Game 2: Portland 4, Everett 3 (2OT)

TALKING POINTS

Another night, another game of multiple overtimes. That’s just par for the course for Everett in these playoffs. It’s great entertainment, but it makes life complicated for the beat writer.

This was a quality contest that could have gone either way. But inevitably it was Oliver Bjorkstrand who won it for Portland. The Tips kept the league’s scoring champion pointless through the first seven periods of the series, but Bjorkstrand finally hit the scoresheet 29 seconds into the eighth when he scored the game winner to knot the series at one game apiece.

It’s been very interesting watching Everett’s strategy against Bjorkstrand and his running mate Nicolas Petan. Everett coach Kevin Constantine said earlier in the season that it’s impossible to line match against Bjorkstrand and Petan because they take such long shifts. The Tips have countered that by playing platoon hockey against Portland’s top line. What Everett did was put one of its top two lines on the ice when Portland went with Bjorkstrand and Petan, then about halfway through the shift sent fourth-line wingers Logan Aasman and Graham Millar — two veterans who are pretty responsible defensively — to play the second half of the shift against those two. It’s a strategy that seemed to be effective.

The problem is that Everett was double-shifting its centers in that plan, which I think tired those three guys (Kohl Bauml, Remi Laurencelle, Matt Fonteyne) out a bit, and the Tips had trouble winning faceoffs as the game progressed. It was off a faceoff win that Bjorkstrand scored the game winner.

This was the fourth time in eight games Everett went into overtime in these playoffs, and the third time a game required multiple overtimes. In the previous 11 seasons combined the Tips had just two multiple-overtime games. Portland, which has been in the league since 1976, has just five multiple-overtime games in its long history, a total Everett has now matched.

This also continued a trend for the Winterhawks. Since 2011 Portland has lost the first game of a playoff series eight times. On all eight occasions the Winterhawks came back to win Game 2 and even the series. Everett had some excellent chances to end that streak in the first overtime, but credit Portland goaltender Adin Hill for the 17 saves he made during those 20 minutes to get the game to a second overtime period.

TURNING POINT

Just 29 seconds into the second overtime Petan won a faceoff in the left circle. Bjorkstrand grabbed the puck, worked his way through traffic across the slot, then buried a shot into the top corner to end the game.

THREE STARS

First star: Nikita Scherbak, Everett. Two goals, Everett’s leading scorer during the regular season jump-started his playoffs (he had just three points in the Tips’ first seven playoff games) by scoring twice in the dirty areas.

Second star: Chase De Leo, Portland. One goal and one assist, had other scoring chances.

Third star: Bjorkstrand. One goal, it tied the series.

The Herald’s honorable mention, Everett: Cole MacDonald. Two assists, but playing as well defensively as I’ve seen him.

The Herald’s honorable mention, Portland: Paul Bittner, Portland. Two assists, he used his big body effectively.

BOX SCORE

Portland 4, Everett 3 (2OT)

SERIES SCHEDULE

Game 1: Everett 5, Portland 3

Game 2: Portland 4, Everett 2 (2OT) (series tied 1-1)

Game 3: Everett at Portland, Thursday, 7 p.m.

Game 4: Everett at Portland, April 17, 7 p.m.

Game 5 : Portland at Everett, April 19, 4:05 p.m.