Playoff Results - Mon, May 05, 2014

Pittsburgh @ NY Rangers 2-0 - Pens Lead Series 2-1

Sidney Crosby scored his first goal of the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs, and Marc-Andre Fleury made 35 saves to post his second straight shutout and lead the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 2-0 victory against the New York Rangers in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference Second Round series at Madison Square Garden on Monday. New York, which was playing its sixth postseason game in nine days, once again failed miserably on the power play, going 0-for-5. The Rangers are 0-for-13 with the man advantage in three games against the Penguins and have not scored in 34 straight chances. Fleury, who earned his eighth career playoff shutout, has stopped 57 straight shots since allowing a goal to Derick Brassard in a 3-2 overtime loss in Game 1 last Friday. He became the first Pittsburgh goalie to post back-to-back playoff shutouts, making 16 saves in the second period and nine in the third. Fleury also received a bit of luck. Two New York shots rang off the post, and another hit the crossbar. In fact, when Rangers forward Mats Zuccarello hit the crossbar midway through the second period, Fleury took off his glove and began rubbing the iron. Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist made 13 saves in the loss. New York will try to even the series Wednesday in Game 4 at the Garden (7:30 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, RDS). The last time the Rangers were shut out in back-to-back playoff games was Games 4 and 5 of the 1937 Stanley Cup Final against the Detroit Red Wings. Detroit won that best-of-5 series 3-2. The Rangers, who did generate 10 shots on their five power plays, haven't scored a goal with the man advantage since Game 2 of their Eastern Conference First Round series against the Philadelphia Flyers; they are 3-for-42 in the playoffs. It has gotten to the point where the Rangers' struggles on the power play have actually provided the opposition just the momentum it needs to capitalize in the offensive zone. Crosby received his chance after his team denied the Rangers on their third power play of the game. A double minor for high sticking assessed to James Neal at 18:15 of the first that carried over into the second saw the Rangers generate five shots, but they could not beat Fleury. Defenseman Robert Bortuzzo spotted Crosby flying down his left wing. Bortuzzo's pass from the Penguins zone connected with Crosby in stride at the Rangers blue line, and the Pittsburgh captain skated into the left circle and ripped a shot that beat Lundqvist through the five-hole 19 seconds after Neal had exited the penalty box. The goal was Crosby's first in 14 playoff games dating back to May 2013, his first in 10 games at MSG and his first against Lundqvist since firing a shot home in the second period of a 3-0 triumph as a member of Canada against Sweden at the 2014 Sochi Olympics. The Penguins extended the lead to 2-0 in the second when Jussi Jokinen burst out the box after serving a penalty for holding the stick, picked off an errant pass to the left point by Zuccarello and broke in alone on Lundqvist before scoring his fifth goal of the playoffs at 15:20. Jokinen, who has provided Pittsburgh with the secondary scoring needed in the playoffs, extended his point streak to seven games with the goal; he has four goals and three assists over that stretch. Each coach was in the mood for a little gamesmanship before the opening faceoff and in the first period. Rangers coach Alain Vigneault replaced forwards Daniel Carcillo and Derek Dorsett with J.T. Miller and Jesper Fast, and defenseman Raphael Diaz suited up in place of John Moore. Despite the loss, Vigneault claimed he liked what he saw from his group. The Rangers' changes were made to generate more speed and aggression in the Penguins zone. For the most part the plan worked; New York held a 10-7 shot advantage at the first intermission. Fleury, who was fresh off a 22-save shutout in Game 2 on Sunday, stopped all 10 shots. Lundqvist, who made 32 of 34 saves Sunday, was equally sharp. Penguins defenseman Kris Letang said that his team's penalty kill, including Fleury, was the difference. The Penguins have allowed seven power-play goals on 40 chances in the postseason. The Penguins also blocked 17 shots, including a team-high three blocks by defenseman Paul Martin.

Dan Bylsma: "I don't think there was any question that [Fleury] was our best player on the ice. He was strong all throughout the game and certainly on the penalty kill. Our penalty kill shut them out, and that was mostly because of Marc-Andre. Obviously, it was a big lift for Sid. At that point in the game, it was about killing off the four-minute penalty, and that next shift we come out and get that goal. It was a huge lift for our team, and no better than to get it from Sidney. Jokinen is one of those guys that if you're looking for a big goal or a game-winning goal or overtime goal, you would pick him. He has a knack for scoring big goals. It was a big dagger to get that second goal."
Fleury: "I was glad. I was thanking [the crossbar]; he was a good friend."
Crosby: "It's all about momentum and definitely to get those kills and a couple of goals in the second, we seemed to get a boost off of that. But to kill as many penalties as we did, it took a lot of flow from the game. It wasn't easy on our side to create momentum, so hopefully we can stay out of the box and do a better job with that."
Bortuzzo: "I heard him yell, 'Hey. Hey. Hey. When you hear that, you get him the puck. But I don't think it took that goal for him to get confidence back. He's a world-class player and plays with a lot of confidence and energy every game. It's not about points and goals; he was phenomenal our last game. Maybe the goal will satisfy the media people, but in that room we believe what he's doing out there."
Alain Vigneault: "Our whole team, I thought, played a strong game. We didn't give them much as far as opportunities. We had some real good looks; we just couldn't score. I think both teams are battling real hard, but I liked the way we played."
Lundqvist: "I think we do a lot of good things out there, but it has not been enough to win. We need to dig deep here to just find a way to win. There are a couple things we can do better, but there are also a lot of good things out there. It's hard to just name one thing as to why we lost this game."
Letang: "I thought the first two periods we did a great job on the penalty kill, and the shot-blocking was great,"
Martin gave credit to Fleury for leading Pittsburgh to the win with another outstanding performance. "That's the way he plays. He has that confidence playing that way and wants to stop the pucks. He's been great for us and building off how he finished in the regular season, but we just can't take so many penalties."
Los Angeles @ Anaheim 3-1 - Kings Lead Series 2-0

They were largely outplayed in Game 1. They are without two starting defensemen. They have gone long stretches without putting shots on goal. Yet the Kings have put up a serious roadblock in the first Freeway Series. Marian Gaborik grabbed the NHL goal-scoring lead in the Stanley Cup Playoffs and the Kings leaned on Jonathan Quick (36 saves) and their indestructible defense in a 3-1 win against the Sucks in Game 2 of the Western Conference Second Round series on Monday at Honda Center. Los Angeles took a 2-0 lead in the best-of-7 series despite getting outshot, 37-17. Gaborik's sixth goal of the postseason and Alec Martinez's second goal in as many games was enough support for Quick, who didn't see much traffic on his way to another victory. Since it dropped the first three games of the first round, Los Angeles has won six straight, including four on the road. That 3-0 series deficit to the San Jose Sharks was 13 days ago. Game 3 is Thursday at Staples Center (10 p.m. ET; NBCSN, TSN, RDS), where the atmosphere won't be entirely different considering the hordes of people whose "Go Kings Go!" chants again had to be drowned out by Sucks fans. Kings fans were no doubt pleased with the defensive execution by Los Angeles, which has held Anaheim to three goals in two games after the Sucks scored six and five goals in the final two games of the first-round series against the Dallas Stars. The Sucks have not scored an even-strength goal since midway through the third period of Game 1 against the Kings, who have veteran defensemen Willie Mitchell and Robyn Regehr out with injuries. Frustration was evident in the Sucks dressing room for a team whose strength is offensive depth. Anaheim held a 12-5 shot advantage in the second period, but Los Angeles put bodies on bodies and constricted space to limit second chances. The Sucks had two power plays and put three shots on goal in that period. Sutter and the Kings cited Quick as the reason for victory, but the Sucks told a different story. Martinez was an offensive force in March, and he's rediscovered his scoring touch in the playoffs. His shot from the left point went off Sucks wing Jakob Silfverberg and past Anaheim goalie Jonas Hiller's right shoulder at 12:07 of the first period to give Los Angeles a 2-1 lead. Martinez, who had one goal and five assists in 33 playoff games before this season, has two goals and three assists in nine games. Anaheim vowed to get better on the power play, and it got its crowd back into the game with a 4-on-3-advantage goal when Patrick Maroon's cross-crease feed to Corey Perry went in off the skate of Kings defenseman Jake Muzzin to tie it 1-1 at 9:40 of the first. That snapped a string of 19 straight penalties killed by Los Angeles, dating to Game 4 of the first round. Gaborik simultaneously silenced Sucks fans and delighted Kings fans 34 seconds into the game when he sprinted past Sucks defenseman Ben Lovejoy in transition on the left side and beat Hiller high. Including the playoffs, Gaborik has 11 goals in 28 games with the Kings. It was a bad start and a bad finish for Anaheim, which must win four of the next five games against one of the best defensive teams in the NHL. Kings defenseman Jeff Schultz filled in for Regehr and played 19:58 in his first NHL game since March 31, 2013.

