Detroit Red Wings at Boston Bruins – BOS wins 4-2, BOS wins series 4-1
The Bruins would score a power play goal early in the first period to take the lead over the Wings. Defensman Dougie Hamilton carried the puck into the zone and threw the puck out front. The puck went off a Wings defenseman and right on the stick of Loui Eriksson, who deked past Jonas Gustavsson and slid the puck in the open net.
The Bruins would hold the lead until later in the second period. On the power play, Henrik Zetterberg took a shot from the point. The rebound bounced right to Pavel Datsyuk’s stick and he promptly buried the puck upstairs on Tuukka Rask. The Bruins would take the lead back with less than four seconds remaining in the period. A Zdeno Chara point shot beat a screened Gustavsson to make it 2-1 with 3.8 seconds left in the second.
The Bruins would extend their lead to 3-1 thanks to Milan Lucic. After a great save by Jonas Gustavsson, the Wings failed to clear the puck from the zone. Torey Krug would retrieve the loose puck and dish it out front to Lucic who promptly stuffed it past Gustavsson.
Read more on the NHL Playoffs:
Murph’s Musings: Playoff Hockey Isn’t Dirty Hockey
Young D-men Krug, Hamilton Propel Bruins To Series Victory Over Red Wings
Zetterberg would bring the Wings within one with just under four minutes left in the period. Zetterberg was in the right place to corral a rebound and put up upstairs behind Rask to make it 3-2. It was as close as the Wings would come, though, as Jarome Iginla would ice the game, and the series, with an empty-netter.
Columbus Blue Jackets at Pittsburgh Penguins – PIT wins 3-1, PIT leads series 3-2
The Jackets took a first period lead of a power play goal from Boone Jenner. With a little over seven minutes left, Jenner tried to make a cross-ice pass that was partially blocked. The Penguins couldn’t clear the puck in the ensuing scrum and it found its way to Jenner, who slid it into the mostly open net.
The Penguins would tie the game with a little over 12 minutes remaining in the second period. Sidney Crosby retrieved a loose puck on a power play and got a shot on Sergei Bobrovsky. The ensuing rebound landed on the stick of Chris Kunitz, who promptly made it a 1-1 game.
Pittsburgh would take the lead at the 13:44 mark of the third period. Brandon Sutter whacked at a rebound, which then bounced out to Jussi Jokinen and he promptly slid the puck past an out-stretched Bobrovsky. Kris Letang would essentially seal the game for the Penguins with an empty net goal with 1:01 left in the third to give the Penguins the series lead.
On a positive note on the losing side, Bobrovsky saved 48 of 50 shots he faced, giving the Blue Jackets a chance to win the whole game.
Minnesota Wild at Colorado Avalanche – COL wins 4-3 (OT), COL leads series 3-2
The teams would trade chances in the first period, but neither side could crack the other’s goalie.
Colorado would open the scoring with a short-handed goal near the mid-way point of the second period. Ryan O’Reilly turned a loose puck into an odd-man rush and made a nice saucer pass over to Cody McLeod. McLeod would deflect the puck over Niemi and in the net to give his team the lead. Less than a minute after that, Matt Moulson would deflect a Jared Spurgeon point shot down and past Semyon Varlamov to tie the game 1-1.
The Avalanche would take the lead back off a rush by Nathan MacKinnon. The rookie sped into the zone and dropped the puck to defenseman Andre Benoit. Benoit’s shot from the point was deflected by Nick Holden and by Darcy Kuemper.
Zach Parise would tie the game at the 4:34 mark of the third period. A very nice pass from Jason Pominville to Parise, across the neutral zone on the rush, resulted in a Parise shot beating Varlamov to make it 2-2. Less than two minutes later, Jan Hejda turned the puck over in his zone, and eventually a Kyle Brodziak one-timer from Dany Heatley beat a screened Varlamov to make it 3-2 for Minnesota.
With the goalie pulled, and 1:14 left on the clock, P.A. Parenteau tied the game off a rebound from a Paul Stastny shot off the rush. The replay showed it was very close, perhaps was, offside on the Avalanche rush, but nonetheless, it was a 3-3 game and off to overtime.
It would be less than four minutes into overtime when the Avalanche would clinch the game. MacKinnon got the puck in the slot from Gabriel Landeskog and snapped it over Kuemper’s glove to win it 4-3.
Los Angeles Kings at San Jose Sharks – LAK wins 3-0, SJS leads series 3-2
A lot of early pressure by the Kings eventually led to a goal. Tanner Pearson was able to chase down a loose puck through the neutral zone and get it over to Tyler Toffoli. Toffoli then made a nice drag move and snapped it past Antti Niemi to make it 1-0. At the 7:08 mark, Anze Kopitar would make it 2-0 Los Angeles. The Kings would get a 3-on-2 rush after a Sharks chance, and Kopitar put away a rebound off a Dustin Brown shot.
The Kings carried over a power play from the first period to the second and made it count on a lucky bounce for Jeff Carter. Carter tried a turn-around backhand centering pass and it went off a Sharks defenseman and past Niemi to make it 3-0. Alex Stalock was immediately called upon to replace Niemi in net.
Jonathan Quick would shut out the Sharks the rest of the way, saving all 30 shots he faced on the night.
