Playoff Results - Sun, May 25, 2014

Montreal @ NY Rangers 2-3 OT - Rangers Lead Series 3-1
New York Rangers right wing Martin St. Louis parked himself in the right circle, exactly where he parks himself before and after every practice to work on his shot. The area might as well be called his office. There he was Sunday night, in overtime of Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Final, waiting for the puck, a chance to be the hero with a shot that would shorten the distance between the Rangers and the Stanley Cup Final to one win. He got the puck and delivered, putting the Rangers closer to their first trip to the Cup Final in 20 years. St. Louis lifted New York to a 3-2 overtime victory against the Montreal Canadiens at Madison Square Garden with the winner 6:02 into the extra session on a shot from the right circle that snuggly fit below the crossbar and above goalie Dustin Tokarski's glove. The Rangers leads the best-of-7 series 3-1 heading into Game 5 on Tuesday at Bell Centre (8 p.m. ET, NBCSN, CBC, RDS), where they are 2-0 in the series and have outscored Montreal 10-3. Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist made 27 saves, including arguably his most important of the night on Montreal forward Alex Galchenyuk with 3:15 remaining in regulation. The puck hit Lundqvist in the right shoulder and clanged off the crossbar, falling in front of the goal line. The win was the 41st of Lundqvist's career in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, tying him with Mike Richter for the most in franchise history. He did, just as the Rangers did enough on special teams despite giving Montreal eight power-play opportunities. Carl Hagelin scored a shorthanded goal off a breakaway in the first period. Derick Brassard scored on an even-strength breakaway in the second. P.K. Subban's power-play goal early in the third period tied the game at 2-2, Francis Bouillon scored for Montreal in his first game since May 3 and Tokarski made 26 saves. The Canadiens blamed their struggling power play for the loss Sunday. They were 1-for-8, including a failed opportunity early in overtime. They also gave up the shorthanded breakaway goal to Hagelin 7:18 into the first period. The Rangers credited their surging penalty kill for the win. They were guilty of six offensive-zone penalties, including a holding the stick infraction on Benoit Pouliot 30 seconds into overtime, but the Rangers allowed eight shots on goal while shorthanded. They blocked seven shots and had four shorthanded shots on goal. Subban's goal, which appeared to deflect in off of Brendan Gallagher, snapped New York's streak of 27 straight successful kills. There was no complaining about the calls either. There were three for high sticking, two for tripping and one each for interference, cross checking and holding the stick. Rangers defenseman Marc Staal said the penalty kill in overtime gave the Rangers momentum that led to St. Louis' winner. Montreal had multiple chances to clear the zone, but twice Rangers center Brad Richards kept the puck in at the left point. It eventually chipped to Hagelin, who said he saw St. Louis open in the right circle out of the corner of his eye, and he was surprised that nobody was near him. St. Louis had time to walk in on Tokarski to set up his shot. As he did, Staal said everyone on the Rangers bench stood up. St. Louis has scored twice in three games on Tokarski, but the rookie goalie has had his number on several other occasions, stopping point-blank shots from the right circle.

Alain Vigneault: "The goal [St. Louis] scored is exactly what you see him practice every time he's on the ice, like a hundred pucks. He's trying to put it right there. He made, obviously, a great shot on that goal. It was us. It was us. They were penalties. Can't do that."

Lundqvist said of Galchenyuk's shot: "Got a little lucky there. It hit my stick and then the crossbar. I wasn't sure if I got enough of the shot."
Brian Gionta: "This series isn't over. By no means are we counting ourselves out. It's a tough loss. It's a bitter loss. But at the end of the day we're still in this series."
Michel Therrien: "We had the opportunity on the power play and we didn't take advantage of it.Yes, we scored a goal. It was a timely goal. But we gave up one, and that was the [difference] in the game. Our power play has to be better."
Hagelin: "It's pretty good to be even on the PK on a night like this. Right when I got it, I just saw their 'D' in front of me and I saw him chilling there on the right side. He walked in and ripped it top cheese."
Staal: "We just kind of had a feeling that it was going to go in. The puck slides over to him and he's got all that time, so you're anticipating it. He makes no mistake, goes bar down. That's a beautiful shot."
St Louis: "I tried to trust what I saw. Obviously I've gone to that side quite a bit the last few games and he's made some good saves on me. Sometimes you just have to keep trusting what you see and I was fortunate to get it by him."
Tokarski: "But he beat me. It's not a great feeling right now, but we need to get it out of our system and get back to work [Monday]. We have to win a hockey game."

