NHL PO - Round 1 Game 5 - Pittsburgh Penguins @ NY Rangers 1-2 OT - 04/24

Penguins Lose Series 1-4

New York Rangers left wing Carl Hagelin never actually saw the puck go into the net. He didn't need to, though. The roar of the douche bags inside Madison Square Garden confirmed it for him. Hagelin's goal at 10:52 of overtime Friday carried the Rangers into the Eastern Conference Second Round with a series-clinching 2-1 win in Game 5. All four Rangers wins in the series came by a 2-1 score, including the past two in overtime. All five games in the series were decided by one goal. Game 5 was decided when Hagelin came out from behind the goal line with the puck, curled into the right circle and beat Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury with a low shot to the short side. The Rangers will play the winner of the series between the Washington Capitals and New York Islanders.
The Rangers were 2-3-0 against the Islanders in the regular season, but they won the past two games against their biggest rival. They were 3-1-0 against the Capitals. None of that was on the Rangers' minds shortly after eliminating the Penguins. All they cared about was winning in five and moving on because they know firsthand what can happen when a team that trails 3-1 in a series gets some life. The Rangers rallied from a 3-1 deficit in the second round last season to eliminate the Penguins in seven games. Fleury made 34 saves in Game 5 and stopped 139 of 150 shots in the series. The Penguins scored eight goals on 132 shots against Lundqvist. Pittsburgh had 38 shots on goal in Game 5; it didn't have more than 25 in any of the previous four games. Lundqvist made 14 saves in the third period and five more in overtime. Evgeni Malkin was held off the scoresheet again despite playing his strongest game of the series. Malkin had no points in the five games. He had six shots on goal in Game 5 after getting five through the first four games. Crosby had an assist on Nick Spaling's game-tying goal at 17:23 of the second period, two goals in helping the Penguins win Game 2, and four points in the series. However, the Penguins' top power-play unit that featured Crosby and Malkin didn't score a goal on 13 chances. New York had a chance to score the go-ahead goal with 3:44 to play in regulation, but Dan Boyle shanked a one-timer from the left circle that had a clear path into the open left side of the net with Fleury caught on the opposite side. The third period also featured shots off the post by J.T. Miller and Crosby, more indications of how close it was despite the 4-1 series win for the Rangers. Derek Stepan gave New York a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal at 4:23 of the first period. He found the rebound of Boyle's shot from the point at his feet in the slot, kicked the puck to his forehand and put it past Fleury 12 seconds into the power play. New York scored the first goal in four of the five games. Spaling tied it at 17:23 of the second period with his only goal of the series. By that point Fleury had 21 saves, including four during a Rangers power play that took place approximately four minutes before Spaling scored the tying goal. The Penguins started to generate some zone time even before Blake Comeau went off for holding Hagelin at 13 minutes of the second period. Lundqvist was forced to make difficult saves on shots from the point and through traffic by defensemen Paul Martin and Brian Dumoulin. He also made a left-pad save on Patric Hornqvist from the slot and off the rebound with Chris Kunitz right in his face. Pittsburgh broke through when Crosby flung the puck at Lundqvist from the goal line to the right of the net. Lundqvist got his blocker on it, and then it hit off of Steve Downie before Spaling came through and appeared to knock it in with his left arm. There was a video review after Spaling put the puck in the net to confirm it was a good goal. Pittsburgh pushed for the go-ahead goal in the third period and had 12 of its 14 shots in the period through 13:05. As they did every time when the Penguins pushed in the series, the Rangers responded. This time, the response put the Penguins down for good.

Pens Quotes

Sidney Crosby: "[Fleury] gave us a chance to win every night. Our power play could have done a little more."
Mike Johnston: "We were really good in this series, really good. It's just a fine line with all those 2-1 games; it's a really fine line who wins and a bounce here, a bounce there. They deserve credit. They're a really good team and they're the top team in the League for a reason, but I thought we battled hard."
Penalties

1st Period
04:11 PIT	Nick Spaling  Tripping against  Martin St. Louis
05:12 NYR	Derick Brassard  Interference against  Ian Cole
12:47 PIT	Daniel Winnik  Holding against  Mats Zuccarello
19:44 NYR	Derick Brassard  Hooking against  Rob Scuderi
2nd Period
13:00 PIT	Blake Comeau  Holding against  Carl Hagelin
3rd Period
04:14 NYR	Dan Girardi  Tripping against  Sidney Crosby

NHL PO - Round 1 Game 4 - Pittsburgh Penguins @ NY Rangers 1-2 OT - 04/22

Rookie center Kevin Hayes capped another gritty, difficult win for the New York Rangers in the Eastern Conference First Round with the biggest goal of his life.
Hayes scored 3:14 into overtime to lift the Rangers to a 2-1 victory in Game 4 against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday at Consol Energy Center. The Penguins scored first for the first time in the series and generally dominated the opening 20 minutes, but the Rangers stayed close, regrouped and rallied. New York got a goal from Derick Brassard late in the second period, 22 saves from goalie Henrik Lundqvist, and Hayes' overtime winner to earn a 3-1 lead in the best-of-7 series. All four games so far have been decided by one goal, including three 2-1 wins for New York. It's the first time the Rangers have won three games when scoring two or fewer goals in one Stanley Cup Playoff series since the 1928 Cup Final. Hayes felt fortunate that the puck even bounced to him for the game-winner. The play started when Keith Yandle rimmed the puck around the boards. It was played behind the net by Martin St. Louis, who curled around the right post with body position between the puck and Penguins defenseman Ben Lovejoy. St. Louis got the puck to Carl Hagelin, who fumbled it before kicking it to his backhand so he could pass it through the crease and under Pittsburgh goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, who made 22 saves. Fleury was down, and Hayes was able to knock it into the net. St. Louis and Hagelin said Wednesday morning that their line with Hayes in the middle had to deliver more. The Penguins obviously have plenty of work to do if they're going to get back in this series. They don't have to look hard for proof that it's possible to come back from a 3-1 series deficit. Pittsburgh had a 3-1 lead on New York in the second round last spring, but the Rangers wiped it away and won the series, limiting the Penguins to three goals over the final three games. They won two of the final three games on the road, which is exactly what the Penguins will have to do. The Rangers know how the Penguins can play when they push for offense. They did that in the third period of Game 3 and nearly erased a two-goal deficit before losing 2-1. They did it in the first period Wednesday and built a 1-0 lead while limiting the Rangers to two shots on goal. Patric Hornqvist scored 2:22 into the first period to give the Penguins the lead, but Lundqvist shut the door from there, including seven saves in the third period. Lundqvist said he expects the Penguins to bring their best in Game 5. The Rangers finally started doing that Wednesday approximately six minutes into the second period, when they were in the middle of killing a penalty. They finished the kill and got eight of the next 10 shots on goal in a span of less than eight minutes. New York had quality shot attempts from in tight by Mats Zuccarello, Dan Boyle, Hayes, St. Louis and Chris Kreider before Brassard scored his third goal of the series at 17:15 to tie the game. The Penguins got the start they wanted by getting the puck behind the Rangers defense twice on their first shift. They carried it over shift by shift throughout the first period, using their speed and forecheck to negate New York's speed and rush game. The Rangers didn't have a shot on goal until 11:35 of the first period, and it was a 56-foot slap shot by center Derek Stepan that barely made Fleury flinch.

