Maple Leafs To Select First Overall

Statement from the Maple Leafs website.

TORONTO -- The Toronto Maple Leafs will pick first at the NHL draft for the first time in more than 30 years.

Toronto won the draft lottery on Saturday, securing the No. 1 overall pick and presumptive rights to select American centre Auston Matthews.

The Leafs haven't picked first since 1985 when they selected Wendel Clark from the Saskatoon Blades.

Finishing the 2015-16 regular season with the NHL's worst record, the Leafs had the best odds (20 per cent) of winning the lottery.

The club sunk to the bottom of the NHL standings amid a continuing roster overhaul which saw multiple veterans, including captain Dion Phaneuf, shipped out for future assets.

Toronto has picked in the top 10 of the first round in three of the previous four drafts, most recently choosing London Knights forward Mitch Marner with the fourth overall pick last June and William Nylander with the eighth overall selection in 2014.

Matthews, should the Leafs choose him, would join Marner, Nylander, and Morgan Rielly in a growing pool of young talent in Toronto, which currently has 11 other picks at the upcoming draft, including a second first round selection landed in the Phil Kessel trade last summer.

This was the first year in which three individual lotteries were performed for the first, second and third overall picks. The Winnipeg Jets earned the second overall selection, with the Columbus Blue Jackets receiving the rights to pick third.

Maple Leafs awarded top pick in 2016 NHL Draft

The Toronto Maple Leafs have won the first pick in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft by winning the draft lottery on Saturday night.

The Maple Leafs will presumably draft top prospect Auston Matthews.

Here is a list of the Top 14 picks that will be made on the first day of the 2016 NHL Draft that were determined by the lottery:

1. Toronto Maple Leafs

2. Winnipeg Jets

3. Columbus Blue Jackets

4. Edmonton Oilers

5. Vancouver Canucks

6. Calgary Flames

7. Arizona Coyotes

8. Buffalo Sabres

9. Montreal Canadiens

10. Colorado Avalanche

11. New Jersey Devils

12. Ottawa Senators

13. Carolina Hurricanes

14. Boston Bruins

NHL Transactions from April 29, 2016

VAN - Michael Garteig, G - Signed as Free Agent One-year contract

NSH - Pontus Aberg, LW - Called up from minors from Milwaukee-AHL

CHI - Luke Johnson, C - Signed Three-year contract

CGY - Daniel Pribyl, C - Signed Two-year contract

BUF - Johan Larsson, LW - Contract extended One-year contract extension

STL - Ivan Barbashev, C - Called up from minors from Chicago-AHL

STL - Peter Harrold, D - Called up from minors from Chicago-AHL

STL - Jordan Binnington, G - Called up from minors from Chicago-AHL

STL - Jordan Schmaltz, D - Called up from minors from Chicago-AHL

LA - Paul Ladue, D - Signed One-year contract

NHL Playoff Capsules (April 30, 2016)

DALLAS (AP) Radek Faksa scored the tiebreaking goal on a rebound with 4:44 to play and had an assist on the other Dallas goal to help the Stars open the second round of the Western Conference playoffs with a 2-1 victory over the St. Louis Blues on Friday night.

Like Antoine Roussel did on his second-period goal on which Faksa had an assist, Faksa started the rush that led to his winner.

Blues defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk tied it at 1 with 8:28 left in the third period with a shot from the top of the left circle after Dallas failed to clear the puck out of the zone.

Game 2 is Sunday in the best-of-seven series matching the Western Conference's top two teams from the regular season.

After Faksa pushed the puck up the ice, Ales Hemsky had the initial shot stopped but not secured by Brian Elliott. Faksa was there to score his second goal of the playoffs.

Kari Lehtonen stopped 31 shots, withstanding a final surge when the Blues pulled Elliott out of the net and had an extra skater the final 1:40.

SHARKS 5, PREDATORS 2

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) - Joel Ward scored the tiebreaking goal against his former team with 8:11 remaining in regulation to help San Jose rally past Nashville in the opener of their series.

Ward also set up Tomas Hertl's power-play goal that tied the game earlier in the period before scoring one of his own to help San Jose win its first playoff game when trailing after two periods since 2011.

Logan Couture added a power-play goal and an empty-netter for insurance, before Tommy Wingels sealed it with another empty-net goal as the Sharks showed few signs of rust after having six days off since beating Los Angeles in a five-game series in the first round. Martin Jones made 29 saves

Mike Fisher and Ryan Johansen scored for the Predators, who allowed five goals in the third period after having only one day off since winning Game 7 of a first-round series in Anaheim. Pekka Rinne made 33 saves.

Game 2 is Sunday.

Ducks Head Coach Boudreau Relieved of Duties

Statement from the Ducks website.

Bruce Beodreau

Ducks Executive Vice President/General Manager Bob Murray announced today that the club has relieved Head Coach Bruce Boudreau of his duties. Murray will begin the search for a new head coach immediately.

“I would like to thank Bruce for his hard work and dedication to the franchise,” said Murray. “This was a very difficult decision to make. Bruce is a good coach and character person, and we wish him the best of luck in the future.”

Boudreau was named head coach of the Anaheim Ducks on Nov. 30, 2011. He compiled a regular season record of 208-104-40 with Anaheim and helped the franchise to the last four consecutive Pacific Division titles.

“On behalf of the Ducks organization, we would like to express our appreciation to Bruce and his wife Crystal for their commitment to our community,” said Ducks Owners Henry and Susan Samueli. “Bruce led us to four division titles with tremendous passion and pride, and we will always be grateful for his contributions both on and off the ice.”

Prior to joining the Ducks, Boudreau was head coach of the Washington Capitals from 2007-11, winning the Jack Adams award in 2007-08. He has an all-time head coaching record of 409-192-80.

NHL Transactions from April 28, 2016

OTT - Michael Keranen, LW - Signed with European team Jokerit Helsinki (KHL-Russia)

TOR - Colton Orr, RW - Retired

DAL - Jesse Blacker, D - Signed with European team Thomas Sabo (DEL-Germany)

ANA - Shea Theodore, D - Sent to minors San Diego-AHL

ANA - Chris Wagner, C - Sent to minors San Diego-AHL

TB - Erik Condra, RW - Placed on IR Upper-body injury

Oshie completes hat trick in OT, Capitals win Game 1

Game Recap from NHL.com

WASHINGTON -- For T.J. Oshie, scoring a hat trick in overtime in a Stanley Cup Playoff game was something he'd only dreamed about as a young boy.

Oshie turned that dream into reality when he completed a hat trick 9:33 into overtime to give the Washington Capitals a 4-3 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Second Round at Verizon Center on Thursday.

"I haven't won too many championships in my lifetime," Oshie said. "Maybe through the youth years. That's kind of the stuff you dream about when you're a kid playing in the backyard by yourself is scoring the OT winner and getting a hat trick. It was awesome."

The Capitals host Game 2 in the best-of-7 series on Saturday (8 p.m. ET; NBC, CBC, TVA Sports)

Oshie's wraparound goal was upheld after a four-minute video review. He skated left to right across the offensive zone, circled the net and forced the puck barely across the goal line under goalie Matt Murray's right pad.

"It was kind of a foot race," Oshie said. "I figured I wasn't going to be able to get all the way to the net and deke or at least sell a fake. I thought I saw something up top glove there. I didn't think it got really too high. I think it maybe caught him off-guard."

Andre Burakovsky had Washington's other goal, and Braden Holtby made 42 saves.

Ben Lovejoy, Evgeni Malkin and Nick Boninoscored, and Murray finished with 31 saves for Pittsburgh.

"I thought we did a pretty good job, generated some pretty good chances," captain Sidney Crosby said. "Had a bit of a slow start, but once we settled in, I thought we had some good looks and it was a fast-paced game back and forth, and typical of a game this time of year."

Bonino tied the game 3-3 at 8:42 of the third period. Carl Hagelin sent a pass from behind the net to Bonino in the right circle for his first goal of the postseason.

Murray stopped Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin on a breakaway with 3:26 left in the third.

