It's Game 1 of the Stanley Cup playoffs for the St. Louis Blues, and rookie goaltender Jordan Binnington is standing in the middle of a madhouse.

The Bell MTS Centre in Winnipeg provides one of the NHL's most raucous home-ice advantages, as generations of Jets-obsessed Manitobans assemble in white shirts to turn the arena into an alabaster cauldron every postseason. Many veteran goaltenders have entered it and melted down under the combined intensity of the crowd and the Jets' offense, which generated 71 more goals at home than it did on the road over the past two seasons. Binnington is the antithesis of a veteran. This wasn't just his first game in Winnipeg, but his first playoff game in the NHL.

The Jets decided to not only test him with shots on goal, but with shots of a cheaper variety. Just 26 seconds into the game, Binnington played the puck to a teammate and was skating back to his crease when Winnipeg star Mark Scheifele absolutely trucked him, knocking him to the ice and earning a goalie interference penalty.

"It's playoff hockey. I can take a hit. We're going to stay composed and keep working," Binnington recalled thinking.

The work continued after Patrik Laine opened the scoring at 13 minutes, 28 seconds of the first period. The crowd was ecstatic. The Jets were flying. If ever a rookie goalie was going to melt down in his first playoff game, the conditions were right.

And then Binnington didn't allow another goal in Game 1, as the Blues completed a 2-1 win. He even got his comeuppance on Scheifele, stretching his pad over to take away a gaping net from the Jets center in the last moments of the third period.

"I just had to make a little desperation save there. The boys came in and cleared out the rebound. We were happy with that," Binnington said. "That was cool. Canadian city. Passionate fans."

Passionate media, too. On the day of the game, Mike McIntyre of the Winnipeg Free Press wrote about some tweets from 2013 that had garnered Binnington criticism online.

Like when a 19-year-old Binnington tweeted: "I was thinking. when people who wear the burkas are at the airport how is the security able to see if that's them in their passport... Srsly." He followed that thought with "also If you're underage & nervous of getting into a bar, throw the damn burka on. no way the bouncer will get into that awkward questioning."

In a story titled "Controversial tweets from Blues goaltender come to light," McIntyre wondered "whether or not Binnington [will be] brought out to speak about this issue remains to be seen, as teams often have a policy of shielding their starter on game days."

Binnington would, in fact, speak about it on the day of Game 1. "It was a while ago when I was a teenager. It was a little sarcasm and joking around. That's what life is about, you live and learn and you grow as a human. I'm just here to play a couple hockey games," he said.

Across Canada, his friend and former goalie coach Greg Redquest of the Owen Sound Attack heard about the controversy. He was unsurprised to see his protégé address the issue head-on, even before the biggest game of his life.

"He would want to get it out there, and get it right. That if he offended anyone, he was sorry. That he didn't mean to offend. I know him better than anybody, and he's not that kind of person," he said.

So what kind of person is Jordan Binnington? He's somehow both a study in humility and extreme self-assurance, a 25-year-old goalie that's put together a masterful (if truncated) rookie campaign to lead the Blues from the Western Conference basement to a spot in the playoffs. A player who waited years for his number to be called, and is now doing everything he can to keep the crease, because he believes he should.

"Most goalies are good. You just have to deal with their head. If you think you're good, you're going to be really good," Redquest said. "In St. Louis, the mindset for him was that if one door was shut, another one would open eventually. And it did. He kept on battling and battling until he finally got a shot at it."

Redquest met a 16-year-old Jordan Binnington in 2009, his rookie year in the Ontario Hockey League.

"You could just tell when you first got him that he was outstanding. A lot of confidence. Great technical goalie. He did what he had to do to stop the puck," said Redquest, who appeared in one game with the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 1977-78 season and has been the Owen Sound goalie coach for about a decade now.

"We knew back then that he'd be really good. You don't have many kids playing in the OHL at 16 years old. He was a big boy, but his feet movement was unbelievable. I didn't have to teach him anything. I just tweaked it. He stays between the posts. Never overplays anything. He never makes anything look hard. Good goalies make hard shots look easy, and that's what he does."

The 2010-11 season was his pinnacle, leading the Attack to the John Ross Robertson Cup as OHL champion with an overtime win, and securing a spot in the Memorial Cup tournament. Owen Sound was the underdog. Binnington came to the rescue with the team down 3-1 in the series to the Windsor Spitfires.

