NHL playoffs: 4 stories from Saturday night
Winnipeg loses late again; Pens, Blues, Lightning rebound
It was get-even day for three teams that trailed in their playoff matchups, as the Penguins, Blues and Lightning all came through with series-tying victories. The Jets, though, failed to follow suit, blowing another third-period lead to go down two games to Anaheim.
Here are four stories from Saturday's NHL playoff games:
Jets let lead slip away again
For the second game in a row in Anaheim, the Jets lost in heart-breaking fashion to the Ducks, this time 2-1.
Jakob Silfverberg scored with 21 seconds remaining in the third period as the Ducks rallied to once again ground the Jets. The goal didn't come without some controversy as Silfverberg held the stick of Jets defenceman Bryan Little behind the Winnipeg net, but no penalty was called.
Ondrej Pavelec was unbeatable in the Jets' goal for 50 minutes, and it seemed like a rare Adam Pardy goal might stand up as the game winner. Pardy, who was pushed into the crease on a second-period goal that counted after review, scored his first playoff goal and only his fifth-ever in parts of five NHL seasons. His last goal was in the 2010-11 season as a member of the Calgary Flames.
But Patrick Maroon's power-play goal at 10:43 of the third period tied the game and set the stage for Silfverberg's winner as overtime loomed.
The Jets have not been rewarded for their solid play through the first two games. Winnipeg has led in the series for over 41 minutes, while the Ducks have only been in front for less then five, but it's the Ducks that carry a 2-0 series advantage to Game 3 Monday in Winnipeg.
Crosby sparks Penguins comeback
Just prior to the start of the Penguins-Rangers tilt at New York's Madison Square Garden, the NHL draft lottery was held in Toronto. The first pick, as seen on Hockey Night in Canada, went to the Edmonton Oilers, who moved up from the third-worst finish to claim the top choice. The Oilers are expected to take Erie Otters centre Connor McDavid. It was the fourth time the Oilers have won the first pick in six years.
Another former first-overall pick, Sidney Crosby, who was selected in the 2005 draft, led his Penguins to even status in their series against the New York Rangers with a pair of goals that broke a 1-1 tie en route to a 4-3 triumph.
It was the Rangers that opened the scoring again as Derek Stepan put one past Marc-Andre Fleury late in the first period. But despite a flurry of Pittsburgh penalties in the middle frame, the second period belonged to the Penguins as they scored three times.
Brandon Sutter tied the game midway though the period on a power play before Crosby took control. He backhanded a Patric Hornqvist rebound into the net to break the tie, and swiped at a pass from Chris Kunitz to up the margin to 3-1 before the end of the stanza.
Crosby and the Penguins had a scary moment in the third period when the Rangers' Carl Hagelin caught the captain with a check from behind. Crosby took quite a while to gather himself while he lay on the ice, but eventually skated off. He played the rest of the game without incident.
NBC very upset this interference penalty wasn't called <a href="http://t.co/D53Y1SsuKq">pic.twitter.com/D53Y1SsuKq</a>
—@myregularfaceTarasenko hat trick paces Blues
Vladimir Tarasenko more than made up for a lacklustre playoff opener when he fired in three goals to lead the St.Louis Blues to a 4-1 victory over the Minnesota Wild that evened their playoffs series at one win each.
The 23-year-old Tarasenko, who had an assist but no shots on goal in St. Louis' playoff-opening 4-2 loss, upped his career playoff total to seven with his three-goal performance. He notched a pair of goals in the first period, a lead the Blues held until the third period.
Marco Scandella briefly brought the Wild within a goal in the third period before Patrick Berglund restored the two-goal edge with just under two minutes to play, and Tarasenko fired a shot from near centre ice into an empty net to seal the victory.
Jake Allen stopped 24 of 25 shots for the win.
Lightning strike down Red Wings
After outplaying the Red Wings for large portions of the first game, the Tampa Bay Lightning fell 3-2, despite outshooting the visitors 46-14. On Saturday they made their shots counted and tied the series, driving Detroit goaltender Petr Mrazek from the net with a barrage of goals in a 5-1 triumph.
Tyler Johnson had the only goal of the first period for the Lightning on the power play after the team had gone 0-for-7 on the power play in the opener.
A three-goal outburst by the Lightning in the second period was capped by Johnson's second goal as he cruised in on Mrazek all alone.
Tomas Tatar spoiled Ben Bishop's shutout bid with a third-period tally, but Valtteri Filppula added another power-play score to close out the Lightning victory.