Playoffs - Mon, 13 May - Results

Toronto v Boston 4-5 - Game 7 - Eighty-two seconds from another painful elimination in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the veteran Boston Bruins found a way to rally for one of the most unforgettable victories in the franchise's already proud history on Monday night. Patrice Bergeron erased a 4-3 deficit at 19:09 of the third period, then scored the game-winning goal at the 6:05 mark of overtime in Game 7 against the Toronto Maple Leafs to earn an incredible 5-4 victory and win the Eastern Conference Quarterfinal series in the most dramatic of fashions. Bergeron's winner capped a furious comeback that saw the Bruins score three goals during a nine-minute, 51-second span of the third period to turn a 4-1 deficit into a 4-4 tie, and eventually into a victory. Now, the Bruins advance to play the New York Rangers in the Eastern Conference Semifinals in a best-of-7 series that begins Thursday night here at TD Garden. For Toronto, it was a thudding crash back to reality after a flight of fancy about a berth in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs had taken hold during a two-goal outburst in the first six minutes of the third turned a 2-1 nail-biter into an ill-fated three-goal lead. After Phil Kessel and Nazem Kadri scored just three minutes and 20 seconds apart, it seemed Toronto's first trip to the postseason since 2004 was going to result in an unexpected second-round berth, as the club was less than 11 minutes from winning three-straight elimination games. Nathan Horton began the comeback with 10:42 remaining in the game, and potentially Boston's season, before Milan Lucic and Bergeron scored extra-attacker goals 31 seconds apart to complete the third-period fight back that neither club with soon forget. Bergeron's tying goal came at the 19:09 mark of the third period when he snapped a seeing-eye wrist shot from the blue line past Toronto goalie James Reimer, who appeared to be screened by Zdeno Chara, the lumbering Boston defender who somehow found himself planted just inches from the crease. It was a stunning reversal in form for Reimer, who had been so brilliant for the past eight-plus periods, allowing just three goals in 169:18. That goal was also just a bit of foreshadowing for Bergeron's role as the Boston hero on this night. With teams hampered by the need to make long changes in the overtime period, the Bruins were able to keep the Maple Leafs' defenders out for an extremely long shift by keeping the puck pinned in the attacking zone. Bergeron took advantage of that fatigue factor by wiggling free from coverage and pouncing on a loose puck, which he calmly threw past Reimer for the most unexpected win. Capitalizing on the chances that Toronto presented during the miraculous rally allowed Boston to fashion a comeback for the ages, one that will join the pantheon of great rallies fashioned by the sports teams in this city, which was headlined by the rally of the Boston Red Sox against the New York Yankees in which the Red Sox erased a 3-0 series deficit to defeat their arch rival in a stunning Game 7.
NY Rangers v Washington 5-0 - Game 7 - Henrik Lundqvist made 35 saves for his second shutout in roughly 30 hours and the Rangers' offense stole the show as Arron Asham, Taylor Pyatt, Michael Del Zotto, Ryan Callahan and Mats Zuccarello all scored to lift New York to a 5-0 victory against the Washington Capitals at Verizon Center in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals. The Rangers trailed the series 2-0 after losing in overtime in Game 2. They were 0-3 with two goals in three games at Verizon Center prior to Game 7. But, it didn't matter because they erased the early-series deficit and killed the demons inside the Capitals' home building that were haunting them with one dominating performance that started with the all-world goalie and finished with a flurry of offense. Lundqvist did not allow a goal in the final 120 minutes of a series that included five straight games decided by one goal heading into Game 7. The Rangers now turn their attention the Boston Bruins, who came back from a three-goal deficit in the third period to beat the Toronto Maple Leafs in overtime Monday. The Rangers and Bruins haven't played in the Stanley Cup Playoffs since 1973, when New York beat Boston in the quarterfinals. It was a rematch of the 1972 Stanley Cup Final won by the Bruins. Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals is Thursday at TD Garden (7:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, TSN). Lundqvist, who got the Rangers into a Game 7 because he was perfect against 27 shots for a 1-0 win in Game 6 Sunday, took the life out of the Capitals on Monday with 13 saves in the first period. Washington felt it was the better team through 20 minutes, but Lundqvist made Asham's goal 13:19 into the period hold up for a 1-0 lead heading into the first intermission. Asham beat Washington goalie Braden Holtby (22 saves) over the catching glove with a seeing-eye shot off the rush from the right circle. Asham had more goals than Nash, Callahan and Caps captain Alex Ovechkin in the series. New York's lead ballooned to 3-0 before five and a half minutes had elapsed in the second period. Pyatt scored off a rebound at 3:24 and Del Zotto scored his second goal of the series on a deflected shot through Holtby's five-hole 2:10 later. With Lundqvist on their side, the Rangers just had to keep things simple to preserve the lead. They did. However, the Capitals still didn't feel as though they were out of the game despite being down 3-0 after 40 minutes. Ovechkin said they were aware of Boston's comeback from a three-goal deficit late in the third period and figured they could try something similar. Callahan changed that with his goal 13 seconds into the third period. Speaking of Ovechkin, his final line in the seven-game series reads one goal in Game 1, an assist in Game 2 and then five straight games without a point. Ovechkin was held to one shot on goal in Game 7. He had 30 shots on goal for the series. In addition to his stat line for the series, the Capitals fell to 2-5 in Game 7s since Ovechkin has been on the team. They are now 3-9 all-time in Game 7s, including 2-7 at home. And, they are 4-6 all-time after winning the first two games of a series. Ovechkin said the series reminded him of the 2009 Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Pittsburgh Penguins. The difference is after taking a 2-0 lead, Washington lost three straight before winning Game 6 in overtime to force a Game 7 at home. The Penguins won it, 6-2. The Rangers still have a chance to do that for the first time since 1994 because, as Torterella said, they played their best game of the series Monday night. They'll probably have to be better starting Thursday in Boston.