Playoffs - Thu, 16 May - Results

NY Rangers v Boston 2-3 - Game 1 - The Boston Bruins made it through 48 games in the regular season and seven more in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals without getting much from their power play. None of that will matter if their power play continues to win them games like it did Thursday at TD Garden. The Bruins grabbed a 1-0 lead in the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the New York Rangers because their power play got them a goal in regulation created a surge of momentum in overtime that led to Brad Marchand's winning goal. Marchand scored off a 2-on-1 rush with Patrice Bergeron 15:40 into overtime to give the Bruins a 3-2 victory in Game 1. Boston also got a power-play goal from rookie defenseman Torey Krug to tie the game 2:55 into the third period. Game 2 is Sunday at TD Garden (3 p.m. ET, NBC, TSN, RDS). Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist made 45 saves, including 15 in overtime and six on the Bruins' power play during the extra session, but his career record in overtime games in the Stanley Cup Playoffs fell to 3-11. They did mostly because the Bruins grabbed momentum with their early power play, a result of Derek Dorsett interfering with Rich Peverley along the boards 2:20 into overtime. Boston kept the puck in the offensive zone for nearly the full two minutes and peppered Lundqvist, whose best save may have been a right pad kick save on Zdeno Chara's slap shot from the point early in the man advantage. It was one of nine shots on goal for Chara, who played 38:02. Lundqvist also got some help from the goal post on Jaromir Jagr's shot roughly a minute into the power play. They stayed with it, and they found a way to get the goal. Johnny Boychuk hit the right post with a 50-foot slap shot at 6:34 and Lundqvist followed with back-to-back saves on Nathan Horton and Chara. He then made back-to-back saves on David Krejci and another on Krug with Chris Kelly in front of the net. However, when Chara got a piece of Derick Brassard's pass off the rush, poking it into an open area near the left point area, the Bruins finally got the odd-numbered chance they wanted with a fast push the other way. Marchand got to the free puck and quickly moved it up the right-wing wall to Bergeron before cutting into the middle. He outraced Mats Zuccarello and Bergeron found his stick blade in the slot with a centering feed around defenseman Anton Stralman. Marchand redirected the puck past Lundqvist as Zuccarello slid into the net.

The Rangers took a 2-1 lead 14 seconds into the third period when Derek Stepan scored off a feed from Carl Hagelin. Ryan McDonagh scored his first career playoff goal with 1.3 seconds left in the second period to tie the game at 1-1. However, Steve Eminger went to the box for holding Peverley less than a minute after Stepan scored and the Bruins' power play, which was 3-for-20 against the Toronto Maple Leafs in the opening round, came through. Krug, who was making his Stanley Cup Playoff debut, scored off a sharp shot from the left circle that squeezed underneath Lundqvist's left arm. Boston had another power play for 1:35 late in regulation and nearly converted on that, too. Lundqvist came up with three big saves and the Rangers blocked two shots, but the Bruins kept the puck in the zone once the power play was over and Boychuk hit the right post with a slap shot as regulation time expired. On the flip side, New York's power play continued to struggle, it went 0-for-3 and fell to 2-for-31 in the playoffs. The Rangers averaged one shot on goal per power play Thursday night and never could gain any type of momentum off of it. The Bruins did on Thursday. They earned a day off on Friday because of it.

San Jose v Los Angeles 3-4 - Game 2 - The Los Angeles Kings blew an early two-goal lead. They saw their top scorer miss nearly half the third period after taking a puck in the mouth. They were annihilated in the faceoff circle. None of that mattered after power-play goals by Dustin Brown and Trevor Lewis 22 seconds apart in the final 1:43 turned a 3-2 deficit into a 4-3 victory against the San Jose Sharks on Thursday night in Game 2 of their Western Conference Quarterfinal series. The Kings blew an early 2-0 lead as the Sharks scored twice in the second period and grabbed the lead on defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic's goal midway through the third. But the defending Stanley Cup champions didn't panic, and they made the most of their opportunities in the final minutes of regulation after Brad Stuart was called for tripping with 2:41 remaining and Vlasic flipped the puck into the crowd 22 seconds later for a delay of game penalty. With the Kings skating 5-on-3, Brown tied the game at 18:17 when he went to the net and knocked the puck past Antti Niemi after Jeff Carter put a shot on goal. Lewis won it when he slammed home a rebound after rookie Tyler Toffoli drove down the right side and fired a shot off Niemi's pads during the 5-on-4 power play. It's the kind of game that confident, experienced teams find a way to win, and right now, that description fits the Kings to a T. Game 3 is Saturday night at HP Pavilion (9 p.m. ET; NBCSN, TSN, RDS). Kopitar took a puck to the face on Brown's shot 42 seconds into the third period but returned midway through to loud cheers from the Staples Center crowd, which turned into full roar when the streamers came down from the rafters. The comeback came in L.A.'s first game without center Jarret Stoll, who was knocked out in Game 1 on an illegal hit from Raffi Torres, who was suspended for the series earlier in the day. The Sharks destroyed the Kings in the faceoff circle, San Jose won 44 of 65 draws, but it didn't matter. The Kings won their 12th straight home game since March and their sixth straight postseason game. San Jose last faced 0-2 series deficit in the 2011 Western Conference Finals against the Vancouver Canucks.

It's safe to assume Vlasic won't exchange pleasantries with Carter in Game 3. Vlasic was briefly knocked out of the game on Carter's charging penalty 200 feet from his own net, but he got a measure of revenge at 8:56 of the third period when he punched Brad Stuart's rebound from the right side of the goal past Jonathan Quick for a 3-2 lead. That goal looked like it might hold up until the Sharks' late penalty troubles. San Jose lost the battle of special teams. Its power play went 0 for 4 and is 0 for 7 on the series, while the penalty-killers allowed the Kings to score three goals in six chances. The Kings won 2-0 in Game 1 behind a 35-save performance by Quick, and when L.A. grabbed a two-goal lead on a first-period goal by Carter and a second-period power-play goal by Drew Doughty, the Sharks had to wonder if they'd ever beat Quick. They finally beat last year's Conn Smythe Trophy winner at 9:47 of the second period when Patrick Marleau finished off a perfect passing play, ending Quick's shutout streak at 125:08. Stuart tied it at 14:21 when he fired from the right circle and beat Quick through a screen. Carter scored 3:06 after the opening faceoff on the Kings' first shot of the game, beating Niemi with a wrist shot that appeared to catch the goaltender off-guard. Doughty made it 2-0 when he took a cross-ice backhand pass by Brad Richardson and beat Niemi from inside the left circle at 4:10 of the second. Doughty was so open he had time to settle the puck down and catch Dustin Penner partially screening Niemi. Marleau's goal ended Quick's shutout streak on the Sharks' 52nd shot of the series. Scott Gomez, promoted to the third line after Torres was suspended, made his second great pass of the night to set up Stuart's tying goal. After a turnover by Jake Muzzin, Gomez laid out a pass that Stuart fired from the right side with congestion in front. Quick tied Kelly Hrudey for the franchise lead in playoff wins at 26. L.A. matched a club record with its 12th straight home win, last done in 1992. The Kings set a franchise record with its fifth consecutive home win in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.