Playoff Results - Mon, Apr 28, 2014

Pittsburgh @ Columbus 4-3 - Somehow, this crazy Eastern Conference First Round series had to end this way, with the Columbus Blue Jackets trying to rally for an improbable tie to send a third game to overtime. But it wasn't to be and the Pittsburgh Penguins used three goals by Evgeni Malkin and another by Brandon Sutter for a four-goal lead, then held on to beat the Blue Jackets 4-3 to win Game 6 at Nationwide Arena on Monday night. Pittsburgh took the best-of-7 series 4-2 by winning back-to-back two games, including 3-1 in Game 5 at home on Saturday. The Penguins will face either the New York Rangers or Philadelphia Flyers in the second round. New York leads Philadelphia 3-2 in their first-round series. Game 5 was the only one in the series that did not end 4-3. In the first four games, the loser held a 3-1 lead, or in the case of the Penguins in Game 4, a 3-0 advantage as well.
"We've got a rivalry born here between the Jackets and Penguins," Pittsburgh coach Dan Bylsma said. "They gave us everything we could handle. It was a great series for them. They were an extremely tough first-round opponent."
Trailing 4-0, Columbus got goals from Fedor Tyutin, Artem Anisimov and Nick Foligno 4:52 apart, beginning with 9:39 left in the third period and had the puck in the Penguins' end with an extra attacker on the ice when the game ended.
"We said in here we're going to leave it all on the ice and see what happens," Columbus center Ryan Johansen said. "Our guys played with a lot of pride in the third period."
For 50 minutes, Malkin was the story by his breaking a nine-game postseason goalless streak with two goals in the first period and another at 15:22 of the second for 4-0 advantage. Reunited in Game 5 with Sidney Crosby and Chris Kunitz, the move paid off Monday when Kunitz assisted the first goal at 9:11 of the first and Crosby the second at 13:13.
"When you can't score you need to just work and work every day through practice and the puck will [go] in," Malkin said. "Thanks to my linemates, they did a great job passing to me. I score the goals and [have] more confidence."
Crosby did not score in the series; Kunitz had two goals. Sutter made it 3-0 with his third goal of the Stanley Cup Playoffs 34 seconds into the second period. The Penguins had finished their first penalty kill when Columbus defenseman James Wisniewski gave the puck away to him at the Blue Jackets' blue line and it was a free skate from there. Sutter went to the backhand over goalie Sergei Bobrovsky (24 saves). Sutter was forced to leave the game with less than minutes left in the second with an undisclosed injury. Malkin completed his second career postseason hat trick off an odd-man rush with a shot from the left circle past Bobrovsky, a Russian teammate at the 2014 Sochi Olympics. Malkin has 39 goals in 89 career postseason games.
"It was another hat trick by Malkin when we needed it," Bylsma said.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Malkin became the third player in franchise history to record multiple hat tricks in the playoffs, joining Mario Lemieux (3) and Crosby (2). Malkin previously recorded a hat trick on May 21, 2009, against the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Final."More importantly, we win the game and the series is done. It was a tough series," he said. "I hope the second round I score the first game."
The Penguins became the first team in the series to score first and win, but it wasn't easy even though Marc-Andre Fleury appeared to be cruising to his seventh career playoff shutout before the Blue Jackets erupted, sending the 19,189 fans on to their feet for the remainder of the game. Tyutin scored his first of the playoffs and the Blue Jackets' third shorthanded goal of the series from the right dot to end a 97:26 goalless streak by Fleury, who had 24 saves. The Blue Jackets cut the deficit to 4-2 on an Anisimov power-play goal with Jack Johnson picking up his second assist. Tyutin and Anisimov were also on the Russian Olympic team in February. Foligno, who scored the overtime winner in Game 4, redirected a Tyutin shot past Fleury with 4:47 to play to send up the frantic finish.
"You could feel the momentum changing," Kunitz said. "The fans got into it goal after goal. The last three or four minutes we did a good job matching their intensity."
With less than a minute to go, the Blue Jackets rimmed the puck behind the Pittsburgh net, just like Game 4 when Fleury wandered out and the puck bounced over his stick. Brandon Dubinsky scored goal with 24 seconds left in regulation that game, but Fleury learned his lesson and stayed in the crease this time and allowed his teammates to successfully defend the play in front of him. Time ran out on the Blue Jackets' second postseason appearance.