Pens Quotes

Marc-Andre Fleury: "I felt it go through, under my arm pit. I didn't know there was a guy right there though."
Sidney Crosby: "We should be loose and going after it [how the Penguins should approach Game 5]. You don't want to be tentative in games like that. You've gotta leave it all out there. That's really the only thing you can do: Go out there, be desperate and get it back here."
Mike Johnston: "We had them for four chances in the third period; we had them for one chance in the first period. We're playing the right way. Yeah, I know the results haven't swung in our favor 2-1, but they will."

Penalties

1st Period
02:39 PIT	Steve Downie  Interference against  Ryan McDonagh
07:25 NYR	Derek Stepan  Tripping against  Ian Cole
11:37 PIT	Blake Comeau  Hooking against  Derek Stepan
17:58 NYR	Dominic Moore  Roughing against  Maxim Lapierre
2nd Period
01:35 PIT	Ian Cole  Boarding against  Martin St. Louis
04:52 NYR	Dominic Moore  Tripping against  David Perron

NHL PO - Round 1 Game 3 - Pittsburgh Penguins @ NY Rangers 1-2 - 04/20

The New York Rangers built a two-goal lead after two periods by being opportunistic on offense and stifling on defense. It was just enough to withstand the inevitable push from the Pittsburgh Penguins in the third period at Consol Energy Center. The Rangers held the Penguins to 11 shots on goal through the first 40 minutes, then held on in the final 20 minutes for a 2-1 win in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference First Round series. Left wings Carl Hagelin and Chris Kreider provided the offense for the Rangers to give them a 2-0 lead after two periods. Goalie Henrik Lundqvist made 23 saves, including 12 in the third period. New York has a 2-1 lead in the best-of-7 series. The Rangers have scored the first goal in all three games in the series. The Penguins have given up the first goal in eight of their past 10 home playoff games; they are 2-6 in those games. The Penguins started to generate more shots in the third period largely because they pushed up and started being more aggressive while they were chasing a two-goal deficit. Patric Hornqvist scored from the slot at 13:12 after a 45-second shift in the offensive zone with linemates Sidney Crosby and Chris Kunitz and defensemen Rob Scuderi and Ian Cole. The Penguins kept threatening, requiring Lundqvist to make some difficult saves, including one with his left skate on Ben Lovejoy, but they couldn't get another shot past him after Hornqvist's goal. Pittsburgh didn't get its first shot on goal until 15:10 of the first period, and even that was a slap shot from near the red line by Lovejoy. The Penguins had three shots on goal and 11 total shot attempts in the first, seven of which came in the final 4:50. New York was stingy again in the second, holding Pittsburgh to eight shots on goal while generating 12. The Penguins had as many shots on goal as they had blocked shots (11) through 40 minutes. The Rangers had 19 shots after two periods. Pittsburgh's opportunities were few and far between because the Rangers didn't give the Penguins much of a chance to generate sustained possession time or even plays off the rush. The Rangers felt after Game 2 that they needed better puck management; they had it early in Game 3, and it helped them build a 2-0 lead. The Rangers carried a 2-0 lead into the second intermission on goals by Hagelin in the first period and Kreider in the second. If not for an old-school, double pad-stack save by Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury on Stepan at 17:44, Pittsburgh could have faced a three-goal deficit. Fleury made 24 saves. Kreider gave the Rangers the 2-0 lead at 11:07 of the second, when he scored from the left post, knocking the puck in after Marc Staal's shot-pass from the point banged off the end boards and caromed to the left of the net. Dan Boyle might have gotten away with hooking Penguins center Maxim Lapierre seconds before Kreider carried the puck into the zone to set up the play that led to his goal. Hagelin gave New York a 1-0 lead with his breakaway goal at 8:43 of the first period. He was sprung by Keith Yandle, who noticed the Penguins were in the middle of a line change when he quickly passed the puck up to a streaking Hagelin. Pittsburgh was inches from tying the game less than eight minutes later, when Crosby's shot from the right circle hit the far post. That was the Penguins' best chance until they started to push in the third period, when time just ran out on their comeback attempt.

Pens Quotes

Sidney Crosby: "Our desperation level was much higher in the third, and you saw the difference in our game and our play. Sometimes it's hard to realize what you are doing in the first or second means as much as it does, but you have to find that desperation for the entire game."
Mike Johnston: "I thought we overpassed the puck early in the game, no question. We came in on the attack, we had lanes, and we took the pass back instead of the play ahead. That has to be a shot choice instant. You can't look, you can't wait, it's gotta be right to the net."

Chloe Moretz spotted at the game in Pittsburgh

Penalties

1st Period
03:10 PIT	Ian Cole  Cross checking against  Tanner Glass
13:11 NYR	Rick Nash  Hi-sticking against  Sidney Crosby
2nd Period
08:57 PIT	Paul Martin  Cross checking against  Mats Zuccarello
12:16 NYR	Ryan McDonagh  Slashing against  Chris Kunitz
12:16 PIT	Chris Kunitz  Cross checking against  Ryan McDonagh
18:04 NYR	Marc Staal  Interference against  Patric Hornqvist
3rd Period
16:31 NYR	Dan Boyle  Roughing against  David Perron
16:31 PIT	David Perron  Roughing against  Dan Boyle
20:00 PIT	Chris Kunitz  Roughing against  Dominic Moore

Where do the Pens go from here?
The New York Rangers' speed up the ice is a staple of their game and noticeable whenever they're playing well. But it was New York's speed on the back check in Game 3 against the Pittsburgh Penguins that caught the attention. The Rangers were dominant in the first two periods en route to a 2-1 win and a 2-1 lead in the best-of-7 Eastern Conference First Round series in part because they were so quick on the back check that it disabled any rush up the ice the Penguins were hoping to have. The Rangers back pressure was really incredible and they didn't give Pittsburgh really anything at all off the rush. It caused the Penguins to turn the puck over at or just inside the blue line when they were looking for help. It was a big part of the game.
It was hard for the Penguins to counter against that back pressure when the Rangers stay committed to being as quick on the back check as they are on their breakouts. Rick Nash was coming back tracking people down and catching them. It's tougher to carry the puck with speed than it is without it, and it was really noticeable in Game 3 where the commitment was there in that game more so than the first two.
For the Penguins to give themselves a better chance to get sustained zone time, something they did not have in Game 3 until they were chasing a two-goal deficit in the third period and the Rangers were sitting back a bit. Is to not let Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist play the puck behind the net as often as he has. While they were trying to read the play and shut his pass down coming down the boards it will still be in their best interest to lay the pucks softer, out of Lundqvist's reach. It'll allow them to get on the forecheck, where they can punish some of the Rangers' defense on the forecheck. Obviously when Lundqvist has the puck that doesn't give them a chance to be physical with the Rangers' defensemen.
Evgeni Malkin's line needs to be playing more of a dump and chase game than a carry-it-in game. Malkin, with Blake Comeau and David Perron as his wings, looked faster in the third period than he did in the first two, but he still didn't generate a shot on goal in the game and has no goals in his past 13 games, which was broken up by a two-week absence because of injury. Sidney Crosby's line has the ability and the will to put the puck in and go get it back where maybe Malkin's line tries to be creative coming over the blue line, and that's where the problem exists with the pressure on the back check. If they're going to be successful the Pens are going to have to alter their game a little bit and become more of a cycle line; get the puck in deep, get it back, go low to high, move people around, get back open and then use their creative abilities at that point. You can't score everything off the rush with this kind of pressure coming back at you on the back check.
The Rangers have to change are getting contributions from all four forward lines and the "world-class plays" their defensemen are making. There is so much more depth on the Rangers team up front and on the blue line. Over the course of time that spread in depth up front and on defense gives the Rangers the edge. That's why Pittsburgh has to play an almost flawless game. Really you just can't make mistakes, and that's difficult to do especially with the pressure the Rangers come with on both sides of the puck.