After winning the OHL title, Binnington displayed some of that swagger that has defined him. He searched out Redquest from the ice, turned to him, and mimicked placing a WWE championship belt around his waist. The two remained close after Binnington was drafted No. 88 overall in the third round of the 2011 NHL draft by the Blues.

How close were they? In-game food delivery close.

"I remember one time I was in a private box near the ice at one of his [OHL] games. He went by me and made this motion with his hands, like he was eating chicken wings, a signal that was like, 'I'm hungry right now.' So I grabbed some chicken wings from the private box, took them down to him between periods. He ate all of them," he recalled with a laugh. "Still got first star in that game."

But good times in junior hockey became frustrating years in the American Hockey League. He lingered in the minor leagues from 2013 through this season, save for one injury emergency game with the Blues in the 2015-16 season. Most of his time was spent with the Chicago Wolves of the AHL.

"Guys love playing for him. They'll go through the wall for him. He's got that personality. He's an unbelievable teammate, and very humble," said Stan Dubicki, his goalie coach in Chicago. "There were times he dropped on the depth chart, but he never lost confidence."

And there was that one time he just said "no."

Martin Brodeur met Binnington when the Blues acquired the Hockey Hall of Fame goalie in 2014, playing seven games before retiring to join the team's hockey operations department.

That's when he really got to know Binnington.

"I think I sent him down to the minors three times. Like, directly. And I'd see the look on his face and it was like, 'Seriously?' He thought he belonged [in the NHL]. That's a great trait to have, that confidence," Brodeur said.

In 2017, Binnington refused to take a step back in his career when the Blues asked him to take a demotion to the ECHL, because the team was sharing a minor league affiliation with the Vegas Golden Knights and didn't have a roster spot for him in Chicago.

"The year they tried to send him to the East Coast league, he refused to go. He said, 'I'm not an East Coast goalie. I'm better than that.' Another one of his goalie coaches found him a spot in Providence and that was fantastic. He thought he was ready to be a pro. He stuck to his guns, bless his heart, and said he wasn't going down," Redquest said.

"The kid had it. It's frustrating when you see goalies that you're better than playing in the NHL full time and you're not. He was toe-to-toe with John Gibson of Anaheim in junior. On any day, one was as good as the other, but Gibson only played one or two years in the minors. Pheonix Copley was his goalie partner in Chicago. He was in the NHL, and Binner was sitting in [the minors]."

So he told the Blues that he refused to report if demoted to the ECHL. He went home to Richmond Hill, Ontario, and waited for the process to play out. The remedy was to have Binnington play with the AHL Providence Bruins on loan.

It was something that changed the trajectory of his career. Binnington started 10-1-0 for the P-Bruins, and finished the season at 17-9-0 with a .926 save percentage. After that season, he entered Blues camp the following September expecting that he could compete for an NHL job. But even with the departure of both Brian Elliott and Carter Hutton during his time in the organization, Binnington remained buried on the depth chart behind starter Jake Allen, free-agent acquisition Chad Johnson and Ville Husso, a prospect they held in higher regard than Binnington.

"He was frustrated. He came to camp, he was ready, and he got one period of an exhibition game. But they told him that he wasn't in their plans," Redquest said.

Binnington was 25 years old. He felt he was NHL-ready. He returned to the AHL and dominated for the San Antonio Rampage -- 11-4-0, .927 save percentage -- while watching the Blues stumble out of the gate with very ordinary goaltending, eventually firing their head coach, Mike Yeo.

He watched. He waited. He needed a break.

Brodeur remembers his break. In 1993, the Devils had traded goalie Craig Billington to Ottawa for Peter Sidorkiewicz, who was expected to back up starter Chris Terreri. Except Sidorkiewicz had a bum shoulder, limiting him to just three games that season.

"I stole his job. If he comes in healthy, I don't even have a sniff of the NHL yet," Brodeur said. "It's the same thing with Binnington. If Husso doesn't get hurt, or have a slow start, Binnington's not up. Husso's up, because he's the better prospect. Certain guys can just grab it when it's time. You have to be ready when that chance comes."