Burakovsky scored at 10:13 of the first period to give the Capitals a 1-0 lead. A turnover in the Pittsburgh zone led to a 3-on-2 with John Carlson driving the net flanked by Jason Chimera and Burakovsky. Murray stopped Chimera's shot, but Burakovsky scored on the rebound for his first point in this year's Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The assist gave Carlson seven points in seven games.

Lovejoy scored at 10:40 of the second period to tie it 1-1. On an odd-man rush, Bonino stickhandled through Capitals defensemen Nate Schmidt and Dmitry Orlov, who got tangled up with each other, and put a shot on net. Lovejoy tipped in the rebound for his first goal of the playoffs.

Malkin scored 57 seconds later to give the Penguins a 2-1 lead. He came off the bench, picked up a pass from Chris Kunitz and sent a backhand top shelf on Holtby. The goal was his third of the playoffs and eighth point in five games.

"This game could have went either way," Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. "It was an even game. Our guys played hard. I thought we carried stretches of momentum for long periods of time. It didn't go our way. We'll learn from it, put it behind us and try to get Game 2."

Oshie tied it 2-2 at 12:10 with a breakaway goal. He picked up a turnover by Penguins defenseman Olli Maatta in the neutral zone, skated down the wing with speed, and beat Murray glove side for his second goal of the playoffs.

Oshie scored his second goal of the game to give the Capitals a 3-2 lead at 3:23 of the second period. Ovechkin's shot was blocked but he got the puck and passed to Oshie, whose shot trickled through Murray's pads.

"He seems to be up every single game. I've never seen him take a night off," Holtby said of Oshie. "His work ethic is through the roof and compete level is amazing. That shows in these games that he's going to be one of those guys that's really key for us."

Washington defeated the Philadelphia Flyers in six games in the first round. Pittsburgh eliminated the New York Rangers in five games.

NHL Transactions from April 27, 2016

CHI - Drew MacIntyre, G - Signed with European team Hamburg (DEL-Germany)

FLA - Michael Matheson, D - Sent to minors Portland-AHL

FLA - Logan Shaw, RW - Sent to minors Portland-AHL

FLA - Greg McKegg, C - Sent to minors Portland-AHL

PIT - Lukas Bengtsson, D - Signed as Free Agent Two-year contract

NHL Playoff Capsules (April 28, 2016)

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) Shane Prince scored twice during a three-goal first period and John Tavares had a goal and an assist in the New York Islanders' 5-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday night in Game 1 of their second-round playoff series.

Taking up where he left off in helping the Islanders advance beyond the first round for the first time in 23 years, Tavares assisted on Travis Hamonic's goal that erased an early deficit and scored his sixth postseason goal on a blistering shot from the left circle to give New York a 4-1 lead in the second.

The Islanders needed overtime to get three of four victories against the Florida Panthers in the opening round. This one was never seriously in doubt after New York wiped out the 1-0 lead Tampa Bay took on Ondrel Palat's goal just over three minutes into the game.

Tampa Bay pulled to 4-3 on third-period goals by Nikita Kucherov and Valtteri Filppula before Cal Clutterbuck's empty-netter sealed the victory in the final minute.

Thomas Greiss, who won one game in overtime and two in double overtime against Florida, finished with 33 saves for the Islanders. They were outshot 28-10 over the last two periods.

Game 2 is Saturday at Amalie Arena.

TNZ's Notes:
- The Nashville Predators defeated the Anaheim Ducks in Game 7 of their Round 1 series 2-1, and advanced to Round 2 of this season's Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Flyers forward Brayden Schenn suspended for first three games of 2016-17

"The Neutral Zone" Staff Report

The NHL on Tuesday suspended Philadelphia Flyers forward Brayden Schenn for the first three games of the 2016-17 season.

Schenn was suspended for charging Washington Capitals forward T.J. Oshie in Game 6 of the teams' first round series on Sunday.

The incident occurred at 14:24 of the second period.

Schenn scored 26 goals and had 59 points this season.

NHL Transactions from April 26, 2016

BOS - Daniel Vladar, G - Signed Three-year contract

VAN - Markus Granlund, C - Contract extended Two-year contract extension

NYI - Christopher Gibson, G - Sent to minors Bridgeport-AHL

Rangers defenseman Dan Boyle curses out reporters on team's breakup day

"The Neutral Zone" Staff Report

New York Rangers defenseman Dan Boyle on Tuesday morning became very upset with reporters at the team's breakup media day.

Boyle refused to do his interviews until after certain reporters left the vicinity and basically left him alone.

Boyle told Rangers beat writer Larry Brooks of the New York Post "Nobody likes you, nobody respects you, just so you know."

Boyle did say that this past NHL season may be his last, as he has been thinking about retirement.

However, Boyle did say that he was approached by certain teams to play for them.

NHL Transactions from April 25, 2016

SJ - Matt Tennyson, D - Called up from minors from San Jose-AHL

COL - Maxim Noreau, D - Signed with European team SC Bern (Switzerland-League A)

COL - J.T. Compher, LW - Signed Three-year contract

NHL Playoff Capsules (April 26, 2016)

ST. LOUIS (AP) Troy Brouwer tapped in his own rebound to snap a third-period tie and the St. Louis Blues advanced to the second round of the playoffs for the first time in four seasons, eliminating the defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks 3-2 in Game 7 of their Western Conference quarterfinals series Monday night.

Brouwer, who played for the Blackhawks' Cup winner in 2010 and was among the veteran additions to a team trying to break through, swiped in a backhander. The goal at 8:31 was his first in 24 postseason games since 2013.

Chicago just missed a chance to tie it when Brent Seabrook's shot went off both posts with about 3:30 left.

It is the first time the Blues advanced past the first round since 2012, when they beat San Jose in five games but then lost four straight to Los Angeles. Jori Lehtera scored his first career playoff goal and rookie defenseman Colton Parayko also scored for the Blues.

Marian Hossa scored his third goal of the series and Andrew Shaw got his fourth on a power play for the Blackhawks.

PREDATORS 3, DUCKS 1

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - James Neal scored the winning goal late in the second period, and the Nashville Predators held on to beat the Anaheim Ducks and force the first Game 7 in franchise history.

The Predators had lost the previous five Game 6s when needing a win to stay alive in the playoffs, and they snapped a three-game skid to the Ducks to force this series back to Anaheim for the deciding game Wednesday night.

Shea Weber had an empty-net goal with 10 seconds left off an assist by Neal. Mattias Ekholm also scored a goal, and Pekka Rinne made 26 saves for the win.

Ryan Kesler scored a power-play goal for the Ducks, who now are 8-6 in Game 6s. They return to Anaheim where they lost their last Game 7 last spring in the Western Conference finals to eventual Stanley Cup champ Chicagom

Glendening, Larkin, Skjei Added to 2016 U.S. Men's Nat'l Team

From USAHockey.com.

Fro left to right: Luke Glendening, Dylan Larkin, and
Brady Skjei.

Forwards Luke Glendening (Grand Rapids, Mich./Detroit Red Wings/Univ. of Michigan) and Dylan Larkin (Waterford, Mich./Detroit Red Wings/Univ. of Michigan) and defenseman Brady Skjei (Lakeville, Minn./New York Rangers/Univ. of Minnesota) have been added to the 2016 U.S. Men's National Team that will compete at the International Ice Hockey Federation Men's World Championship May 6-22 in Moscow and St. Petersburg, Russia.

This event will be Glendening's first time representing the United States in international competition. Glendening, who helped the Grand Rapids Griffins claim the 2013 AHL Calder Cup, recently completed his third season with the Detroit Red Wings.

Larkin, who also spent the 2015-16 season with the Red Wings, will represent the U.S. for the fourth time after most recently helping the U.S. to a bronze medal at the 2015 IIHF Men's World Championship in Ostrava and Prague, Czech Republic. A 2015 U.S. National Junior Team member and gold medalist with the 2014 U.S. Men's National Under-18 Team, Larkin has collected 12 points (7-5) in 21 IIHF games for the United States.