Playoff Results - Sat, May 24, 2014

Chicago @ Los Angeles 3-4 - Kings Lead Series 2-1

The Kings' line of Jeff Carter flanked by rookies Tanner Pearson and Tyler Toffoli has been instrumental in helping erase deficits late in each of the first two rounds of the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs. They haven't waited nearly that long to have a dramatic impact on the Western Conference Final. Carter had a goal and two primary assists to help the Kings defeat the Blackhawks 4-3 in Game 3 at Staples Center on Saturday. Pearson had the lone assist on Carter's goal and Toffoli scored the go-ahead goal late in the second period. Jonathan Quick made 24 saves, defensemen Slava Voynov and Drew Doughty also scored goals and the Kings have a 2-1 lead in the best-of-7 series. Game 4 is here Monday night (9 p.m. ET, NBCSN, TSN, RDS). Jonathan Toews had two early goals for the Blackhawks, and Patrick Sharp scored in the final seconds. Chicago is 2-5 away from United Center during this postseason, and the Blackhawks have lost the first road game of 10 straight playoff series, a streak that dates back to the 2010 Stanley Cup Final. Carter had four points in the third period of Game 2 and seven in a span of 52:54, including this game. He is second in the League this spring with 19 points, one behind teammate Anze Kopitar. Pearson and Toffoli each have points in four straight games, and are tied with Colorado Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon and Boston Bruins defenseman Torey Krug for the most points by a rookie in this postseason. Carter, Pearson and Toffoli have combined for nine goals and 19 points in the Kings' past four games. After Toews scored twice in the first period, Carter got the Kings even at 2-2 thanks to a fortuitous break. Blackhawks defenseman Johnny Oduya tried to get the puck out of danger by slapping it around the boards from behind his own net. But the puck hit an official; Pearson was able to corral it and find Carter in front for quick one-timer at 8:08 of the second period. It was Carter's eighth goal of this postseason and 22nd since the start of the 2012 playoffs. That's five more than any other player; Chicago's Bryan Bickell is second with 17. Toffoli put Los Angeles in front for the first time at 14:19. Shortly after the Kings killed off a penalty, Carter deflected the puck in the neutral zone and it proved to be a perfect pass to spring Toffoli past the defense. He raced in alone on Corey Crawford and slipped the puck under the goaltender's left pad for his sixth goal of the postseason. The Kings dominated the third period and took a two-goal lead at 11:57, two seconds after a Chicago penalty expired. Jarret Stoll beat Toews on a left-circle faceoff in the offensive zone, and Justin Williams got the puck to the left point for Jake Muzzin. Doughty took a pass from Muzzin at the right point and bombed a shot through traffic for his second goal of the playoffs. Toews opened the scoring at 5:26 of the first period with a shorthanded goal. He knocked the puck away from Williams in the neutral zone, then raced past defenseman Alec Martinez to retrieve it. He faked a slap shot and hesitated before snapping a shot past Quick. Voynov scored 40 seconds later with the Kings still on the power play. Carter had the puck below the goal line and whipped a backhanded pass through traffic out to Voynov at the top of the circles. Voynov faked a shot to open a shooting lane, then fired from the edge of the left circle and didn't miss for his second goal of the postseason. Toews added his second of the night at 13:19. Defenseman Michal Rozsival made a nifty move to find some space after a pass from Marian Hossa, but his shot didn't reach Quick. Toews was able to outmuscle Muzzin and kick the loose puck to his stick at the side of the net and put it in for his team-leading eighth goal of the playoffs. That was it for the Chicago offense until Sharp scored with less than five seconds left in regulation. Hossa and Patrick Kane both had great chances when it was still 2-1 to extend the lead, but Quick was there. After Los Angeles took the lead, the Kings seemed to get stronger. After Chicago prevailed 3-1 in Game 1 of this series, Los Angeles has scored 10 goals in the past two. The Kings' top line, led by Kopitar and Marian Gaborik, led the offense in the first two rounds but has yet to score against the Blackhawks. That hasn't been a problem for the Kings, thanks in large part to the trio quickly gaining fame as "That 70's Line" because of their jersey numbers.