"I felt like with 4 ½ minutes left, after we got the third goal, that anything could happen. I really did," Columbus coach Todd Richards said. "The way the game was going, you could feel the energy. Our bench had life. They'd done it two games ago. The last time in this building it happened."
Colorado @ Minnesota 2-5 - This is why the Wild paid big money to bring Zach Parise home two years ago. Parise, the Minnesota native, scored two goals and had a Stanley Cup Playoff career-high four points to lift the Wild to a 5-2 victory against the Avalanche in Game 6 of the Western Conference First Round series at Xcel Energy Center on Monday night. The Wild evened the best-of-7 series at 3-3 and forced the need for a Game 7 on Wednesday at Pepsi Center in Denver (9:30 p.m. ET, TSN, CNBC, RDS2, FS-N, ALT). Parise, who signed a 13-year, $98 million contract two summers ago, also helped give the Wild a chance to win a Stanley Cup Playoff series for the first time since 2003, when they went to the Western Conference Final. The Avalanche haven't won a playoff series since 2008, when they beat the Wild in six games. The winner in Game 7 will play the Chicago Blackhawks in the second round. Each of Parise's goals, including the game-winner with 6:29 to play in the third period, came off deflections from in front of the net. On the winner, Avalanche defenseman Jan Hejda tried to clear the puck up the wall, but Suter held it in at the left point. Wild captain Mikko Koivu collected the loose puck and said he realized there would be traffic in front of the net, so he ripped a shot from the left point. Parise, who was getting checked in the back by Colorado goalie Semyon Varlamov, got his stick out and deflected the puck in off his blade. He scored 49 seconds into the first period when Suter's shot from the right point went in off his leg to give Minnesota a 1-0 lead. Colorado coach Patrick Roy pulled Varlamov with 2:44 left in the third period, continuing his trend of pulling the goalie for a 6-on-5 advantage earlier than it's typically done by coaches in the NHL. It worked in Games 1 and 5, but not Monday; Jason Pominville scored an empty-net goal at 18:34 and Marco Scandella added another 30 seconds later. After Pominville scored, Koivu said he thought back to the two-goal deficit that jis brother Saku and the Anaheim Sucks overcame against the Dallas Stars on Sunday by scoring two empty-net goals. The Avalanche came back from an early 2-0 deficit. Center Paul Stastny scored a shorthanded goal in the first period and defenseman Nick Holden added a power-play goal in the second. Colorado center Matt Duchene returned to the lineup for the first time since injuring his left knee on March 29. Duchene, who missed 13 straight games, had an assist on Holden's goal. He played with a knee brace on. Wild goalie Darcy Kuemper finished with 21 saves. The Avalanche were outshot 78-38 between Games 3 and 4 at Xcel Energy Center, but were far more offensive-minded in Game 6. They had to be because the Wild jumped out to a 2-0 lead on goals by Parise and Mikael Granlund 9:35 into the first period. The Avalanche used their special teams to mount a comeback and tie the game. Stastny scored on a shorthanded breakaway at 16:59 of the first period, moments after Colorado finished killing off a 5-on-3 for 67 seconds. The Avalanche finally figured out their power play early in the second period. Duchene was a big part of it. He was also a big missing piece in the first five games, when Colorado went 1-for-18, with the one being an empty-net goal in Game 2. After Granlund failed to clear the puck down the ice when he had a chance, the Avalanche made four crisp passes before Holden scored on a one-timer from the left side. Holden delivered a hard pass up to PA Parenteau on the left point. He went diagonally across to Duchene, who then moved the puck down to O'Reilly below the right circle. Holden went backdoor behind Granlund and Wild defenseman Jared Spurgeon, and O'Reilly found him. The Avalanche are perfect at Pepsi Center in the series. They need to stay that way to advance.
