Gophers/Minnesota connections erupt for 15 points in NHL playoffs Saturday

State of Hockey? State of Hockey.

If you tuned into Saturday's NHL playoff games for even a moment, chances are you saw some familiar faces in the spotlight. Scan the score sheets from Ottawa's 6-5 victory over the Rangers and Pittsburgh's 6-2 romp over Washington and the names are hard to ignore.

The final tally? Nine goals and six assists for players with Minnesotans or Gophers connections. Here's the rundown:

Jake Guentzel (Hill-Murray) and Phil Kessel (Gophers): two goals and an assist each

Brady Skjei (Lakeville; Gophers): two goals

Matt Cullen (Moorhead; St. Cloud State): goal, assist

Derek Stepan (Hastings): goal

Ryan McDonagh (Cretin-Derham Hall): two assists

T.J. Oshie (Warroad): assist

And former Gophers' standout Nate Schmidt nearly added another, hitting the pipe for Washington late in the third period.

It helped that 19 goals were scored in the two games. But, hey, score one for Minnesotans tonight. Actually, score plenty.

Here's some highlights.