Martinez: "You kind of lose track of time in the playoffs. It's either a game day, or not. It's important not to get too high or too low. We'll enjoy this one tonight, but there's still a lot of work to be done. I know [coach] Darryl [Sutter] stresses 'No one has to be great, everyone just has to be good,' and I think right now we're getting big plays out of a lot of different guys, and it's been the difference in the past six games. We've to got learn from our mistakes tonight and learn what we did well and hopefully roll it in once we go back home."

Sutter: "It doesn't even feel like being on the road. We've played really good in this building here in the regular season. The biggest thing for us, tonight, quite honest … we needed four lines and six defensemen to be really good for us in terms of an even-strength game."
Getzlaf: "I'm ticked off right now. We're in playoff time right now. There are no excuses for anything. We have to be better, I have to be better, and I expect our group to respond. Traffic's a big thing. We were nowhere near the net tonight when it came to shots from the point. We can watch the video and we'll see it all. We all see it from the bench and we've just got to change that when we go out on the ice."
Boudreau: "Yeah, we're depressed right now. But we'll build ourselves up tomorrow and we'll be ready for Thursday. We've been there, that's why we believe we can accomplish this. We've gone on lots of streaks against good teams and been successful. Obviously we're playing a good team that's peaked at the right time, but I think we've got the capabilities to dig in deep and doing what we need to do."

Playoff Results - Sun, May 04, 2014

Minnesota @ Chicago 1-4 - Chicago Lead Series 2-0

Blackhawks left wing Bryan Bickell is beginning to heat up at the most opportune time. Bickell extended his point streak to five games Sunday afternoon when he scored a goal and had two assists to lead the Blackhawks to a 4-1 victory against the Wild in Game 2 of their Western Conference Second Round series at United Center. The win gave the Blackhawks a 2-0 lead in the best-of-7 series that now shifts to Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota, for Game 3 on Tuesday (9 p.m. ET; TSN, CNBC, RDS2). The Wild are 3-0 on home ice in the playoffs, outscoring the opposition 8-3. Bickell, who had nine goals and 17 points in 23 games in the Stanley Cup Playoffs last spring, has found his offensive groove once again alongside center Jonathan Toews and right wing Marian Hossa. The trio accounted for two goals, seven points and a plus-8 rating in Game 2. Brandon Saad scored two goals, including one into an empty net with 1:23 remaining in the third, and Toews scored his fourth of the playoffs. Hossa finished with three assists. Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford made 18 saves to extend his win streak to a career-best six straight. Wild goalie Ilya Bryzgalov made 18 stops and is now 1-4-1 in the 2014 playoffs. Crawford, who made 13 saves in the second period, ranks second with a 1.87 goals-against average and third with a .936 save percentage in eight playoff games. He is tops among all postseason goalies with 249 saves. Bickell's goal off a quick transition and off a rising wrist shot from the right circle at 17:15 of the third gave the Blackhawks a 3-1 lead. The 2004 second-round pick (No. 41) has four goals and seven points in the past five games, all Chicago victories. Not only did Toews' line produce offensively, but they again shut down Minnesota's top trio of Mikael Granlund centering Zach Parise and Jason Pominville. Minnesota overcame four one-goal deficits in Game 7 against the Colorado Avalanche in their Western Conference First Round series before finally earning a 5-4 overtime win. Still, the Wild would for once like to play with a lead instead of battling from behind, and that's one area they'll look to correct on home ice. Saad scored his first goal of the postseason off a wrist shot from between the circles with 56 seconds left in the second period to give the Blackhawks a 2-0 lead. Bickell earned his second assist of the game when he sent a pass to Saad, who skated between the circles before firing a shot that deflected off Parise's stick and into the top left corner of the net. Saad's goal came two seconds after a hooking penalty to Wild forward Justin Fontaine had expired. It was his second career postseason goal. The Wild began mounting a third-period comeback similar to the one they staged in Game 1, when they scored two straight to pull even before dropping a 5-2 decision. The visitors made it 2-1 two minutes into the third when Cody McCormick took a pass from Clayton Stoner and quickly fired a shot past Crawford from the slot. It was McCormick's first point of the playoffs. Erik Haula made the play happen with great speed down the right wing before turning in the right circle and finding Stoner. Bryzgalov was called upon to make a few big saves to keep his team within striking distance with just more than eight minutes left in third. He stopped Patrick Kane off a 2-on-1 before denying Ben Smith on the rebound. The victory extended Chicago's playoff winning streak to six straight at United Center. The Blackhawks have won 16 of their past 18 playoff games on home ice dating back to 2013, and they are unbeaten in five home games in the 2014 playoffs. Toews extended his point streak to six games in the first when he gave the Blackhawks a 1-0 lead at 11:02. The play started when Bickell lined a perfect lead pass to Hossa from his own end to give his teammate a breakaway. Hossa had his attempt denied by the Bryzgalov's right skate, but the puck bounced into the air to Toews, who beat Wild forward Mikko Koivu at the Minnesota blue line and knocked it home at the right post. Toews has four goals and seven points during his streak. Minnesota's checking line of Haula centering Nino Niederreiter and Fontaine might have been the team's most effective unit, generating four shots while keeping Kane off the score sheet, snapping his four-game point streak.

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Joel Quenneville: (of Bickell)"His play all year long was ordinary until the end of the year when he was trending, looking like he was going to play in the playoffs. In the playoffs [last season], we gave him a lot more responsibility, and he just seemed to grab it. Now he's playing exactly the same way, and we're happy with the contribution we're getting from him, but I thought he and that line had a special game [Sunday]." (of Saad)"It was nice to see him score, but the way he was playing, we'll take it whether he has production or not. He really added a lot of elements to our team game with his speed, with that line being effective. It was a timely goal and nice to get the extra one in the end. He had the puck a lot, backed off the defense, but the finish was nice to see." Quenneville has also been pleased with the way Toews and his linemates have played defensively. "You're looking for matchups, but you're comfortable with them against anybody. You like top players against top players, especially when they're capable of generating and you're comfortable with them defensively. They give you that reassurance that you're comfortable with the matchup anywhere."

Toews: "We're still taking it one game at a time. I think you go into every game planning to win. Sometimes that goes your way, sometimes it doesn't. We're going to have a challenge, a real challenge playing on the road these next couple of games, so we'll focus on the next one. It's going to have to be the best game that we've had all series for sure."

