National Hockey League Playoff Game Capsules
Pittsburgh, PA (SportsNetwork.com) – Derick Brassard scored at 3:06 of overtime to lift the New York Rangers to a 3-2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 1 of an Eastern Conference semifinal series. The end of the game was far from conventional. Brassard knew he scored off a feed from Benoit Pouliot, but the game went on. Seconds later, with the Penguins still scrambling around in their zone, Brassard set up Pouliot for what appeared to be the winning goal. The original shot by Brassard was reviewed and showed the puck clearly going underneath the crossbar and inside the left post. Because the puck sprung back out so quickly, it wasn’t evident that it was a good goal and play continued, albeit momentarily. Henrik Lundqvist made 34 saves for the Rangers, including one on Lee Stempniak in the final 11 seconds of regulation. New York won a Game 7 at home against Philadelphia on Wednesday to advance to the second round for the third consecutive year. Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 24- of-27 shots for Pittsburgh, which ousted Columbus in six games in the opening round.
Final Score: Chicago 5, Minnesota 2
Chicago, IL (SportsNetwork.com) – Patrick Kane kicked his quest for a second straight Conn Smythe Trophy into high gear on Friday. Kane scored the first two of Chicago’s three unanswered goals in the third period, as the defending Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks downed the Minnesota Wild, 5-2, in Game 1 of their Western Conference semifinal series at United Center. Chicago carried a 2-0 lead into the third, but Clayton Stoner and Kyle Brodziak scored under five minutes apart early in the frame to even the score. Kane took over from there, netting the game-winner with a wicked backhander at 8:22 before potting his fifth of the playoffs later in the frame to give the Blackhawks a two-goal cushion. Bryan Bickell, who opened the scoring with a power-play goal in the first, added an empty-netter to help Chicago draw first blood in this best-of- seven series. Corey Crawford registered 30 saves for the Blackhawks, who bounced the Wild from the playoffs in the first round of the playoffs last year. Ilya Bryzgalov got the start in net for the Wild in place of an injured Darcy Kuemper, who was forced to exit Minnesota’s Game 7 victory over Colorado after sustaining an undisclosed injury late in the contest. Bryzgalov stopped the only shot he faced in relief against the Avalanche, but turned aside just 17- of-21 shots in Friday’s setback. Game 2 of this series is slated for Sunday in Chicago.
Categorized in: NHL