Playoff Results - Sun, Apr 27, 2014

Philadelphia @ NY Rangers 2-4 - The New York Rangers moved one game from a spot in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs on Sunday, beating the Cryers 4-2 in Game 5 of their Eastern Conference First Round series. Marc Staal, Brad Richards, Dominic Moore and Brian Boyle had goals, and Henrik Lundqvist made 24 saves as the Rangers took a 3-2 lead in the best-of-7 series. The Rangers can advance with a win in Game 6 on Tuesday in Philadelphia. Game 7, if necessary, would be Wednesday in New York. Vincent Lecavalier and Claude Giroux scored for the Flyers. Goalie Steve Mason stopped 18 of 21 shots. The Rangers haven't won a series in fewer than seven games since beating the New Jersey Devils in five games in the first round of the 2008 playoffs. And three of their past five series have gone seven games, with a fourth going six. Though a long playoff run never is easy, ending series as early as possible always is a good thing. It was another dominant defensive effort from the Rangers. They've allowed the Flyers an average of 24.6 shots per game, the fewest in the League. And they blocked 12 shots, running their total for the series to 90. Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said the strong defensive play so far has been the result of doing the same things all season that helped the team be successful to this point. The Rangers also were effective in the offensive end. Staal scored 11:53 into the game to open the scoring. His shot off a set-up in the left circle by Martin St. Louis went off the shaft of the stick of Flyers defenseman Braydon Coburn and fluttered under Mason's blocker. It was Staal's first playoff goal since May 6, 2012, and marked the fourth straight game in the series the Rangers scored the game's first goal. New York made it 2-0 at 8:07 of the second when Brad Richards scored his second of the playoffs off a play that started as a 4-on-2 Rangers rush. And Moore made it 3-0 when he forced Coburn into a defensive-zone turnover when his pass went off the skates of Hal Gill. Moore pounced on the loose puck in the slot and beat Mason from in close at 16:20. The Flyers finally broke through the Rangers' aggression at each end of the ice when Lecavalier scored a power-play goal with 32.6 seconds remaining in the second. His shot from the right side of the New York zone went off Rangers defenseman Kevin Klein and past Lundqvist for Lecavalier's first playoff goal since May 17, 2011, when he was a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning. Philadelphia cut the deficit to 3-2 when Giroux scored his first of the postseason on a shot from the left circle with 1:29 remaining in the third period that was aided by a Wayne Simmonds screen. However that was all Philadelphia could get despite pulling Mason for an extra attacker for the final three minutes of the game. Boyle closed the game with an empty-net goal with 15 seconds remaining. Despite their series deficit, the Flyers don't lack for confidence. They have shown resiliency all season, whether it was making the playoffs after a 1-7-0 start or their 11 wins when trailing at any point in the third period of a game during the regular season. That's why the Rangers know they have to raise their level of play even higher if they want to close the series Tuesday.
St Louis @ Chicago 1-5 - The Chicago Blackhawks found a way to weather the storm Sunday at United Center against the St. Louis Blues and it mirrored what they did in a tough Western Conference First Round series. After falling behind 2-0 in the best-of-7 series, the defending Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks won four straight games by winning 5-1 in Game 6 to keep their hopes of repeating alive. Chicago will face the winner of the series between the Colorado Avalanche and Minnesota Wild. Colorado leads that series 3-2 with a chance to close it out in Game 6 on Monday at Xcel Energy Center. Duncan Keith scored a goal and had three assists and goalie Corey Crawford made 35 saves to lead the way. Bryan Bickell, Jonathan Toews, Patrick Sharp and Andrew Shaw also scored for Chicago.
"We knew those first two games could've gone either way and we knew that we didn't play our best hockey," said Keith, who matched his career high for points in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. "It's a seven-game series for a reason. We've been through enough playoff series to realize that. It's not a sprint. It's a marathon."
The second period of Game 6 might've felt like a marathon to Crawford and the guys who play on the Blackhawks' penalty-killing units. Together, they were forced to kill four of six penalties to keep it tied 1-1 after 40 minutes.
"I think both our PK and [Crawford] won the game and the series, ultimately," Chicago coach Joel Quenneville said. "I think that was a big factor in us getting through this series. It was a very competitive series. We had six straight penalties against us [Sunday] and getting through that and then scoring on our power play was obviously huge. I thought that was the [biggest] factor. They were dominating the first 40 minutes there and we came back with maybe our best period of the year."
In short, the Blackhawks did what they usually do when given a chance to clinch a series. They ended it. Since 2009, Chicago is now 11-2 in series-clinching games. Much like a year ago, when the Blackhawks overcame a 3-1 deficit against the Detroit Red Wings in the Western Conference Semifinals, grit and determination were as vital to winning as speed and skill.
"It took a few games to get that emotion into it, and I think once we got going we carried the play for portions of the game," Keith said. "But you've got to give St. Louis credit too. They had momentum too in certain games and they carried the play too. They had lots of chances and shots, but I think when we're fully engaged we're a real tough team to beat."
