The incredible ending of the St. Louis Blues – Winnipeg Jets series on Sunday put an end to the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, which did not see any shocking upsets, but did see clubs like the Los Angeles Kings and Tampa Bay Lightning, who had home-ice advantage, go down to division foes Edmonton and Florida. A number of former Buffalo Sabres moved on to the second round, which will open with the Panthers taking on the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena on Monday, but a number of ex-Sabres also had their season end.
Here are the players who went home after the first round:
Colorado
Erik Johnson GP – 2, G – 0, A – 0, PTS – 0, +/- 0
Most likely the end of the career of the Stanley Cup champion and former #1 overall pick.
Minnesota
Marcus Foligno GP – 6, G – 3, A – 1, PTS – 4, +/- +4
Marcus Johansson GP – 5, G – 0, A – 2, PTS – 2, +/- 0
Zach Bogosian GP – 6, G – 0, A – 1, PTS – 1, +/- -1
Foligno was a force in the Wild’s six-game loss to Vegas, with three goals.
Montreal
Joel Armia GP – 5, G – 0, A – 2, PTS – 2, +/- +2
The former Sabres first-rounder was an effective checker and bottom-six forward for the Canadiens, who fell in five games to the Washington Capitals.
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Ottawa
Dylan Cozens GP – 6, G – 1, A – 1, PTS – 2, +/- -2
Linus Ullmark GP – 6, Record – 2-4-0, GAA – 2.84, Save % – .880
Cozens had a rough playoff for Ottawa, as he was victimized on Max Domi’s OT goal in Game 2, but the former Sabre did score a back-breaking short-handed goal in Game 5. Ullmark gave up six in the series opener, but got stronger as the series evolved, shutting out Toronto in Game 5 to keep the Sens alive.
Tampa Bay
Zemgus Girgensons GP – 5, G – 0, A – 0, PTS – 0, +/- 0
Girgensons played fourth-line duty and, most notably, was checked from behind by Niko Mikkola, earning the Florida defenseman a five-minute major and game misconduct.
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