Crawford: "Our defensemen, I think, have been most consistent throughout the playoffs. They were making plays. There were a couple of rebounds that I let loose, and they were able to clear them away."

Mike Yeo: (struggles of top unit) "The pressure is always there. There's more pressure when you're trailing. [The Blackhawks] get that first goal, and that's when the pressure starts to creep in." Yeo acknowledged, however, that his team has certainly had its opportunities. "We weren't that far off; again, I know we can play better. That game was hanging for us. It's a 1-0 game, and we got a couple empty nets, and we can't find a way to put it in. It's hard when you're chasing. We've been chasing for three games now."

Matt Moulson: "I think as a team we were sloppy at the start, not getting pucks in, and they get pucks in and get in on the forecheck and are pretty good. So that was the problem at the start of the game. We'll need to be better."

NY Rangers @ Pittsburgh 0-3 - Series Tied 1-1
It wasn't the ideal way to start the game for the Pittsburgh Penguins and goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, but the end result was worth it. The Penguins killed off three power plays in the first seven minutes of the game, and Fleury stopped all 22 shots he faced to lead the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 3-0 win against the New York Rangers in Game 2 of this Eastern Conference Second Round series. The shutout was Fleury's first of the playoffs and seventh in his postseason career, the most in team history. It also was his 50th playoff win. Fleury is one of 17 goalies in history to win 50 or more Stanley Cup Playoff games. Kris Letang had the winning goal and two assists, Evgeni Malkin had a goal and an assist, and Jussi Jokinen scored for the Penguins, who tied the best-of-7 series 1-1. Game 3 will be Monday in New York (7:30 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, RDS). Henrik Lundqvist stopped 32 shots for the Rangers. New York's sputtering power play went 0-for-4 for the second straight game. The Rangers also went the final 11:38 of the game without a shot on goal. It's the first time the Rangers have been shut out in the playoffs in exactly one year. They lost 1-0 in overtime to the Washington Capitals in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals on May 4, 2013. The Rangers had three opportunities in first 7:04 of the game to take the lead but their power play instead extended its run of futility to 29 consecutive unsuccessful power plays, dating to Game 2 of their first-round series against the Philadelphia Flyers. They had one shot on goal with Chris Kunitz in the penalty box 40 seconds in for goalie interference; one shot with Matt Niskanen off for roughing at 3:36; and no shots with Malkin off for boarding at 7:04. While the Penguins survived the early test from the Rangers, New York never fully recovered. Letang finally broke the ice with a goal at 10:26 of the second period. Malkin carried the puck into the Rangers end on the left side and sent a pass across to Letang. The Pittsburgh defenseman got into the right circle and tried to center a pass to Chris Kunitz down low, but the puck went off the stick of sliding Rangers defenseman Dan Girardi and past Lundqvist. The goal was Letang's 15th in the playoffs, tying him with Larry Murphy, a member of the Hockey Hall of fame, for the most postseason goals by a defenseman in team history. Fleury continued to shine while preserving the lead. He made 10 saves in the second; three of those came on the Rangers' lone power play of the period, including a point-blank stop on a chance in close off a faceoff by Brad Richards. Lundqvist was just as good at the other end, stopping Kunitz on a breakaway after he jumped out of the penalty box, then getting his right pad on a Sidney Crosby chance on the post after a long diagonal pass through the zone by Brian Gibbons. Jokinen's power-play goal with 3:30 remaining, off the rebound of a shot by James Neal, put the game away. The goal extended Jokinen's scoring streak to six games; he has three goals and three assists in that span. Malkin closed the game with an empty-net goal with 53.5 seconds remaining. Although the Penguins were happy with the win, they know there isn't a whole lot time to celebrate. Both teams flew back to New York on Sunday night to do what they could to rest up for Game 3 on Monday. It will be the Rangers' second set of back-to-back games of the postseason, after playing Games 6 and 7 of the first round on consecutive nights. It will be the sixth game in nine nights for the Rangers.
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Dan Bylsma: "You feel like you're behind the 8-ball when you have six minutes of killing in the first 12 minutes of the game. I thought our killers did a great job, answered the bell, did an extremely god job. They had [two] shots on three of those penalty kills. They did an outstanding job and we gained momentum from there."

Alain Vigneault: "Power play had some good looks. Could have given us some momentum but we didn't finish. Power play ultimately is my responsibility. I have to find the right trigger potions to make it work and I'll spend the night trying to figure it out. Vigneault wasn't accepting fatigue for the way his team played in Game 2. "Did my goaltender look tired? He was on top of his game. He wasn't tired. I don't think anybody else should be tired. He's played every minute of these playoffs, so if he's not tired no one else should be."
While the Penguins' penalty killing helped, Fleury also was impressive. "He played outstanding," Letang said. "I think he's been playing really good since the beginning of the playoffs. He kept us in the game, made some big saves at key moments. He was our best penalty killer out there."
Fleury: (didn't feel any extra pressure while Lundqvist was matching him save for save for most of the game). "I just tried to stop the next one. Just tried to keep us in the game. We were playing so well. It wasn't the busiest night but just tried to keep it there. Just enjoy [Sunday]. We got the win, get back at it [Monday] morning. [Monday] is another big game."
Lundqvist: "You just have to tell yourself it's good. There's no other way. It's been fun to be out there. Obviously it's a lot of hockey, but you just tell yourself it's a great opportunity to play the first home game in Round 2."

Playoff Results - Sat, May 03, 2014

Montreal @ Boston 3-5 - Round 2 Game 2

For the second time in as many games in the Eastern Conference Second Round, the Bruins rallied from a two-goal deficit against the Canadiens. This time, the Bruins won. Forward Reilly Smith capped a run of three Boston goals in 5:32 of the third period, and the Bruins defeated the Canadiens 5-3 Saturday at TD Garden to even the best-of-7 series 1-1. The Bruins trailed 3-1 after Montreal forward Thomas Vanek scored at 6:30 of the third period. Boston rallied from 2-0 down in Game 1 and trailed 3-2 before losing 4-3 in double overtime Thursday. Game 3 is at Bell Centre in Montreal on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, RDS). Smith beat Montreal goaltender Carey Price with a wrist shot from near the bottom of the right circle with 3:32 left to put Boston ahead 4-3. The Bruins have rallied from 2-0 down to win twice in these Stanley Cup Playoffs (they also did it in Game 4 of the first round against the Detroit Red Wings). It was the 11th comeback victory after a multigoal deficit in this year's playoffs. Bruins defenseman Dougie Hamilton started the comeback by changing his angle on the blue line then beating a moving Price with a wrist shot through traffic that cut the lead to 3-2 at 10:56 of the third. Bergeron tied the game with a wrist shot from up high near the right half wall. The puck deflected off Montreal defenseman Francis Bouillon before it went past Price with 5:43 to go. Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask stopped 25 of 28 shots, and he defeated Montreal for the first time in 10 games in Boston (1-6-3). Forward Milan Lucic scored an empty-net goal with 1:06 left. Price, who stopped 48 shots in Game 1, finished with 30 saves. Vanek scored two goals after failing to land a shot on net in Game 1. The Canadiens trailed for a total of 3:34 through their first five postseason games, including a first-round sweep of the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Bruins took their first lead of this series at 13:02 of the first period. Defenseman Andrej Meszaros missed wide on a shot from the blue line and center Carl Soderberg kept the puck in at the right wall. Soderberg found Daniel Paille at the high slot for a snap shot that was nicked by Bouillon's stick and eluded Price. The Bruins failed to take advantage of a 1:00 5-on-3 advantage earlier in the first. The Canadiens were 0-for-2 on the power play in the period. Montreal wasted little time to pull even in the second. Defenseman Mike Weaver smacked a one-timer from the top of the right circle past Rask at 1:09 off a feed from Tomas Plekanec. The Canadiens had been buzzing around the Bruins net, but Rask did some acrobatics to keep the puck out before the goal. Vanek broke the tie at 18:09 of the period during a 4-on-3 power play. After Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara turned over the puck to Montreal forward Max Pacioretty, defenseman P.K. Subban zipped a pass to the front, where Vanek just got his stick down in time for a tip that gave the Canadiens a 2-1 lead. Vanek extended the Canadiens' lead at 6:30 of the third period on another Montreal power play. Subban took a shot from the blue line and Vanek tipped it in after it emerged from a lot of traffic. It might've also been tipped out high before giving Montreal a 3-1 lead. With the series tied, the Bruins will focus on a better start on the road.

