The New York Rangers goaltender, Henrik Lundqvist, was an intergral part of the New York Rangers and the Washington Capitals having to face each other in a series-deciding game seven.
Lundqvist stopped all 27 shots he faced and Derick Brassard scored the lone goal of the game at 9:39 of the second period.
The game remained in a scoreless tie after the first period. Then, Brassard deflected a shot past Braden Holtby and gave the Rangers the 1-0 lead, which stood for the rest of the game. The Capitals had their chances in the third period and even outshot the Rangers by a 12-7 margin, but they just couldn't find a way to get the puck past Lundqvist.
The winner of the Rangers/Capitals series will face the winner of the Boston Bruins/Toronto Maple Leafs series.
The Toronto Maple Leafs for their first home playoff win since the 2004 postseason and it couldn't have come at a better time. The Leafs were facing elimination, but instead came out and forced a game seven in their series with the Boston Bruins. The Bruins blew a 3-1 series lead and now the series is all square at three games a piece.
The goalies stole the show in the first two periods with neither team scoring a goal. Then, 1:48 into the third period, Dion Phaneuf finally got one past Tuukka Rask for a 1-0 Toronto lead, and sent the crowd into a frenzy.
At 8:59, Phil Kessel scored to give the Leafs a 2-0 lead. James Reimer stoppped 29 of 30 shots and James van Riemsdyk assisted on both of the Toronto goals. The Bruins pulled their goalie last in the game even thought they were still down by two goals. Milan Lucic scored for the Bruins with 24.5 seconds left regualtion, cutting the Leafs lead in half.
The Leafs and Reimer held the Bruins scoreless for the rest of the game and will be back in Boston tonight to see if they can get the win and move onto the next round to face either the Capitals or Rangers.
One series in the Eastern Conference Semifinals is set with the Pittsburgh Penguins taking on the Ottawa Senators, while the other semifinal still needs to be decided.
The Anaheim Ducks and the Detroit Red Wings played in the first game seven of the playoffs.
Henrik Zetterberg scored just 1:48 into the game to give the Red Wings the early 1-0 lead. The Ducks pulled even after rookie, Emerson Etem, found a way to get the puck past Jimmy Howard. Justin Abdelkader scored a shorthanded goal and the Red Wings went into the first intermission with a 2-1 lead.
Valtteri Flippula scored his first goal of the playoffs at even strength to give the Red Wings the 3-1 lead in the second period. Flippula's goal was the only of the period.
At 16:14 of the third period, Henrik Zetterberg took a delay of game penalty for putting the puck over the glass. Francios Beauchemin and the Ducks capitalized on the ensuing power play and made it 3-2, but that's as close as the Ducks would get to the Red Wings. The Red Wings won game seven on the road.
The Western Conference Semifinals are now set with the Red Wings being the last team to clinch the series. The Chicago Blackhawks will take on those Detroit Red Wings, while the Los Angeles Kings will face the San Jose Sharks.
The semifinals kick off tomorrow night with the Penguins and Ottawa facing off at 7:30 p.m. and the Kings and Sharks starting at 10:00 p.m. All times are eastern standard times.
Monday, May 13, 2013
Friday, May 10, 2013
Recap of Chicago/Minnesota and Pittsburgh/New York Islanders
The Chicago Blackhawks closed out their series against the Minnesota Wild with a 5-1 win.
Cory Crawford made 21 saves on 22 shots, but 10 of those saves came in the first period. The Blackhawks buckled down after getting the lead and only allowed the Wild 12 shots in the final two periods.
Marian Hossa had two goals while Marcus Kruger, Andrew Shaw and Patrick Sharp each had a goal.
Torrey Mitchell had the only goal for the Wild. Josh Harding made the start for the Wild since their starting goaltender, Niklas Backstrom, was out with an injury.
Tomas Vokoun got the start in game five for the Pittsburgh Penguins after Marc-Andre Fleury reverted back to playing like he did in last year's playoffs. He couldn't stop anything and let in some cheap goals in game four.
The game was scoreless after the first period, and then the Pens got three goals in the second period to make it 3-0. Tyler Kennedy, Douglas Murray, and Sidney Crosby scored the goals.
Crosby's goal was a highlight reel material. He split the Islanders defensemen and beat Evgeni Nabokov to put the Pens up 3-0.
Kris Letang capped off the Penguins scoring. This is the second time in the series that the Islanders have been shutout.
The Penguins have a chance to close out the series Saturday night at Nassau Coliseum.
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Ottawa/Montreal Game 5
The Ottawa Senators won their first playoff series since the 2006-07 season when they went all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals.
They did it behind the amazing play of goalie Craig Anderson. He made 171 saves on 180 shots and only allowed nine goals in five games.
The Canadiens seemed to be buzzing after that and even hit the post twice during one offensive sequence. Anderson seemed to be stopping everything that was thrown on net.