This is the third time Skjei will be representing the United States. A member of the New York Rangers this past season, Skjei helped the U.S. Men's National Under-18 Team claim gold at the 2012 IIHF Men's Under-18 World Championship in Helsinki, Finland, and Stockholm, Sweden, and also was a member of the 2014 U.S. National Junior Team.

The U.S. Men's National Team now includes 11 forwards, six defensemen and three goaltenders.

NOTES: Dylan Larkin and Brady Skjei, both alumni of USA Hockey's National Team Development Program, recently completed their first full professional seasons ... Larkin finished the 2015-16 season third among NHL rookies in goals (23) and sixth in points (45); was named to his first NHL All-Star Game; and became the first rookie to lead the Red Wings in goals in over 30 seasons ... Both Larkin and Brady Skjei spent the 2014-15 season playing collegiately in the Big Ten Conference, where Larkin and the University of Michigan Wolverines met Skjei and the University of Minnesota Gophers in the Big Ten Tournament championship game. The Gophers claimed the title, 4-2 ... Luke Glendening was a two-time captain at the University of Michigan where he played for four seasons (2008-12) ... John Hynes (New Jersey Devils) is serving as head coach of the 2016 U.S. Men's National Team ... Of the current 20 players on the U.S. Men's National Team roster, 13 are alumni of the United States Hockey League, the only Tier I junior league in the United States; five spent time in the North American Hockey League, the only Tier II junior league in the U.S.; 16 have competed at the NCAA Division I level; and 12 played for USA Hockey's National Team Development Program ... The staff and players of the 2016 U.S. Men's National Team are selected by the U.S. Men's National Team Advisory Group, led by Jim Johannson, assistant executive director of hockey operations for USA Hockey. Other members include Stan Bowman (Chicago Blackhawks), Dean Lombardi (Los Angeles Kings), David Poile (Nashville Predators), Ray Shero (New Jersey Devils), Dale Tallon (Florida Panthers) and Don Waddell (Carolina Hurricanes). In addition, Chris Drury (New York Rangers) will serve as a member of the management group for the 2016 U.S. Men's National Team ... For more information about the 2016 U.S. Men's National Team, click here ... The 2016 IIHF Men's World Championship will include teams from 16 nations, split into two groups of eight. Teams will play a round-robin format within their group and the top four teams from each group will advance to the quarterfinals. The U.S. will play its seven preliminary round games in St. Petersburg at Yubileiny Arena … USA Hockey's international council, chaired by Gavin Regan (Potsdam, N.Y.), has oversight responsibilities for all U.S. national teams.

NHL Transactions from April 24, 2016

No transactions made on this day.

NHL Playoff Capsules (April 25, 2016)

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.

Marlies defeat Sound Tigers for 2-0 series lead

BRIDGEPORT, CT – The Toronto Marlies are one step closer to clinching the Calder Cup.

The Marlies took a 2-0 series lead over the Bridgeport Sound Tigers in their 2016 American Hockey League first round playoff series on Sunday with a 3-0 victory.

Connor Brown and Ben Smith scored for the Marlies. Brown scored twice in the game.

Game three will be in Toronto on Thursday at 7:30pm ET.

Panthers without center Nick Bjugstad for Game 6 at Islanders

Nick Bjugstad was injured in the second overtime period Friday
night against the Islanders. (Robert Mayer/USA TODAY Sports)

NEW YORK (AP) -- Florida center Nick Bjugstad is out for Game 6 of the Panthers' first-round series against the New York Islanders on Sunday night after sustaining a head injury in the last game.

Bjugstad was injured during the first extra period of the Panthers' 2-1 double-overtime loss at home Friday night when he lost his footing after being hit by an Islanders player and going head-first into the boards. He needed stiches to close a cut on his head.

Bjugstad did not travel with the team to New York and Florida coach Gerard Gallant said he was day to day.

The Panthers trail 3-2 in the series and need a win to force a deciding Game 7 on Tuesday night in Sunrise, Florida.

Bjugstad had two goals and two assists in the first five games. He finished the regular season with 15 goals and 19 assists in 67 games.

NHL Transactions from April 23, 2016

LA - Kevin Gravel, D - Sent to minors Ontario-AHL

NHL Playoff Capsules (April 24, 2016)

SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) Alan Quine's power-play goal at exactly 16 minutes of the second overtime gave the New York Islanders a 2-1 victory over the Florida Panthers early Saturday in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinal series.

Thomas Greiss stopped 47 shots for the Islanders. They lead the series 3-2 and can wrap it up with a win in Game 6 in New York on Sunday.

Roberto Luongo made 40 saves for Florida, which missed a penalty shot in the first overtime and was whistled for two penalties in the second overtime. The game ended at 12:16 a.m.

The Islanders' second overtime power play came when Derek Mackenzie was called for slashing at 14:31, and that would be the break New York finally needed. Quine's blast from the right side beat Luongo, and the Islanders swarmed the ice in celebration.

Frans Nielsen scored in the first period for the Islanders, and Aleksander Barkov tied it early in the third for the Panthers. The Islanders' Calvin De Haan was called for closing his hand on the puck in the crease 7:19 into overtime, giving Barkov a chance to win it on a penalty shot - just the third in NHL playoff history. But his backhander was easily handled by Greiss

It was the seventh consecutive playoff overtime loss for Florida, a streak beginning with the final game of the 1996 Stanley Cup final against Colorado.

FLYERS 2, CAPITALS 0

WASHINGTON (AP) - Michal Neuvirth made a playoff career-high 44 saves and Philadelphia beat Washington Capitals in Game 5 to stay alive in the first-round series.

Neuvirth was dominant, carrying the team on his shoulders and blunting Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals' every charge to cut the series deficit to 3-2 and send it back to Philadelphia for Game 6 on Sunday.

Ryan White scored the lone goal for the Flyers against Braden Holtby, with the puck deflecting in off Washington defenseman Taylor Chorney and past the goalie.

Chris VandeVelde added an empty-netter.

Holtby was barely tested in making 10 saves, while Neuvirth set a franchise records for saves in a playoff shutout and saves in a regulation playoff game. It's the first time a team won a Stanley Cup playoff game with 11 shots since the Capitals beat Ottawa in 1998, and that total is the fewest shots for the Flyers history in the regular season and playoffs.

The pressure is now on the Presidents' Trophy-winning Capitals, who led the series 3-0 before Neuvirth replaced Steve Mason in goal for Philadelphia. Washington lost back-to-back games in regulation for the first time all season.

NHL Transactions from April 22, 2016

CAR - Joakim Nordstrom, LW - Contract extended Two-year contract

CHI - Andrew Shaw, RW - Suspension Over

NHL Playoff Capsules (April 23, 2016)

SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) Alan Quine's power-play goal at exactly 16 minutes of the second overtime gave the New York Islanders a 2-1 victory over the Florida Panthers early Saturday in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinal series.

Thomas Greiss stopped 47 shots for the Islanders. They lead the series 3-2 and can wrap it up with a win in Game 6 in New York on Sunday.

Roberto Luongo made 40 saves for Florida, which missed a penalty shot in the first overtime and was whistled for two penalties in the second overtime. The game ended at 12:16 a.m.

The Islanders' second overtime power play came when Derek Mackenzie was called for slashing at 14:31, and that would be the break New York finally needed. Quine's blast from the right side beat Luongo, and the Islanders swarmed the ice in celebration.

Frans Nielsen scored in the first period for the Islanders, and Aleksander Barkov tied it early in the third for the Panthers. The Islanders' Calvin De Haan was called for closing his hand on the puck in the crease 7:19 into overtime, giving Barkov a chance to win it on a penalty shot - just the third in NHL playoff history. But his backhander was easily handled by Greiss

It was the seventh consecutive playoff overtime loss for Florida, a streak beginning with the final game of the 1996 Stanley Cup final against Colorado.