NHL PO - Round 1 Game 2 - Pittsburgh Penguins @ NY Rangers 4-3 - 04/18

The Pittsburgh Penguins talked confidently after Game 1 about how they felt they could skate with, score against, and defeat the New York Rangers. It wasn't just lip service. Sidney Crosby broke out of his scoring slump in the Stanley Cup Playoffs with two goals, the Penguins scored twice on the power play, and Pittsburgh survived being shorthanded seven times in a 4-3 win against the Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Saturday in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference First Round. Crosby had one goal in his previous 19 playoff games. He scored two in a span of 4:39 late in the second period to give the Penguins a 3-1 lead. Chris Kunitz and Brandon Sutter scored power-play goals for Pittsburgh. Kunitz had an assist on Crosby's second goal and Sutter's goal; Sutter had an assist on Kunitz's goal. The Penguins were 6-for-7 on the penalty kill and are 10-for-12 in the first two games of the series, and their power play has matched the Rangers by going 2-for-5. Fleury made 23 saves, including 12 against the Rangers' power play. Derek Stepan, Derick Brassard and Rick Nash scored for the Rangers. Goalie Henrik Lundqvist made 18 saves. Nash's goal came with 5.1 seconds remaining in the third period. The Rangers scored a power-play goal but lost Game 2 because they couldn't capitalize more often with the man-advantage. The Penguins' penalty problems caught up with them early in the third period when Brassard scored a power-play goal off a rebound of Mats Zuccarello's shot to make it 3-2 at 3:16. The Rangers changed the look on that power play to open more shooting lanes and it worked. They had seven shots on goal and 10 total shot attempts. New York had another power play, its seventh, at 5:46, when Sutter went off for hooking Keith Yandle. Stepan hit the post, but the Penguins preserved the one-goal lead. Kunitz scored his power-play goal, Pittsburgh's second of the game, less than two minutes after Sutter came out of the box. It wound up being the game-winner because of Nash's late goal. The Penguins carried a 3-1 lead into the third period thanks to three goals in the final 10 minutes of the second, including the two from Crosby.

Crosby gave the Penguins a 2-1 lead at 14:07, when he gained inside position on Ryan McDonagh and scored on a rebound. Crosby scored again at 18:46 when he got in ahead of Rangers left wing J.T. Miller and reached his stick out to redirect Kunitz's crossing pass. Crosby last scored a playoff goal in Game 3 of the second round against the Rangers last May 5; that ended a 13-game drought. Stepan gave New York the lead at 17:05 of the first period, but Pittsburgh tied it 1-1 on Sutter's power-play goal at 10:01 of the second. Sutter hit the post with a shot on a shorthanded breakaway at 6:48. Later, after Steve Downie inadvertently blocked Kunitz's shot, the puck popped into the air and bounced on the ice right in front of Sutter. The Penguins were confident they could even the series before it shifted to Pittsburgh. They were right, even if they lived on the edge again.

Pens Quotes

Sidney Crosby: "It's nice to get rewarded. Sometimes in the playoffs you play well and you don't always get the result you want. I thought we continued from the end of last game (a 2-1 loss). I thought we were more aggressive at the end of last game and improved that [Saturday]."

Ian Cole: "[The Rangers] are obviously a team that has won the Presidents' Trophy, they're a great team, but you've seen the parity across this League this year, the past couple years, and any team can beat any team on any given night. Obviously it's a lot harder to do it four times in a seven-game series, but we have a very good team led by Sidney Crosby and stopped on the back end by Marc-Andre Fleury, so we're confident we can play with anybody. Absolutely too many penalties. I mean, I took two of them. Without a doubt too many penalties, but a heck of a job getting it done."

Brandon Sutter: "We [have to] be a little bit smarter for sure, especially stick penalties, myself included. We have to get those stick penalties out. It just popped up and I managed to whack it in. Hopefully it's a sign of things to come."

Marc-Andre Fleury: "Special teams are such a big key in the playoffs and I can't say enough good things about the penalty kill in front of me, blocking shots and helping me around the net. The PP came up big with two goals. That's the difference between winning and losing."


Penalties

1st Period
11:52 PIT	Ian Cole  Hi-sticking against  J.T. Miller
19:21 PIT	Chris Kunitz  Hi-sticking against  Rick Nash
2nd Period
05:29 PIT	Patric Hornqvist  Slashing against  Chris Kreider
08:12 NYR	Carl Hagelin  Tripping against  Taylor Chorney
10:47 PIT	Nick Spaling  Boarding against  Matt Hunwick
16:04 PIT	Ian Cole  Hooking against  Derick Brassard
3rd Period
01:44 PIT	Blake Comeau  Slashing against  Marc Staal
05:46 PIT	Brandon Sutter  Hooking against  Matt Hunwick
07:54 NYR	Kevin Hayes  Hooking against  Taylor Chorney
10:04 NYR	Keith Yandle  Cross checking against  Blake Comeau
17:37 NYR	Chris Kreider  Tripping against  Ian Cole

NHL PO - Round 1 Game 1 - Pittsburgh Penguins @ NY Rangers 1-2 - 04/16

Rick Nash shot for the pads, Derick Brassard dashed down the middle of the ice in search of the rebound, and the New York Rangers got the lucky goal and the lucky start they were hoping for. The result they wanted followed more than 59 minutes later. The Rangers defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 2-1 in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference First Round at Madison Square Garden. Brassard got the Rangers started with a goal 28 seconds into the game off a rebound from Nash's shot that bounced off Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury's pads. Rangers captain Ryan McDonagh scored on a power play in the first period, and goalie Henrik Lundqvist made 24 saves to help New York take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-7 Stanley Cup Playoff series. Lundqvist has allowed four goals in four consecutive playoff wins against the Penguins dating to last season, when the Rangers trailed the series 3-1 but advanced to the Eastern Conference Final with a win in Game 7 of the second round. The Rangers have won all three games against the Penguins at home this season, including two in the regular season.

Blake Comeau scored in the second period, and Fleury made 36 saves for Pittsburgh. The Penguins gave the Rangers five power plays, including four in the first period, which limited captain Sidney Crosby to seven shifts and 3:42 ice time. New York outshot Pittsburgh 38-25; the Rangers held an 18-5 advantage five minutes into the second period. McDonagh scored his power-play goal at 15:16 of the second, during the Rangers' third man-advantage. He scored on a one-timer from the left point off a pass from Keith Yandle that hit off Fleury and went into the net to give New York a 2-0 lead. The Penguins made it 2-1 in the second, which was the better of their first two periods considering they were faster and stayed out of the penalty box. It allowed them to establish some puck possession time low in the Rangers zone. Comeau's first NHL playoff goal came at 6:15, capping a four-shot sequence by the Penguins' fourth line, which generated pressure and continued to hunt down the puck and send shots at Lundqvist after he made saves. The first shot came from Maxim Lapierre from the goal line. The second came from Comeau off the rebound of Lapierre’s shot.

