Playoffs - Wed, 01 May - Results

Toronto v Boston 1-4 - Game 1 - So now we know why Boston Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli decided to give veteran defenseman Wade Redden another shot. Redden proved his GM prophetic Wednesday when he not only scored his first Stanley Cup Playoff goal in six seasons but collected his first multipoint playoff performance in seven to help the Bruins to a 4-1 victory against the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals at TD Garden. David Krejci had a goal and two assists, Nathan Horton and Johnny Boychuk each scored once, and Milan Lucic chipped in with two assists to lead the fourth-seeded Bruins. Goalie Tuukka Rask earned his eighth career playoff win with 19 saves. The Bruins will look to gain a 2-0 lead in the best-of-7 series Saturday when Game 2 is held here. The fifth-seeded Maple Leafs, who opened the game strong but fizzled fast, finished 1-for-3 on the power play. Boston dominated in every fashion, hitting players whenever given the chance and outnumbering them for most loose pucks in the Toronto end. Outside of allowing the opening goal of the game, Boston coach Claude Julien had to be pleased with his team's effort throughout. The Bruins not only looked to be the better team, but certainly the more experienced. The Maple Leafs had 10 players making their playoff debuts: Tyler Bozak, Mikhail Grabovski, Carl Gunnarsson, Nazem Kadri, Leo Komarov, Michael Kostka, Nikolai Kulemin, Clarke MacArthur, Frazer McLaren and goalie James Reimer. Reimer, under siege much of the evening, finished with 36 saves. Maple Leafs captain Dion Phaneuf said his goalie did the best job he could under the circumstances. Maple Leafs forward Phil Kessel, the former Bruins player who was serenaded with chants of "Kess-el! Kess-el!", was held to one shot in 13:51 of ice time. The Bruins did what they do best to open the second period, sustaining a ferocious forecheck and getting to every loose puck in the offensive end on the way to scoring twice to open a 4-1 advantage. After yielding the first goal of the game, the Bruins completely took control in every way, shape or form. Chara was locked up against Kessel's line most of the night. Julien also opted to have Patrice Bergeron's line with Brad Marchand and Tyler Seguin on the ice whenever Kessel's line was on the ice. Krejci's turnaround wrist shot from the slot off a feed from Lucic at 10:25 gave the Bruins a 3-1 lead. A little over five minutes later, Boychuk teed up a perfectly placed drop pass by Krejci just inside the blue line at the right point and beat Reimer high to the short side. Boston took the lead with 11.7 seconds left when Horton deflected a shot past Reimer with his team on the power play. The goal came nine seconds after Toronto's James van Riemsdyk hit the goalpost with a wrist shot. Redden took the initial shot from the top of the right circle that Horton deftly knocked down with the blade. Replays of the goal confirmed it was a legal play by Horton, who scored the ninth postseason goal of his career. The assist by Redden marked his first two-point performance in a playoff game since May 5, 2006, when he had three assists as a member of the Ottawa Senators against Buffalo Sabres. Redden was acquired from the St. Louis Blues in exchange for a conditional NHL Draft pick. Because he has played at least one game in the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs, that pick becomes a 2014 sixth-round choice. Redden, 35, played the first 11 years of his career for Ottawa. He scored his first playoff goal in six seasons to pull the Bruins into a 1-1 tie with 3:40 remaining in the first period. Gregory Campbell attempted a wraparound at the right post, but the puck came off his stick to Redden near the boards at the top of the left circle. His rising slap shot found space between Reimer's glove hand and pad before skittering over the goal line. The goal was Redden's first postseason marker since May 28, 2007, when he played for the Senators. The Maple Leafs opened the scoring with a power-play goal by van Riemsdyk 1:54 into the first. Tyler Bozak won an offensive-zone draw, and Cody Franson backhanded a centering attempt that deflected to van Riemsdyk. The big center, standing uncontested in the slot, redirected the puck over the line for his 12th career playoff goal and first with Toronto. The goal came 16 seconds after Bergeron was sent to the box for tripping. Bruins defenseman Adam McQuaid helped his team regain a little of the momentum back after the van Riemsdyk goal when he unloaded with a heavy hit on Maple Leafs forward Jay McClement 27 seconds later along the wall in the neutral zone. It almost worked too; Marchand rang a shot off the short side goal post on Reimer from the bottom of the right circle at 4:42.