Carter: "[Pearson and Toffoli] are working and they're having fun. They use their speed and their skill to create opportunities. Kind of dragging me along with them, so it's been good."

Toews: "We know we can find ourselves out of this tough situation. It's not ideal, it's not exactly what we wanted, to go into a series looking to go down 2-1. It's a good team over there. We know what we have to do. We have our work cut out for us."
Pearson: "Jeff has established himself as a pure goal-scorer over the years and [Toffoli] can sure put it the back of the net. We're just trying to create offense. That's what we were brought here to do, and I think we're doing a good job of that so far and we just need to keep going."
Joel Quenneville: "We got to know the importance of every shift. They got some guys that can make plays. They don't need much of an opportunity to score on. We got to make sure that we give them nothing."
Dustin Brown: "I think it's exciting as a player who's been here for a long time to see guys come up and have really good success on the offensive side of the puck. Everyone talks about how we're not an offensive team and that's probably our M.O. because we are very good on the defensive side of the puck. But to see some of the plays that they're making it's exciting to be a teammate. I'm sure it's exciting to be a fan."

NHL News

New York - Rangers center Derek Stepan sustained a broken jaw in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Final on Thursday, coach Alain Vigneault said Friday. Stepan was having surgery when Vigneault spoke to the media shortly before 1 p.m. ET. Vigneault said he wouldn't know more about a timeframe for Stepan's return until Saturday. Stepan was injured when Montreal Canadiens forward Brandon Prust hit him 2:45 into the first period. Stepan left the game at the time, but returned during a television timeout at 8:15 of the first and resumed a normal shift. He played 17:24 and assisted on Chris Kreider's game-tying goal in the final seconds of the third period. Vigneault said he did not become aware of Stepan's injury until Friday morning. Stepan had X-rays on his jaw after the game Thursday, but further consultation with a specialist Friday morning revealed the fracture. Prust was not penalized for the hit on Stepan, but he is scheduled to have a phone hearing with the NHL Department of Player Safety on Friday because of what is being called interference on the play. Stepan is tied for second on the team in scoring in the Stanley Cup Playoffs with 11 points in 17 games.
Montreal - Canadiens left wing Brandon Prust will have a phone hearing with the NHL Department of Player Safety on Friday afternoon for his hit on New York Rangers center Derek Stepan during the first period at Madison Square Garden on Thursday night. No penalty was called on the play at 2:48 of the first period. Stepan briefly left the game before returning later in the first period. On Friday, Rangers coach Alain Vigneault announced Stepan would undergo surgery for a broken jaw and there was no timetable for his return. Montreal won Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Final, 3-2, in overtime. The following grounds are being considered for supplemental discipline: Interference. However, the Department of Player Safety retains the right to make adjustments to the infraction upon review.
Uniondale - After trading for the rights of pending unrestricted free agent Jaroslav Halak on May 1, the Islanders locked up their new goalie Thursday with a four-year contract. For a team that hasn't had much stability at the position or success on the free-agent front in recent years, the signing is a major step in the right direction. Halak, a productive fantasy goalie behind a stingy defense during his tenure with the St. Louis Blues, is one of four goalies with a 2.15 goals-against average and .920 save percentage or better over the past three regular seasons combined (minimum 100 outings). Cory Schneider, Tuukka Rask and Henrik Lundqvist are the others. He has never hit the 30-win mark in his NHL career, largely because of injuries and the goalie competition between him and Brian Elliott, but will have an opportunity to finally do so with the Islanders if he stays healthy. The closest he came to 30 wins was this past season, when he won 24 in 40 games with the Blues and five in 12 (2.31 GAA, .930 SV%) with the Washington Crapitals. He was traded from St. Louis to the Buffalo Sabres in the Ryan Miller deal on Feb. 28 and shipped to Washington on March 5. The Islanders have finished 21st or worse League-wide in team goals allowed per game in each of the past seven seasons. But in 2012-13 (48-game season), the Isles rode veteran Evgeni Nabokov to the Stanley Cup Playoffs despite pedestrian goals-against average (2.50) and save percentage (.910) totals. Rick DiPietro was the last goalie anywhere near Halak's caliber to play for the Islanders. But after injuries and struggles derailed DiPietro's career, New York used one of its compliance buyouts on his massive contract last summer. In 2013-14, Nabokov, 38, battled injury yet finished 15-14-8. The Islanders were competitive for the most part when he was in net despite a suspect defense corps. Mark Streit signed with the Philadelphia Flyers last summer. Lubomir Visnovsky (24 games played) and Travis Hamonic (69) missed time due to injuries and Andrew MacDonald was dealt to the Flyers prior to the NHL Trade Deadline. Kevin Poulin (28 games) and Anders Nilsson (19) each saw their share of playing time in 2013-14 but failed to seize the opportunity. Each had a goals-against average over 3.00 and a sub-.900 save percentage. If things are going to change on Long Island, those numbers are not going to cut it. With little depth on defense and in net compared to other teams around the League, as well as the impact of John Tavares' injury at the 2014 Sochi Olympics, it's not a surprise the Islanders finished among the League's bottom five. There have been many reasons why New York has finished that low in the standings in recent years, but the lack of a reliable franchise goaltender has topped the list. It's up for debate whether Halak will remain a top-15 fantasy goalie in the coming years, but there's no question he's a significant upgrade to his new team and should be targeted in the 15-20 range come fantasy draft day. He isn't worthy of being drafted over top-tier workhorses or even top 10-to-15 goalies (i.e. Schneider, John Gibson, Elliott, etc.) on paper, but the goalie landscape traditionally thins out in the 15-to-20 range. That's where Halak actually could prove to be worth your while if he falls that far. Halak's value will not be as high entering the 2014-15 season as it was entering any individual season he spent in St. Louis, but he will have every opportunity to start 60-plus games for the Islanders. If healthy, he could finally win 30-plus games and will almost certainly produce much better totals than any Islanders goalie has in quite some time. Halak's potential with the Islanders will be reevaluated as the offseason progresses. For a player who has missed time himself due to injury in recent seasons, it's important for the Islanders to not only address their thin defense but also secure an adequate NHL-level backup goalie to keep Halak's workload manageable. But, regardless of how the Islanders attack their offseason agenda, this signing is a win-win situation for New York and gives this 29-year-old goalie the opportunity to stay productive.

Habs Second Line Finally Gets Going

If ever one goal could give a line confidence and have a carryover effect in a series, it's the goal that Alex Galchenyuk scored in overtime Thursday night. A shot from Tomas Plekanec and a rebound off of Galchenyuk's arm that deflected past New York Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist was the difference in the Montreal Canadiens' 3-2 win in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Final at Madison Square Garden. The Rangers still have a 2-1 lead in the best-of-7 series, and Game 4 is Sunday at the Garden (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, RDS), where it will be interesting to see if Montreal's second line of Galchenyuk, Plekanec and Brian Gionta can build off of one lucky break that, for now at least, has turned the series on its ear. Galchenyuk, Plekanec and Gionta didn't do much of any of that in Game 3. Before the game-winning goal at 1:12 of OT, they had one shot on goal, from Plekanec, who lost 10 of his 19 faceoffs. Montreal coach Michel Therrien put Gionta on the line in place of Thomas Vanek for Game 3 after basically calling out the Plekanec line for its underwhelming performance in the first two games of the series. Plekanec was minus-3 with three shots on goal and eight shot attempts in the first two games. Galchenyuk, who returned to the lineup in Game 2 for the first time since April 9, was minus-1 with two shots on goal in Montreal's 3-1 loss at Bell Centre. Vanek, who was on the fourth line Thursday, was minus-3 with one shot on goal in Games 1 and 2. At least Gionta, who was playing on the third line with Lars Eller and Rene Bourque, had an assist in Game 1, but that was a 7-2 loss. He had four shots on goal in Game 2, but had nothing brewing in Game 3 until overtime. Gionta got the puck through the neutral zone to Plekanec, sending him into the offensive zone with speed. Plekanec put a shot on net, the second of the game for the line, and the rebound went in off of Galchenyuk. Now the Canadiens have to wait to see if that one goal is enough to ignite the line's confidence going forward. They need it to.