Penalties

1st Period
00:26 COL	Nathan MacKinnon  Holding against  Charlie Coyle
03:19 MIN	Dany Heatley  Slashing against  Patrick Bordeleau
06:45 MIN	Charlie Coyle  Roughing against  Gabriel Landeskog
06:45 COL	Gabriel Landeskog  Roughing against  Charlie Coyle
12:36 MIN	Mikko Koivu  Tripping against  PA Parenteau
14:49 COL	Paul Stastny  Slashing against  Cody McCormick
15:42 COL	Andre Benoit  Delaying Game-Puck over glass
2nd Period
03:27 MIN	Matt Moulson  Slashing against  Nathan MacKinnon
16:15 COL	Nick Holden  Interference against  Matt Moulson
16:15 MIN	Matt Moulson  Hi-sticking against  Nick Holden
17:01 MIN	Zach Parise  Tripping against  Andre Benoit
17:01 COL	Andre Benoit  Unsportsmanlike conduct against  Zach Parise
3rd Period
05:34 MIN	Clayton Stoner  Interference against  Maxime Talbot
20:00 COL	Patrick Bordeleau  Misconduct (10 min) against  Clayton Stoner
20:00 COL	Cody McLeod  Misconduct (10 min) against  Nate Prosser
20:00 MIN	Clayton Stoner  Misconduct (10 min) against  Patrick Bordeleau
20:00 MIN	Nate Prosser  Misconduct (10 min) against  Cody McLeod

San Jose @ Los Angeles 1-4 - Five days ago, the Los Angeles Kings were on the precipice of an ignominious departure from the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Now they're less than two days from potentially one of the greatest days in the franchise's history. Justin Williams and Anze Kopitar each had two goals Monday night and the Kings fended off elimination by the San Jose Sharks for a third time in a 4-1 victory at Staples Center in Game 6 of this Western Conference First Round Series. The Kings scored three times in a span of 2:46 in the third period to break open a tie game and force a winner-take-all showdown Wednesday in San Jose at SAP Center (10 p.m. ET, CBC, RDS, NBCSN, PRIME, CSN-CA).
"I don't think anybody expected it to unfold how it did," Kings captain Dustin Brown said. "I think we started to improve our game with each game. To do what we needed to do, we had to keep getting better. Part of it is the belief system over the past five, six years here. That goes a long way at this time of year."
Williams gave the Kings lead on a controversial goal at 11:56 of the third. San Jose goaltender Alex Stalock was unable to corral Robyn Regehr's shot from the left wing. The puck was behind Stalock, and Williams was able to put his stick through the goaltender's legs and force it across the goal line. The play was reviewed and it was determined the puck crossed the goal line in a legal manner.
"I felt it was loose, behind him somewhere," Williams said. "The ref didn't blow the whistle and I just tried to dig at it and it went in. I was just kind of thinking either way. If they decided not to count it, fine. I was OK with that as well. It counted."
Replays on the Los Angeles local broadcast of the play showed the puck was visible behind Stalock, but Sharks coach Todd McLellan disagreed.
"We got cheated. Simple as that," McLellan said. "I was told you could see the puck laying behind his feet the whole time. That is why the whistle didn't go. It's pretty clear when you look at it after [it wasn't]. That was obviously the turning point. Got to move on and overcome it again."
Kopitar scored on the rebound of a Williams shot at 13:27 and again on the power play at 14:42 to complete the three-goal surge. Williams now leads the Kings with four goals in this series and Kopitar has a team-high eight points. The Kings are the ninth team in NHL history to force a seventh game after trailing a series 3-0. Three teams have come back to win a Game 7 after losing the first three games. Most recently, the Philadelphia Flyers won four straight to win a seven-game series against the Boston Bruins in the 2010 Eastern Conference Semifinals, a Flyers team which featured current Kings forwards Mike Richards and Jeff Carter. They would be the first players to ever do it twice.
"We haven't even talked about that to be honest," Kings center Jarret Stoll said. "A couple times you see it on TV, they're talking about that kind of stuff, but we're looking to go into San Jose and play our best game of the series and that's about it. We understand we've got a tough opponent and a tough building to go into and we've got a big task at hand."
San Jose has experience in this situation as well. The Sharks won the first three games against the Detroit Red Wings in the 2011 Western Conference Semifinals before dropping three straight. They regrouped and won Game 7 to advance. The Sharks were not happy with the ruling on Los Angeles' second goal, but they also did not respond well in the aftermath.
