Playoffs - Thu, 02 May - Results

Ottawa v Montreal 4-2 - Game 1 - One goalie stole the game for his team, while the other one didn't. Ottawa Senators goaltender Craig Anderson had perhaps the greatest game in what has been an outstanding season, stopping a career playoff-high 48 shots to give his team a 4-2 win Thursday night against the Montreal Canadiens in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference Quarterfinal series at Bell Centre. Anderson was perfect on 30 shots at the halfway point of the game before finally allowing a goal on Montreal's 34th attempt. At the other end of the ice, Montreal goaltender Carey Price gave up two goals he should have stopped in the opening 5:20 of the third period, turning a 2-1 lead for the Canadiens into a 3-2 deficit and seriously deflating a team that had been dominant to that point. Senators rookie Jakob Silfverberg scored his first career playoff goal at 3:27 of the third on a long slap shot that beat an unscreened Price through the legs to tie the game 2-2. Marc Methot followed with a slap shot from the blue line that Price attempted to glove but instead deflected behind him and into the net at 5:20 to give Ottawa a 3-2 lead. Guillaume Latendresse added an insurance goal at 13:55, his first career playoff goal, to allow the Senators to cruise to the win and steal home ice advantage in the series, which resumes Friday night. The game was severely dampened by a scary incident that saw Canadiens center Lars Eller taken off the ice on a stretcher and transported to a hospital after being hit by Senators defenseman Eric Gryba at 13:28 of the second period. The Canadiens reported Eller suffered a concussion with loss of consciousness as well as facial fractures and loss of teeth. Gryba was given a major penalty for interference and a game misconduct. He will have a hearing with the NHL on Friday concerning a possible suspension for an illegal check to the head. Senators coach Paul MacLean acknowledged the impact Anderson had on the game, it would be impossible not to when your team is outshot 50-31 and wins the game, but he said the game changed just after that hit. Ottawa's penalty-killers limited Montreal to one goal during the five-minute power play, including 1:22 at 5-on-3, and he felt that was a turning point. Montreal was outshooting the Senators 34-17 at the time of the Gryba hit and had tied the game 1-1 just 19 seconds earlier when Rene Bourque came out from behind the net and roofed a backhander over Anderson's shoulder at 13:09. After a long delay to tend to Eller's injury, Canadiens rookie Brendan Gallagher scored his first career playoff goal on the ensuing power play when he banged home a Tomas Plekanec feed on the doorstep at 14:08 to make it 2-1. However, the Canadiens were unable to add to their lead despite having another 4:20 of power play time left after the Gallagher goal, and getting 1:22 of 5-on-3 time after Senators rookie Jean-Gabriel Pageau took a tripping penalty. The Canadiens set a franchise playoff record with 27 shots on goal in the second period, but ultimately their failure to capitalize on a game-changing moment wound up changing the game in favor of the Senators early in the third period.
NY Rangers v Washington 1-3 - Game 1 - The Washington Capitals played with speed, energy and aggressiveness. They applied pressure in the offensive zone, where they were also unpredictable. They withstood the inevitable surges put on by the New York Rangers. They got their offense going with a power-play goal. They made quick passes and were strong on the forecheck. Basically, the Capitals played Thursday night at Verizon Center like they did the final 19 games of the regular season, when they went 15-2-2 to surge up the standings and get into the Stanley Cup Playoffs as Southeast Division champions. Now they have a 1-0 lead in the best-of-7 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals. Braden Holtby made 34 saves, and the Capitals got second-period goals from Alex Ovechkin, Marcus Johansson and Jason Chimera to defeat the Rangers 3-1. Game 2 is Saturday at Verizon Center (12:30 p.m. ET, NBC, TSN, RDS). Not only did they play their system, the Capitals showed the same type of resiliency that helped them get to this point in the season. They fought back from a 1-0 deficit after giving up what can only be called an unlucky goal to Rangers forward Carl Hagelin with 3:16 to play in the first period, a period Washington dominated except for that one goal. Washington had momentum and a 12-1 advantage in shots on goal when Hagelin's wraparound shot hit the left skate of Capitals defenseman John Erskine and redirected past Holtby into the net. Ovechkin got the Capitals going with a power-play goal 6:59 into the second. It was almost a relief-type goal for the Capitals, who had the League's best power play in the regular season (26.8 percent) but were 0-for-3 on the power play, including 0-for-2 in the second period, when Arron Asham was called for an illegal check to the head at 6:26, 72 seconds after the Rangers had finished killing Taylor Pyatt's elbowing minor. Capitals coach Adam Oates said the power play looked "jittery" early in the game, but the Rangers knew they were playing with fire by committing so many penalties in such a short period of time. Washington finally burned them when Mike Green's one-timer from the point hit off the end boards and bounced into the slot, where Ovechkin found the puck and chipped it over