As of Sunday, all 4 of the conference semifinal series in the National Hockey League (NHL) will go either 6 or 7 games. The New York Rangers have won the 5th and 6th games of their series with the Pittsburgh Penguins to force a Game 7 in Pittsburgh on Tuesday.
The Rangers won Game 6 on Sunday by a score of 3-1 at Madison Square Garden in New York. Martin St. Louis opened the scoring for the Rangers just 3:34 into the game. St. Louis, whose mother passed away unexpectedly on Thursday, scored in the 2nd consecutive game since her passing, this time on Mother’s Day.
Less than 3 minutes later, teammate Carl Hagelin backhanded in a goal to give the Rangers a 2-0 lead. Later in the first period, the Penguins got on the board with a deflected goal by Brandon Sutter, to cut the lead in half, and that’s how the 1st period ended. Derick Brassard scored the Rangers’ 3rd goal on a wristshot, in the 2nd period. With no scoring in the final period, the Rangers won the game 3-1, and this series will be decided in Game 7 in Pittsburgh.
Another game without possible league Most Valuable Player (MVP) Sidney Crosby scoring a goal for the Penguins. I think the Penguins will win the series on Tuesday with or without a goal by Crosby, but if they do lose, and Crosby flames out similar to how he did against the Boston Bruins last year, this performance does not reflect well on his playoff legacy.
Also on Sunday, the defending champion Chicago Blackhawks beat the Minnesota Wild in Game 5 of their series by a score of 2-1, to take a 3-2 series lead. The Wild opened the scoring with a backhander by Erik Haula 16:33 into the 1st period.
The Blackhawks tied the game in the 2nd period on a tipped power play goal by Bryan Bickell. In the 3rd period, Chicago finished the scoring on a goal backhanded in by Jonathan Toews 4:33 into the period. The Blackhawks held on to take the lead in their series against the Wild.
The series goes back to Minnesota for Game 6 on Tuesday. I think the Wild will extend the series, and the Blackhawks will remain undefeated at home in the playoffs with a Game 7 win to take the series on Thursday.
On Saturday, the Boston Bruins took a 3-0 lead early in the 2nd period over the Montreal Canadiens, and held on for a 4-2 win in Game 5 of the series. I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if the Canadiens win Game 6 on Monday, but I expect the Bruins to win the series back in Boston on Wednesday. Montreal is the last Canadian team to win the Stanley Cup, way back in 1993.
The series between the neighbors in Southern California, looked bleak for the Anaheim Ducks after losing the first 2 games of the series at home against the Los Angeles Kings, but after Game 4 on Saturday night, the series is tied at 2 game apiece. Yes, the road team has won all 4 games of this series so far.
In Game 4, Ducks’ head coach Bruce Boudreau turned to 20-year old rookie goaltender John Gibson, and the result is more than even he could have even expected. Gibson responded with a 28-shot shutout.
The Ducks scored twice late in the 1st period on goals by Devante Smith-Pelly and Ryan Getzlaf to take a 2-0 lead, and basically held on in the final 2 periods to earn the shutout. The Ducks only had 3 shots in the 2nd and 3rd period combined, and finished with just 14 shots for the game, but it was enough.
This series may eventually give the NHL 4 conference semifinal 7-game series. I do expect a home team to win a game in this series, but the Ducks, who gave up a goal with 7 seconds remaining, and lost in overtime in game 1, should win the series against the Kings.
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Sports With Frank Thomas