Iginla: "It's a big win, there's no question. We did a lot of good things again. We fought through a lot of stuff tonight. Some things didn't go our way and it feels good that guys stayed with it, stayed positive. We were able to get a late comeback and that's big, something to build on. Game 2 is more important than Game 1, after the first one. So, it feels good. Guys played hard and found a way. But now, that's just one."
Bergeron: "Well obviously we've got to find a way to not get into that position, if we can. But I think we're a resilient group and we've been there before and we have the confidence that we can actually come back in games. Tonight was a perfect example of that. That being said, they outplayed us for more than half the game, so we've got to be better. For sure ... it wasn't close to being good enough, especially at this time of year. We needed to respond and I thought all the guys did that in that third period. But like I've said, we've got to start earlier. We've got to have a 60-minute effort. We haven't done that so far."
Price: "Well they poured it on at the end of the game. They got pretty lucky, I thought. They were playing desperate at the end of the game and they found a way to put it in the net. We've just got to regroup, realize the situation we're in, we're in a good spot, and move forward."
Subban: "We had a two-goal lead. We have to manage the puck better and do smarter things out there, making sure we are being smart with the puck and putting ourselves in a good position. Nine minutes left to go in the game, we have to shut it down. Good teams know how to shut things down when they have the lead. We are a good team, we have done it before. But at the same token we came here wanting to get one win, obviously we would have liked to have two, but we got one. We have home-ice advantage, we're going back to Montreal, and we'll be ready to play."

Los Angeles @ Anaheim 3-2 OT - Round 2 Game 1

A game 20 years in the making began with chants of "Go Kings Go!" that had to be drowned out by "Go Ducks Go!" and "Let's Go Ducks!" Oohs and aahs for every hard hit and shot off the post filled a standing room-only Honda Center for the first Stanley Cup Playoff game between the Sucks and Kings. It was worth the wait. Marian Gaborik sent the Kings fans in the building happy when he scored at 12:17 of overtime to give Los Angeles a 3-2 win Saturday night in Game 1 of the Western Conference Second Round series. Game 2 is Monday night at Honda Center (10 p.m. ET; NBCSN, TSN, RDS). Gaborik, whose goal with 7.0 seconds remaining in regulation forced OT, won it when he came in from the left side and tipped Anze Kopitar's pass from the high slot into the net after Doughty executed a pass from the boards out to Kopitar. Gaborik's fifth goal of the playoffs gave the Kings their fifth straight win in the postseason and sent the orange-clad portion of the crowd of 17,393 out the door in silence. It was a cruel loss for the Ducks, who were seven seconds away from a win and outplayed the Kings for large stretches of the game, including overtime, but found out again how difficult it will be to score two or more goals against Los Angeles. The Kings tied the game at 2-2 when Gaborik batted the rebound of Mike Richards' shot out of the air and between goalie Jonas Hiller's pads. The building was still in disbelief when the teams headed to their dressing rooms. Anaheim had called timeout with 40 seconds remaining to prepare but the Kings pulled goalie Jonathan Quick for a sixth attacker. It was quasi-redemption for Richards, who missed on a 2-on-1 with Justin Williams late in regulation. Anaheim won the draw but Gaborik knocked the puck down. Nick Bonino got a block but the Kings worked the puck out and had Richards' rebound find Gaborik's stick with defenseman Bryan Allen defending. The Kings' win came with a price. They went down to five defensemen after Robyn Regehr left the game in the first period. Regehr was hit against the end boards by Selanne and did not return. Los Angeles was already without Willie Mitchell, who sat out with a lower-body injury and was replaced by Matt Greene. Kings coach Darryl Sutter did not have an update on Regehr. Jeff Schultz is available unless the team recalls another defenseman from its AHL affiliate, the Manchester Monarchs. Gaborik's heroics ruined the juicy storyline of Teemu Selanne, 43, whose third-period goal would have stood as the game-winner. Selanne, whose career predates the existence of his Ducks, finished a 2-on-2 rush when he took a pass from Patrick Maroon and nudged the puck five-hole on Quick at 8:08 to make it 2-1. Selanne became the third-oldest player in NHL history to score a playoff goal. Only Gordie Howe (52 in 1980) and Chris Chelios (45 in 2007) were older. The much-anticipated game featured the tug-of-war dynamic expected between the offensively deep Ducks and the deliberate defensive style of the Kings. After much speculation about Anaheim's starting goalie, Hiller got the nod and stopped 33 shots. Quick completed a stretch of three goals allowed in 11 periods before Selanne notched his 43rd career postseason goal. Anaheim was credited with 54 hits and Los Angeles 41. Kopitar had three assists in his matchup with Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf, who had two. Kopitar leads the NHL with 13 points (four goals) in eight playoff games. The two goals allowed in regulation by Los Angeles equaled the number it allowed in its previous three games. The Kings prevailed despite going more than 17 minutes without a shot, from Alec Martinez's first-period goal to the second period. Not bad for a series opener. The Kings were fewer than 72 hours removed from one of the biggest Game 7 wins in franchise history, a historic comeback from a 3-0 series deficit against the San Jose Sharks. They appeared drained midway through the game when they were under duress, but managed a 1-1 tie going into the third period after the Ducks' Nick Bonino and Corey Perry each hit a post. Getzlaf came back from a blocked shot off his knee and triggered an eruption among the Anaheim fans in the building when he set up the Ducks' first goal. He drove the right side around Kings defenseman Jake Muzzin, faked a wraparound and fed Matt Beleskey for a tap-in into an open net at 11:41, tying the game at 1-1. Martinez opened the scoring at 9:04 with his first playoff goal since Game 3 of the 2012 Stanley Cup Final and the Kings' seventh power-play goal in 22 tries in the past six games.


Doughty: "The atmosphere in the crowd was pretty good tonight. One of the loudest I've heard in this arena. I think a lot of that had to do with the Kings fans here. This is huge for California. But I think that all the players in here, as much as we all know about it, we're just focused on winning games, and that's all that matters to us. I think we showed in the last series that our team doesn't give up. We're a very resilient team. We never once believed that we were going to lose that game. And even with a minute left and the timeouts were called, we really believed that we were going to get that goal. Maybe it was a lucky goal or whatnot, but it doesn't matter how it went in. It went in."
Cogliano: "It's pretty painful right when it happens but … you've got to move on. We're in for the long run here. It's going to be a long series, and tonight showed that. It was an exciting hockey game. I don't think you'll find a better game than that. It was pretty fun to play in, I just wish we would have put the last one in."
Boudreau: "I don't think there was a real breakdown. They made a good play. You get scored on with seven seconds to go, it's a tough one to swallow. I think this is what all the games are going to be like. We had opportunities to win the game. We didn't convert. They converted when they had to."
Sutter: "It was awesome. It's what you expect. The building was great. It was a physical game, and I think the crowd really responded to that. Going to be a good series, I hope."