Lundqvist to tie the game 1-1. Washington's penalty kill, which was 27th in the NHL during the regular season, came through after Ovechkin scored to keep momentum on the Capitals' side. The Rangers couldn't convert on a 5-on-3 that lasted 56 seconds or on the ensuring 5-on-4. New York attempted nine shots over the entire sequence. Holtby stopped four, two were blocked and the Rangers misfired on three. The Capitals took advantage a few minutes later when Johansson and Chimera extended their lead to 3-1 with goals 46 seconds apart. Johansson scored on a breakaway after Steve Oleksy found him alone at the far blue line with a home run pass that caught the Rangers off guard and split Dan Girardi and Ryan McDonagh. Johansson beat Lundqvist over his left arm with 5:39 left in the period. Chimera scored at 15:07 when his blind shot off the left-wing half-wall somehow found the back of the net. Mathieu Perreault, who forced the turnover that kept the puck in the offensive zone, was in front and attempted to get a piece of Chimera's shot, but replays showed he never touched it. The Capitals played it better, even in the third period, when they kept applying some pressure and had luck on their side. Hagelin hit the crossbar with roughly 10 minutes to play, and Rangers defenseman John Moore thought he had a goal off a bad-angle shot with 4:03 left, but it was ruled a no-goal after an official review because the puck was never seen in the net. The Capitals had Game 1 in their hands the whole time, too. They just had to stick with their system to grab the 1-0 series lead. It's been working since the middle of March. No reason to stop now.

Los Angeles v St Louis 1-2 - Game 2 - Barret Jackman never saw the puck hit the back of the net. All the veteran defenseman had to do was listen, he heard all he needed to hear when the Scottrade Center crowd erupted after his last-minute goal gave the St. Louis Blues their second straight stunning victory. Jackman's first career playoff goal put the Blues in the driver's seat in their Western Conference Quarterfinal series against the Los Angeles Kings. His wrist shot from the top of the left circle with 50.4 seconds remaining in regulation gave the Blues a come-from-behind 2-1 win against the Kings and a 2-0 lead in the best-of-7 series. Jackman took a pass from Chris Stewart, after the Blues were able to take advantage of an uncharacteristic 3-on-2 rush so late in the game. Stewart had two options and chose Jackman coming in from the blue line. Jackman was just inside the top of the left circle when he snapped a wrister past Quick, who seemed screened a bit by defenseman Drew Doughty. Patrik Berglund also scored and Brian Elliott stopped 28 shots for the Blues, who want to prove they can defeat the defending champions after being swept out of the Stanley Cup Playoffs by the Kings a season ago. They're halfway there as the series shifts to Los Angeles for Games 3 and 4 Saturday and Monday. The Kings, who last trailed 0-2 in a playoff series in the 2002 conference quarterfinals against the Colorado Avalanche, got a first-period goal from Dustin Brown. Quick stopped 23 shots for Los Angeles, which was 19-1-2 in the regular season when leading after two periods. Quick appeared to take a puck to the groin area during warm-ups; he bent over in some discomfort and skated crunched over toward the center-ice line before leaving the ice in frustration. There was some buzz about whether he'd be able to play but he led the Kings onto the ice and showed no ill effects. The Blues were shorthanded four times in the first period four times and fell behind after giving the Kings a 5-on-3 advantage. With Ryan Reaves already in the box for high-sticking, Jackman was whistled for interference on Doughty after the whistle had blown a play offside. Los Angeles took advantage when Brown deflected Mike Richards' shot past Elliott 9:55 into the game for a 1-0 lead. The game was chippy for long stretches in the first period, which was expected with the Kings down in the series and searching for a spark. The second period was scoreless thanks to Quick and Elliott. The St. Louis goaltender was able to make a stop on Justin Williams from close range late in the period. He also benefited when Brown was in alone early in the period but slid his backhand wide of the net. Quick's best save came on Steen's one-timer from the right circle; he got just enough with his glove while the Blues were on the power play with just under 10 minutes left in the second. St. Louis got the equalizer 3:44 into the third period when Alex Pietrangelo threw a puck toward the crease and a streaking Berglund; the puck hit his skate and deflected into the left corner past Quick. The play was called a goal on the ice and confirmed after a video review. It was the kind of goal a team trailing at home in the third period needed to boost their morale as well as get the crowd buzzing again. The Blues got a bit of a scare with 10:51 remaining in the third when Brown went crashing into the side of the goal St. Louis net, taking Elliott with him. The goaltender was down for a bit, received attention from the Blues training staff, but shook it off and stayed in the game. Elliott was unavailable to speak to the media, but Blues coach Ken Hitchcock said his goalie was fine. Now it's onto Staples Center, where the Blues will hope to put the champs in a deeper hole. The Blues are 10-0 in franchise history when taking a 2-0 playoff series lead.
