BOSTON (AP) - Tuukka Rask made 31 saves to help the defending Eastern Conference champion Boston Bruins beat the Red Wings 4-2 in Game 5 of their first-round playoff series on Saturday and eliminate Detroit from the postseason.
The Bruins, who finished the regular season with the best record in the NHL, advanced to the conference semifinals against the Montreal Canadiens.
Loui Eriksson opened the scoring for Boston, and Zdeno Chara snapped a second-period tie to give the Bruins the lead for good. Milan Lucic also scored, and Jarome Iginla added an empty-netter.
Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg scored and Jonas Gustavsson stopped 29 shots for Detroit.
PENGUINS 3, BLUE JACKETS 1
PITTSBURGH (AP) - Jussi Jokinen scored the go-ahead goal in the third period and the Pittsburgh Penguins topped the Columbus Blue Jackets to take a 3-2 lead in their Eastern Conference playoff series.
Chris Kunitz and Kris Letang also scored for Pittsburgh, which has the upstart Blue Jackets on the verge of elimination with an opportunity to close out the series Monday during Game 6 in Columbus.
It hasn’t been easy for the Penguins, a team considered by many a Stanley Cup contender. Columbus, which began the series searching for its first playoff win in franchise history, twice rallied to stun the heavily favored Penguins.
Boone Jenner scored the lone goal for Columbus, which played its first Game 5 in franchise history.
KINGS 3, SHARKS 0
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) - Jonathan Quick made 30 saves to shut out San Jose for the fourth time in his career in the postseason and the Los Angeles Kings staved off elimination for a second straight game by beating the Sharks in Game 5 of their first-round series.
Tyler Toffoli, Anze Kopitar and Jeff Carter scored for the Kings, who are looking to become the fourth NHL team to overcome a 3-0 deficit to win a playoff series.
Antti Niemi allowed three goals on 19 shots and got pulled for the second straight game for the Sharks. Perhaps more importantly, San Jose also lost star defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic to an undisclosed injury in the first period.
Game 6 is Monday night in Los Angeles.
AVALANCHE 4, WILD 3, OT
DENVER (AP) - Nathan MacKinnon scored 3:27 into overtime after P.A. Parenteau tied the game late in regulation, helping the Colorado Avalanche rally past the Minnesota Wild for a 3-2 lead in the first-round series.
MacKinnon poked the puck past Darcy Kuemper’s glove with two defenders all over him. The rookie also had two assists.
Parenteau scored with 1:14 left after Avalanche coach Patrick Roy pulled goaltender Semyon Varlamov with 2:22 remaining. Nick Holden and Cody McLeod also added goals for the Avalanche.
Kyle Brodziak, Zach Parise and Matt Moulson scored for the Wild.
The series switches back to Minnesota for Game 6 on Monday.
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