Ben Lovejoy had the third shot, and Comeau scored on the rebound with Lapierre causing havoc in front of the net. Lapierre gained position in the slot on Rangers defenseman Dan Boyle, who couldn't get to the loose puck before Comeau. The Penguins can't ignore the first shift either. That's when the Rangers set the tone, and it was off of a set play, according to Brassard. Dan Girardi connected with Nash on a stretch pass out of the defensive zone. Nash shot quickly from the top of the left circle. The puck hit Fleury, came to the middle of the ice in between the hash marks, and Penguins defenseman Paul Martin couldn't recover in time to stop Brassard from getting to the rebound for an easy put-back. The Penguins followed Brassard's goal with four penalties. Kunitz went for goalie interference, defenseman Taylor Chorney for interference on Rangers forward Tanner Glass, Comeau for roughing center Dominic Moore, and forward David Perron for slashing left wing Carl Hagelin. Pittsburgh was the most penalized team in the NHL during the regular season.

Pens Quotes

Mike Johnston: "The momentum, the crowd, the surge, and those penalties, they earned it. It took a lot of momentum away from our team. Key players couldn't get on the ice, so certainly that was a key factor in the start of the game. Our game started to come as we played them 5-on-5, which was a good sign, a positive sign. But we need to look at the whole game, including the penalties."
Penalties

1st Period
06:02 PIT	Chris Kunitz  Interference on goalkeeper against  Henrik Lundqvist
08:54 PIT	Taylor Chorney  Interference against  Tanner Glass
14:33 PIT	Blake Comeau  Roughing against  Dominic Moore
16:43 PIT	David Perron  Slashing against  Carl Hagelin
2nd Period
13:04 NYR	Rick Nash  Boarding against  Rob Scuderi
3rd Period
05:33 PIT	Steve Downie  Cross checking against  Mats Zuccarello

NHL PO - Round 1 - Washington Capitals beat New York Islanders 4-3

Game 1 - NY Islanders @ Washington 4-1 - Wed, Apr 15 - Isles Lead 1-0
Brock Nelson scored twice, Josh Bailey had a goal and an assist, and Jaroslav Halak made 24 saves to help the Islanders to a 4-1 win against the Capitals in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference First Round at Verizon Center. Ryan Strome scored for the Islanders, who blew a chance to have home-ice advantage in this series when they lost to the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nassau Coliseum. Nelson opened the scoring 6:06 into the game when he beat Capitals goalie Braden Holtby with a wrist shot from the right circle that eluded Holtby's glove. Nelson sealed the win with an empty-net goal. Holtby made 23 saves. Halak, who finished last season with the Capitals, came up big on the penalty kill against a dangerous Washington power play. The Islanders were solid for 19 minutes in the first period before Johansson tied the game at 19:03. Halak misplayed the puck behind the net and Brooks Laich fed Johansson to make it 1-1. Strome scored off a faceoff 3:20 into the second period. Islanders captain John Tavares won the offensive-zone draw and flipped a pass to Strome, who beat Holtby high on the blocker side. Washington managed seven shots on goal in the first period, prompting coach Barry Trotz to shake up his top two lines in an attempt to generate offense. Tavares led Islanders forwards in ice time (17:43). Bailey gave New York a 3-1 lead at 10:36 of the second period when he tapped his rebound behind a sprawling Holtby on his second attempt. Nelson outraced two Capitals and scored into an empty net at 18:41 of the third period for his second goal of the game. Strome, Anders Lee and Calvin de Haan made their postseason debuts for the Islanders. Each team went 0-for-2 on the power play. Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin had eight shots on goal and a minus-2 rating. The Islanders played without Travis Hamonic, who is out indefinitely with an undisclosed injury. Matt Martin and Frans Nielsen returned after missing three regular-season games. Eric Fehr and Jay Beagle returned to Washington's lineup each from an upper-body injury. Beagle missed 14 games and Fehr missed three. Tom Wilson did not play. He was injured blocking a shot in a 2-1 win against the Detroit Red Wings on April 5.
Game 2 - NY Islanders @ Washington 3-4 - Fri, Apr 17 - Series Tied 1-1
Trailing by two goals early in the second period with their starting goaltender out, the Capitals didn't panic. Instead they rallied to score two third-period goals and defeat the Islanders 4-3. Washington trailed 2-0 and 3-1 but won to tie the best-of-7 series. It was the first time since April 21, 2008 that the Capitals trailed a playoff game by two goals and won in regulation. Capitals goalie Philipp Grubauer made 18 saves in his Stanley Cup Playoff debut. Recalled from Hershey of the American Hockey League on Friday morning, he played in place of Braden Holtby, who was ill. Grubauer didn't find out he would start the game until Friday morning. The 23-year-old figured he would back up Holtby or watch the game from the press box. A few hours later, he became the third Capitals goaltender to win his playoff debut (Bob Mason on April 11, 1987; and Olaf Kolzig on April 5, 1995). Grubauer is the seventh Capitals rookie goaltender to start a playoff game and the first German-born goalie to start one in NHL history. New York led 2-0 3:24 into the second period on goals by Cal Clutterbuck and Ryan Strome. Chimera scored the game-winning goal 7:37 into the third period, after Nicklas Backstrom tied it at 3:44. Alex Ovechkin and Karl Alzner also scored for Washington. Kyle Okposo scored for New York, and Jaroslav Halak made 31 saves. In a first period marked by physicality, the Islanders blocked 15 shots and had 18 hits. The Capitals attempted 31 shots but five made it to the net. Clutterbuck gave the Islanders a 1-0 lead at 5:14 of the period. Fed by a Matt Martin pass that created a 2-on-1 against Tim Gleason, Clutterbuck skated through the neutral zone and beat Grubauer high glove side from the left faceoff dot. Strome scored at 3:24 of the second period to make it 2-0. John Tavares picked the puck out of the corner and passed to Strome, who took a one-timer from the top of the right circle. With the Islanders trapped in their zone, Alzner made it 2-1 at 11:26 of the period with a one-timer from the right circle over Halak's glove. Okposo answered for the Islanders at 14:09 to make it 3-1 after a neutral-zone turnover by Washington. Josh Bailey fed Okposo, who scored from the right circle. Ovechkin chipped into the lead with a close-range wrist shot to make it 3-2 at 16:09. It was the first playoff point for Ovechkin in seven games, since May 4, 2013. He has 62 points in 60 NHL playoff games and holds Washington's record of 32 playoff goals. Washington outshot New York 18-7 in the second period. Backstrom tied it 3-3 on a third-period power play. He beat three Islanders defenders and scored from the slot. Tom Wilson returned from an upper-body injury to play the fourth playoff game of his NHL career.
Game 3 - Washington @ NY Islanders 1-2 OT - Sun, Apr 19 - Isles Lead 2-1
John Tavares scored 15 seconds into overtime for the Islanders, who defeated the Capitals 2-1 in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference First Round series at Nassau Coliseum. After a faceoff win to start overtime, Johnny Boychuk sent a shot that Capitals goalie Braden Holtby saved and kept in play. John Carlson tried to clear it, but Nick Leddy kept it in the zone and shot it on goal. Nikolay Kulemin deflected the shot and Brooks Orpik tipped the puck, which Holtby saved, before the rebound went to Tavares, who scored from the side of the net. It was the Islanders' first overtime win in the playoffs since David Volek scored in Game 7 of their fluke against the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Patrick Division Finals in 1993. New York had a 1-0 lead entering the final seven minutes of the third period before Washington tied it with 6:06 remaining on a goal by Nicklas Backstrom from near the right circle. The Islanders outshot the Capitals 16-5 in a scoreless first period. New York had the first 10 shots on goal. Washington didn't have a shot until 7:52 into the game. Jaroslav Halak made 24 saves (11 in the third period), including three on Alex Ovechkin. Holtby made 40 saves and withstood the Islanders' onslaught in the first period. Okposo gave the Islanders a 1-0 lead at 12:37 of the second. Lubomir Visnovsky, who was hit by Troy Brouwer 8:08 into the second period and skated to the locker room, returned to set up Okposo's goal. Visnovsky took a shot from the right side, which deflected off Okposo's leg and past Holtby. Washington, which had the NHL's best power play during the regular season, went 0-for-3 with three shots on goal on the man advantage. Eric Fehr left the game early in the first period after a hit by Okposo. He sustained an upper-body injury and didn't return, and Trotz was unsure of his availability for Game 4.
Game 4 - Washington @ NY Islanders 2-1 OT - Tue, Apr 21 - Tied 2-2
Nicklas Backstrom scored 11:09 into overtime to give the Capitals a 2-1 win at Nassau Coliseum. About three minutes after Islanders goalie Jaroslav Halak robbed Jason Chimera, Halak was screened by Joel Ward on Backstrom's shot from the point, and the Capitals avoided being down 3-1 in the series. Alex Ovechkin scored and had an assist for Washington, and goalie Braden Holtby made 36 saves. The Islanders were again on the wrong side of a play involving a broken stick. John Tavares had to try to defend Backstrom on the overtime goal after his stick broke along the right-wing boards. Washington opened the scoring for the first time in the series when Ovechkin redirected John Carlson's shot from the point past Halak at 13:06 of the first period. It was Ovechkin's second goal of the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Islanders tied it 1-1 with 12.6 seconds left in the first period when Casey Cizikas scored his first goal of the series. Cal Clutterbuck made a nifty move toward the slot and put a wrist shot on net that was denied by Holtby, but Cizikas quickly swatted the rebound over the goal line. New York had plenty of opportunities to score in the second period, when Washington took three minor penalties before it was halfway through. But the Islanders went 0-for-3 and are 0-for-10 in the series. Halak made his best save 8:16 into the third period; he dove across the crease to deny Marcus Johansson's redirection of a feed by Ovechkin during Washington's first power play. Clutterbuck nearly put the Islanders in front 23 seconds later while shorthanded, but his wrist shot from the right circle hit the crossbar.

