[Critch]

2035/36 Playoffs Round 2 - Calgary Flames
We played Calgary in the playoffs a couple of years ago and beat them four games to two at this stage on the way to a Stanley Cup Final. Back then, their star was Jakub Moravec. He's still there, but this time he's out injured and won't appear in the playoffs. He's still a couple of months away from recovering from a torn muscle. They do have a top goalie though, Leland Griffith, so I won't be tempted into making any backfiring slanderous comments about their goalie.

Game 1 - Calgary Flames 4 Anchorage Huskies 1
There are no injuries for Anchorage, but it doesn't help. They are outshot 13-5 in the first period, 14-5 in the second, and the game is over before the Huskies wake up. Calgary goes one up in the first with a goal from Patrick McSharry, and Matthew Paranych ties it at one with a shorthanded goal (Anchorage takes a couple of penalties early in the first), making it 1-1 after the first period, despite being heavily outshot. Calgary adds two goals in the second, one with an assist from former Huskies' favorite Tomas Lavoie, and it's 3-1 after two periods. Another Calgary goal in the third period, and the Huskies are off to a bad start. However, there are plenty of games left to play.

Game 2 - Calgary Flames 1 Anchorage Huskies 6
Back to form in game 2. Henry Mews puts Anchorage 1-0 up at 2:55, but Calgary hits back with a power play goal after 5:42. Anchorage is taking a lot of penalties so far this series. Oskar Vuollet puts Anchorage back ahead before the end of the first period. Two more goals in the second period (16:26 - Jordan Gavin, 17:34 - Borje Svensson), and then two more early in the third period (3:27 - Enzo Landrey short-handed goal, 6:15 Kaden Pitre), and it's all over. Leland Griffith is pulled after the 6th goal, but there is no more scoring. The series is now tied, and the Huskies are off to Calgary.

Game 3 - Anchorage Huskies 2 Calgary Flames 6
Well, that didn't go well. Kaden Pitre puts Anchorage ahead in the first period, and it's 1-0 to Anchorage at the intermission. Calgary then rolls off six unanswered goals, four in the second period and two in the third period, and it's all over before Jonas Lambert gets a late consolation goal. Lucas Wall stays in for the whole game despite conceding six goals, so maybe it's time to mess with the "pull goalie" setting.

Game 4 - Anchorage Huskies 5 Calgary Flames 1
This is the only series that's not 3-0 at this point. Hartford, Pittsburgh, and Atlanta all seem to be well on their way to the conference finals. I'm not sure how important it is for a team to have their captain on the ice, but Vasili Podkolzin has had a terrible regular season with just one goal and eight assists in 45 games. Therefore, he's been on the bench all playoffs. It's his time to shine hopefully, and he's in the fourth line. I'm not sure if he made any difference (on ice for 7 minutes, no points, no shots, one hit) but the team plays better. Owen Martin gives Calgary the lead in the first, but Anchorage take over in the second. They outshoot Calgary 16-4, Johan Dahlberg ties the game up, Kaden Pitre scores the go-ahead goal and Anchorage are in the lead after two. Third Period Kaden Pitre adds his second after 9:15, and then completes his hattrick with a power play goal after 15:38. The hats are cleared off the ice (if any Anchorage fans actually made the journey and got tickets) before Enzo Landrey adds another and we're back to Anchorage with the series tied.

Game 5 - Calgary Flames 1, Anchorage Huskies 2
The only series still going, the other three ended in sweeps. The bad news is Henry Mews is out with a day-to-day shoulder injury. We're going with a top defensive pairing of 21-year-old Matt Leader and 22-year-old Mark Dollack. What could go wrong there? Actually, not a whole lot goes wrong. We're defensively sound all night, limiting them to a total of 17 shots despite their having three power plays. Lucas Karmiris (dropped to the third line) puts Anchorage ahead in the first. Nathan Lacompte ties it up for Calgary in the second. Carsen Adair scores the winner after 15:43 of the third, and we're one win away from meeting Atlanta in the Western Conference finals.

Game 6 - Anchorage Huskies 1, Calgary Flames 2
Henry Mews is back, so there's another rearrangement of the defense. So the offense doesn't feel neglected, they get a bit of rearrangement too. Karmiris is back in the top 6. His ratings say "not top six anymore," but his performances say "yes, he is." It starts badly, with Calgary 2-0 up at the end of the first, Benjamin Kindel (with a Tomas Lavoie assist) and Patrick Smith. The second period sees no scoring despite both teams getting power plays. In the third period, Kaden Pitre pulls Anchorage back into it, but there's no more scoring. It was a close game, but their goalie, Leland Griffith, won it for them. And it's back to Anchorage for a game seven.

Game 7 - Calgary Flames 0, Anchorage Huskies 3
Henry Mews might have been rushed back a bit too soon. He's available, but not up to first-pair minutes, so we're back to the Leader/Dollack youth pairing while Mews fits into the third pair. The first period goes by scoreless despite multiple power plays. The games have been getting chippy, chippier than regular playoff series anyway. In the second period, Enzo Landrey puts Anchorage 1-0 up after 4:19. Anchorage gets another power play, and Jordan Gavin scores a PP goal after 8:03. Mark Dollack gets in his first NHL fight with Ridly Greig after 11:06 (it's rated as a tie, well done to our youngster for holding his own against the smaller, much older man), and Urho Mattila puts Anchorage 3-0 up with an unassisted goal with 2 seconds left in the period. It's not the last action of the second period: Jordan Gavin and Owen Martin get matching slashing penalties for hacking away at each other as time. The third period starts 4-on-4, but Anchorage shuts it down. There are only 9 shots total in the third (5 to Calgary, 4 to Anchorage), no scoring, and it's Anchorage off to the conference final.

So it's Anchorage vs. Atlanta in the Western Conference final, Anchorage with home advantage, and Hartford vs. Pittsburgh in the Eastern final. I really need to go get a new battery for my mouse, this missing clicks thing is boiling my piss.