Playoff Results - Fri, May 02, 2014

NY Rangers @ Pittsburgh 3-2 OT - Round 2 Game 1

How good has the New York Rangers' line of Derick Brassard, Benoit Pouliot and Mats Zuccarello been?

"Since Christmas, they've probably been our most consistent line," Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said. "They've got real good chemistry, they read off each other, support each other well ... and they scored two in overtime."
Brassard and Pouliot each put the puck in the net during overtime Friday, but only Brassard's counted as the Rangers beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-2 in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference Second Round series. Pouliot and Brad Richards scored for the Rangers in regulation, and Henrik Lundqvist stopped 34 of 36 shots. Lee Stempniak and James Neal scored for the Penguins, and goalie Marc-Andre Fleury made 24 saves. Game 2 of the best-of-7 series is Sunday at Consol Energy Center (7:30 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, RDS). The only goal of overtime that counted came 3:06 into the extra period. Pouliot intercepted a Rob Scuderi pass below the goal line in the Pittsburgh end and sent a quick pass in front to Brassard, whose shot from the slot beat Fleury under his glove and below the crossbar. The puck came out of the net as quickly as it went in and play continued. The puck went out to Anton Stralman whose shot was stopped. The rebound went to Brassard at the side of the net, and he sent it to Pouliot, who scored an easier-to-track goal. After a video replay, the goal was awarded to Brassard.
"I thought it went in and when I saw the ref waving it [off], the puck came back to me," Brassard said. "I found [Pouliot] after. All the credit to Stralman, keeping the puck in on the side there, and [Pouliot] made the play behind the net stealing the puck. I don’t know how he found me, because I was behind the defenseman. It was a great pass."
It capped a strong effort for the Rangers, who were playing their fourth game in six days. They beat the Philadelphia Flyers 2-1 in Game 7 of their Eastern Conference First Round series 48 hours earlier.
"We're fine," Pouliot said. "It's not like we're traveling so far away. We played seven games and the seventh one was a grueling match, but I think most of us have been through it. It's the NHL. You've got to figure out a way, and we did."
After the Rangers carried play in the first period and the Penguins responded in kind in the second, the third period was full of chances for each team, but Lundqvist and Fleury stepped up big. Fleury had possibly his best period of the postseason, making eight saves. He flashed a quick glove to rob Derek Stepan 64 seconds into the period, but about a minute later made his best save. He used his stick to stop Rick Nash's low shot from the left corner but deflected the puck right to Martin St. Louis in front. St. Louis had the game on his stick a few feet out from the net, but Fleury was able to get a piece of the shot with left arm. Lundqvist also was solid in the period, stopping all 12 shots he saw. With the Penguins on the power play early in the period, he made a nice glove save on a hard Evgeni Malkin shot, and then came out to stop Stempniak from the right side with 14 seconds left in regulation.
"We played pretty much our whole bench pretty even minutes, forwards and defensemen," Vigneault said. "Guys had good energy, they were focused. We thought we were in pretty good position to be tied after two periods in this building. We played a solid third period and got it done in overtime."
The Rangers came out looking like the fresher team in the first period, holding the Penguins without a shot for the first seven minutes of the game and getting goals from Pouliot and Richards. Pouliot scored 5:04 into the game when he grabbed the puck after Dan Girardi blocked a shot in the New York end and scored off a quick wrist shot from the high slot. Then a strong forechecking effort by Carl Hagelin and defensive-zone breakdown by the Penguins left Richards alone in the slot to score his third of the playoffs with 2:57 left in the opening period.
"I think for whatever reason we didn't come out hard enough," said Penguins captain Sidney Crosby, who was a minus-3 with three shots on goal.
The Penguins came right back in the second, outshooting the Rangers 15-4 and getting goals from Stempniak and Neal. Stempniak scored with a backhander that found space between Lundqvist's pads at 7:15, and Neal tied the game when his low shot from the high slot bounced off Lundqvist's stick and landed behind the New York goaltender before trickling across the goal line with Malkin standing in the crease. The goal stood after a video replay showed Malkin did not touch the puck. The Rangers felt lucky that was all they gave up.
"It's unfortunate our second wasn't as good as our first," Girardi said. "We could have really had a stranglehold on the game. We just stopped skating, stopped making plays and sat back. That's when they take advantage of us not getting pucks deep. They're coming through the neutral zone flying, they’re crisscrossing, making drop passes, and those are hard to defend when we're back on our heels and they're coming with speed. That took a lot for us to come back in the third and refocus our game and get back to what we did in the first."
Regardless of the final result, the Rangers know they have more work to do. "All we've done is win one game," Vigneault said. "We'll rest up [Saturday], we'll have some meetings about things we need to do better, talk about that [Saturday] and get ready for next game." The Penguins will do the same. "We come back from 2-0 down after the first period, get the two goals and made a push to win this game. We don't, but we've got to have a short memory. We've got to come back with Game 2 in our building and put our best foot forward for Game 2."
Minnesota @ Chicago 2-5 - Round 2 Game 1

Patrick Kane has made a living connecting in the clutch for the Chicago Blackhawks during the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Chalk up one more highlight-reel finish for No. 88. The 25-year-old right wing added to his impressive body of work Friday with two third-period goals to help the defending Stanley Cup champions to a 5-2 victory against the Minnesota Wild in Game 1 of their Western Conference Second Round series at United Center.