FLYERS 2, CAPITALS 0

WASHINGTON (AP) - Michal Neuvirth made a playoff career-high 44 saves andPhiladelphia beat Washington Capitals in Game 5 to stay alive in the first-round series.

Neuvirth was dominant, carrying the team on his shoulders and blunting Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals' every charge to cut the series deficit to 3-2 and send it back to Philadelphia for Game 6 on Sunday.

Ryan White scored the lone goal for theFlyers against Braden Holtby, with the puck deflecting in off Washington defenseman Taylor Chorney and past the goalie.

Chris VandeVelde added an empty-netter.

Holtby was barely tested in making 10 saves, while Neuvirth set a franchise records for saves in a playoff shutout and saves in a regulation playoff game. It's the first time a team won a Stanley Cup playoff game with 11 shots since the Capitals beat Ottawa in 1998, and that total is the fewest shots for the Flyers history in the regular season and playoffs.

The pressure is now on the Presidents' Trophy-winning Capitals, who led the series 3-0 before Neuvirth replaced Steve Mason in goal for Philadelphia. Washington lost back-to-back games in regulation for the first time all season.

NHL Transactions from April 21, 2016

TB - Adam Wilcox, G - Called up from minors from Syracuse-AHL

TB - Luke Witkowski, D - Called up from minors from Syracuse-AHL

TB - Joel Vermin, RW - Called up from minors from Syracuse-AHL

TB - Tye McGinn, LW - Called up from minors from Syracuse-AHL

TB - Tanner Richard, C - Called up from minors from Syracuse-AHL

TB - Slater Koekkoek, D - Called up from minors from Syracuse-AHL

TB - Brayden Point, C - Called up from minors from Moose Jaw-WHL

TB - Matthew Peca, C - Called up from minors from Syracuse-AHL

TB - Adam Erne, LW - Called up from minors from Syracuse-AHL

TB - Anthony Deangelo, D - Called up from minors from Syracuse-AHL

TB - Dylan Blujus, D - Called up from minors from Syracuse-AHL

NSH - Adam Payerl, C - Signed as Free Agent One-year contract

STL - Chris Butler, D - Called up from minors from Chicago-AHL

PHI - Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, LW - Suspension Over

NHL Playoff Capsules (April 22, 2016)

ST. LOUIS (AP) Patrick Kane scored on a backhander early in the second overtime and the Chicago Blackhawks avoided first-round elimination with a 4-3 victory over the St. Louis Blues early Friday.

The game winner was the first goal in the series by the defending Stanley Cup winners' stars, Kane and Jonathan Toews. Both assisted on Artemi Panarin's goal in the final second of the second period for a 3-1 lead.

Kane, who led the NHL in scoring with 106 points, circled the net to corral his own shot that slowly slid wide, and poked it past Brian Elliott at 3:07 to send a standing-room crowd of 19,956 home unhappy.

David Backes tied it on a deflection that slipped past Corey Crawford with 5:10 to play. Rookie Robby Fabbri and Jaden Schwartz also scored for St. Louis.

Marian Hossa and Artem Anisimov also scored for Chicago, which will host Game 6 on Saturday.

LIGHTNING 1, RED WINGS 0

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - Ben Bishop stopped 34 shots, Alex Killorn scored with less than two minutes remaining and Tampa Bay advanced to the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Killorn's second winning goal of the series was set up by Ryan Callahan, who retrieved goalie Petr Mrazek's bad pass behind the Detroit net and centered the puck in the crease for Killorn's backhander at 18:17 of the third period.

Tampa Bay eliminated the Red Wings in the first round for the second straight year. Detroit pushed the defending Eastern Conference champions to seven games a year ago, but could only beat them once in five attempts this time, with Killorn, Tyler Johnson and Nikita Kucherov picking up the offensive slack for Tampa Bay with star Steven Stamkos injured.

PENGUINS 5, RANGERS 0

NEW YORK (AP) - Evgeni Malkin scored two goals and set up two others and Pittsburgh pushed New York to the brink of playoff elimination.

Malkin, whose four points tied his single-game high in the postseason, assisted on two of the Penguins' three first-period goals in helping Pittsburgh dominate the Rangers for the second consecutive game and take a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven, first-round series. Sidney Crosby, who added two assists, and the red-hot Penguins can wrap up things in Game 5 in Pittsburgh on Saturday.

Rookie goaltender Matt Murray, who returned to the lineup for Game 3, made 31 saves in posting his first playoff shutout. Eric Fehr, Patric Hornqvist and Conor Sheary also scored as the Penguins tallied four times on 18 shots against Henrik Lundqvist, who was lifted early in the second period.

DUCKS 4, PREDATORS 1

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Nate Thompson and Jamie McGinn scored nearly two minutes apart late in the second period, and Anaheim beat Nashville to even the first-round series at 2-2.

Ryan Getzlaf and Andrew Cogliano also scored as the road team stayed perfect in this best-of-seven series. Goalie Frederik Andersen picked up his second straight win by making 30 saves and setting a career shutout streak of 91 minutes, 26 seconds.

Mike Fisher scored his first goal of the series for Nashville.

Game 5 is Saturday in Anaheim.

NHL Transactions from April 20, 2016

ANA - Keaton Thompson, D - Signed Three-year contract

WSH - Dan Ellis, G - Called up from minors from Hershey-AHL

VAN - Thatcher Demko, G - Signed Three-year contract

CHI - Andrew Shaw, RW - Suspended One game by NHL for on-ice actions

NYR - Chris Summers, D - Called up from minors from Hartford-AHL

NYR - Ryan Graves, D - Called up from minors from Hartford-AHL

NYR - Mat Bodie, D - Called up from minors from Hartford-AHL

NYR - Daniel Paille, LW - Called up from minors from Hartford-AHL

NYR - Jayson Megna, RW - Called up from minors from Hartford-AHL

NYR - Nicklas Jensen, LW - Called up from minors from Hartford-AHL

NYR - Chris Brown, C - Called up from minors from Hartford-AHL

PIT - Tristan Jarry, G - Sent to minors Wilkes-Barre/Scranton-AHL

DET - Xavier Ouellet, D - Called up from minors from Grand Rapids-AHL

NHL Playoff Capsules (April 21, 2016)

PHILADELPHIA (AP) Michal Neuvirth stopped 31 shots in his first start of the playoff series, helping the Philadelphia Flyers stave off a sweep with a 2-1 win over the Washington Capitals on Wednesday night.

The Capitals still lead the series 3-1 headed into Game 5 Friday night in Washington.

Shayne Gostisbehere and Andrew MacDonald each scored for the Flyers. Neuvirth was sensational in the third after T.J. Oshie scored early in the period to make it 2-1.

The Capitals still have never swept a best-of-seven playoff series.

The game was marred by a scary hit that saw Flyers center Scott Laughton leave on a stretcher. The Flyers said he was taken to Jefferson Hospital for precautionary reasons.

PANTHERS 2, ISLANDERS 1

NEW YORK (AP) - Alex Petrovic scored the tiebreaking goal midway through the third period and the Florida Panthers beat the New York Islanders to even their first-round playoff series at two games apiece.

Teddy Purcell also scored for Florida, and Jaromir Jagr had an assist for his 200th career playoff point. Roberto Luongo stopped 26 shots.

John Tavares had his third goal of the series for New York, and Thomas Greiss finished with 27 saves.

The Panthers got their first playoff road win since April 17, 2012, against New Jersey in Game 3 of the first round.

Game 5 of the best-of-seven series is Friday night in Sunrise, Florida.

STARS 3, WILD 2

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - Jason Spezza scored the go-ahead goal with a deflection off his skate, Ales Hemsky and Patrick Eaves each scored on a second-period power play to give Dallas' lagging special teams a lift, and theStars defeated the Minnesota Wild to push their series lead to 3-1.

Antti Niemi assumed the net from Kari Lehtonen, who started the first three games, and made 28 saves for the Stars. They'll host Game 5 in Dallas on Friday.

Jason Pominville and Charlie Coyle both gave the Wild the lead with second-period goals, but they weren't able to sustain the momentum from a spirited comeback in Game 3 for the entire night.