Holtby, who missed Game 2 because of an illness and made 40 saves in an overtime loss on Sunday, made 15 saves in the second period, 36 total. Brooks Orpik rushed to the dressing room with 1:03 left in the first period after his face was cut by the skate blade of Nikolay Kulemin. Orpik returned for the start of the second. Lubomir Visnovsky left the game with 14:06 remaining in the second after being hit hard by Tom Wilson behind the Islanders net. Wilson received a minor penalty for charging; Visnovsky did not return. Capuano did not have an update on Visnovsky's condition after the game. The Capitals braved another hostile environment but this time managed to get the win after losing Game 3 2-1 in overtime. The Capitals played without Eric Fehr, who sustained an upper-body injury in Game 3. He was replaced by Michael Latta. Andre Burakovsky made his postseason debut and replaced Curtis Glencross, who was a healthy scratch. Glencross did not have a point and was minus-3 through the first three games.
Game 5 - NY Islanders @ Washington 1-5 - Thu, Apr 23 - Caps Lead 3-2
The Capitals haven’t held a lead for much of their Eastern Conference First Round series against the Islanders. Evgeny Kuznetsov scored twice to help the Capitals defeat the Islanders 5-1 in Game 5 at Verizon Center. Washington leads the best-of-7 series 3-2. The Capitals trailed for only 3:17, led 2-1 after the second period and scored three goals in nine minutes in the third. Braden Holtby made 22 saves for Washington. Laich, Jason Chimera and Karl Alzner also scored for the Capitals. Washington was perfect on the penalty kill, holding the Islanders scoreless on both power plays. The Islanders have not scored a power-play goal on 12 attempts in the series. The Capitals know the Islanders will be tough to defeat in their own building, especially in an elimination game.
New York goalie Jaroslav Halak allowed five goals on 35 shots before being pulled for backup Michal Neuvirth. Josh Bailey scored the Islanders’ only goal.
Bailey scored at 5:48 of the first period. His shot went through traffic and past Holtby to give the Islanders a 1-0 lead, the fourth time in five games that the Islanders scored first. The Capitals got the secondary scoring they were looking for at 9:05 of the first when Kuznetsov tied the game 1-1. Kuznetsov won the offensive-zone faceoff, skated behind the net and batted Marcus Johansson’s shot out of midair to score his first career NHL playoff goal. Alzner scored his second goal of the playoffs at 10:31 of the second period to make it 2-1. Jay Beagle had the first shot on Halak, who gave up a rebound that Capitals forward Troy Brouwer took behind the net and passed to Alzner for the one-timer. Alzner, who is typically known as a stay-at-home defenseman, has three points in five playoff games, a career high. He chalks it up to good timing. Washington outshot New York 18-8 in the second period. Laich made it 3-1 at 2:42 of the third period, his first goal of the 2015 playoffs. Beagle corralled the puck and passed to Laich, who scored from the slot. Kuznetsov gave the Capitals a 4-1 lead with his second goal of the game at 6:19 of the third. Chimera scored on a wrist shot at 9:00 to make it 5-1. Mikhail Grabovski played in his first game of the series after he was activated from injured reserve. Lubomir Visnovsky did not play after leaving Game 4 with an upper-body injury.
Game 6 - Washington @ NY Islanders 1-3 - Sat, Apr 25 - Tied 3-3
John Tavares scored in the first period and played a huge role in Nikolay Kulemin's go-ahead goal in the third, giving the Islanders a 3-1 win against the Capitals in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference First Round in what turned out to be the final game ever played at Nassau Coliseum. Jaroslav Halak made 38 saves for the Islanders, who are 26-18 when facing elimination; they are 16-5 at the Coliseum. Cal Clutterbuck scored an empty-net goal with 52.6 seconds left. It was a particularly impressive win for New York, considering it played without injured defensemen Travis Hamonic, Lubomir Visnovsky and Calvin de Haan. Nick Leddy had two assists in 28:59 and Johnny Boychuk played 27:00.

John Carlson scored for the Capitals, who are 0-4 in Game 6 when holding a 3-2 lead in a best-of-7 series since 2006. Braden Holtby made 35 saves. Washington is 3-9 in Game 7, 2-7 at home. Kulemin, who had four goals since Jan. 19, broke a 1-1 tie with 9:27 remaining. Moments after Tavares was driven hard into the boards by Alex Ovechkin, Nick Leddy passed to Kulemin, who collected the puck in front and quickly beat Holtby with a forehand for his first Stanley Cup Playoff goal in his 13th game. Tavares gave the Islanders a 1-0 lead 6:57 into game. After taking a pass from Strome, Tavares skated into the slot and eluded Carlson before putting a wrist shot past Holtby, who was screened by Nelson. Carlson tied it before the end of the first on the Capitals' third power play of the period. With Tavares serving a slashing penalty, Carlson took a pass from Ovechkin and beat Halak with a wrist shot from inside the right point with 4.3 seconds left to make it 1-1. Mikhail Grabovski nearly put the Islanders back in front midway through the second period. He sent a wrist shot from the slot that Holtby couldn't control, but the puck rolled inches wide of the goal post. Halak kept the game scoreless with a save against Joel Ward less than five minutes into the first period. With the Capitals skating 2-on-1, Nicklas Backstrom sent a cross-ice feed to Ward, but Halak stretched across his crease to deny a one-time shot. Jay Beagle nearly tied it with 5:33 left in the third period when his wrist shot hit the crossbar on a rebound chance. Replays confirmed the puck did not cross the goal line. With de Haan and Visnovsky unavailable, defensemen Matt Donovan and Scott Mayfield made their NHL playoff debuts. Mayfield spent the entire regular season with Bridgeport of the American Hockey League. Colin McDonald played for the first time this postseason. The Islanders are moving to Barclays Center in Brooklyn next season, and have played their last game at their arena of 43 years.
Penalties