The chance came when Johnson was put on waivers and Binnington was called up on Dec. 10, 2018. His first start came on Jan. 7, a victory over the Philadelphia Flyers. Then another against Montreal. Then a third against Dallas, having given up just two goals in his first three starts. By Feb. 19, he was 13-1-1, having helped resurrect the Blues from the bottom of the conference to a playoff seed. By season's end, he had played himself into rookie of the year consideration with a 24-5-1 record in 32 appearances, with a .927 save percentage and an NHL-best 1.89 goals-against average.

"Nobody knows what happened, but it happened pretty good, though," Brodeur said with a laugh.

Dubicki wasn't surprised. "He just needed an opportunity. The game's a little bit quicker at the NHL level and he's got the speed to do it. Quick-thinking goalie, great reaction, incredible flexibility," he said. "He's been such a talented kid, for a long time. Just making the most of his chance."

Redquest and Binnington talk frequently, including after his Game 1 win. He knew that the rookie would make a quick impact in St. Louis when given the crease.

"He was the spark they needed in that room. He's so positive. Everybody loves him," he said. "You just want to be around him because he's a happy person. He makes you feel better about yourself."

Sometimes these things take a while for goaltenders. And when the waiting stops, the right goaltenders seize the moment.

"I don't think we made the mistake. I think the whole league made the mistake. He's a late bloomer," Brodeur said.

"If you make it at 25, that means you really, really want it. If you're a guy that was given everything at a young age, like you're a prodigy, and it hasn't happened yet when you're 25, you probably want to quit. In your mind, everything falls apart for you. But that second- or third-rounder who needs to grind, keep looking for that chance ... good things will happen to you. A lot of goalies, they're either not committed to do that or they don't get a break."

Binnington got his break, never wavering in his conviction that he could thrive when it arrived, even when he was buried on the depth chart or in the minor leagues. It's the journey that makes him savor this. It's the journey that keeps him modest.

"Every day in this league is incredible. I'm very humbled to play up here," he said.

The current playoff format just isn't fair, because a legitimate Stanley Cup contender like the Boston Bruins must play a powerhouse team in Round 1 like the... Toronto Maple Leafs? Toronto played a complete game to knock down the Bruins at home in Game 1, though this series is far from over; we're still predicting a slugfest.

Meanwhile, the defending Cup champs survived a late scare in their opener, and the Calgary Flames blanked the Colorado Avalanche.

Here's a recap of last night's action -- check out replays of every playoff game on ESPN+ -- and a look at what to watch for tonight, in today's edition of ESPN Stanley Cup Playoffs Daily.

Jump ahead: Last night's games | Three Stars
Play of the night | Tonight's games | Social post of the day

About last night...

Game 1: Toronto Maple Leafs 4, Boston Bruins 1. The Maple Leafs haven't won the first game of a playoff series since 2003. "I did not know that," said John Tavares, who was 12 years old at the time, and does not remember whether he stayed up to watch. Tavares had a goal and assist, Mitch Marner scored twice (including a slick penalty shot) and Frederik Andersen looked solid as Toronto silenced the Bruins' mighty top line plus a sold-out crowd to steal home-ice advantage.

Game 1: Washington Capitals 4, Carolina Hurricanes 2. The Caps showed that 3-0 is not the worst lead in hockey (too soon, Lightning fans?) as they sealed a 4-2 victory over the Canes -- despite a late push and two third-period goals from Carolina rookie Andrei Svechnikov. Carolina was playing in its first playoff game in a decade; the last time the Hurricanes were here, the Black Eyed Peas' "Boom Boom Pow" was the No. 1 song in America. Unfortunately, the Canes didn't have an answer for Washington's power play, which went 2-for-4.

Game 1: Calgary Flames 4, Colorado Avalanche 0. On a team so stocked with firepower -- five players had 70-plus point seasons -- it was rookie Andrew Mangiapane who opened the scoring with a beauty in the second period. Welcome to the show, kid. Matthew Tkachuk scored two goals, but the real star was goaltender Mike Smith, who dazzled while pitching a shutout.

Three Stars

1. Mike Smith, G, Calgary Flames. In his first playoff game in seven years, the 37-year-old shined. Smith turned away all 26 shots -- and even notched an assist on the empty-net goal. Goaltending was a big question mark for the Flames entering the playoffs; it was unclear if Smith would even start this game, or if they'd go with David Rittich. If the Flames continue to get performances like this in net, they really are the favorites in the West.

