RANGERS 2, PENGUINS 1, OT
PITTSBURGH -- Kevin Hayes scored at 3:14 of overtime to give the New York Rangers a 2-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday night in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference first-round series.
The Rangers lead the series 3-1 heading back to New York for Game 5 on Friday night.
In overtime, Martin St. Louis started a goalmouth scramble when he threw the puck in front on a wraparound attempt. The puck pinballed to Carl Hagelin and went across the crease for Hayes to flip it past fallen goalie Marc-Andre Fleury. The point was Hayes' first in the postseason.
New York's Derick Brassard tied it at 1 with 2:45 left in the second period with his third goal of the series. Patric Hornqvist opened the scoring at 2:22 of the first period.
Fleury and New York's Henrik Lundqvist each made 22 saves.
The Penguins are a loss away from elimination after dropping consecutive home playoff games to the NHL's best regular-season road team. The Rangers have won 12 of their last 13 on the road, allowing 15 goals.
Nine of the last 11 playoff games between the two teams have been decided by two or fewer goals, including four one-goal games in this series.
Hornqvist nearly ended it in the final minute of regulation, but Lundqvist denied him with a sliding save and Dan Girardi swept the rebound away from a gaping net.
The Penguins got the start they wanted when Hornqvist redirected Ben Lovejoy's point shot through Lundqvist's legs. They dominated the first 10 minutes, buzzing the Rangers' end and peppering Lundqvist with the first six shots. It was a stark contrast from the first three games of the series when New York outscored Pittsburgh 4-0 in the opening period and limited the sluggish Penguins to 13 shots during that span.
It took the Rangers 11:35 to register their first shot on goal Wednesday, one game after Pittsburgh needed 15:10 for its first shot of the game.
The Penguins continued to press in the second period, but couldn't pad the lead. New York, which scored the opening goal in the first three games of the series and held a 2-0 lead in two of its wins, tied it when Brassard poked at the puck until it went across the goal line. Rick Nash started the sequence with a bad-angle shot from the corner that caromed off Fleury and fell to the ice.
SENATORS 1, CANADIENS 0
OTTAWA, Ontario — Mike Hoffman scored midway through the third period and Ottawa beat Montreal to avoid elimination.
Craig Anderson made 28 saves to help the Senators’ cut Montreal’s lead to 3-1 in the Eastern Conference first-round series. Carey Price stopped 31 shots for the Canadiens.
Senators Coach Dave Cameron moved Hoffman from the fourth line to the second unit with Mika Zibanejad and Bobby Ryan during the first period. It paid off in the third when Cody Ceci kept Tom Gilbert’s clearing attempt in at the point and fed Hoffman in the left circle for a quick shot that beat Price.
Only four teams have come back to win when trailing 0-3 in a series: Toronto in 1942, the New York Islanders in 1975, Philadelphia in 2010 and Los Angeles in 2014.
BLUES 6, WILD 1
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Vladimir Tarasenko scored twice and the revived St. Louis Blues sent Minnesota goalie Devan Dubnyk to an early exit and thoroughly dominated the Wild in Game 4 to even the Western Conference quarterfinal series.
Kevin Shattenkirk had three assists and Jake Allen made 17 saves to help the Blues end a nine-game postseason road losing streak that lasted more than three years.
Patrik Berglund had a goal and an assist, and David Backes and Paul Stastny scored for the first time in the series. So did fourth-line right wing Ryan Reaves, whose one-timer from the point got past Dubnyk’s glove to give the Blues the early lead. By the middle of the first period, they were up 3-0 after being shut out in Game 3.
Jared Spurgeon’s power-play goal early in the second period gave the Wild and their fans some life. But less than two minutes later, Stastny snapped a shot on the rush from the circle on Dubnyk’s right that slipped between the goalie’s pads. Dubnyk gave up six goals on 17 shots and was pulled with 3:10 left in the second period.
DUCKS 5, JETS 2
WINNIPEG, Manitoba — Ryan Kesler scored twice in the third period and Anaheim beat Winnipeg to sweep the Western Conference first-round series. Andrew Cogliano, Emerson Etem and Sam Vatanen also scored, and Frederik Andersen made 25 saves.
Bryan Little and Mark Stuart scored for Winnipeg.
Sports on 04/23/2015