TNZ's Notes
- The San Jose Sharks defeated the Los Angeles Kings 3-2 to take a 3-1 series lead.

Flyers forward Laughton leaves on stretcher

Statement from NHL.com.

Scott Laughton

PHILADELPHIA -- Philadelphia Flyers forward Scott Laughton was removed from the ice on a stretcher after falling into the boards with 3:49 remaining in the first period of Game 4 of the Eastern Conference First Round between the Flyers and Washington Capitals at Wells Fargo Center on Wednesday.

Laughton was carrying the puck through the left side of the Capitals zone with defenseman John Carlson guarding him. They made contact and when Laughton fell, he hit the end boards behind the Capitals net back-first.

The Flyers announced Laughton was transported to Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia for precautionary reasons.

In two Stanley Cup Playoff games entering Wednesday, Laughton, 21, had a minus-1 rating and seven shots on goal.

Scott Laughton has been transported to Jefferson Hospital for precautionary reasons. We'll give an update as soon as possible.

— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) April 21, 2016

Blackhawks' Shaw suspended one game, fined $5,000

Official NHL Statement.

NEW YORK -- Chicago Blackhawks forward Andrew Shaw has been suspended for one game for making a homophobic slur during Game 4 of the team's first-round Stanley Cup Playoff series with the St. Louis Blues in Chicago on Tuesday, April 19, the National Hockey League announced today. Shaw has also been fined $5,000 for directing an inappropriate gesture at the on-ice officials during the same game. Shaw will also be required to undergo sensitivity training.

Both incidents took place at 17:56 of the third period. Shaw will miss Game 5 of the series on Thursday, April 21, in St. Louis.

"While Mr. Shaw was apologetic and remorseful for both the offensive comments and the inappropriate gesture directed at the on-ice officials, he must be held accountable for his actions," said NHL Senior Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations Colin Campbell. "The emotion of the moment cannot and will not be a mitigating factor for the conduct that is expected of an NHL player."

The money goes to the Players' Emergency Assistance Fund.

Braden Holtby to start in net for Capitals in Game 4 against Flyers

"The Neutral Zone" Staff Report

PHILADELPHIA - Washington Capitals starting goaltender Braden Holtby will start in net for the team in Game 4 of their first round playoff series against the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday night.

Holtby had a scary incident in a Capitals practice session on Tuesday after Collin with a teammate during a drill. Holtby left the ice after the incident, not putting pressure on his right foot.

"Good, yeah. No ill effects. Ready for Game 4," Holtby said after participating in the team's optional skate Wednesday morning.

"It's just one of those things that sometimes happens in practice. Just wanted to be cautious with it and not push anything too far because the main focus is Game 4 and that's what I'm focused on."

The Capitals currently hold a 3-0 series lead over the Flyers.

Blackhawks' Andrew Shaw supposedly uses racial slur

"The Neutral Zone" Staff Report

Chicago Blackhawks forward Andrew Shaw is being investigated by the NHL for reportedly using a racial slur after recieving a penalty in the Blackhawks' 4-3 playoff loss to the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday.

Shaw was sent off for interference at 17:56 of the third period. Shaw pounder on the penalty box glass with his stick and supposedly yelled a racial slur towards a player on the ice.

"Being like I just said -- I'll repeat myself for you -- emotions are high," Shaw said after being asked about the incident twice. "I don't know what was said. Obviously, I was upset with the call. I wasn't happy with the call."

NHL Transactions from April 19, 2016

PHI - Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, LW - Suspended One game by NHL for illegal check

CBJ - Gabriel Carlsson, D - Signed Three-year contract

CGY - Jonas Hiller, G - Signed with European team EHC Biel (Switzerland)

PHI - Taylor Leier, LW - Called up from minors from Lehigh Valley-AHL

NHL Playoff Capsules (April 20, 2016)

CHICAGO (AP) Vladimir Tarasenko scored on a pair of impressive wrist shots, Brian Elliott made 39 saves and the St. Louis Blues beat the Chicago Blackhawks 4-3 on Tuesday night to open a commanding 3-1 lead in their first-round playoff series.

Jaden Schwartz scored a tiebreaking power-play goal in the third period for the second straight game as St. Louis moved to the brink of its first appearance in the Western Conference semifinals since 2012. The Blues were eliminated in the opening round in each of the past three years.

Game 5 is Thursday night in St. Louis

Duncan Keith had two goals for Chicago, which dropped consecutive home playoff games for the first time since 2012.

Andrew Shaw had a goal and two assists, and Corey Crawford finished with 16 saves after getting into a fight with Blues rookie Robby Fabbri during a wild second period.

PENGUINS 3, RANGERS 1

NEW YORK (AP) - Matt Cullen beat Henrik Lundqvist on a semi-breakaway after beating two defensemen early in the third period and Pittsburgh spoiled the return of Rangerscaptain Ryan McDonagh with a win in Game 3 of their first-round series.

Sidney Crosby also scored and Matt Murray made 16 saves in his return to action in helping the Penguins take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-7 series.

Game 4 is Thursday night in New York. The Rangers have lost four consecutive playoff games at Madison Square Garden going back to last season's Eastern Conference final against Tampa Bay.

Kris Letang iced the game with an empty-net goal.

Rick Nash scored for the Rangers, who played without an injured McDonagh (upper body, hand) in the first two games in Pittsburgh. Lundqvist made 28 saves, giving up a power-play goal to Crosby and a one-on-one chance to Cullen.

LIGHTNING 3, RED WINGS 2

DETROIT (AP) - Ondrej Palat scored with 2:59 left in the third period, lifting Tampa Bay over Detroit for a 3-1 lead in the first-round series.

Game 5 is Thursday night at Tampa Bay.

Ben Bishop stopped 26 shots for theLightning and Petr Mrazek made 30 saves for the Red Wings.

Palat was in a perfect position right in front of the net to make the most of Jonathan Drouin's pass on the game-winning goal. Drouin had three assists.

Nikita Kucherov had power-play goals in the first and second period to give Tampa Bay a 2-0 lead late in the second, but Detroit's Darren Helm and Gustav Nyquist scored late in the period to tie the game.

DUCKS 3, PREDATORS 0

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Frederik Andersen made 27 saves, and Anaheim shut out Nashville to pull within 2-1 in the first-round playoff series.

The Ducks have not lost three straight to open a postseason series since the 2006 Western Conference finals, and they didn't come close to dropping a third straight this year.

Andersen, who started in net after John Gibson took the first two losses in Anaheim, posted his second postseason shutout despite taking Shea Weber's slap shot off his head. He has 15 postseason wins since 2014.

Chris Stewart had a goal and an assist, and Jamie McGinn and Rickard Rakell each scored their first goals of the series.

Game 4 is Thursday night in Nashville.

Capitals D Orpik to miss Game 4 against Flyers

"The Neutral Zone" Staff Report

Capitals defenseman Brooks Orpik will miss Game 4
of Round one against the Philadelphia Flyers on
Wednesday.

Washington Capitals defenseman Brooks Orpik will not play in Game 4 of their first-round Eastern Conference series against the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday night due to suffering an upper-body injury in Game 3 on Monday.

Orpik suffered the injury in the second period of the Capitals' 6-1 win and did not return after being checked into the boards by Flyers forward Ryan White.

Capitals head coach Barry Trotz said he has confidence in the defense of his team.

"We're really deep at that position," Trotz said after the Capitals' practice on Tuesday. "So that's an area that's a strength for our team."

Flyers' Pierre-Edouard Bellemare to have hearing over hit on Capitals' Dmitry Orlov

"The Neutral Zone" Staff Report

Philadelphia Flyers forward Pierre-Edouard Bellemare will have a phone hearing with the NHL's department of player safety on Tuesday.

The hearing is for Bellemare hitting Capitals' defenseman Dmitry Orlov during Game 3 of the teams' Eastern Conference first-round series on Monday.

For the hit, Bellemare was given a five-minute major and a game misconduct at 12:17 in the third period.