2. Frederik Andersen, G, Toronto Maple Leafs. Yes, Marner got two goals and should be recognized. But if the Maple Leafs are going to advance, they'll need more nights like this from Andersen. He looked confident. He weathered bursts of pressure. He did it all in a hostile environment. By turning away 37 of 38 shots, Andersen was a huge boost for Toronto.

3. Nicklas Backstrom, C, Washington Capitals. The Caps didn't get a shot on goal for nearly 10 minutes in their opening game against the Canes. Then Backstrom got hot. Like, really hot. He scored twice (accounting for two of Washington's first four shots) and the rest of the team woke up, building a 3-0 lead by the end of the first period.

Play of the night

Late in the second period, with the Maple Leafs holding onto a 2-1 lead, Nazem Kadri got the puck in his own zone. He looked up to a see a streaking William Nylander by the opposite blue line. Kadri slung the puck between two Boston defenders to hit Nylander in stride.

The result? A gorgeous cross-ice connection and breakaway goal for Nylander. "When you look at it in slow-mo and in instant replay, you overanalyze it a bit," Kadri says. "But in the time, I just saw him open and gave it to him."

Sick pass by Kadri springs Nylander on the breakaway pic.twitter.com/CK1a58tvRv

- Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) April 12, 2019

Dud of the night

It wasn't the best night for Boston goalie Tuukka Rask, and he was totally fooled on Marner's penalty shot, which swung the game's momentum.

"That was a [David Pastrnak] move, he's done that in practice," Rask said, acknowledging that, yeah, it was a good move, but the veteran goaltender shouldn't have looked so stunned.

What's on the schedule tonight?

Game 2: Columbus Blue Jackets at Tampa Bay Lightning, 7 p.m. ET. Columbus leads the series, 1-0.

Columbus erased a three-goal deficit to defeat the (heavy Stanley Cup favorite) Lightning in Game 1. If the Blue Jackets take Game 2, they would be poised for one of the biggest NHL playoff upsets of all time. And is anyone prepared to see John Tortorella... in a good mood?

Game 2: Pittsburgh Penguins at New York Islanders, 7:30 p.m. ET. New York leads the series, 1-0.

The Nassau Coliseum was rocking on Wednesday as the Islanders look to capitalize on their first home-ice advantage in a playoff series since 1988. The typically offensively challenged Isles scored enough goals (four) to keep up with -- and defeat -- the Penguins in overtime in Game 1.

Game 2: St. Louis Blues at Winnipeg Jets, 9:30 p.m. ET. St. Louis leads the series, 1-0.

Some relief for Winnipeg? Patrik Laine netted a goal in Game 1; the Finnish sniper is a streaky goal scorer and is looking to get on track after a so-so season. But that was all the offense the Jets could muster past rookie goaltender Jordan Binnington. For the Blues, hometown boy Patrick Maroon (who set up the game-winning goal) is heating up at the right time.

Game 2: Vegas Golden Knights at San Jose Sharks, 10:30 p.m. ET. San Jose leads the series, 1-0.

The Sharks ended the season in a slump, but maybe all they needed was a little puck luck -- as in, the puck fortuitously bouncing off captain Joe Pavelski's jaw and deflecting past Marc-Andre Fleury. San Jose got plenty of opportunities in a 5-2 opening win and the Golden Knights, according to coach Gerard Gallant, were "outplayed" in every facet, not even generating a shot for the first five minutes. They'll need a better start in Game 2.

News bulletin

The Golden Knights could be getting reinforcements. Russian forward Nikita Gusev, the reigning MVP of the KHL, is reportedly working to get out of his contract with SKA St. Petersburg early to join Vegas as soon as this week. (SKA was eliminated in the conference finals of the Gagarin Cup playoffs).

The skilled and speedy Gusev, 26, is on the Golden Knights' reserve list and is eligible to play in the postseason. Gusev was also recently named the training camp roster for Team Russia for May's World Championships in Slovakia. So if he doesn't make it to Vegas for the playoffs, you can catch him in action there.

Social post of the day

I screamed at my tv pic.twitter.com/3QtJg9bqpg

- Manny (@mannyelk) April 12, 2019

The Canes might want to clean this up before Game 2. Just saying.