"I've been fortunate enough to be with some great players in this organization, and I think you can go up and down the roster that have been here for a long time and say everyone has done some big things in big games and scored big goals," Kane said. "I think it's part of everyone's game that's been around here with the winning attitude. It's always nice to chip in too."
Kane scored his first off a spectacular one-handed backhand low in the right circle to snap a 2-2 tie at 8:22 before getting his fifth of this postseason off a pass from Ben Smith with 3:13 remaining. Kane has 34 goals and 79 points in 82 Stanley Cup Playoff games. Bryan Bickell scored twice, including an empty-net goal with 2:41 to go. Marian Hossa also scored for Chicago, which got 30 saves from Corey Crawford. The Blackhawks were outshot for the fifth time in seven playoff games (32-22). The Wild pulled into a 2-2 tie on two quick goals to begin the third period. Defenseman Clayton Stoner made it 2-1 when he directed a shot on Crawford that skittered behind him and deflected off the skate of Blackhawks defenseman Johnny Oduya at 2:19. A video review confirmed the goal. Kyle Brodziak converted a 2-on-1 down low with Erik Haula, lifting home his third of the postseason to Crawford's left at 6:56 to square the game. Game 2 is Sunday at United Center (3 p.m. ET; NBC, RDS, TSN).
"We have to play better with that lead," Kane said. "They made a good push coming back and making it 2-2. Having some time off, we might have been a little rusty. They were coming off a Game 7 win [against the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday] so maybe there was a little high for them. I thought they played pretty well. They probably took it to us most of the game, so we'll try to come back with a better effort in Game 2."
"I didn't mind our first period, but the second period was tilted towards our end kind of like our last game against St. Louis (in the first round Sunday)," Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said. "We certainly lost momentum in the game and they capitalized early in the third, and here we are 2-2 with a lot of hockey left in that game. But there was a good response. [Kane] came up with one of those goals that not many guys in the League could even try or get it done."
The Minnesota comeback was nothing new. The Wild spent all of their first-round series playing catch up against the Colorado Avalanche, overcoming four one-goal deficits in Game 7 before finally earning a 5-4 victory, their first series win in 11 years.
"It didn't have the feel of a game that we were definitely going to win, and when you don't have everyone playing with urgency in detail then you're leaving it up to chance and that's what we did [Friday]," Wild coach Mike Yeo said. "It's not just about effort and trying hard. It's doing things the right way. We didn't have that urgency that adds up to wins this time of the year."
Kane, who won the Conn Smythe Trophy last year and scored the Stanley Cup-winning goal in 2010, began his latest offensive surge midway through the third period. After taking a pass from Patrick Sharp in the neutral zone, Kane crossed the blue line and stickhandled past Wild defenseman Ryan Suter. Kane faked a pass to Patrick Sharp, skated by Brodziak in the right circle while holding away defenseman Jonas Brodin, then lifted a marvelous backhand that beat goalie Ilya Bryzgalov to the short side for a 3-2 lead.
"It's a special play, a great move at the blue line where he juked and jived," Wild forward Jason Pominville said. "He kind of faked a drop to Sharp to go around Brodin and get the shot off. Not many guys can pull that off and be able to do it. We'll have to make sure we have better back pressure and don't give him that opportunity next time."
It's gotten to a point where Sharp expects that type of play out of Kane, whose five goals are tied for the NHL lead this postseason (Paul Stastny, Colorado).
"He's so calm with the puck in tight spaces and he makes shots that not a whole lot of people can make," Sharp said. "That backhand is a good example of it. The thing I like about [Kane] the best is the big stages. He always seems to put one in, whether he's back home in Buffalo in a big game, time and time again in the playoffs he scores goals and it seems like he wants that puck all the time."
The Blackhawks opened a 2-0 lead in the second period on a power-play goal by Hossa at 11:21. The play was set up off a picturesque backhand pass by Brandon Saad from the right circle right onto Hossa's forehand at the left post.
"[Saad] took the puck to the middle and we talk about the side plays, just find a way," Hossa said. "It was a beautiful pass and basically I had an empty net and I just lifted it over the pad."
The Wild exhibited much more life in the period, outshooting the Blackhawks 17-3, but were denied each time by Crawford. He picked up where he left off in the six-game, first-round series win against the St. Louis Blues, when he posted a 1.38 goals-against average and .954 save percentage in four straight victories after losing Games 1 and 2.
"Our guys are doing an unbelievable job on the penalty kill, and special teams was a factor again," Crawford said. "I don't know what else you can say about [Kane]. That guy turns a lot of games around for us. After giving up the lead, he makes another great play to get us right back. He's definitely a difference-maker in a lot of games."
The Blackhawks denied the Wild on three power-play opportunities and finished 2-for-4 with the man-advantage. Bickell gave the Blackhawks a 1-0 lead in the first period on the power play when he redirected a shot from the point by Brent Seabrook past Bryzgalov at 14:48. Brodin received a double-minor for high sticking Hossa at 13:09 to present the Blackhawks with their first big opportunity of the game. Prior to Bickell's goal, Wild forward Zach Parise missed on a shorthanded attempt when he took a lead pass at center ice and skated over the blue line before Blackhawks defenseman Nick Leddy denied him a quality attempt off a superb backcheck. The Blackhawks lost right wing Andrew Shaw midway through the first period when he limped off the ice after taking a hard hit from Stoner, who caught Shaw along the right wing half boards in the Minnesota end at 10:34.
"Shaw is a guy that plays hard and goes in hard on the forecheck," Crawford said. "He's a pest in front of their net. He gets in front of the goalie. Even though he's a small guy (5-foot-10, 180 pounds), it seems like he's able to take a lot of goalies' vision away. He's a key player for us. I don't know what he's like right now."

Playoff Results - Thu, May 01, 2014

Montreal @ Boston 4-3 2OT - Round 2 Game 1

A barrage of 98 shot attempts by the Bruins wasn't enough to stop the Canadiens from winning Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Second Round on Thursday. Carey Price made 48 saves before defenseman P.K. Subban's power-play goal 4:17 into the second overtime gave Montreal a 4-3 victory at TD Garden and a 1-0 lead in the best-of-7 series. Game 2 is scheduled for Saturday (12:30 p.m. ET; NBC, CBC, RDS) at the Garden. Boston defenseman Matt Bartkowski was sent off at 4:10 of the second OT for hauling down Montreal forward Dale Weise. Off the draw, Danny Briere got the puck to Andrei Markov, who found Subban, his defense partner, for a straightaway blast through a screen that beat Tuukka Rask cleanly for the win. It was Subban's second power-play goal of the game; he didn't score during Montreal's first-round sweep of the Tampa Bay Lightning. He finished the night with 33:49 of ice time in a game that the Canadiens won despite being unable to hold leads of 2-0 and 3-2 in the third period. The Bruins outshot Montreal 51-33, a total that would have been higher had the Canadiens not blocked 30 shots. Rask finished with 29 saves and heaped much of the blame for the loss on his play. Boston trailed 2-0 after two periods but came out roaring to start the third. Forward Reilly Smith made it 2-1 when he scored on a seeing-eye shot from the outside right hash mark with Patrice Bergeron screening Price at the right post at 2:44. Defenseman Torey Krug tied the game 2-2 at 6:30. After Milan Lucic gained the zone he passed across the ice to Krug, who stopped the puck and beat Price with a slap shot from just about the left dot. The Bruins' goals came on consecutive shots and were two of three shots on Price in the first 6:30 of the period. Montreal coach Michel Therrien responded to the goals by calling his timeout. Defenseman Francis Bouillon put the Canadiens back in front at 12:09. Brian Gionta set him up with a pass from the goal line for a one-timer from the top of the left circle that beat Rask high to the glove side after the Canadiens were buzzing around Boston's net for several seconds. Boston defenseman Johnny Boychuk answered Bouillon's goal with a straightaway blast from just inside the blue on that beat Price high through a screen with 1:58 left in regulation to tie the score 3-3. The Bruins outshot the Canadiens 14-6 in the third period and again in the first overtime. Carl Soderberg had the best chance when he redirected a Kevan Miller shot off the end wall through Price's five-hole, and the puck slid wide of the far post. The Bruins won the territorial battle and outshot the Canadiens 13-10 in the opening period of the 34th Stanley Cup Playoff series between the teams. But Montreal won the special-teams showdown and took a 1-0 lead into the first intermission. With Bartkowski off for tripping, the Canadiens spread the Bruins' penalty-killers wide and Subban beat Rask with a wrist shot from the blue line through traffic at 11:23. The Canadiens' offensive efficiency continued in the second period, when they were outshot 9-7 but scored the lone goal. Boychuk's cross-ice pass at the Boston blue line proved too hot to handle for Krug and the Canadiens turned it into a 3-on-1. Lars Eller hit Rene Bourque with a pass at the blue line, and Bourque beat Rask with a snap shot from the right circle high over the short-side shoulder at 3:28. Boston's first power play included several opportunities, including a Dougie Hamilton shot off the right post, but Price remained perfect on 22 shots faced through two periods. Like the Detroit Red Wings in the first round, the Canadiens managed to win the first game on the road against the Presidents' Trophy-winning Bruins.