Then, the Senators got the puck and skated it into the offensive zone. Cory Conacher put the Sens up 2-0 after the puck went off Jean-Gabriel Pageau's skate, and then bounced off the post. The puck bounced to Conacher, who was in perfect position to put the puck in the back of the net.
The Canadiens finally scored with 15 seconds left in the first period. Daniel Alfredsson took the interference penalty and P.K. Subban capitalized on the ensuing power play. The Senators led 2-1 after the first period.
The score remained 2-1 until the 11:29 mark of the second period when the Sens scored a shorthanded goal. The Canadiens misconnected on a pass and the Sens skated down the ice.
Erik Condra was pushed into the goalie and not given a chance to get out of the crease while Kyle Turris took the shot and scored. The goal was reviewed but stood.
Daniel Alfredsson, Conacher and Condra each scored a power play goal in the third period. The Canadiens needed a better effort from Budaj, but didn't get it.
The Senators will face the winner of the Pittsburgh Penguins/New York Islanders series.
Stanley Cup Playoffs
The Stanley Cup Playoffs are in full swing. The San Jose Sharks finally got over their first-round demons by sweeping the Vancouver Canucks. The Sharks now have to wait-and-see who they'll face in the next round.
The other series in the Western Conference are going to go longer than four games. The Chicago Blackhawks have a chance to close out their series against the Minnesota Wild tonight at home. The Anaheim Ducks lead the Detroit Red Wings three games to two in their series. The Ducks and Red Wings series has the potential to go seven games.
The other series that is going on out West is the battle between the St. Louis Blues and the Los Angeles Kings, the defending Stanley Cup champions. The Blues led the series two games to nothing, but the Kings have stormed back and taken a three games to two lead. All five games in the series have been decided by one goal with two of those games going into overtime.
In the East, two teams have a three games to one lead in their series while the other two series are tied at two games a piece. The biggest surprise in the East has been the New York Islanders. Most people didn't give them a chance to even compete against the top-seeded Pittsburgh Penguins. Once again, goaltending has come back to haunt the Pens just like it did last year in the first-round of the playoffs. The Penguins have a chance tonight to take the lead back in the series, but Marc-Andre Fleury won't be in net. Tomas Vokoun has been named the starter for Game 5.
The Washington Capitals took a two games to none lead against the New York Rangers, but the Rangers have come back to even the series.
The Boston Bruins couldn't get a win towards the end of the season and wound up being the number four seed instead of the number two seed in the East. It looks like it worked out for the better for the Bruins, who have a three games to one lead over the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Leafs are making their first playoff appearance for the first time in nine years and their lack of experience is showing.
The Montreal Canadiens are down three games to one in their series to the Ottawa Senators. The Senators have a chance to close out the series tonight in Montreal. These two teams are becoming quick rivals with game two having 236 penalty minutes alone. Montreal's starting goaltender, Carey Price, suffered a lower-body injury last game and is out for the remainder of the series (http://www.nhl.com/ice/blogpost.htm?id=17399&navid=nhl:topheads). Peter Budaj will be the goalie for the remainder of the series.
The other series in the Western Conference are going to go longer than four games. The Chicago Blackhawks have a chance to close out their series against the Minnesota Wild tonight at home. The Anaheim Ducks lead the Detroit Red Wings three games to two in their series. The Ducks and Red Wings series has the potential to go seven games.
The other series that is going on out West is the battle between the St. Louis Blues and the Los Angeles Kings, the defending Stanley Cup champions. The Blues led the series two games to nothing, but the Kings have stormed back and taken a three games to two lead. All five games in the series have been decided by one goal with two of those games going into overtime.
In the East, two teams have a three games to one lead in their series while the other two series are tied at two games a piece. The biggest surprise in the East has been the New York Islanders. Most people didn't give them a chance to even compete against the top-seeded Pittsburgh Penguins. Once again, goaltending has come back to haunt the Pens just like it did last year in the first-round of the playoffs. The Penguins have a chance tonight to take the lead back in the series, but Marc-Andre Fleury won't be in net. Tomas Vokoun has been named the starter for Game 5.
The Washington Capitals took a two games to none lead against the New York Rangers, but the Rangers have come back to even the series.
The Boston Bruins couldn't get a win towards the end of the season and wound up being the number four seed instead of the number two seed in the East. It looks like it worked out for the better for the Bruins, who have a three games to one lead over the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Leafs are making their first playoff appearance for the first time in nine years and their lack of experience is showing.
The Montreal Canadiens are down three games to one in their series to the Ottawa Senators. The Senators have a chance to close out the series tonight in Montreal. These two teams are becoming quick rivals with game two having 236 penalty minutes alone. Montreal's starting goaltender, Carey Price, suffered a lower-body injury last game and is out for the remainder of the series (http://www.nhl.com/ice/blogpost.htm?id=17399&navid=nhl:topheads). Peter Budaj will be the goalie for the remainder of the series.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)