Quotable

"Honestly I've never heard anything like that before in my career," Mike Smith, on hearing the crowd in Calgary chant "Smitty" during his epic opening-night performance.

Chelsea hopes Christian Pulisic will help the London club expand its U.S. fan base and assist the team's campaign to combat anti-Semitism.

Chelsea bought the 20-year-old midfielder from Borussia Dortmund in January for $73 million, by far a record price for an American player, then loaned him back to the German club for the rest of the season. Pulisic can't play for Chelsea for a May 15 charity exhibition at the New England Revolution dubbed the "Final Whistle on Hate," but will play a role in Chelsea's promotional efforts after he joins in July.

"He's a personable boy. He's well-liked in this country," Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck said during an interview Thursday with The Associated Press. "So of course I would expect him when we come here and play some friendly matches, which is what our objective is in the summer of 2020. Then yes, I think he will he will be helpful."

Manchester United has the highest average U.S. viewers among Premier League clubs this season at 630,000 on NBC, NBCSN and their digital streams, topping Arsenal (573,000), Liverpool (563,000) Chelsea (534,000), Manchester City (494,000) and Tottenham (477,000). Kickoff times and appearances on the late Saturday NBC match impact audience.

BARCELONA, Spain -- Ernesto Valverde compared Lionel Messi's clash with Chris Smalling to being hit by a truck after leaving the Barcelona forward out of the squad for Saturday's game against Huesca.

Manchester United defender Smalling unintentionally caught Messi in the face, drawing blood, during Barca's 1-0 win at Old Trafford in the Champions League on Wednesday.

Messi, Barca's top scorer this season with 43 goals in all competitions, ended the game with bruising and swelling around his nose and cheek but tests ruled out any serious damage.

Valverde, though, has opted to err on the side of caution and has not included the Argentine in the 18-man squad for this weekend's match against bottom-of-the-table Huesca.

"It's possible that Messi rests," the coach said in a news conference before announcing the squad. "I spoke with him [on Thursday] and he's doing OK after the blow to the face.

"But he was knocked [by the incident]. [It was like] being hit by a truck. We will assess him in training [on Friday] but it's likely that he will rest."

Smalling told BBC Radio 5 Live's Football Daily podcast on Friday that Messi knew there was nothing intentional about the knock.

"We spoke afterwards. We had a brief chat and shook hands," Smallin said.

"He knew it was an accident."

Messi's not the only Barca player who will have the weekend off ahead of the second leg of their quarterfinal against United at Camp Nou on Tuesday.

Sergio Busquets has also been handed a breather, while Luis Suarez and Gerard Pique are both suspended. Ivan Rakitic and Sergi Roberto have both been ruled out with minor problems.

Defender Jean Clair Todibo comes into the squad for the first time since signing in January, while Barca B players Moussa Wague, Riqui Puig and Abel Ruiz have also been called up.

"Huesca is a dangerous game," warned Valverde, whose side have an 11-point lead over Atletico at the top of the table with just seven games to play.

"We have to be switched on. Not because [we are thinking of the second leg against United] but because you always have to think about the next opponent. So, the danger comes from Huesca, who have a lot to play for.

"Yes, there will be changes [to the team], but let's not forget we still need 10 points to be champions. We will make changes but with the aim of putting out a competitive team."

Perhaps it is nothing more than a coincidence that Manchester City face Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park this weekend on the same day that Liverpool host Chelsea at Anfield in what promises to be a compelling double-header in the Premier League title race. After all, every team has to play each other at some point during a league season, yet it seems as though somebody in the fixtures department is having fun at Liverpool's expense by throwing up another unwanted reminder of what happened the last time they met Chelsea with the title on the line.

Back in April 2014, Demba Ba's goal at Anfield -- following Steven Gerrard's slip and crucial loss of the ball -- proved to be the decisive moment in that season's title race with City. Liverpool lost 2-0 that day and, hours later, City won 2-0 at Palace to reclaim the initiative and ensure that their destiny was once again in their own hands. Manuel Pellegrini's team won their next three games to win the title and leave Liverpool -- and Gerrard -- haunted by that unforgettable slip against Chelsea.

"This wound has been open since my experience," Gerrard told ESPN FC last month. "I am not sure it will close because I can't change that experience."