Playoff Results - Wed, Apr 30, 2014 - Game 7s

Philadelphia @ NY Rangers 1-2 - The New York Rangers didn't really lean on Henrik Lundqvist to win a game for them at any point through the first six of their Eastern Conference First Round series against the Cryers. But when the Rangers needed their goaltender in the final period of the final game, Lundqvist showed why he's considered one of the best in the NHL. Lundqvist stopped 10 of 11 shots in the third period, made 26 saves total, and the Rangers defeated the Flyers 2-1 in Game 7 on Wednesday. The Rangers are 6-0 at Madison Square Garden in Game 7. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, they are the first team in NHL history to win a Game 7 in the opening round for three straight years. The Rangers beat the Washington Capitals in 2013 and the Ottawa Senators in 2012. Daniel Carcillo and Benoit Pouliot scored for the Rangers, who advance to face the Pittsburgh Penguins in the second round. The best-of-7 Stanley Cup Playoff series will open Friday night in Pittsburgh (7 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, RDS). The Rangers split four games against the Penguins in the regular season, winning once in Pittsburgh and once in New York. The Rangers also have one of the best: Lundqvist. He allowed Jason Akeson to score at 4:32 of the third period after Marc Staal blocked his initial attempt. The other Rangers might have been feeling comfortable in the third period, but their goaltender wasn't. With the season at stake, Lundqvist said his emotions were a mix of nerves and excitement. Lundqvist is 4-1 in Game 7s. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, his 1.00 goals-against average is tied with Johnny Bower and Dwayne Roloson for the best GAA in Game 7 (minimum three). Lundqvist was pulled from Game 6 on Tuesday after allowing four goals in a 5-2 loss at Wells Fargo Center. The Rangers were strong defensively in the third period, and Lundqvist was there to stop just about everything that slipped through. Lundqvist has allowed one goal or fewer in each of his Game 7 victories, including one shutout. He improved to 7-2 with a 1.56 goals-against average, .948 save percentage and two shutouts in his past nine elimination games. Carcillo opened the scoring at 3:06 of the second period. Mats Zuccarello got the puck down low on the right side of the Philadelphia zone. He twisted away from Flyers forward Sean Couturier and made a backhand pass through the crease past two Philadelphia defenders to Carcillo, who one-timed it past goalie Steve Mason for his second of the postseason. Carcillo was a healthy scratch in Games 5 and 6, but Vigneault opted for him ahead of J.T. Miller because of his experience. Wednesday was Carcillo's 40th playoff game; he played four for the Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks last season. Pouliot made it 2-0 at 11:46 of the second when he scored his second of the playoffs. Anton Stralman dumped the puck into the right corner in the Philadelphia end. Derick Brassard got it, spotted Pouliot stepping away from coverage in the middle by Couturier and found him with a quick pass that Pouliot one-timed past Mason. The Rangers had other chances in the second when they outshot the Flyers 18-5, but Mason again was Philadelphia's top player. He was at his best when he defused a 3-on-1 New York rush. He did the splits to get his left pad on a shot by Martin St. Louis from the right side then got across to stop McDonagh on the post on the left side with 12:20 left in second. Mason finished with 31 saves. The Flyers' best chance of the second period came with four minutes left when Jakub Voracek set up Claude Giroux right in front of Lundqvist, but Giroux's shot went over the net. Philadelphia managed one shot on each of its two second-period power plays. The Flyers pushed harder in the third but came up empty. The Rangers don't have much time to celebrate their victory; they travel to Pittsburgh on Thursday.
Minnesota @ Colorado 5-4 OT - Nino Niederreiter helped the Wild snap an 11-year drought and earn another crack at the Chicago Blackhawks. Niederreiter scored his second goal of the game 5:02 into overtime Wednesday to give the Wild a 5-4 come-from-behind victory against the Avalanche in Game 7 of the Western Conference First Round series at Pepsi Center. The Wild erased four one-goal deficits to force overtime before winning their first Stanley Cup Playoff series since 2003, when they also beat the Avalanche in overtime at Pepsi Center. Colorado still hasn't won a playoff series since beating the Wild in 2008. Minnesota opens its second-round series against the Blackhawks at United Center on Friday (9:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, TSN, RDS). Chicago needed five games to knock the Wild out of the playoffs last season. The home team had won the first six games of the series. But the Avalanche, who won the Central Division with 112 points, couldn't take advantage of home ice in Game 7. They definitely had their chances with four separate one-goal leads, including two in the third period. Colorado center Paul Stastny scored at 2:55 of the third period to give the Avalanche a 3-2 lead, but Niederreiter erased that deficit less than four minutes later by scoring the first of his two goals. He beat Avalanche goalie Semyon Varlamov with a far-side wrist shot from the top of the right circle at 6:33. Colorado defenseman Erik Johnson made it 4-3 with his goal off a wrist shot from inside the blue line with 8:44 to play, but Wild defenseman Jared Spurgeon erased that deficit with 2:27 to play in regulation. Spurgeon saw Avalanche rookie Nathan MacKinnon go down on one knee to slide through his shooting lane in an attempt to block the shot, so he pump faked, pulled the puck back in and found a different lane. He wired his shot from the right circle into the top left corner of the net. Thirty-one seconds after Johnson scored, Wild goalie Darcy Kuemper had to leave the game with an undisclosed injury. Kuemper was taken out by Duchene behind the net in the second period, and Wild coach Mike Yeo said the injury might have been related to that play. Yeo didn't have an update on Kuemper when he addressed the media after the game. Ilya Bryzgalov replaced Kuemper, but the Wild did not surrender a shot on goal over the final 8:13 of regulation. Bryzgalov's lone save came in overtime, when Stastny's 25-foot wrist shot hit off his shoulder. Less than three minutes later Niederreiter converted on a 2-on-1 rush with Kyle Brodziak by firing another hard wrist shot from the right circle, this time to the glove side, past Varlamov. The Avalanche and Wild traded goals through the first 40 minutes to enter the third period tied 2-2. Defenseman Nick Holden and forward Jamie McGinn scored for Colorado; forwards Mikko Koivu and Heatley each scored his first goal of the series for Minnesota. Holden's goal, a power-play goal at 2:52 of the first period, came with some controversy before the NHL Hockey Operations Department cleared it up. McGinn appeared to bump into Kuemper as Holden's shot was redirected into the net by Minnesota defenseman Jonas Brodin, giving Colorado a 1-0 lead. Referee Wes McCauley immediately waved his arms after the puck crossed the goal line, but it wasn't to wave off the goal because of goalie interference. According to Hockey Operations, McCauley waved his arms "as a reaction to a potential infraction for high-sticking the puck. The on-ice officials then huddled regarding the play to discuss if it was a good hockey goal, and agreed the goal would stand." The Wild tied the game 5:12 later when Koivu scored on a one-timer from the left circle that went under Varlamov's glove. Now Yeo's group is moving on to the second round. Minnesota hasn't been there in 11 years, and this trip offers a chance at revenge against the defending champs. The Wild have one day to prepare.
Los Angeles @ San Jose 5-1 - The Los Angeles Kings completed what will likely be remembered as the most famous four-game winning streak in franchise history. Anze Kopitar scored late in the second period and the Kings added three more goals in the third en route to a 5-1 victory against the San Jose Sharks in Game 7 of this Western Conference First Round series Wednesday night at SAP Center. The Kings became the fourth team in NHL history to win a Stanley Cup Playoff series after losing the first three games, joining the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1942, New York Islanders in 1975 and Philadelphia Flyers in 2010. Mike Richards and Jeff Carter, who were members of that Flyers team, became the first players to do it twice.
"It was a result of us staying together as a group of guys. When you've gone to the top of the mountain with the same group of guys it's a little bit easier when you're at the bottom to come up," captain Dustin Brown said. "That's what a lot of this team is about, our guys who have stuck together and played together for years and there's a belief system."
Los Angeles will now try to win a California state title of sorts. The Kings will face their Southern California rivals, the Anaheim Sucks, in a Western Conference Second Round series. It will be the first time these two franchises, separated by 30 miles of freeway, meet in the postseason. When they met in January at Dodger Stadium as part of the 2014 Stadium Series, it was a celebration of how hockey has flourished in California. Game 1 is set for Saturday at Honda Center in Anaheim (8 p.m. ET, NBCSN, TSN, RDS).
"One, it is really good for both teams for a travel standpoint at this time of year," Brown said. "When we were going back and forth to Chicago and St. Louis, that can wear on you in a series, but now both teams have that advantage here. I think it is great for Southern California hockey to finally have this matchup. It will be fun."
In a decade of regular-season greatness followed by postseason disappointment, this will be one of the toughest playoff losses for the San Jose franchise to digest. There is no shame in losing in seven games to the Kings, also considered one of the best teams in the League all season, but the way the series progressed makes it unlike any other seven-game defeat the franchise has experienced.
"There's been a lot of low points, but yeah this is definitely one of them, being up 3-0," Sharks forward Patrick Marleau said. "You don't usually agree with [the critics], but then you do something like this and it's not easy to take, you know?"
Jonathan Quick, lit up for 16 goals in the first three games of this series, made 39 saves for the Kings. He yielded five goals in the final four games, and two in the final three. Drew Doughty scored his first goal of the series at 4:57 of the second period to make it a 1-1 game. The Kings took three shots while on the power play in quick succession, the last by Carter near the left post. The rebound came to Doughty in the left circle, and he made Los Angeles' fourth try count. Doughty and Kopitar were the two best players in this series, and Doughty in particular gave the Kings a big advantage when the Sharks were without their top defenseman, Marc-Edouard Vlasic, in the final two games because of head and lower-body injuries. Kopitar gave the Kings the lead with 1:21 left in the second. Justin Williams slipped a pass to Kopitar cutting toward the net in the slot, and he deked to his right. San Jose goaltender Antti Niemi was completely faked out by the move, and Kopitar calmly flipped a backhanded shot in the net for his fourth goal of the series.
"This is something we're all going to remember for the rest of our lives," Doughty said. "We're not done yet. We have to move on. We're probably gonna start in a few days now. This will be in our heads tonight. That was an unbelievable feeling, a great team effort."
It was yet another point for Williams in a Game 7. He's earned a reputation with big performances in these situations, and now has 10 points in five career Game 7s. The Kings took four penalties during the period, but the Sharks were unable to beat Quick despite 12 shots on goal with the man advantage. The Sharks' best chance came from Marleau, who looked like he had a sure goal near the right post. But Quick reached back and snatched the puck off the goal line with one of the best saves of the series to keep the score tied 1-1.
"When they started reviewing it I thought I might have had a shot, but I didn't see it come down until the last second until I kicked it out to my stick," Marleau said. "He made a really good save on that."
One of the turning points in this series for the Kings came when coach Darryl Sutter put rookies Tyler Toffoli and Tanner Pearson together on a line with Carter, and they hooked up for a pretty goal to make it 3-1 early in the third period. Toffoli sent a pass up the left wing to Pearson, and he eventually sent a backhanded pass back to Toffoli cutting toward the goal and he didn't miss. It was Toffoli's third goal of the series, and they've all come alongside Pearson and Carter.
"That's just chemistry I think between Tanner and Tyler that they've built up probably playing in the minor leagues for the last couple years together," Brown said. "Tanner makes a really nice play on that, going wide and finding him. And Ty, that's what Ty is. He gets the puck in a scoring area and it's in the back of the net. That was a big, big goal."
Brown and Pearson sealed the win with empty-net goals late in the third. That this series needed seven games was far from a surprise, but how it got there certainly was. San Jose won the first three games and scored 17 goals against the team that led the League in fewest goals against during the regular season. The Sharks swept the first two games at SAP Center with convincing 6-3 and 7-2 victories, then won Game 3 in overtime at Staples Center courtesy of a goal by Marleau. The Kings clamped down on San Jose after that, yielding four goals in the next three games to level the series. The Kings chased Niemi in Games 4 and 5, winning 6-3 and 3-0. Alex Stalock started for the Sharks in Game 6 and it was tied midway through the third period, but three goals in less than three minutes gave the Kings a 4-1 victory.
"We were a lot closer last year than we were this year," Sharks coach Todd McLellan said. "We're kidding ourselves if we think we were closer this year, just because it went seven games. I don't know what it was, [18-5] in the last four games. It wasn't even close. We had a core group of individuals that didn't get on the score sheet. Last year was a lot closer than it was this year."