Gionta: "It gives you confidence. but at the same time we've gotta go back and try to figure out what we can do better to establish a better forecheck, to get on their D, force them to turn pucks over and come to the net with it."

Galchenyuk: "To be honest, it doesn't really matter. We won the game. We're going to take this right now, winning the game rather than generating a lot of chances and lose." You can see his point, but the goal doesn't erase how ineffective the line was through regulation. Galchenyuk knows that. "It's not like who cares, because obviously we want to create as many chances as we can, but sometimes it's tough with the chemistry. We didn't play together for a while. It's a new line. We're trying to adjust to each other. But we get the win and that's the most important thing."

Therrien: "I think for them it's going to be good for their confidence, and especially a young kid like Galchenyuk, who is 20 years old, scoring the goal in overtime. I'm sure that's a good feeling for him. He's going to feel good about himself, and that's going to be good for his confidence."

Daniel Briere: "Sometimes those are things that can send you on your way to have a few good games in a row. There are not a lot of games left anyway, so it could be a good omen for them."

Playoff Results - Thu, May 23, 2014

Montreal @ NY Rangers 3-2 OT - Rangers Lead Series 2-1

Moments before the Montreal Canadiens went back on the ice for the start of overtime, forward Daniel Briere delivered a speech to his teammates that carried a message they clearly understood: End the game quickly to crush any life that the New York Rangers might have gained from scoring late in regulation. Alex Galchenyuk scored off a rebound 1:12 into overtime of Game 3 on Thursday at Madison Square Garden to lift the Canadiens to a 3-2 victory against the Rangers, whose lead in the Eastern Conference Final was cut to 2-1. Game 4 of the best-of-7 series is Sunday at the Garden (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, RDS). In point of fact, goalie Dustin Tokarski put the Canadiens in position to win the hockey game. The rookie, who was making his second straight start after the right knee injury to Carey Price knocked Montreal's No. 1 goalie out of the series, gave the Canadiens the type of goaltending they typically get from Price. Tokarski made 35 saves, including 26 through two periods and 34 in regulation. The 24-year-old looked calm and composed in his first road game in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. He also didn't even have time to show if he was rattled by Chris Kreider's game-tying goal at 19:31 of the third period. Kreider's deflection of Dan Girardi's shot from the right circle hit off Montreal defenseman Alexei Emelin's right skate and went into the net. The Canadiens took the intermission after the third period to regroup and listen to Briere. They came out strong in overtime and Galchenyuk ended it 72 seconds in when the rebound of Tomas Plekanec's shot from the top of the left circle caromed off him and went into the net. Galchenyuk said he wasn't sure if the puck hit him or his stick. Replays showed it hit off his arm. Kreider's game-tying goal came 2:33 after Briere was credited with a goal that went in off of Rangers defenseman Ryan McDonagh's skate as he slid into the crease. Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist, who made 40 saves in Game 2, dealt with considerably less pressure Thursday. He faced 25 shots, stopping 22 of them. The Rangers had a 27-13 advantage in shots on goal entering the third period. It didn't matter. The game was tied at 1-1. Carl Hagelin gave New York a 1-0 lead at 15:18 of the first period. Montreal defenseman Andrei Markov tied the game with his first goal of the playoffs at 3:21 of the second. New York was plus-14 in shots on goal and plus-21 in shot attempts (52-31) through two periods, but Tokarski was excellent against some quality scoring chances and Montreal blocked 15 shots in front of him. Montreal coach Michel Therrien used the same word to describe Tokarski's performance in Game 3 that he used to describe Lundqvist's performance in Game 2, "Phenomenal." That description was especially accurate in the first period, when the Rangers jumped on the Canadiens not only with the first goal, but with more puck possession leading to a 14-4 edge in shots on goal and a 25-12 margin in shot attempts despite the fact that they won only seven of 24 faceoffs. The Rangers felt like they owed something different to Canadiens forward Brandon Prust after he leveled center Derek Stepan 2:55 into the first period. Stepan stayed down on the ice for several moments before he was escorted down the tunnel to the dressing room. Prust was not penalized for the hit, and Stepan returned to the bench during a television timeout at 8:15 of the first and resumed taking a regular shift. Prust had to answer for the hit on his next shift, when Rangers forward Derek Dorsett fought him. The fight happened after Daniel Carcillo charged into Prust from behind and into the end boards. Carcillo was being held back linesman Scott Driscoll as Dorsett and Prust were fighting. Carcillo physically attempted to get away from Driscoll, who was escorting him to the penalty box. He was assessed the minor for charging Prust and a game misconduct. The Rangers were still angry about Prust's hit on Stepan after the game.