The Blues, meanwhile, are forced to live with an empty feeling for a second straight offseason. They lost four straight games in the first round after taking a 2-0 lead for a second straight playoffs, after failing to eliminate the Los Angeles Kings in the same fashion a year ago. St. Louis, which outshot Chicago 36-27, went 0-for-6 on the power play and finished 2-for-29 in the series for a success rate of 6.9 percent. That was basically the difference in the game and series, that and Chicago's biggest weapons coming up with huge, momentum-swinging goals at key times. After scoring in overtime of Game 5, Toews made it 2-1 44 seconds into the third on carryover power-play time from the end of the second and Sharp made it 3-1 1:17 later off a breakaway. Keith also got his defense partner, Brent Seabrook, back after a three-game suspension for a hit on Blues captain David Backes in Game 2 at Scottrade Center. Seabrook finished with two assists and a plus-three rating in the game and had six points (two goals) in the three games he played. It didn't take him long to make his presence felt either. Seabrook picked up the primary assist on Bickell's goal to open the scoring 4:12 into the game. After collecting a point-to-point pass from Keith, he threw a wrist shot toward the net from the right point that Bickell tipped past Blues goalie Ryan Miller for a 1-0 lead. The Blues made a series of mistakes that allowed the play to happen, but they kept working the rest of the period and eventually knotted it 1-1 on T.J. Oshie's goal with 3:32 left. He scored his second goal of the series by redirecting a feed from Alexander Steen through Crawford's pads from the front of the crease after Steen had carried the puck around the back of the net. The Blues dominated the second period thanks to four power plays, including a four-minute advantage after Marian Hossa was given a double minor at 7:15 for high-sticking Steen. They outshot the Blackhawks by a 17-3 margin in the second and held a 28-11 advantage in shots starting the third. They couldn't put the puck in the net. Patrik Berglund nearly pushed St. Louis ahead 20 seconds into a power play caused by Toews' high-sticking minor, but Crawford got a piece of a loose puck heading toward the goal line with his glove by diving backward and knocking it away toward the left post. Crawford made a couple more big saves toward the end of Hossa's penalty, but his busy period wasn't finished. Sharp was called for tripping at 15:47 and put the Blues back on the power play. St. Louis nearly scored on a stuff attempt by Backes at the left post, but a video review showed the whistle blew to stop play before the puck trickled into the net.
"We have to work for our chances," St. Louis defenseman Jay Bouwmeester said. "We're a team that scored a lot of goals around the net. Dirty goals. We probably didn't do enough of that, didn't get enough pucks through to the net, battling and that sort of thing. On the flipside, they've got some skilled guys and if you give them opportunities and some space, they're going to finish."
That's exactly what happened after Crawford and the penalty killers in front of him finally got the Blackhawks off the hook. Chicago drew its own power play when Bouwmeester was called for tripping at 19:05 and Toews scored his third goal of the series to start the third, taking a feed from Keith and roofing a wrist shot through traffic into the top left corner. Sharp made it 3-1 off a breakaway at 2:01. After blocking Kevin Shattenkirk's point shot, Sharp took off into the neutral zone and got a short pass from Patrick Kane at top speed for the scoring chance. Shattenkirk got his stick up in Sharp's mouth on the rush, drawing a likely penalty shot, but the puck wound up in the net after Miller missed a poke check and fell to the ice.
"The third goal was really a backbreaker for us," Blues coach Hitchcock said. "That was really the one that hurt because we've been chasing all series and been able to catch up in games, but the third goal really took the wind out of our sails. We earned the power plays. We earned the power plays because of the way we worked and battled. We played a great first two periods. I thought the third goal, you could see a big sag on the team after that."
Shaw made it 4-1 at 7:30 by cruising through the slot and tipping Keith's slapper from the point past Miller. Keith tacked on his second goal of the series with 2:55 left to finish the scoring.
"This was a tough series," Shaw said. "They're a physical team. They're a great team over there and obviously got a lot of big bodies they're going to throw around, but we just kind of tried weathering the storm every game and used our legs and brains instead of our shoulders."
Anaheim @ Dallas 5-4 OT - Nick Bonino's second goal of the game came 2:47 into overtime and the Sucks won their Western Conference First Round Series against the Dallas Stars with a 5-4 overtime victory in Game 6 at American Airlines Center on Sunday night.
"I think we've come back a lot this season," Bonino said. "We've had one of the best comeback records. No one was down. I think we believed the whole time. It's easy to say that now, but we have a lot of character and it showed."
Bonino's first goal came with 2:10 remaining in regulation when he beat Stars goaltender Kari Lehtonen short side. Devante Smith-Pelly's second goal with 24 seconds remaining in regulation sent the game to overtime.
"[I was thinking] don't miss," Smith-Pelly said. "The goal was pretty empty so I was hoping I wouldn't flub it."
Bonino then eliminated Dallas early in the extra period with a wrist shot from the slot that beat Lehtonen to give the Ducks the series victory. Anaheim will face the winner of the first-round series between the San Jose Sharks and Los Angeles Kings. The Ducks recorded the 10th multi-goal comeback of the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs (24.4 percent of the 41 playoff games played). That is a record for the most such victories in the first round of the postseason; there were only eight such victories in the entire 2013 playoffs. Jonas Hiller stopped all 12 shots he faced in relief of Frederik Andersen.