UPDATE (4/20/2016): Bellemare has been suspended one game for the hit.

Capitals D Brooks Orpik injured in Game 3 against Flyers

PHILADELPHIA -- Washington Capitals veteran defenseman Brooks Orpik suffered an upper-body injury during the second period of the Capitals' 6-1 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday in Game 3 of the two teams' Round one playoff series

Orpik suffered the injury at 11:59 of the second period and did not return after being checked into the boards by Flyers' forward Ryan White.

Capitals coach Barry Trotz said Orpik will be reevaluated Tuesday.

NHL Transactions from April 18, 2016

PHI - Anthony Stolarz, G - Called up from minors from Lehigh Valley-AHL

PHI - Chris Conner, RW - Called up from minors from Lehigh Valley-AHL

PHI - Cole Bardreau, C - Called up from minors from Lehigh Valley-AHL

PHI - Samuel Morin, D - Called up from minors from Lehigh Valley-AHL

PHI - Robert Hagg, D - Called up from minors from Lehigh Valley-AHL

PHI - Davis Drewiske, D - Called up from minors from Lehigh Valley-AHL

PHI - Mark Alt, D - Called up from minors from Lehigh Valley-AHL

TB - Kristers Gudlevskis, G - Called up from minors from Syracuse-AHL

ANA - Nick Ritchie, LW - Sent to minors San Diego-AHL

MIN - Hunter Warner, D - Called up from minors from Iowa-AHL

MIN - Tyson Strachan, D - Called up from minors from Iowa-AHL

MIN - Zach Palmquist, D - Called up from minors from Iowa-AHL

MIN - Zack Mitchell, RW - Called up from minors from Iowa-AHL

MIN - Stephen Michalek, G - Called up from minors from Iowa-AHL

MIN - Tyler Graovac, C - Called up from minors from Iowa-AHL

MIN - Kurtis Gabriel, RW - Called up from minors from Iowa-AHL

MIN - Grayson Downing, RW - Called up from minors from Iowa-AHL

STL - Ty Rattie, RW - Called up from minors from Chicago-AHL

NHL Playoff Capsules (April 19, 2016)

PHILADELPHIA (AP) Alex Ovechkin scored twice, Braden Holtby had 31 saves and the Washington Capitals moved one game closer to a sweep in their first-round playoff series with a 6-1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers and their disgruntled fans Monday night.

The Capitals lead a series 3-0 for the first time in franchise history. Game 4 is Wednesday night in Philadelphia.

Ovechkin snapped a tie game with his 38th postseason goal and Holtby made the lead stand with his third straight sensational effort in the series. The Capitals scored five power-play goals, including four in the third period.

The Flyers lost in their first home game since founder Ed Snider's death last week. Michael Raffl scored 57 seconds into the game and sent a crowd already rocking after an emotional pregame tribute into a frenzy.

The fans turned in the third period, throwing wristbands used as part of a pregame lights show onto the ice and earning a delay of game penalty. Flyers public address announcer Lou Nolan urged fans to ''show some class,'' and then added ''way to go'' when the fans earned the penalty.

WILD 5, STARS 3

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - Jason Pominville had two goals and an assist and Minnesota roared back from an early two-goal deficit to slice Dallas' lead in the Western Conference quarterfinals to 2-1.

Chris Porter put the Wild on the board in the final minute of the first period, their first even-strength goal of the series. Erik Haula added a goal and an assist, Mikko Koivu scored on a power play in the third period and the Wild stopped a seven-game losing streak that started on March 31.

Patrick Sharp scored 26 seconds into the game and again less than 4 minutes later for the Stars, but the Wild controlled the action after that and finished with a 25-17 shots-on-goal advantage.

Game 4 is in Minnesota on Wednesday night, and Game 5 will be back in Dallas on Friday night.

TNZ's Notes
- The Los Angeles Kings defeated the San Jose Sharks 2-1 to cut San Joe's series lead to 2-1.

NHL Transactions from April 17, 2016

DAL - Brett Ritchie, RW - Sent to minors Texas-AHL

PHI - Colin McDonald, RW - Called up from minors from Lehigh Valley-AHL

PIT - Tom Sestito, LW - Sent to minors Wilkes-Barre/Scranton-AHL

NYR - Raphael Diaz, D - Called up from minors from Hartford-AHL

MIN - Christoph Bertschy, C - Assigned to National Team Switzerland-IIHF

MIN - Mike Reilly, D - Called up from minors from Iowa-AHL

NHL Playoff Capsules (April 18, 2016)

NEW YORK (AP) Thomas Hickey scored 12:31 into overtime to give the New York Islandersa 4-3 victory over the Florida Panthers on Sunday night in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference first-round series.

Hickey scored on a one-timer off a pass from Brock Nelson from behind the net to lift the Islanders to a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. Game 4 is in Brooklyn on Wednesday night.

Ryan Pulock, Shane Prince and Frans Nielsen also scored for the Islanders in their first playoff game in Brooklyn. Thomas Greiss made 36 saves, and John Tavares and Kyle Okposo each had two assists.

Reilly Smith had a goal and two assists, and Aleksander Barkov and Nick Bjustad also scored for the Panthers. Smith has four goals and four assists in the series. Roberto Luongo stopped 35 shots.

PREDATORS 3, DUCKS 2

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) - Craig Smith had a goal and an assist, Pekka Rinne made 27 saves and the Nashville Predatorsconfidently claimed their second straight road victory to open their first-round series against the Anaheim Ducks.

Shea Weber and Mattias Ekholm also scored as the Predators took a 2-0 playoff series lead for the first time in franchise history with another win over the Pacific Division champions.

Nate Thompson cut into the lead with 2:42 to play, but Nashville closed out just its second road playoff victory since 2012. Game 3 is Tuesday night in Nashville.

RED WINGS 3, BLACKHAWKS 2

DETROIT (AP) - Jaden Schwartz scored at 13:32 of the third period with Patrick Kane in the penalty box for high-sticking, and St. Louis beat Chicago for a 2-1 lead in the Western Conference series.

Patrik Berglund also scored in the third as St. Louis rallied for the win after a difficult 3-2 loss in Game 2 that included two key coach's challenges that went against the Blues. Brian Elliott made 44 saves, keeping St. Louis in the game during Chicago's strong second period.

Kane, the NHL's leading scorer this season and one of the favorites for league MVP, got four minutes for a high stick on defenseman Alex Pietrangelo, and St. Louis made the most of the chance to go in front.

Vladimir Tarasenko passed down low to David Backes, who sent it right to Schwartz in the slot. He beat Crawford low on the glove side for his third career playoff goal and a 3-2 lead with 6:38 left.

Colton Parayko also scored for St. Louis. Brent Seabrook and Artem Anisimov scored for Chicago.

Game 4 is Tuesday night in Chicago.

RED WINGS 2, LIGHTNING 0

Andreas Athanasiou and Henrik Zetterberg scored, Petr Mrazek made 16 saves and Detroit beat Tampa Bay to cut its deficit to 2-1 in the Eastern Conference series.

Game 4 is Tuesday night at Joe Louis Arena. Game 5, which is now necessary, will be at Tampa Bay.

After brawling late in the last game, gloves were dropped, fists flew and there were piles of players on the ice when the Game 3 ended.

Ben Bishop made 28 saves for the Lightning. Their top line of Tyler Johnson, Nikita Kucherov and Alex Killorn was shut down after each of the three had six points in the first two games.

NHL Transactions from April 16, 2016

"The Neutral Zone" Staff Report

The following is a list of transactions made on April 16, 2016:

FLA - Logan Shaw, RW - Called up from minors from Portland (AHL).

FLA - Rocco Grimaldi, C sent to minors Portland (AHL).

ANA - Nick Ritchie, LW - Called up from minors from San Diego (AHL).

NHL Playoff Capsules (April 17, 2016)

WASHINGTON (AP) Washington's Braden Holtby made 41 saves, Philadelphia's Steve Mason gave up a goal from 101 feet away and Alex Ovechkin scored on the power play and the Capitals beat the Flyers 4-1 in Game 2 Saturday night to take a 2-0 series lead.