"We worked all 82 games to have home ice in this situation," Sharks captain Joe Thornton said. "Obviously we would have liked to win tonight. I thought we played well until that one goal that we thought should have been disallowed. We go home now and it's a huge game."
Williams had the lone goal of the first period. He started a rush with a pass from the right wing to defenseman Jake Muzzin near the Kings blue line. Muzzin turned and sent the puck along to partner Drew Doughty, who carried into the Sharks end before feeding Williams at the right post for a tap-in. It was Williams' third goal of the series, and they've all come in the past three games since Los Angeles coach Darryl Sutter moved him to a line with Stoll and Dwight King. San Jose leveled the score in the second period. The Kings took three consecutive penalties, including two 23 seconds apart, but they survived an extended 5-on-3 disadvantage and another Sharks power play after that. The Sharks scored 32 seconds after the third power play expired. Justin Braun took a shot from the right point that James Sheppard deflected in the slot before it hit Regehr near the right post and ended up behind goaltender Jonathan Quick, who made 26 saves and has allowed four goals in the past three games of this series. The Sharks had played the first five games of this series without making any changes to the lineup, but there were three moves for Game 6. One was health related; defenseman Matt Irwin replaced star Marc-Edouard Vlasic, who missed the game with an upper-body injury. Vlasic missed the final 45 minutes of Game 5 after a hit from Stoll behind the San Jose net. McLellan also put Marty Havlat into the lineup for Mike Brown, and Stalock made his first postseason start, replacing Antti Niemi.
"[Stalock] has a shot to play Game 7 and I thought Alex played very well," McLellan said.
The Sharks won the first three games of this series. San Jose swept the first two games at SAP Center in convincing fashion with 6-3 and 7-2 victories. They won 4-3 in overtime in Game 3 at Staples Center, with Patrick Marleau providing the winner. Los Angeles started to play better in Game 3 and looked more like the team that has been a Stanley Cup contender the past two seasons in Games 4 and 5. The Kings won 6-3 in Game 4 and then suffocated the Sharks 3-0 on Saturday in San Jose.
"From an X-and-O standpoint, we're just getting back quicker to our zone," Brown said. "They have a really good forecheck, but if we can get back quick and help each other with the support and clean passes, it gives a chance to break their forecheck and go the other way. From there, it is about puck possession."
Penalties

1st Period
06:11 LAK	Kyle Clifford  Fighting (maj) against  Andrew Desjardins
06:11 SJS	Andrew Desjardins  Fighting (maj) against  Kyle Clifford
11:14 SJS	Joe Thornton  Kneeing against  Dustin Brown
2nd Period
06:17 LAK	Robyn Regehr  Interference against  Matt Nieto
06:40 LAK	Jarret Stoll  Hi-sticking against  Joe Pavelski
09:54 LAK	Drew Doughty  Hi-sticking against  Patrick Marleau
3rd Period
01:29 LAK	Tanner Pearson  Unsportsmanlike conduct against  Alex Stalock
02:01 SJS	Dan Boyle  Interference against  Anze Kopitar
13:56 SJS	Tommy Wingels  Hooking against  Anze Kopitar
14:47 LAK	Mike Richards  Fighting (maj) against  Logan Couture
14:47 SJS	Logan Couture  Fighting (maj) against  Mike Richards
14:59 SJS	Raffi Torres  Misconduct (10 min)
14:59 LAK	Justin Williams  Misconduct (10 min)
14:59 LAK	Justin Williams  Roughing against  Raffi Torres
14:59 SJS	Raffi Torres  Roughing against  Justin Williams
18:14 SJS	Joe Thornton  Interference against  Jonathan Quick
18:14 LAK	Dwight King  Misconduct (10 min)
18:14 LAK	Jarret Stoll  Roughing against  Andrew Desjardins
18:14 LAK	Jonathan Quick  Roughing against  Joe Thornton
18:14 SJS	Brent Burns  Misconduct (10 min)
18:14 SJS	Joe Thornton  Roughing against  Jonathan Quick
18:14 SJS	Andrew Desjardins  Roughing against  Jarret Stoll
18:14 SJS	Andrew Desjardins  Misconduct (10 min)