You have to love the playoffs. Sometimes you have an idea of how things will play out and by the end of the night, your opinion has totally changed. For example, today was supposed to be an awards edition of “Heat Check.” After last night in the NHL, that is no longer the case.

As compelling as the NBA playoffs have been, it has been lacking in one area compared to the NHL. Late game drama, specifically overtime. Since the Stanley Cup Playoffs began last Wednesday, there has been at least one overtime game every night.

Last night was a reminder of why the Stanley Cup Playoffs are so great. Not only were there four games on the slate (the more the merrier, right) and every single game needed overtime to decide a winner. Late game drama is what makes playoff games so great, and hockey has that in spades right now.

Just look at how things unfolded last night. Each game was high scoring with a sizable comeback, and the overtime period had you hanging on the edge of your seat. Underdogs prevailed, and favorites overcame stacked odds.

The Toronto Maple Leafs set the tone for the night with its win over Washington to take a 2-1 series lead. Washington started the game by scoring two goals on two shots. They eventually carried a 3-1 lead into the second period where the Capitals had a prime opportunity to put the young guns from Toronto away early.

Toronto had a major lapse in discipline, taking a hooking penalty and roughing penalty. That gave Washington a two-man advantage for a full two minutes, and logic would have led you to believe that the Caps were going to find the back of the net in that time. Amazingly, the Maple Leafs was able to withstand the storm from Washington and kill off the both penalties.

After Braden Holtby made a ballsy play near the blue line to break up a potential two-on-none breakaway, Toronto needed to go back on the penalty kill for having too many men on the ice. However, the momentum was squarely on Toronto’s side by then. The Maple Leafs killed off the penalty again, and the crowd at the Air Canada Centre was rocking.

Nazim Kadri cut the lead to one with just under five minutes to go in the period. Then Toronto was able to tie the game with under a minute left in the second period when William Nylander corralled a rebound and put it past a sprawling Holtby. This set up a dramatic third period.

Both teams threw everything they could at each other in the third, but neither could find the game-winner in the final 20 minutes. The period would not end without some intrigue though as Lars Eller took a penalty in the waning seconds of regulation.

Overtime started with Toronto on the power play, and they would not waste the opportunity. Tyler Bozak deflected a shot-pass from Kadri to give the Leafs a crucial Game 3 victory.

As this game reached a thrilling conclusion, we had another overtime game to get right into. Boston had found a way to erase a three-goal deficit in the second period against Ottawa. The third period saw numerous chances but both goalies kept the score even at three.

Boston could not defend home-ice though. Following a frantic series of turnovers and scoring chances, Riley Nash took a roughing penalty. The ensuing Ottawa power play would end the night as (Jersey boy) Bobby Ryan netted the game-winner, making up for a mind-numbingly bad defensive error earlier in the night. Ottawa now regains control of the series up two games-to-one.

Not to be outdone, the Western Conference had plenty of drama to offer during the nightcap. Chicago looked like it would begin its climb out of a 2-0 series deficit when they finally got on the score sheet in the second period. Dennis Rasmussen snapped the Chicago scoreless streak at 141 minutes to give the Blackhawks a 1-0 lead. Patrick Kane would then put Chicago up two to end the second period.

Nashville would not go away in the third period. The Predators got back to playing solid defense, and Pekka Rinne continued to flummox Chicago’s offense (Rinne’s miracle save in the first period might be the best of the playoffs). A pair of goals from Filip Forsberg tied the game and forced OT.

In the most exciting overtime period of the night, both goalies did just about everything they could to keep their teams alive. Just when it looked like we would be heading into double overtime, Nashville struck. A Marian Hossa turnover led to a break for the Predators and Kevin Fiala made a great move down low to sneak a backhand shot past Corey Crawford for the win.

If you thought Chicago wasn’t in trouble before last night, it’s definitely time to hit the panic button now. Nashville has a commanding 3-0 series lead and will have a chance to knock out the Blackhawks on Thursday night.

The final game of the night gave us the highest scoring contest and the night’s largest comeback. Calgary looked to have Anaheim all but put away in Game 3, up 4-1 in the middle of the second period. Three power play goals by the Flames had them in the perfect position to score their first win in this series.

An offense as potent as Anaheim’s doesn’t stay quiet for long though. The Ducks were able to cut the lead to two with under a minute left in the second period. A comeback attempt was given some life.

Anaheim cut out the penalties in the third and was able to control the action at even strength. Nate Thompson cut the lead to one just past the halfway point of the third period. As the air was slowly sucked out of the crowd in Calgary, the Ducks found a way to tie the game with under five minutes left in regulation. Go figure, it was Shea Thompson’s first career goal.

As the game entered overtime, Anaheim had all of the momentum in the game. An icing violation by Calgary set up the Ducks with a chance to end the game early in overtime. Corey Perry proved that when you put the puck on net, good things tend to happen. Perry’s shot deflected off the defender in front of the net and careened off goalie Brian Elliott’s glove into the back of the net.

In a sick twist of fate, the Flames went from making it a series against the Ducks to sitting on the brink of elimination in the span of 22 minutes. Hey, I did say that this one would get ugly.

Needless to say, playoff hockey is back in a big way.

That’s it for me today. I’ll be back tomorrow with episode six of the Shooting the Moon Podcast. Follow me on Twitter @thereal_jmooney and go like the Shooting the Moon page on Facebook.