1st Period
13:06 NYI	Brian Strait  Hi-sticking against  Joel Ward
16:30 NYI	Nikolay Kulemin  Cross checking against  Brooks Orpik
19:27 NYI	John Tavares  Slashing against  Evgeny Kuznetsov
2nd Period
02:59 WSH	Jay Beagle  Hooking against  Kyle Okposo
09:17 NYI	Colin McDonald  Roughing against  Mike Green
09:17 WSH	Mike Green  Roughing against  Colin McDonald
11:55 NYI	Matt Martin  Roughing against  Michael Latta
11:55 WSH	Michael Latta  Roughing against  Matt Martin
18:24 NYI	Matt Donovan  Misconduct (10 min)
3rd Period
20:00 WSH	Marcus Johansson  Roughing against  Thomas Hickey
20:00 WSH	Troy Brouwer  Roughing against  Brock Nelson
20:00 WSH	Nicklas Backstrom  Roughing against  Johnny Boychuk
20:00 WSH	Alex Ovechkin  Roughing against  Kyle Okposo
20:00 NYI	Cal Clutterbuck  Misconduct (10 min)
20:00 NYI	Brock Nelson  Roughing against  Troy Brouwer
20:00 NYI	Johnny Boychuk  Cross checking against  Nicklas Backstrom
20:00 NYI	Kyle Okposo  Cross checking against  Alex Ovechkin
20:00 NYI	Thomas Hickey  Roughing against  Marcus Johansson

Game 7 - NY Islanders @ Washington 1-2 - Mon, Apr 27 - Caps Win 4-3
Game 7 hasn't been kind historically to the Capitals, but they made sure there wouldn't be a premature ending to their season. Evgeny Kuznetsov broke a tie with 7:18 remaining and the Capitals held the Islanders to 11 shots on goal in a 2-1 win. The Capitals, who were 3-9 in Game 7 entering Monday, advance to face the New York Rangers in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The start of that series is to be determined. Kuznetsov, who scored two goals earlier in the series, made a fantastic move to get around Frans Nielsen before roofing a wrist shot over goalie Jaroslav Halak from the slot. But the Capitals are advancing mainly because they saved their best defensive effort for the final game of the best-of-7 series. Capitals goalie Braden Holtby made 10 saves.
Nielsen scored for the Islanders, who have gone 22 years without a playoff series win and will not get to host another game at Nassau Coliseum. Halak made 24 saves. He entered 4-0 with a .977 save percentage when facing elimination against the Capitals and was 2-0 with a 1.50 GAA and .963 save percentage in Game 7s. After dominating for much of the first two periods, the Capitals finally broke through when Joel Ward scored with 1:25 remaining in the second period. Brooks Orpik took a slap shot from the left point that Halak denied, but Ward battled for position against Johnny Boychuk in front of the net and poked the rebound between Halak's skates for his first goal of the playoffs.
Washington outshot New York 12-4 in the second period. The Islanders had seven shots on goal through 40 minutes. Nielsen, who hadn't scored in the series, tied it 3:13 into the third. He took a pass from Thomas Hickey and let go a soft wrist shot that found its way between Holtby's skates to make it 1-1.
Halak made up for what could have been a devastating gaffe three minutes later, when he went to pursue a puck behind his net. But the puck hit the end boards awkwardly to Jay Beagle, who looked to have an open net only to have Halak slide back to kick out the shot with his right pad. The Islanders had the only power play of the game with 2:54 remaining when Capitals defenseman John Carlson was called for roughing. New York went 0-for-14 with the man-advantage in the series. And where the Islanders couldn't generate offense from their blue line, the Capitals did. Carlson assisted on Kuznetsov's goal and finished with a goal and three assists in the series. Halak made two big saves in the first 35 seconds, denying Karl Alzner from the left circle before Tom Wilson had a chance in the slot. Washington outshot New York 10-3 in the first period.
The Capitals nearly got on the board with more than eight minutes remaining in the second period when Curtis Glencross had a chance to put Mike Green's rebound past Halak. With an open net to shoot at, Glencross couldn't get enough on his shot. Glencross was inserted into the lineup after being a healthy scratch the previous three games. Michael Latta was scratched.

NHL PO - Round 1 - Tampa Bay Lightning beat Detroit Red Wings 4-3

Game 1 - Detroit @ Tampa Bay 3-2 - Thu, Apr 16 - Wings Lead 1-0
Mike Babcock said he took any emotion out of choosing Petr Mrazek to start in goal over veteran Jimmy Howard in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference First Round. Instead, Babcock simply went with the goalie he felt gave Detroit the best chance to win. Mrazek, in his first Stanley Cup Playoff game, was worthy of his coach's confidence, making 44 saves to help the Red Wings to a 3-2 win against the Lightning at Amalie Arena. Mrazek, who was 16-9-2 with a 2.38 goals-against average and .918 save percentage in 29 regular-season games, was the choice over Howard, who, when healthy, has been the starter in the playoffs each of the past five seasons. Pavel Datsyuk scored two goals for Detroit, which took a 1-0 lead in the best-of-7 series. Datsyuk gave the Red Wings a 1-0 lead on their first shot at 9:03 of the first period. He redirected a slap shot from Kyle Quincey that caught Lightning goalie Ben Bishop leaning the wrong way. Brian Boyle tied the game at 14:31 of the first period on a shorthanded goal after he tipped a pass by Marek Zidlicky, stole the puck, and scored on the breakaway. Datsyuk scored his second goal eight seconds into the second period on a power play. He pushed the puck forward off the faceoff and sent a shot between Bishop's pads from the slot to give the Red Wings a 2-1 lead. With the Lightning on a power play, Luke Glendening gave the Red Wings a 3-1 lead 5:50 into the third period. He challenged the possession at the point and stole the puck, spinning around Valtteri Filppula on the rush and slid the puck between Bishop's pads with a backhand shot. Nikita Nesterov took the puck from the point to center ice and sent a hard wrist shot past Mrazek at 8:26 to make it 3-2. The Lightning were 0-for-7 on the power play. Bishop made 11 saves on 14 shots.
Game 2 - Detroit @ Tampa Bay 1-5 - Sat, Apr 18 - Series Tied 1-1
Steven Stamkos sent a message early and Tyler Johnson made sure it didn’t fall on deaf ears. Johnson scored two goals to give Tampa Bay a 5-1 win against the Red Wings. Valtteri Filppula, Andrej Sustr and Alex Killorn scored for the Lightning, who tied the best-of-7 series 1-1. Stamkos was in the penalty box when Johnson scored his first goal at 3:05 of the first period to give the Lightning a 1-0 lead. Stamkos and Brian Boyle got into a scrum with Red Wings defensemen Danny DeKeyser and Kyle Quincey that ended with Stamkos holding Quincey in a headlock. Quincey received a double minor to give the Lightning a power play, and Johnson capitalized by scoring with a put-back over the shoulder of Red Wings goalie Petr Mrazek after Nikita Nesterov hit the post with a slap shot from the point. Johnson’s second goal came at 19:22 of the second to give the Lightning a 4-0 lead; he scored on Mrazek on a breakaway. Mrazek, who made 44 saves in the Red Wings’ 3-2 win in Game 1, was pulled for Jimmy Howard after the period. Mrazek allowed four goals on 18 shots and Howard made 11 saves in relief.  Tampa Bay outshot Detroit by six (30-24) after outshooting the Red Wings’ by 32 in Game 1. But the Lightning did a better job of controlling rebounds and frustrating Mrazek in Game 2. Killorn’s goal at 7:56 of the second period came off a rebound while he was fighting off Detroit forward Tomas Tatar in front of the net. He finally jammed the puck past Mrazek as Tatar put him on the ice to give the Lightning a 2-0 lead. Filppula, who gave the Lightning a 5-1 lead with a goal at 15:26 of the third, scored off a rebound of his initial shot. Filppula had an assist on Sustr’s goal at 14:48 of the second period when he fought off a check by Tomas Jurco and found Sustr steaking to the slot for the one-touch goal. It was Sustr’s first goal of the season. Tatar scored for Detroit at 5:49 of the third period when a slap shot from Quincey looked like it hit Riley Sheahan’s stick and the puck ended up with Tatar, who tipped it past Lightning goalie Ben Bishop. Bishop made 23 saves. Stamkos and Nesterov each had two assists.

