The Washington Capitals silenced a stunned New York crowd by rallying from three goals down to beat the Rangers in double overtime and seize control of their NHL playoffs series on Wednesday.Pittsburgh also scored a double-overtime win to push the Tampa Bay Lightning to the brink of elimination, while Buffalo beat Philadelphia and Anaheim crushed Nashville to even their respective best-of-seven series at 2-2.
In Phoenix, the Detroit Red Wings advanced to the next round of the playoffs after a 6-3 win over the Coyotes sealed a 4-0 sweep of the best-of-seven series.
After a scoreless opening period in New York, the Rangers sprang to life with three goals in the second, Artem Anisimov opening the scoring followed by goals from Marian Gaborik and Brandon Dubinsky seven seconds apart.
However, the Capitals stormed back in the third with three goals in nine minutes, Alexander Semin and Marcus Johansson finding the net 57 seconds apart and Johansson adding another to silence the boisterous New York crowd.
New York netminder Henrik Lundqvist stopped Capitals sniper Alexander Ovechkin on a breakaway in the first overtime period but in the second he was unable to freeze a loose puck and Jason Chimera poked it home to give the Caps a 3-1 series lead.
It was Chimera's third career playoff goal and all three have been game winners. The series shifts back to Washington for Game Five on Saturday.
NO PUSHOVERS
The Penguins will also return home with a commanding 3-1 lead and an opportunity to clinch a spot in the Eastern Conference semi-finals after their 3-2 win over Tampa Bay.
Both teams were missing players due to suspension, with Pittsburgh's Chris Kunitz and Tampa Bay's Steve Downie serving one-game bans for delivering dangerous hits in Game Three.
Pens captain Sidney Crosby practiced with his team but there has been no change in his status as he continues his recovery from a concussion that has kept him out of action for more than three months.
James Neal scored 3:32 in the second period of overtime to lift the Penguins to a 3-2 victory.
The Sabres leveled their series with a 1-0 win over Philadelphia thanks to a first-period goal from Jason Pominville and another outstanding goaltending performance from Ryan Miller, who made 32 saves.
It marked the second shutout of the series for Miller, who also backed the Sabres to a 1-0 win in Game One. The series shifts back to Philadelphia for Game Five on Friday.
"I'm not saying we're a tough team or anything like that but I think at times they (Flyers) have been trying to push us around and we're not going to back down because they are no tougher than we are," Pominville told reporters.
Anaheim's Corey Perry, who finished the regular season as the NHL's top goal scorer, got a short-handed goal as the Ducks blasted Nashville 6-3.
With the Red Wings and Coyotes game tied at 3-0, Detroit's Danny Cleary scored the go-ahead goal at 13:41 in the third before Todd Bertuzzi and Patrick Eaves made the game and the series safe.
In Phoenix, the Detroit Red Wings advanced to the next round of the playoffs after a 6-3 win over the Coyotes sealed a 4-0 sweep of the best-of-seven series.
After a scoreless opening period in New York, the Rangers sprang to life with three goals in the second, Artem Anisimov opening the scoring followed by goals from Marian Gaborik and Brandon Dubinsky seven seconds apart.
However, the Capitals stormed back in the third with three goals in nine minutes, Alexander Semin and Marcus Johansson finding the net 57 seconds apart and Johansson adding another to silence the boisterous New York crowd.
New York netminder Henrik Lundqvist stopped Capitals sniper Alexander Ovechkin on a breakaway in the first overtime period but in the second he was unable to freeze a loose puck and Jason Chimera poked it home to give the Caps a 3-1 series lead.
It was Chimera's third career playoff goal and all three have been game winners. The series shifts back to Washington for Game Five on Saturday.
NO PUSHOVERS
The Penguins will also return home with a commanding 3-1 lead and an opportunity to clinch a spot in the Eastern Conference semi-finals after their 3-2 win over Tampa Bay.
Both teams were missing players due to suspension, with Pittsburgh's Chris Kunitz and Tampa Bay's Steve Downie serving one-game bans for delivering dangerous hits in Game Three.
Pens captain Sidney Crosby practiced with his team but there has been no change in his status as he continues his recovery from a concussion that has kept him out of action for more than three months.
James Neal scored 3:32 in the second period of overtime to lift the Penguins to a 3-2 victory.
The Sabres leveled their series with a 1-0 win over Philadelphia thanks to a first-period goal from Jason Pominville and another outstanding goaltending performance from Ryan Miller, who made 32 saves.
It marked the second shutout of the series for Miller, who also backed the Sabres to a 1-0 win in Game One. The series shifts back to Philadelphia for Game Five on Friday.
"I'm not saying we're a tough team or anything like that but I think at times they (Flyers) have been trying to push us around and we're not going to back down because they are no tougher than we are," Pominville told reporters.
Anaheim's Corey Perry, who finished the regular season as the NHL's top goal scorer, got a short-handed goal as the Ducks blasted Nashville 6-3.
With the Red Wings and Coyotes game tied at 3-0, Detroit's Danny Cleary scored the go-ahead goal at 13:41 in the third before Todd Bertuzzi and Patrick Eaves made the game and the series safe.
Aucun commentaire:
Enregistrer un commentaire