PK Subban: "[Briere] spoke up right before we went out and he said, 'Listen, overtime, it's in their building, they're emotionally high, scored a big goal, we gotta be ready at the start because you know they're going to come out hard and try to end it early. We had to be ready right from the start and I thought our first couple shifts, our first two shifts, were great. We put ourselves in a good position to win the hockey game."

Galchenyuk: "I wasn't really happy with the way I played [Thursday night]. I was hoping I would get a bounce going my way and sure enough I did. I can't be more happy about it."

Lundqvist: "It's going to be tough for a couple of hours, but then you have to let [the loss] go. That's part of playing in the playoffs, short memory, and win or lose you have to move on. We did so many good things, but it's about winning, finding ways to win games."

Therrien: "Without Tokarski's performance probably the result would have been different"

Briere: "It could have very easily been 3-0 or 4-0 after the first. He gave us a chance to stay in the game, to tie it up and even take the lead. We felt like we owed him one [in overtime]."

Alain Vigneault: "He can't do, obviously, what he did there, but we'll let the League handle that," he said when asked if he's concerned about potential supplementary discipline for Carcillo. "I believe if a penalty would have been called on Prust, it probably wouldn't have happened, but there is nothing we can do about it."

Stepan: "I never saw him. Not from the time I got the puck to the time I moved it. I even got some strides in before I got hit and I still never saw him. The main focus is my head. It's the shoulder and there's a lunge there. We can pick it apart all we want, but at the end of the day we've got bigger things on our plate."

Tokarski: "Everything's on the line, so as a goaltender you have to keep playing your game and hope you get a break. And we did."

NHL News

Vancouver - The Canucks on Wednesday announced the hiring of Jim Benning as their general manager. He replaces Mike Gillis, who was let go last month after the Canucks were eliminated from contention for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Canucks president Trevor Linden delivered the news to season-ticket members attending a Canucks Town Hall Meeting in Coquitlam, British Columbia. Benning, 51, who had been assistant general manager of the Boston Bruins, will be introduced Friday in a press conference at Rogers Arena as the 11th general manager in Canucks history. He joined the Bruins as director of player personnel in 2006 after 12 years with the Buffalo Sabres organization. The Canucks finished 12th in the Western Conference with a record of 36-35-11. Linden was named president in early April, and the Canucks fired coach John Tortorella on May 1.

"There were moments of clarity for me in speaking with Jim that we just really connected on a hockey level," Linden told the Canucks website. "Our beliefs on how success is built in the National Hockey League were very aligned."