Game 3 - Tampa Bay @ Detroit 0-3 - Tue, Apr 21 - Wings Lead 2-1
Mike Babcock said his Red Wings "looked like a real hockey team". Petr Mrazek made 22 saves for his first shutout in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and Detroit defeated the Lightning 3-0 at Joe Louis Arena to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-7 Eastern Conference First Round series. Pavel Datsyuk, Riley Sheahan and Luke Glendening scored for Detroit and Jonathan Ericsson had two assists. This was the Red Wings' first home playoff win since the second round of the 2013 playoffs. Goalie Ben Bishop made 18 saves for Tampa Bay. Justin Abdelkader made his series debut and had an assist. He missed the first two games and the last four regular-season games because of a hand injury. Brendan Smith made his 2015 playoff debut after being a healthy scratch in the first two games. Datsyuk gave the Red Wings a 1-0 lead 8:46 into the first period when Tomas Tatar's shot from the left point deflected in off his ankle when he was going to the net in the slot. Sheahan's power-play goal 6:42 into the third period made it 2-0. Sheahan sent a backhand past Bishop after taking a pass from Abdelkader. It was Sheahan's first Stanley Cup Playoff goal. Glendening scored an empty-net goal. Mrazek denied Brian Boyle on a shorthanded breakaway attempt 8:30 into the third period. Mrazek stopped Cedric Paquette's backhand from the slot with a pad save with about four minutes left in the second period. The Red Wings killed a 56-second two-man disadvantage early in the second. Detroit got some help when Tampa Bay's Tyler Johnson hit the goal post at 6:06 during the power play. Marek Zidlicky hit the goal post 1:36 into the period. Darren Helm hit the crossbar 1:08 into the game. A puck hit the goal post behind Mrazek off the leg of Drew Miller around the 10-minute mark of the first. Steven Stamkos wasn't on the ice for any of Tampa Bay’s first power play, which came midway through the first period. Stamkos took a slashing penalty against Helm after the power play ended.

Game 4 - Tampa Bay @ Detroit 3-2 OT - Thu, Apr 23 - Series Tied 2-2
The Lightning and Red Wings each can claim they "stole" a game in their Eastern Conference First Round series. Tyler Johnson scored two goals, including the overtime winner, to lead the Lightning to a come-from-behind 3-2 win at Joe Louis Arena. Johnson scored from below the left circle off a cross-crease pass from Victor Hedman on a 3-on-1 rush at 2:25 of overtime to even the best-of-7 Stanley Cup Playoff series at 2-2. Tampa Bay trailed 2-0 late in the third period, but Johnson and linemate Ondrej Palat scored 1:17 apart to send the game to overtime. Johnson's first goal of the night, at 14:34 of the third, ended Detroit's shutout streak at 119:04. The Lightning had not scored since Valtteri Filppula's goal with 4:34 left in Game 2. In Game 1, the Red Wings got 44 saves from goalie Petr Mrazek and came away with a 3-2 victory despite being outshot 46-14. A key point came when Luke Glendening left the game with a cut to his hand from a scuffle with Johnson and Hedman with 7:28 remaining in the third period. Glendening and Hedman each received a roughing minor. Glendening and linemates Drew Miller and Landon Ferraro had held the Palat-Johnson-Kucherov line in check for most of two games. Glendening got his hand stitched up, and Babcock thinks he'll be ready for Game 5. Tampa Bay goalie Ben Bishop made 22 saves. He allowed second-period goals to Gustav Nyquist and Joakim Andersson. Johnson cut in off the left wing and beat Mrazek from the bottom of the left circle to pull Tampa Bay within 2-1. Palat tied it with 4:09 left when he converted Johnson's pass from behind the net. It was Palat's first goal. Mrazek made 26 saves. Nyquist opened the scoring 5:42 into the second period with his first career playoff goal when he tapped in Henrik Zetterberg's backhand cross-crease pass. Andersson made it 2-0 with 5:36 left in the second. Bishop made the save on Andersson's original shot from the high slot. After the puck popped up in the air, Bishop hit it with his stick, and then it went off the crossbar, bounced down onto the ice and trickled into the net just inside the right goal post. Tampa Bay defenseman Jason Garrison tried to clear it out of the crease behind Bishop, but missed the bouncing puck. Brendan Smith went to the Detroit dressing room 7:45 into the third period after Anton Stralman's shot hit him in the jaw/neck area. He was able to return to the game. Garrison returned to the Tampa Bay lineup after missing the final six games of the regular season and the first three games of the series because of an upper-body injury. The Lightning dressed seven defensemen, opting to scratch rookie center Vladislav Namestnikov. Tampa Bay left wing Jonathan Drouin, the third pick at the 2013 NHL Draft, made his playoff debut after being a healthy scratch for the first three games. He replaced Brenden Morrow in the lineup and on the fourth line, joining center Brian Boyle and right wing J.T. Brown.

Game 5 - Detroit @ Tampa Bay 4-0 - Sat, Apr 25 - Wings Lead 3-2

The Red Wings responded with a serious uppercut in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference First Round against the Lightning after getting hit with a gut punch in an overtime loss in Game 4. Now Detroit has Tampa Bay on the ropes and primed for a knockout. Petr Mrazek made 28 saves in his second shutout of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, giving the Red Wings a 4-0 win against the Lightning at Amalie Arena. Riley Sheahan and Pavel Datsyuk scored power-play goals for the Red Wings, who led Game 4 2-0 before losing 3-2 in overtime. Drew Miller’s goal at 15:46 of the second period gave the Red Wings a 2-0 lead, after Detroit held Tampa Bay without a shot for the first 9:41 of the period. Miller scored on a rebound off a shot by Luke Glendening that bounced off Lightning goalie Ben Bishop’s pad. Detroit’s plan to disrupt Tampa Bay's forwards, particularly Steven Stamkos and Tyler Johnson, worked to near perfection again. Stamkos rarely had open space to get down the ice on rushes and does not have a goal in the series after scoring 43 during the regular season. Mrazek made saves on the few scoring chances the Lightning had and continued to corral rebounds and limit the second and third chances that Tampa Bay had so much success with during the regular season. Sheahan scored at 19:37 of the first period on a power play. The Red Wings moved the puck around the zone and Niklas Kronwall found Sheahan on the right circle and he sent a one-timer past Bishop.
Datsyuk gave the Red Wings a 3-0 lead with Detroit’s second power-play goal at 15:47 of the third period after Stamkos was given a penalty for boarding Justin Adbelkader. Danny DeKeyser scored an empty-net goal. The Lightning were 0-for-3 on the power play; Bishop made 26 saves.

