National Hockey League Playoff Game Capsules
Columbus, OH (SportsNetwork.com) – Two-goal leads in this series aren’t safe. Not for the star-studded team stacked to the hilt with offensive weapons. Not for the traditionally distressed franchise still chasing its first playoff win at home. And back and forth they go. Brandon Sutter, Lee Stempniak and Olli Maatta scored on three straight shots in a 2:13 span in the third period Monday and the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-3 in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals. The Penguins overcame a 2-0 deficit in the first 3:18 of the game to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of- seven series heading into Game 4 on Wednesday in Columbus. It was the third straight game in the series the team holding a two-goal lead lost.
Final Score: Minnesota 1, Colorado 0 (OT)
St. Paul, MN (SportsNetwork.com) – Markus Granlund scored at 5:08 of overtime as the Minnesota Wild grabbed a 1-0 win over the Colorado Avalanche in Game 3 of the Western Conference quarterfinals. Granlund skated the puck behind the net and to the right boards where he fought off a check. Powering his way to the front, Granlund was able to sweep the puck into the left side of the net as he was falling to the ice for the win. Darcy Kuemper, making his first-ever playoff start, turned away all 22 shots for the shutout and help the Wild make it a 2-1 series in favor of Colorado, which won both home games to open the set. Semyon Varlamov made 45 saves for the Avalanche, who rallied for an overtime win in Game 1, before taking a 4-2 victory in Game 2 on Saturday. Minnesota will look to even this series on Thursday in Game 4.
Final Score: Chicago 2, St. Louis 0
Chicago, IL (SportsNetwork.com) – Jonathan Toews scored, Corey Crawford had 34 saves and the Chicago Blackhawks beat the St. Louis Blues 2-0 Monday in Game 3 of the Western Conference quarterfinals. After a pair of overtime losses in St. Louis, the Blackhawks got their first win in the best-of-seven series with Game 4 on tap for Wednesday in Chicago. Crawford had 15 saves in the first period, eight in the second and made his 11th save of the third period on an Alex Pietrangelo shot that was re-directed in the final minute. It was Crawford’s third career postseason shutout. Toews scored 4:10 into the game and Marcus Kruger added an empty-netter to seal the win. Both teams were missing top players. Blackhawks defenseman Brent Seabrook began serving his three-game suspension for the check that knocked David Backes out of Game 2 on Saturday and led to Vladimir Tarasenko’s tying goal for the Blues with 6.4 seconds remaining. Backes was also out after Seabrook drove his shoulder into the Blues captain’s face, sending him head-first into the corner boards. Ryan Miller stopped 23 of the 24 shots he faced in this one, only letting Toews’ drive from the top of the right circle get past him.
Final Score: Dallas 3, Anaheim 0
Dallas, TX (SportsNetwork.com) – Kari Lehtonen made 37 saves for his first playoff shutout, and the Dallas Stars grabbed a crucial 3-0 victory over the Anaheim Ducks in Game 3 of this Western Conference quarterfinal series. Jamie Benn, Ryan Garbutt and Valeri Nichushkin all scored for the Stars, who dropped the first two games of the best-of-seven series in Anaheim. Frederik Andersen made 19 stops in the loss for the Ducks, who lost defenseman Stephan Robidas to a fractured right leg in the game. Robidas was injured early in the second period during a collision with Garbutt, and was taken to a local hospital. The team later said that he suffered a fractured leg and will likely miss the rest of the playoffs. He was making his return to Dallas, which traded him to Anaheim in March. At the time of the trade, he was recovering from a fracture in the same leg — a bit lower than this one — that kept him off the ice for close to four months. Game 4 is Wednesday in Dallas.
Categorized in: NHL