glass and Mason Mannek both had four shots on goal to lead the way for Portland.
-Ludvig took five different minor penalties in the game.
-Game 3 is Tuesday at Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