Game 6 - Tampa Bay @ Detroit 5-2 - Mon, Apr 27 - Series Tied 3-3
Tyler Johnson scored two goals, the first one less than four minutes into the game, and the Lightning forced Game 7. Alex Killorn, Jason Garrison and Cedric Paquette also scored for Tampa Bay in its Game 6 victory. Nikita Kucherov assisted on each of the first three Lightning goals, and Ben Bishop made 22 saves. Tomas Tatar scored Detroit's goals, and Petr Mrazek made 23 saves. Tatar brought the Red Wings to within 3-2 at 1:39 of the third period with his second goal of the night. Off a faceoff in the Lightning zone, he got control of a bouncing puck in front of the net, turned around and put it past Bishop for his third goal of the playoffs. But Killorn scored with 5:09 left to restore Tampa Bay's two-goal lead. He picked up a loose puck, cut around Marek Zidlicky and tucked a shot under the crossbar for his second goal of the playoffs. Paquette scored a shorthanded goal into an empty net in the final minute with Mrazek off for the extra attacker. Johnson opened the scoring 3:47 into the game. He cut in off the left wing, got around Dan DeKeyser and beat Mrazek high on the short side from the bottom of the left circle. The play was set up by a long pass from Victor Hedman from his own zone to Kucherov just outside the Red Wings blue line. Kucherov then passed to Johnson, who had built up speed coming down the left side. Garrison made it 2-0 with 8:50 left in the first period. He moved in on a rush to make it a 4-on-3, took a cross-ice pass from Steven Stamkos and beat Mrazek with a wrist shot from the inside edge of the left circle. It was Garrison's first goal of the playoffs. Johnson's second goal of the night made it 3-0 at 9:09 of the second period. He put in a wrist shot from the high slot off the rush. Tatar put Detroit on the board with a power-play goal with 7:34 left in the second. He beat Bishop with a wrist shot from the right circle. Niklas Kronwall laid a heavy check on Kucherov with about a minute left in the second period just inside the Tampa Bay zone. Kronwall's shoulder and elbow made contact with Kucherov's head, but there was no penalty.
Penalties

1st Period
12:23 TBL	Ondrej Palat  Hooking against  Danny DeKeyser
16:58 TBL	Andrej Sustr  Roughing against  Darren Helm
2nd Period
02:49 DET	Niklas Kronwall  Hi-sticking against  Nikita Kucherov
03:33 TBL	Steven Stamkos  Slashing against  Petr Mrazek
03:33 TBL	Tyler Johnson  Roughing against  Jonathan Ericsson
03:33 DET	Jonathan Ericsson  Roughing against  Tyler Johnson
03:33 DET	Jonathan Ericsson  Roughing against  Tyler Johnson
06:02 TBL	Ryan Callahan  Cross checking against  Kyle Quincey
09:34 TBL	Alex Killorn  Roughing against  Jonathan Ericsson
11:16 TBL	Victor Hedman  Slashing against  Justin Abdelkader
13:17 DET	Luke Glendening  Hooking against  Tyler Johnson
20:00 TBL	Cedric Paquette  Roughing against  Justin Abdelkader
20:00 DET	Justin Abdelkader  Roughing against  Cedric Paquette
3rd Period
01:58 TBL	Steven Stamkos  Interference on goalkeeper against  Petr Mrazek
16:34 TBL	Ryan Callahan  Roughing against  Drew Miller
16:34 DET	Drew Miller  Roughing against  Ryan Callahan
18:46 TBL	Braydon Coburn  Cross checking against  Henrik Zetterberg

Game 7 - Detroit @ Tampa Bay 0-2 - Wed, Apr 29 - Bolts Win 4-3
When the Lightning faced the Canadiens in the Stanley Cup Playoffs last spring, Lightning goaltender Ben Bishop was injured, and so he chose to watch the games on television. After the Lightning lost Game 1 at home, Bishop chose a different spot to watch Game 2. After a Game 3 loss at Bell Centre, Bishop switched his spot for Game 4, the game that clinched the Canadiens' sweep of the Lightning. A year later, the Lightning will face the Canadiens again, but Bishop will have far more control on their fate this time. Braydon Coburn's goal at 3:58 of the third period and Bishop's 31 saves lifted the Lightning to a 2-0 win in Game 7 of their Eastern Conference First Round series against the Detroit Red Wings on Wednesday at Amalie Arena. Tampa Bay and Montreal will play Game 1 on Friday at Bell Centre. A lot can be talked about concerning the Lightning, particularly how their makeup has been drastically changed by general manager Steve Yzerman. Half the Lightning had never played in a Game 7 before, but two of their more experienced players in this situation combined to score the winning goal, and each was brought in by Yzerman in the past 14 months. Coburn, acquired at the 2015 NHL Trade Deadline from the Philadelphia Flyers, took a pass through the slot from Ryan Callahan, acquired at the 2014 deadline from the New York Rangers, and one-timed a slap shot to the opposite top corner behind Mrazek. Coburn and Callahan each was playing in a Game 7 for the fifth time. It was Coburn's second Game 7 goal; he's scored one goal in 74 other playoff games. In addition to Coburn, Cooper heaped praise on the play of Anton Stralman, a free agent signing last summer. Brian Boyle was brought in to provide stability down the middle, and young players like Tyler Johnson, Ondrej Palat, Nikita Kucherov and even captain Steven Stamkos are a year older and wiser. This Lightning team is different than the one that got swept by the Canadiens in the first round last year, and it is eager to show it. It wasn't always clear the Lightning would come out on the right end of the series.
After Tampa Bay won Game 6 in Detroit 5-2 to avoid being eliminated, Coburn's series-winner came on the Lightning's 14th shot of the game, their seventh at even strength, after the Red Wings thoroughly dominated the opening 40 minutes but were not rewarded with a lead. Playing without suspended defenseman Niklas Kronwall and injured defenseman Marek Zidlicky, the Red Wings did not appear to be missing them through the first two periods. They outshot the Lightning 23-12, including 17-6 at even strength, and controlled long stretches of play in the offensive zone. Shot attempts at 5-on-5 in the first two periods were 32-13 in favor of the Red Wings, a disparity that reflected play quite accurately. Nowhere was this possession dominance more striking than with the Lightning's "Triplets" line of Palat, Johnson and Kucherov, who were not on the ice for a single Tampa Bay shot attempt at 5-on-5 at the second intermission. The first two periods had a very similar feel, with the Lightning scrambling to take the puck from the Red Wings to no avail, and even though the game was scoreless after 40 minutes, momentum appeared to be on Detroit's side. It all changed with one shot. After Coburn scored, the Lightning got a lift and began taking it to the Red Wings, increasing the pressure around Mrazek and having an apparent goal by Stralman at 12:46 of the third waved off when Stamkos and Detroit forward Riley Sheahan were called for offsetting minors when they got tangled up in the slot as Stralman skated by. Turns out the Lightning didn't need it, with an empty-net goal by Stralman at 18:42 sealing a trip to the second round against a familiar opponent. The Lightning won all five games against Montreal in the regular season by a combined score of 21-8. They just wanted an opportunity to make it six wins in a row, and more importantly erase the memory of that quick playoff exit a year ago. Now they have it, and they have their starting goaltender healthy and coming off his first playoff shutout.