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Brain burps, cramps and MVP performances: as the pendulum swings. 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Here's what caught my eye:

  • MVP performance by Taylor Hall on Monday night. A goal and two helpers, and dominance on every shift. #Hart ?
  • Take a deep breath, Caps' fans. Remember last year -- four of six first-round games last season went to OT. One went to 2OT. And all four were on home ice.

  • What's wrong with the Preds? The play of the big-four on the back end has been queasy at best. They went up 2-0, but I'm not sure it's deserved.
  • Patrick Marleau's leadership shows. Roof daddy! Twice. He has 180 games of NHL playoff experience. This is where he'll earn that contract.
  • Cory Schneider's cramps. He's had them before. Not from dehydration or bad shrimp, but from anxiety. Schneids said he had that under control following the 2011 playoffs, but this looked eerily similar. He'll need to tighten that up fast if he's going to start going forward.
  • Pasta robbed! Frederik Andersen's saucy stick save on a sure David Pastrnak goal late in the third was Dominik Hasek-esque. Wow.
  • The Leafs looked a lot better. But Jake Gardiner vacillates between brilliance and brain burps. He made a great play along the boards in the offensive zone that ultimately resulted in a goal. And then he barfed up a tape-to-tape pass to a Bruin in his own zone. Gardiner is 27, so this is who he is. He'll be gone after 2018-19.
  • The Wild roared back in Game 3. Will it last? Nope. But Tyler Myers' injury will make it interesting. He had been playing his best hockey since his rookie year.
  • 24/7, 365. The Golden Knights' day has come.