Pittsburgh - Penguins defenseman Olli Maatta had surgery Thursday to repair a labral tear in his shoulder, the team announced. His recovery time is expected to last 4-6 months. Maatta was third among rookie defenseman this season with nine goals and 29 points in 78 games. He was a plus-8 while averaging 18:29 of ice time per game. The news of Maatta's surgery comes one day after the Penguins announced top defense prospect Derrick Pouliot will need 4-6 months to recover from surgery to repair a labral tear in his shoulder. In 70 games with the Portland Winterhawks of the Western Hockey League, Pouliot 17 goals and 70 points. He also led all WHL defensemen in the playoffs with 32 points in 21 games. Pouliot (No. 8) and Maatta (No. 22) were taken by the Penguins in the first round of the 2012 NHL Draft.

Washington - Barry Trotz interviewed for the vacant coaching job with the Washington Crapitals on Tuesday, according to a TSN report Wednesday. Trotz reportedly met with president Dick Patrick and owner Ted Leonsis. Trotz was fired by the Nashville Predators on April 14 after 15 years. Trotz has history with the Crapitals organization. He was the coach of the Portland Pirates when they were the Crapitals' American Hockey League affiliate and was an assistant coach with the Baltimore Skipjacks when they were the Capitals' AHL team. The Crapitals are looking to replace coach Adam Oates and general manager George McPhee, who were fired April 26. CSNWashington.com reported Wednesday the Crapitals have interviewed Boston Bruins assistant general manager Don Sweeney and Nashville Predators assistant general manager Paul Fenton for the GM job, and might bring in former Pittsburgh Penguins GM Ray Shero for an interview.

Los Angles Kings 'Second Line' Central to Game 2 Victory

Before Game 2 of this Western Conference Final at United Center, Los Angeles Kings coach Darryl Sutter dismissed a question about a line comprised of Jeff Carter, Tanner Pearson and Tyler Toffoli because he felt they weren't playing together as much as they seemed to be getting credit for. Sutter mixes and matches his lines a lot in certain situations. He gives and withdraws playing time from certain players based on how they are performing. It's not a perfect fit to say Carter and the two rookies make up Los Angeles' "second line" because Pearson and Toffoli typically end up near the bottom of time on ice among the forwards. All of that said, those three players had a huge impact on Game 2. Carter finished with a hat trick and four points, all in the third period, and that line accounted for two important insurance goals to put this one out of reach for the Chicago Blackhawks in a 6-2 victory Wednesday that evened the series at 1-1. Carter eventually ended up with the hat trick, though his first goal was actually awarded to him last. He tipped a shot from Drew Doughty with the Kings on the power play early in the third period to tie the score at 2-2. After another power-play goal gave Los Angeles the lead, Carter and the kids took over. A Blackhawks shot attempt was blocked in front of goaltender Jonathan Quick, and the puck came to Carter in the high slot. He skated with it out of danger and into the Blackhawks zone before firing a shot off goalie Corey Crawford. The puck bounded high into the air, and most of the players on the ice slowed down expecting it to hit the netting behind Crawford. Pearson kept skating, and collected it before finding Toffoli cutting to the net for a goal and a 4-2 lead. Pearson made another nice play on the next goal. He chipped it off the wall in his own zone to Carter, who was set free on a 2-on-1 with Toffoli. He opted not to pass and ripped a shot past Crawford to make it a 5-2 lead before later adding an empty-net goal as well. Carter had four points in a total of 14:52 in the third period. He tied an NHL playoff record for most points in a third period, and his three goals tied a Kings postseason record set by Tommy Williams on April 14, 1974, also against Chicago.

Carter said of his goals: "I didn't really have to do too much for them. Stood in front of them for the first one. [Matt Greene] and Tanner made a great play on the second one. It was a good period, but didn't really have to do too much. Their penalty killers do a great job of getting in lanes. Their 'D' front a lot of pucks. It's tough to get them through. We got two pucks [through] tonight all game and they both ended up in the net. It's still something we need to improve on, but it's a good start. It seemed like everybody kind of stopped. Tanner and Tyler made a great play to keep going. There was no whistle, so... It was definitely different [in the third period]. It seemed like they had us on our heels for pretty much the first two periods. I think that goal [late in the second] really got us going. You start to feel good about yourself, start to feel a little better."

Pearson: "I don't think they knew where it was. So I saw it, I knew [Toffoli] would be in the slot somewhere so I just passed it out there and fortunately he was there and put it in."