"He has a knack, no matter how he's playing, good or bad but you put him out at the end because there's something about him that he's in the right position at the right time to make the right play," Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau said of Bonino. "That's what he's all about, so we put him out at the end and in overtime. I couldn't have scripted it any better."
"It's a great feeling to find a way to win," Hiller said. "Sometimes you're kind of not really believing in yourself, but yeah, we found a way. I thought I had a couple good stops when I came in, which gave me some confidence and I kind of never looked back from there."
Dallas had built a 4-2 lead after two periods following two goals from Trevor Daley, who scored the game's first goal early in the first period. Daley scored again midway through the second. The Stars also received goals from Cody Eakin and Ryan Garbutt in the first period. Anaheim's goals were from Smith-Pelly in the first and Ben Lovejoy in the second.
"I would say it's tough to lose this series considering how well we played the whole series really. We had just dominant periods that one thing that was missing was a little bit of finish," Stars coach Lindy Ruff said. "We talked this morning about some of our finish. We had it right there at 4-2 with two minutes left. Sometimes hockey's cruel. It was cruel, really cruel, to a group of guys that worked as hard as they possibly could tonight. There wasn't one guy that was a passenger."
Lehtonen stopped 25 shots for Dallas; Eakin (goal, assist) and Alex Goligoski (two assists) each contributed two points.
"It's kind of like those couple of first games. I felt like we could have won them as much as they did and we lost those two and that hurt us," Lehtonen said. "This was kind of similar. We had it in the bag and just didn't get the result at the end."
Andersen, who stopped eight of 12 shots, was pulled midway through the second after Daley gave Dallas a 4-2 lead. The Stars struck early when Daley scored on a breakaway 5:16 into the first period. Six seconds earlier, Daley had finished serving a high-sticking penalty on Bonino. After Dallas forward Shawn Horcoff cleared the puck from the Stars blue line, Daley, fresh out of the penalty box, gained possession beyond the Ducks blue line and beat Andersen on a breakaway for his first goal of the playoffs. Dallas added a second in the first period at 10:27 when Eakin scored a power-play goal. Eakin received a pass from Tyler Seguin in the low slot and one-timed it through Andersen's five-hole for his second goal of the postseason to give Dallas a two-goal edge. Anaheim got one back at 17:57 of the first period when Smith-Pelly made it 2-1 with a power-play goal. Teemu Selanne assisted with a pass from behind the net to Smith-Pelly, who was alone at the near post for an easy tap-in. However, the Stars regained their two-goal edge when Garbutt tapped in a rebound with 58.2 seconds remaining in the first period. Andersen had denied Eakin's initial effort, but Garbutt rushed in to finish the chance for his third goal of the playoffs. The Ducks cut that lead in half early in the second when Lovejoy beat Lehtonen short side from the right point. Selanne stole the puck from Stars defenseman Brenden Dillon behind the Dallas net and got the primary assist with a pass to Lovejoy, which he quickly finished. Daley found the back of the net again for the Stars at 10:33 of the second when he beat Andersen short side, ending Andersen's night. Daley skated up the right side of the ice and scored with a wrister over Andersen's blocker. Andersen quickly left the ice and was replaced in net by Hiller for the second time in the series. Andersen was pulled in Game 4 after allowing four goals on 25 shots. Dallas had a great chance to put the game away late in the second when rookie Valeri Nichushkin had a breakaway with 25 seconds remaining, but Nichushkin's wrister instead found the crossbar.
"It happened so fast so it's a bit of a shock, but I'm proud of our guys," Stars captain Jamie Benn said. "We battled hard all year. We battled hard to get into the playoffs and I thought we played a pretty good series against a pretty good team."


Penalties

1st Period
03:10 DAL	Trevor Daley  Hi-sticking against  Nick Bonino
09:55 ANA	Mark Fistric  Elbowing against  Brenden Dillon
10:43 ANA	Saku Koivu  Interference against  Colton Sceviour
16:37 DAL	Erik Cole  Interference against  Francois Beauchemin
2nd Period
07:17 DAL	Alex Goligoski  Interference against  Corey Perry
09:19 ANA	Matt Beleskey  Roughing against  Brenden Dillon
09:19 DAL	Brenden Dillon  Roughing against  Matt Beleskey
12:21 ANA	Ben Lovejoy  Hooking against  Tyler Seguin
15:04 ANA	Cam Fowler  Cross checking against  Antoine Roussel
19:56 ANA	Patrick Maroon  Tripping against  Valeri Nichushkin
3rd Period
02:41 ANA	Corey Perry  Hooking against  Ryan Garbutt
02:41 DAL	Ryan Garbutt  Diving against  Corey Perry
17:34 ANA	Andrew Cogliano  Roughing against  Alex Chiasson
17:34 DAL	Alex Chiasson  Roughing against  Andrew Cogliano