NY Islanders v Pittsburgh 0-5 - Game 1 - The Pittsburgh Penguins sent the message they wanted in the first game of their 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs run on Wednesday. The New York Islanders did not. Unquestionably the most-talented team in the Eastern Conference field, the Penguins face huge postseason expectations after loading up at the NHL Trade Deadline with the importation of Brenden Morrow, Jarome Iginla, Douglas Murray and Jussi Jokinen. The Penguins suggested they are ready to meet those expectations after a 5-0 dismantling of the Islanders at Consol Energy Center, spoiling New York's first postseason game in six years. It was a far different showing than the previous spring when the Penguins blew a three-goal lead against the Philadelphia Flyers in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals and lost in overtime, setting in motion a nightmarish series that saw Pittsburgh's Cup dreams die in six games. Thankfully, the Islanders could not answer the playoff questions they face as resoundingly. Making their first playoff appearance since a first-round loss to the Buffalo Sabres in 2007, the Islanders did little to illustrate that they are ready for prime time in the NHL. The Penguins received a pair of goals from Pascal Dupuis and another from defenseman Kris Letang, as well as unexpected tallies from Beau Bennett and Tanner Glass, who each scored their first playoff goal. Fleury, one of the main goats in the first-round loss to the Flyers this past spring, was strong for his sixth playoff shutout, which is tied for the franchise best, previously established by Tom Barrasso. The Penguins did all of this without the presence of two key players: Sidney Crosby and Brooks Orpik. Crosby was ruled out from Game 1 Wednesday morning as he recovers from a broken jaw suffered March 30. There is no definitive timetable for his return, although there is a belief he is close. Orpik, meanwhile, is out with a lower-body injury suffered in the last week of the regular season. He just started skating with the team at the morning skate on Wednesday. For the Islanders, little went right in their return to the playoffs. They gave up a power-play goal at the 3:30 mark of the first period, but it wasn't to any of Pittsburgh's big guns. Instead, it was to Bennett, who was only playing because of the injury to Crosby. Bennett, on his first postseason shift, picked the corner over Nabokov's shoulder. Almost 10 minutes later, Nabokov was over-aggressive on a shot by Iginla and found himself out of position, which allowed Dupuis to bang home the rebound. It was not the first period the Islanders wanted for Nabokov, who never seemed right after taking an Iginla slapper to face mask in the game's opening minutes, although Islander coach Jack Capuano said that his goaltender is not hurt and he was pulled to try to spark the team. It got worse in the second as Nabokov allowed two goals, one by Letang and another by Dupuis, in a 32-second stretch during the period's first two minutes before he was removed from the game with 11 saves on 15 shots. But, it was not just goaltending that betrayed the Islanders. John Tavares, their unquestioned star, was held in check all night by a suffocating and physical defense. He did not manage a shot for the first time this season. Tavares, who had 28 goals in 48 regular-season games this season, is already looking forward to a chance at redemption on Friday in Game 2. Perhaps the only downer for the Penguins on an otherwise resounding evening was two potential injuries. James Neal, Pittsburgh's high-scoring forward, appeared to be injured in the second minute of the second period after a hit by Travis Hamonic and, after one additional shift, did not return to the game. Jokinen, meanwhile, was injured in the waning minutes when he was clipped by Isles center Marty Reasoner, who was handed a five-minute major penalty and a game misconduct for kneeing for the incident with 2:10 remaining in the game. No update on either player was forthcoming from the Penguins.
San Jose v Vancouver 3-1 - Game 1 - After losing the Western Conference Final to the Vancouver Canucks on a crazy bounce off a stanchion in double overtime two years ago, the San Jose Sharks were overdue for a good bounce or two in Vancouver. Dan Boyle made sure not to waste the first one that hopped onto his stick. The Sharks' defenseman jumped in from the point and helped San Jose jump out to an early lead in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, pinching down to score the go-ahead goal with 9:17 into the third period en route to a 3-1 victory against the Vancouver Canucks in Game 1 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals on Wednesday. Logan Couture tied it late in the second period and then set up Patrick Marleau's insurance with 5:23 left. But the game turned when Boyle was left with a wide-open net after Roberto Luongo couldn't cover a jam play on his blocker side, setting off a scramble with four Canucks gathered around their own net. None picked up Boyle, and the puck squirted loose to him for an easy tap-in. Antti Niemi finished with 29 saves for the Sharks, beaten only by teammate Raffi Torres during a scramble in his crease. It was one of the few times that the Canucks got enough bodies in front of the San Jose goaltender. Vancouver defenseman Kevin Bieksa was credited with the opening goal on a wild flurry with 7:34 left in the second period, and it seemed to spark a brief surge that included a sharp-angle Daniel Sedin shot off the cross bar. But Couture tied it with a perfect power play wrist shot four minutes later, and Vancouver got eight shots in the third period. The Canucks, who have now lost five straight playoff games at home dating back to Game 7 of the 2011 Stanley Cup Final, host Game 2 on Friday at Rogers Arena before the best-of-7 series shifts to San Jose for Games 3 and 4. If there's a common theme among the home losses, it's a lack of offense. Vancouver struggled to score in an opening-round, five-game exit against the Los Angeles Kings last season, and only generated a handful of good chances on Wednesday. Vigneault wasn't offering up any criticism of Luongo, who got the start because No. 1 goalie Cory Schneider wasn't quite ready to come back from an unidentified "body" injury that kept him out the final two regular-season games. Luongo, who finished with 25 saves, was brilliant early, and didn't have much chance on the first two goals, but gave the puck away to start the sequence that led to the third, which ended with Marleau alone in front for a quick, low shot. Luongo was at his best during an early San Jose power play that produced seven shots and a handful of point-blank scoring chances. He threw out the left pad to deny Marleau on a one-timer from the low slot, then stretched across with the right leg to rob Martin Havlat of an empty-net chance on a long rebound. Havlat, playing on a second line with Couture and Marleau, left with nine minutes left in the period due to an undisclosed injury and didn't return, forcing the Sharks to juggle lines. McLellan did not have an update on Havlat after the game. Jannik Hansen was originally credited for the opening goal after a wild scramble that started with his blind backhand drop pass to Bieksa for a one-timer. Niemi stopped that, and robbed Mason Raymond with his right pad on the rebound in tight, but it set off a wild scramble that ended with former Canucks forward Torres sliding the puck back to, and under, his own goaltender. It was Vancouver's first lead against San Jose this season after dropping all three meetings in the regular season, but it didn't last long. Couture tied it on a power play with 3:25 left in the period after taking a punch that earned Zack Kassian a roughing penalty. The Sharks, who pelted Luongo with seven shots on their first advantage, wasted little time converting their third power play, moving it around easily until finding Couture alone atop the left faceoff circle for a wrist shot past the blocker of a screened Luongo.