3 things that happened before the Ducks and Predators faced off in Game 1

For whatever reason, Game 1 between the Anaheim Ducks and Nashville Predators on Friday night will serve as the 11th game of the NHL's second season.

So, to acknowledge the NHL's odd scheduling, we present three important happenings from the first 10 games of the Stanley Cup Playoffs waged in the absence of the Ducks and Predators.

Review rescues the defending champs

All right, so technically the puck was dropped (and James Neal did score) in Anaheim before the Blues and Blackhawks completed Game 2. But how could we omit the wild turn of events in St. Louis?

After winning the opener in extra time behind a brilliant 35-save shutout from Brian Elliott, the Blues appeared to have the Blackhawks backed into a corner with a go-ahead goal from Vladimir Tarasenko late in Game 2. But after Joel Quenneville issued a challenge, it was determined Jori Lehtera was offside, if only fractionally.

Naturally, Andrew Shaw scored a contentious go-ahead goal himself just moments later. Though, Shaw's goal was upheld. And now the defending champions will head home with the most fortunate of splits.

4 in Florida

There have already been four playoff games in the state of Florida, with the Panthers and Lightning having completed their guaranteed home-ice dates on the postseason calendar.

Filling the offensive void left by Steven Stamkos, Nikita Kucherov and Tyler Johnson powered the Bolts to a 2-0 series lead over the Red Wings, going off for five goals and 11 combined points. Oh, and impressing for a second straight game was Jonathan Drouin, who just might have a future in Tampa after all.

Meanwhile, Reilly Smith was largely responsible for the Panthers' split with the Islanders, scoring his third goal and fifth point of the series in a virtual must-win game Friday night in the second half of a back-to-back.

A Star emerges

Jason Spezza's return to the Stanley Cup Playoffs was worth the wait.

An attacking force in his first postseason game in three years and first with Dallas, Spezza stepped up in the absence of top-line center Tyler Seguin, scoring a beautiful goal and adding an assist in 4-0 win over the Wild.

His dominance surely came as a surprise to those who perhaps haven't paid attention to the Stars and their incendiary offense, but he's been this dominant for quite some time. Spezza scored 13 goals over the final 18 regular-season games played since March 1, trailing only Winnipeg's Mark Scheifele.