Playoff Results - Tue, Apr 29, 2014

NY Rangers @ Philadelphia 2-5 - The Cryers wanted to be more aggressive offensively heading into Game 6 of their Eastern Conference First Round series against the New York Rangers on Tuesday. Wayne Simmonds took that call to heart. Simmonds had a hat trick and goaltender Steve Mason made 34 saves to lead the Flyers past the Rangers 5-2 in Game 6 of their Eastern Conference First Round series. Claude Giroux had a goal and two assists and Erik Gustafsson scored for the Flyers. Philadelphia also killed off all five Rangers power plays; they've stopped the Rangers now on 20 straight advantages, dating to Game 2 of the series. Carl Hagelin and Mats Zuccarello scored third-period goals for the Rangers and goalie Henrik Lundqvist allowed four goals on 23 shots in two periods. Cam Talbot made his Stanley Cup Playoff debut in the third period in relief, stopping all five shots he faced. The best-of-7 series is tied 3-3 with Game 7 on Wednesday in New York (7 p.m. ET; NBCSN, RDS, TSN2, CSN-PH, MSG). Simmonds had a career-high 29 goals in the regular season, but had been limited to one in the first five games of this series. That changed in short order as he scored all three goals from a distance of about a stick blade's length from the goal. With the Flyers on the power play, Dan Girardi tried to clear the puck but Giroux intercepted the clearing attempt in the neutral zone and started a 3-on-2 rush with Simmonds and Scott Hartnell. The Flyers worked the puck around the offensive zone with Giroux pulling it out of the left corner and centering it to Hartnell. Lundqvist stopped his shot, but Simmonds grabbed the rebound and slid a shot off the skates of Rangers defenseman Ryan McDonagh, then banged the rebound past Lundqvist. It was the first time since Game 1 that the Flyers scored the game's first goal. It also was the Flyers' second power-play goal at home in eight chances in the series. Simmonds made it 2-0 by being in the right place at the right time when Brayden Schenn took the puck from Girardi in the New York zone. It rolled off his stick as he drove to the net but went right to Simmonds, who slammed it home 92 seconds into the second period. Gustafsson gave the Rangers a power play at 12:11, but jumped out of the penalty box to grab a long Braydon Coburn pass and beat Lundqvist on a breakaway at 14:17 to make it 3-0. Simmonds capped his hat trick with another power-play goal when he got to the net and tipped Jakub Voracek's shot past Lundqvist. It was the first playoff hat trick by a Flyers player since Giroux and Sean Couturier had hat tricks in Game 2 of the Flyers' 2012 first-round series against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Simmonds also is the first player to score a hat trick against Lundqvist in a playoff game. The last player with a postseason hat trick against the Rangers was John Madden of the New Jersey Devils against goalie Kevin Weekes in Game 2 of the 2006 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals. Up 4-0 after two periods the Flyers left it to Mason to preserve the win, and he was more than up to the challenge. After stopping all 13 shots he faced in the first and making a game-changing glove save on Benoit Pouliot during a New York power play with 6:23 left in the second, Mason was at his best in the third. His best series of saves came with 10:33 left when he aggressively challenged John Moore from left side and shouldered away a hard chance, then jumped over to the opposite post to deny Pouliot on the doorstep. He also flashed a quick glove to deny Hagelin on a shorthanded breakaway with 9:27 remaining. The Rangers were left to lament their missed chances, including a power play that saw them muster one shot. They won't have much time to dwell on it, with Game 7 in less than 24 hours. They have the game in their building, where they've beaten the Flyers nine of their past 10 visits. The Rangers also are 5-0 all-time at Madison Square Garden in Game 7s.