Detroit v Anaheim 5-4 - Game 2 - Make room for this edition of the rivalry between the Anaheim Ducks and Detroit Red Wings. The final 22 minutes of Game 2 in their Stanley Cup Playoff series Thursday night represented everything that is heart-pounding and intense about this rivalry. Gustav Nyquist abruptly ended it with a power-play one-timer from the left side 1:21 into overtime to give Detroit a 5-4 win Thursday night in Game 2 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals. The goal came after a furious three-goal rally by the Ducks that seemed destined to conclude with an Anaheim win, but instead ended in a white-and-red celebration as Detroit evened the series 1-1. Valtteri Filppula got the puck low on the right side and fed Nyquist for his first career playoff goal. Goalie Jonas Hiller had no chance. The goal came with one second left in a slashing call against Anaheim defenseman Sheldon Souray at 19:22 of the third period. Anaheim trailed 4-1 with less than 13 minutes remaining before a Ducks' rally put Honda Center into a steady roar: Captain Ryan Getzlaf scored on a nifty backhand with Danny DeKeyser on his back at 7:50, and Kyle Palmieri's shot from the right side somehow eluded Jimmy Howard's glove at 12:31 to cut the deficit to one goal. Bobby Ryan completed the comeback with a one-time snap off a pretty give-and-go play with Cam Fowler at 17:38. Detroit nearly put the madness to rest when Pavel Datsyuk walked in on Hiller with about 40 seconds to go in regulation, but his backhander was stopped by the goaltender's outstretched arm. Game 3 is Saturday night in Detroit, and maybe everybody's heart rate will have settled by then. The Red Wings will not have DeKeyser, who broke his right thumb. Anaheim was going for its 2-0 series lead since 2009 and first 2-0 series lead against Detroit since 2003. That's significant considering the voodoo that hangs around the Ducks at Joe Louis Arena, where it has lost eight of 13 playoff games, although they are 5-4 there since 2003. Johan Franzen had a huge game with two power-play goals despite being helped off the ice at the end of the second period because he "got a bump," Babcock said. His second goal 20 seconds into the third period gave Detroit a 4-1 lead after he whacked in a second-period rebound for a 3-0 advantage. Detroit jumped to a 2-0 lead in the opening 4:20 and played a much better road playoff game than Game 1 for the first 40 minutes. The Ducks closed to 3-1 before the second intermission. Howard left a big rebound from Teemu Selanne's shot and Saku Koivu took it off his skate and tapped it home at 10:53. The goal snapped a 21-game scoring drought. But Koivu took a charging penalty at the end of the second period and Franzen knocked in in a rebound on the ensuing power play. Damien Brunner stepped into the spotlight with a goal and two assists as there was a night-and-day difference from Game 1 in Detroit's forecheck at the start. Selanne made an ill-advised pass in his corner that Kyle Quincey tipped toward Brunner in the slot for a wrist shot at 4:20 for his first career playoff goal and a 2-0 lead. Justin Abdelkader silenced the building 48 seconds into the game with a wrist shot from far out that went off Francois Beauchemin and beat Hiller.