Ovechkin's 37th Stanley Cup playoff goal was as predictable as Jason Chimera's goal from beyond the red line was unexpected. Mason whiffed at the puck on what turned out to be the game-winner.

The Flyers outshot the Capitals 42-23 and dominated for much of the game, but came up empty as John Carlson scored his second power-play goal in as many games and Nicklas Backstrom added one at even strength late. Jake Voracek scored the Flyers' only goal.

The series shifts to Philadelphia for Game 3 on Monday night.

Mason did the splits to stop Carlson from point-blank range early in the second period and was slow to get up. He remained in the game, but less than a minute later made the mistake that will be shown on bad-goal blooper reels for decades.

After Karl Alzner backhanded the puck from his goal line, Chimera tipped it from the Capitals' side of the red line. It slid five-hole on Mason, who wrenched his head back in dismay.

RANGERS 4, PENGUINS 2

PITTSBURGH (AP) - Keith Yandle and Derick Brassard scored 18 seconds apart in the second period and Henrik Lundqvist looked just fine dealing with an eye injury and New York stopped Pittsburgh to even the Eastern Conference quarterfinal series at one game.

Mats Zuccarello and Chris Kreider also scored for the Rangers. J.T. Miller added three assists and New York handed Pittsburgh just its third loss in its past 18 games.

Lundqvist finished with 29 saves and showed no ill effects after getting accidentally slashed in the right eye by a teammate in Game 1, forcing him to leave after the first period.

Game 3 is Tuesday in New York.

Phil Kessel scored his first two playoff goals in three years, but the Penguins' defense broke down in front of backup goaltender Jeff Zatkoff, who made 24 saves.

SHARKS 2, KINGS 1

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Captain Joe Pavelski scored his third goal in two games, Martin Jones made 27 saves and San Jose took a 2-0 series lead on Los Angeles with a victory in Game 2.

Logan Couture also scored for the Sharks, who largely dominated their California rivals in their second straight road victory.

Jones made several key stops against his former Los Angeles teammates and hung on after losing his shutout bid on Vincent Lecavalier's power-play goal with 5:01 to play.

Jonathan Quick stopped 21 shots while losing to his former backup again.

Neither team has forgotten the Kings lost the first three games of their first-round series with San Jose in 2014, only to win four straight.

Game 3 is Monday night at the Shark Tank.

STARS 2, WILD 1

DALLAS (AP) - Antoine Roussel scored from behind the net without the puck touching a stick and Jamie Benn had an unassisted goal and Dallas beat Minnesota for a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference playoff series.

The Stars scored first on Roussel's strange goal about 4 minutes into the second period, when the puck ricocheted off the skates of Ales Hemsky and Roussel without either getting a stick on it.

Benn scored on a breakaway that he ended with a backhand to make it 2-0 with 9:37 left in the game, and that was big since the Wild got their first goal of the series soon after that.

Marco Scandella scored on a power play, making a slap shot from well above the left circle with 7:18 left.

The first-round series shifts to Minnesota for Game 3 on Monday night.

Kari Lehtonen stopped 25 of 26 shots, including a last flurry by the Wild with an extra skater in the final seconds.

NHL Transactions from April 15, 2016

LA - Kevin Gravel, D - Called up from minors from Ontario-AHL

ANA - Nick Ritchie, LW - Sent to minors San Diego-AHL

NYI - Devon Toews, D - Signed Three-year, entry-level contract

NHL Playoff Capsules (April 16, 2016)

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) Filip Forsberg got credit for the tiebreaking goal with 9:35 to play, and the Nashville Predators opened their first-round playoff series with a 3-2 victory over the Anaheim Ducks on Friday night.

Pekka Rinne made 27 saves for the Predators, who got the early jump on the Pacific Division champion Ducks with a gritty road effort.

James Neal and Colin Wilson also scored, while Forsberg scored the go-ahead goal when his cross-ice pass to Craig Smith hit defenseman Shea Theodore's skate and trickled past John Gibson.

Game 2 is Sunday night in Anaheim.

Captain Ryan Getzlaf and Ryan Kesler scored for the Ducks, who lost an opener for just the second time in seven playoff series under coach Bruce Boudreau.

LIGHTNING 5, RED WINGS 2

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - Tyler Johnson scored a pair of third-period goals, helping the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Detroit Red Wings in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series.

Ben Bishop had 30 saves for the defending Eastern Conference champions, who took the first two games at home despite playing without injured leading goal scorer Steven Stamkos and defenseman Anton Stralman.

A bloody brawl involving several players capped this one, with 14 penalties called - including a game misconduct on Justin Abdelkader - with 54 seconds left.

Game 3 is Sunday in Detroit, where the Red Wings won both regular-season meetings between the teams.

PANTHERS 3, ISLANDERS 1

SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) - Roberto Luongo made 41 saves for his first playoff win in five years, and the Florida Panthers evened their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series by beating the New York Islanders.

Reilly Smith and Nick Bjugstad each had a goal and an assist for Florida, which salvaged a split in the series-opening back-to-back. Dmitry Kulikov added an empty-netter with 9.3 seconds left to clinch the win. Game 3 is in Brooklyn on Sunday.

John Tavares scored with 3:33 left for New York, and Thomas Greiss stopped 28 shots for the Islanders.

BLACKHAWKS 3, BLUES 2

ST. LOUIS (AP) - Andrew Shaw stuffed home a rebound on a power play with 4:19 remaining, minutes after the Chicago Blackhawks won a coach's challenge to negate a goal, and the defending Stanley Cup champions pulled even with the St. Louis Blues in their first-round series.

Corey Crawford had a strong game in net and Duncan Keith also scored for Chicago in his first game back from a six-game suspension for a dangerous high stick to Minnesota's Charlie Coyle. Keith assisted on Artemi Panarin's clinching empty-net goal with 1:34 to go. The series shifts to Chicago with Game 3 on Sunday.

Vladimir Tarasenko and Kevin Shattenkirk scored for St. Louis.

NHL Transactions from April 14, 2016

PHI - Alex Lyon, G - Sent to minors Lehigh Valley-AHL

PHI - Ray Emery, G - Sent to minors Lehigh Valley-AHL

CHI - Carl Dahlstrom, D - Signed Three-year contract

LA - Spencer Watson, RW - Signed Three-year contract

NYR - Magnus Hellberg, G - Called up from minors from Hartford-AHL

CHI - Duncan Keith, D - Suspension Over

NHL Playoff Capsules (April 15, 2016)

WASHINGTON (AP) John Carlson scored a power-play goal and Braden Holby made 19 saves to help the Washington Capitals beat the Philadelphia Flyers 2-0 in Thursday night in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference first-round series.

Washington's penalty kill went for 4 for 4 and frustrated the Flyers. Holtby had seven saves on Philadelphia power plays to pick up his third career shutout in the playoffs.

Flyers counterpart Steve Mason stopped 29 shots he faced, giving up Carlson's second-period goal on a shot that deflected in off teammate Chris VandeVelde. Jay Beagle added a late goal.

The Flyers lost second-line center Sean Couturier to an upper-body injury in the second period.

Game 2 is Saturday night in Washington.

ISLANDERS 5, PANTHERS 4

SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) - John Tavares had a goal and two assists, including one that set up Kyle Okposo's go-ahead goal early in the third period, and New York beat Florida Game 1 of the Eastern Conference series.

Thomas Greiss survived a shaky beginning and made 42 saves for the Islanders in his first playoff start, and Brock Nelson, Frans Nielsen and Ryan Strome added goals for New York.

Home-ice advantage in the series now belongs to the Islanders, and they can take a 2-0 lead back to Barclays Center if they prevail when the series resumes in a quick turnaround Friday night.

Reilly Smith had two goals, Jussi Jokinen had a goal and two assists and Teddy Purcell also scored for the Panthers. Roberto Luongo made 21 saves.