But does what happened five years ago really matter in this year's title race? Not one player from Liverpool's starting outfielders that day remains at Anfield, while only Sergio Aguero, of the City side at Palace in 2014, is likely to be involved this weekend. These might be different times and different players, but when it comes to winning a title, the ghosts of the past and fear of what might happen always become an issue at this stage of the race.

Some managers and teams deal with it better than others. Rio Ferdinand, who won six Premier League titles with Manchester United, recalled in his book, "#2Sides," how Sir Alex Ferguson would always use deflection to protect his players from outside scrutiny if results went wrong.

"If anything did go wrong, he always took the stress off us by creating an argument in the media or picking a fight somewhere with someone," Ferdinand said. "It distracted attention from what had gone wrong on the pitch."

Ferguson used to call it "squeaky-bum time," an odd phrase to describe the tension and pressure that applies itself when the slightest mistake can have the biggest implications. Players are told to avoid reading newspapers by their managers, as it might spare them the damaging negativity that comes after points are dropped, while so-called mind games are played out in interviews before and after games.

When Newcastle threw away a 12-point lead and finished second to United in 1995-96, Ferguson's use of the post-match interview -- his version of "mind games" -- was cited as being the spark which lit the fuse when Newcastle manager Kevin Keegan exploded with his "I would love it if we beat them!" rant after a victory at Leeds. Keegan remembers it differently, of course, insisting in his autobiography that the drip-drip effect of conceding late goals was the real reason for his team's stumble.

"How come these last minute goals never went our way?" Keegan wrote. "Too many players were struggling with the tension and when we did play well, we were still coming away empty-handed from key fixtures. We did succumb to mental tension, but that was well before my outburst and it's a distortion of history to think the championship was settled by 'psychological warfare,' or whatever you wish to call it."

For many players, the pressure is at its height when the opposition are playing. Alan Shearer often tells the story of how, during Blackburn's tense race with Manchester United in 1994-95, he chose to paint his garden fence rather than watch United on television in an effort to escape the psychological torment. Ferguson would often head to the golf course to avoid being drawn into watching his closest rivals win again on television.

During Leicester's incredible title success in 2016, Claudio Ranieri would lighten the mood with jokes and an insistence that his team were only interested in avoiding relegation. He would also motivate his players by offering to buy each one a pizza whenever they kept a clean sheet, a ploy designed to trivialise the challenge in front of them and emphasise the fun of the game.

Jurgen Klopp has struck a similar note with Liverpool in recent weeks and months, with the German playing up the excitement of the race while, at the same time, attempting to turn the screw on City by claiming Liverpool must overcome the "best team in the world" to win the title. If you can't beat the "best team in the world" to win a title, that's no failure; at the same time, if the "best team in the world" can only finish second, what does it say about them? Klopp, all smiles, knows what he is saying and why.

Liverpool's challenge this season is different to City's, however. City are chasing their fourth title in seven years, but Liverpool are having to deal with the burden of expectancy and the sense of desperation that comes with not having won the league since 1990. When United ended their 26-year wait for the title in 1993, Ferguson applied the trusted techniques of urging his players to avoid all references to football in the media, but there was still no escaping the pressure, with midfielder Paul Ince admitting that "wherever you went, it was all anybody would talk about. You couldn't escape it."

"If you can, try to turn off being constantly on social media," Ince said. "Try to avoid a lot of the noise, get your head down and remember how you got to this stage."

Klopp's players face the same issues in 2019 as Man United did in 1993, but so far they are using the desperation as a positive and a source of motivation. Gerrard has insisted that the desire of the supporters to win the title should be embraced by the Liverpool players.

"I think it is only normal for the supporters," Gerrard said. "They want it more than anyone. They will help. When we were in that situation, I didn't feel suffocated by the fans. I actually felt they were right behind us and with us and wanted it so much.

"I saw it as a help rather than a hindrance."

There have been so many late winning goals for Liverpool this season, with the last two victories against Spurs and Southampton achieved in the closing stages, that a sense of fate comes into play. If players believe that fate is on their side, it can override the negative emotions, but Liverpool fell into that trap in 2014 and one slip, by one of their greatest-ever players, brought it all crashing down.

