PHILADELPHIA (AP) Nicklas Backstrom scored, Braden Holtby had 26 saves, and the Washington Capitals beat the Philadelphia Flyers 1-0 on Sunday to advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals.
The Capitals, who won the series in six games, will play the Pittsburgh Penguins, setting up a marquee matchup of Alex Ovechkin vs. Sidney Crosby.
Ovechkin had an assist on Backstrom's second-period goal that was easily enough against the punchless Flyers. Riding the momentum of Michal Neuvirth in net, the Flyers won two straight to force an unlikely trip home. Neuvirth was sensational again, but the Flyers were ultimately doomed by a power play that could not cash in against Holtby. The Flyers wasted nearly 2 minutes of a 5-on-3 power play in the second period that made a critical difference.
STARS 5, WILD 4
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - Jason Spezza scored his fourth goal of the series and added three assists, and goalie Kari Lehtonen and theDallas Stars needed every last one of them to hold off the Minnesota Wild to wrap up the first-round series in six games.
Jared Spurgeon scored two of Minnesota's four third-period goals and the Wild came within a fraction of an inch of tying it with 34 seconds remaining when Nino Niederreiter whacked at a loose puck in the crease. Freeze-frame replays showed it in the net, but not quite fully across the goal line as it connected with Lehtonen's right pad, an oh-so-close call that was upheld by review.
John Klingberg, Patrick Sharp, Jamie Benn and Alex Goligoski also scored for the Stars, who moved on to face the winner of the Chicago-St. Louis series, which is tied at 3. The Blues host the Blackhawks in their decisive Game 7 on Monday night.
TNZ's Notes:
- The Islanders defeated the Panthers 2-1 to win the first round series in six games.
No comments:
Post a Comment