STARS 4, WILD 0

DALLAS (AP) - Kari Lehtonen made 22 saves for his second career playoff shutout, Jamie Benn had a goal and two assists and Dallas beat Minnesota in Game 1 of the Western Conference series.

Jason Spezza returned to the postseason with a nifty goal and added an assist.

Spezza was skating along the right side and initially faked a slap shot with just over 8 minutes left in the second period. After skating a few more feet to near the center of the faceoff circle, he took a wrist shot and sent the puck in the upper right corner to make it 2-0.

Patrick Eaves and Radek Faksa also scored.

Game 2 is Saturday night in Dallas.

TNZ's Notes:
- The San Jose Sharks defeated the Los Angeles Kings 4-3 to take a 1-0 series lead.

Claude Julien to return to Bruins as head coach next season

"The Neutral Zone" Staff Report

Th Boston Bruins announced on Thursday that despite missing the playoffs for the past two seasons, Claude Julien will return as the team's head coach for the 2016-17 NHL season. 

"It’s pretty obvious we failed on numerous occasions with some big games," Julien said in a press conference on Thursday. "Our consistency wasn't there."

When Julien said that he and the Bruins failed on "numerous occasions," he mentioned the 2016 Bridgestone NHL WInter Classic, where the Bruins lost 6-1 outdoors to the Montreal Canadiens.

"I want to be here," Julien also said. "I want to bring this team back to where we had it."\

In the conference, Bruins GM Don Sweeny said that Doug Houda will not return to the team's coaching staff next season.

Rangers recall G Magnus Hellberg from Hartford (AHL) after injury to Lundqvist

"The Neutral Zone" Staff Report

Magnus Hellberg

The New York Rangers on Thursday recalled goaltender Magnus Hellberg from the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League due to the injury sustained to Henrik Lundqvist in game one of the Rangers' first round series against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday.

Lundqvist was hit in the eye with teammate Marc Staal's stick in the game, finished the first period, and did not return for the second or even the rest of the game.

Hellberg has appeared in one game with the Rangers this season.

NHL Transactions from April 13, 2016

"The Neutral Zone" Staff Report

The following is a complete list of all NHL transactions made on April 14, 2016:

VAN - Troy Stecher, D - Signed as Free Agent Two-year contract

SJ - Matt Tennyson, D - Sent to minors San Jose-AHL for conditioning purposes

MIN - Alex Tuch, RW - Signed Three-year contract

NYR - Marek Hrivik, RW - Called up from minors from Hartford-AHL

NYI - Alan Quine, C - Called up from minors from Bridgeport-AHL

TOR - Nazem Kadri, C - Contract extended Six-year contract extension

TOR - Morgan Rielly, D - Contract extended Six-year contract extension

NHL Playoff Capsules (April 14, 2016)

PITTSBURGH (AP) Patric Hornqvist had his first playoff hat trick and the Pittsburgh Penguins pulled away from the New York Rangers 5-2 in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals Wednesday night.

Hornqvist added an assist, Sidney Crosby had a goal and two assists and backup goaltender Jeff Zatkoff did just fine in his first postseason start, finishing with 35 saves. Tom Kuhnhackl also scored for Pittsburgh, which took advantage when New York goalie Henrik Lundqvist left with a facial injury after the first period.

Game 2 is Saturday in Pittsburgh.

Lundqvist played just 20 minutes after taking a stick to the face from teammate Marc Staal. Antti Raanta was shaky in Lundqvist's place, stopping 16 of 19 shots.

Derek Stepan scored twice for the Rangers, but New York never led as its quest to knock the Penguins out of the playoffs for a third straight year got off to an underwhelming start.

LIGHTNING 3, RED WINGS 2

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - Nikita Kucherov scored twice and Alex Killorn snapped a third-period tie, lifting Tampa Bay past Detroit in Game 1 of their series.

Ben Bishop had 34 saves for the defending Eastern Conference champions, who got the winner from Killorn less than two minutes after a potential go-ahead goal was waived off when Detroit coach Jeff Blashill successfully challenged that Tampa Bay was offsides before Victor Hedman scored.

Killorn took a feed from Tyler Johnson and slipped the puck past Jimmy Howard at 8:52 of the third.

Kucherov scored in the first and second periods and also assisted on the winner.

Mike Green and Justin Abdelkader scored for Detroit.

Game 2 is Friday night at Amalie Arena.

TNZ's Notes:
- The St. Louis Blues defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 1-0 in overtime to take a 1-0 lead in the round one series.

Lundqvist injured in game against Penguins

"The Neutral Zone" Staff Report

Henrik Lundqvist was injured in the Rangers' playoff
game against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday
night. (Getty Images)

PITTSBURGH - New York Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist wad injured in the first period of the New York Rangers' playoff game against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday night.

Lundqvist was hit by a Trevor Daly slapshot in the final minute of the first period. After receiving liquid drops in his eyes after the incident, Lundqvist did finish the period.

However, Lundqvist was not in net, nor was he even on the bench for the start of the period.

NHL Transactions from April 12, 2016

"The Neutral Zone" Staff Report

The following is a complete list of all NHL transactions made on April 12, 2016:

BUF - Cal O'Reilly, C - Sent to minors Rochester-AHL

TB - Matt Spencer, D - Signed Three-year contract

VAN - Brendan Gaunce, C - Sent to minors Utica-AHL

VAN - Andrey Pedan, D - Sent to minors Utica-AHL

SJ - Mantas Armalis, G - Signed as Free Agent One-year contract

Injury Notebook: 2016 Playoffs Round 1 Edition

"The Neutral Zone" Staff Report

Dan Girardi participates in the Rangers morning
practice on Monday, April 11, 2016. (@NYRangers)

McDonagh not ready to face Penguins, Girardi may be: The New York Rangers are down two defenseman, Dan Girardi and Ryan McDonagh,

Both defenseman practiced on Monday, and it seemed as if Girardi was recovering from his injury rather quickly.

Athough both players practiced, both left the ice before the formal practice begun.

"[McDonagh] is definitely not going to start (the series)," Rangers head coach Alain Vigneault said after practice Monday. "He is day-to-day."

McDonagh did skating drills, but never took shots before practice while wearing a no-contact jersey.


"We obviously want him back as soon as we can," defenseman Marc Staal said about McDonagh. "Anytime you are going into a game without your captain, you need other guys to step up and play well. That is what we will try to do."

Girardi skated before practice and was scheduled to skate after practice, according to Vigneault.

Forwards Eric Staal, Mats Zuccarello (lower body) and Viktor Stalberg (lower body) were full participants in practice Monday. Staal had a scary incident after colliding with his teammate Jesper Fast in the Rangers' regular season finale against the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday, while Zuccarelo and Stalerg missed the games with their respetive injuries.

"Everybody was there, everybody is good to go," Vigneault said.

Seguin's status for Game One still uncertain: Dallas Stars forward Tyler Seguin practiced Monday with his team, but his status for Game 1 in Round 1 against the MInnesota Wild is still uncertain.

Seguin practiced on Monday in a red no-contact jersey.

"It's not fully up to me, so I'm doing everything I can to be prepared and obviously I want to play," Seguin said.

Stars head coah Lindy Ruff is confident that Seguin can reach 100 percent good health.

"I think today was the next step," Ruff said. "I think when he can go 100 percent, go full out, we'll know where he's at. It might be tomorrow, it might be Wednesday, but today was a good step in the right direction for him."

Fleury practices with Penguins: Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury practiced Monday after recieving his second concussion of the season earlier in his 2015-16 campaign.

After the practice, Fleury said he felt good but was unable to say if he would be ready for Round One against the New York Rangers.

"I skated by myself the past few days, so it was good to get out there with the guys," Fleury said. "It's never easy to watch them … Just [taking it] one day at a time. It was my first practice." 

Parise and Haula miss second consecutive practice: Minnesota Wild forwards Zach Parise and Erik Haula missed practice for the second consecutive day on Monday.

It is in doubt if both players will play in Round One against the Dallas Stars.