City have a different pressure to deal with due to the team's pursuit of a Quadruple. In the league they've looked almost serene at times, winning without having to over-exert themselves, but their fixture demands could trigger the fatigue which then becomes a psychological problem. Perhaps, then, the outcome of the title race will boil down to the simple equation of which falters first: City's legs or Liverpool's minds. The pressure of chasing a title will obviously drain both.

The sleepless nights, the endless analysis of the other team's remaining fixtures and where points will be dropped, and the unexpected twists and turns -- and slips -- on the pitch will all play their part. And the decisive moment might once again come on the day that Liverpool play Chelsea and City travel to Crystal Palace.

Minnesota United christens its brand-new stadium against NYCFC (live on Saturday at 5 p.m. ET on ESPN2), Zlatan and the Galaxy look to stay hot against the Union, and Seattle and Toronto meet in a rematch of the 2016 and 2017 MLS Cup finals. It's MLS W2W4.

House Hunters Minnesota

If you haven't watched "House Hunters," then surely someone close to you has. It can be maddening to see the show's couples bicker over something as inane as a light fixture in a guest bathroom, but at the end of the day, everyone is happy with the house that has been selected. Heck, sometimes the real estate agent even gets an invite to the "Three Months Later" cocktail party.

Minnesota United have had no such qualms with their new home, the glittering Allianz Field, which will open on Saturday afternoon (live at 5 p.m. ET on ESPN2). With stadiums going up left and right in MLS, Minnesota United's new stomping ground looks pretty sleek and, more importantly, it should provide a home-field advantage for the local team.

Unlike the defensively challenged Minnesota United teams of the past two years, this is a side that has clamped down in the back, allowing just eight goals. Winning three of five road games to open the season is no small feat, and that has been helped in part by Darwin Quintero, arguably the league's most underrated star and scorer of three goals.

The Colombian excels in anonymity, but Saturday will provide him a national platform to show the rest of the country that Minnesota could have something special brewing in 2019.

The Zlatan you love to hate

The mind-numbing statistics for Zlatan Ibrahimovic continue to pile up. After last week's one-goal, one-assist performance in Vancouver, the former Manchester United man now has four goals in just three games this season. That makes 26 goals and 11 assists in 30 games since his arrival to MLS a little more than a year ago. Simply incredible.

But don't expect Vancouver's Felipe Martins to be lining up to congratulate Ibrahimovic. The Whitecaps midfielder was none too pleased that his counterpart was getting cheered in Vancouver's BC Place. But the reality is that wherever Ibrahimovic goes in this league, he will have his fans. And judging by some of the sparse crowds thus far in 2019, it certainly wouldn't hurt to liven up some of these stadiums.

Next up for everyone's favorite Swedish striker is a home date with the Philadelphia Union on Saturday night (10:30 p.m. ET, ESPN+). Unlike Whitecaps defender Doneil Henry, who dared state that Vancouver could keep Ibrahimovic under wraps, which it didn't, Union boss Jim Curtin has smartly decided to err on the side of caution and plans to keep his mouth shut in order to not anger Ibrahimovic. That's sound practice, but it's no guarantee to keep him from scoring.

Just like old times in Seattle

It will feel like the days of yore when the Seattle Sounders take on Toronto FC on Saturday (4:00 p.m. ET, ESPN+), as the teams that met in MLS Cup in 2016 and 2017 will tangle on the Sounders' home turf.

Carlos Vela and Los Angeles FC might be getting the headlines, but Seattle has been equally good this season, with Nicolas Lodeiro playing the midfield maestro role to a tee and Jordan Morris and Raul Ruidiaz teaming up to score three goals each. In the back the Sounders are just as good with only three goals conceded, tops among teams in the Western Conference.

Toronto FC's arrival to the Emerald City is timely, as the Canadian outfit has found its stride with the signing of Spanish attacker Alejandro Pozuelo. The team that capitulated in CONCACAF Champions League play in Panama back in February is a distant memory, and it would be hard to name a more dangerous team in the Eastern Conference than the Reds.

There is also nothing more fun than rumors of a big-name European player possibly coming to MLS during the summer, and TFC has given us just that in the form of a possible Arjen Robben arrival. Right now only "exploratory talks" have materialized between the two parties, which means we all get to ask and wonder about it for the next several weeks until the discussions are officially dead.

In the meantime, it should be plenty fun to watch TFC try to do its stuff against its old final foe.