Kukla's Korner Hockey

Kukla's Korner Hockey

NHL Short Notes

04/26/2015 at 11:08am EDT

SATURDAY’S RESULTS
Home Team in Caps
NY ISLANDERS 3, Washington 1 – series tied 3-3
Detroit 4, TAMPA BAY 0 – DET leads series 3-2
CHICAGO 4, Nashville 3 – CHI wins series 4-2
CALGARY 7, Vancouver 4 – CGY wins series 4-2

FLAMES OVERCOME SLOW START TO ELIMINATE CANUCKS
The Canucks raced to a 3-0 lead less than 10 minutes after the opening face-off and held a 4-3 advantage after 40 minutes, but the Flames scored four unanswered goals in the third period – including the tiebreaker by Matt Stajan with 4:17 remaining in regulation – to advance to the Second Round of the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs.


* Via Elias, the Flames became the fourth team in Stanley Cup Playoffs history to record a series-clinching win in regulation when trailing by three or more goals. The others to accomplish that feat: the 1997 Avalanche (Game 6 of CQF at CHI), 2009 Penguins (Game 6 of CQF at PHI) and 2010 Flyers (Game 7 of CSF at BOS).

* Elias says the Flames overcame a three-goal deficit and separate one-goal deficit to win a playoff game for the first time in franchise history. They also earned a series-clinching victory when trailing by multiple goals for the first time in club history.

* The Flames scored seven or more goals in a postseason game for the first time since May 11, 1995 at SJS (9-2 W).

* Stajan posted 1-2—3, including his first career playoff goal (9 GP). Per Elias, he became the first player in Flames history whose first career postseason goal stood as a series-clinching tally. ICYMI: Stajan was mic’d up when he scored the decisive goal.

* Five other Flames players registered at least three points: Jiri Hudler (2-2—4),Michael Ferland (2-1—3), Johnny Gaudreau (1-2—3), Sean Monahan (1-2—3) andDavid Jones (0-3—3).

* DID YOU KNOW?: Elias says this marked the fourth time in Stanley Cup Playoffs history that six players on one team each collected at least three points in the same game. The other clubs to accomplish that feat: the 1944 Canadiens (Game 5 of SF vs. TOR), 1985 Oilers (Game 1 of CF vs. CHI) and 1987 Oilers (Game 2 of DSF vs. LAK).

* The trio of Hudler, Gaudreau and Monahan – who finished 1-2-3 on the team, respectively, in scoring during the regular season – totaled 3-4—7 in the opening five contests of the series. They combined for 4-6—10 in Game 6.

* Karri Ramo made 17 saves in relief of Jonas Hiller, who was pulled after yielding two goals on three shots. Ramo earned his first career playoff victory (2 GP), becoming the eighth goaltender to do so this postseason.

* The Flames advanced past the opening round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs for just the second time since capturing the franchise’s first and only championship in 1988-89. In 2004, they also defeated the Canucks in the first round en route to a trip to the Stanley Cup Final.

* The Flames improved to 5-2 in seven all-time playoff series against the Canucks. The winner of their last two postseason meetings has gone on to advance to the Stanley Cup Final – Calgary in 2004 (lost to TBL in F) and Vancouver in 1994 (lost to NYR in F).

* The Flames will face the Ducks in the Second Round of the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Calgary has played Anaheim one time in the postseason, falling in seven games in the 2006 Western Conference Quarterfinals.

2015 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS BRACKET CHALLENGE
Among the more than 800,000 entries for the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs Bracket Challenge powered by Samsung, 51% picked the Flames to win their series against the Canucks – just 20.7% selected them to win in six games.

BLACKHAWKS (ALSO) RALLY TO ADVANCE TO SECOND ROUND
The Predators took 2-0 and 3-1 leads in the first period, but the Blackhawks scored three unanswered goals – including the tiebreaker by Duncan Keith with 3:48 remaining in regulation – to advance to the Second Round of the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs.


* Via Elias, the Blackhawks overcame a multi-goal deficit to earn a series-clinching win for the first time since the 2010 Western Conference Final (Game 4 vs. SJS).

* Corey Crawford stopped all 13 shots he faced in relief of Scott Darling, who allowed three goals on 12 shots. The plot for Game 1 of the series had a similar storyline, with Darling stopping all 42 shots he faced in relief of Crawford, who yielded three goals on 12 shots. The Blackhawks overcame a 3-0 deficit in that contest for an eventual 4-3 victory in double-overtime (w/ Keith also scoring the winning goal).

* Elias says the Blackhawks became the first team in Stanley Cup Playoffs history to have two different goaltenders record a win in relief in the same series. Only two other teams have accomplished that feat in the same playoff year: the 1980 North Stars (Gilles Meloche vs. TOR, Gary Edwards vs. PHI) and 1984 Oilers (Grant Fuhr vs. CGY, Andy Moog vs. MIN).

* Elias also notes that the Blackhawks won multiple games in the same series when trailing by two or more goals for the first time since the 1992 Western Conference Final (Games 2 and 3 vs. EDM).

* The Blackhawks improved to 13-3 in their last 16 games in which they could eliminate an opponent. They also improved to 12-1 in their past 13 Game 6s and 7-1 in their last eight series-clinching games at home (all dating to the 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs).

* Keith (1-2—3) registered his 10th career multi-point playoff game and second of the series (also Game 1: 1-1—2). With his performance, Keith (14-47—61) moved into third in postseason points among active defensemen, behind Sergei Gonchar (22-68—90) and Dan Boyle (14-58—72).

* Jonathan Toews (1-2—3), Patrick Kane (1-1—2) and Patrick Sharp (1-1—2) also registered multiple points. Elias says the trio each scored in the same playoff game for the third time. The two other instances: April 26, 2010 at NSH and June 19, 2013 at BOS.

* The Blackhawks will face the winner of the Wild-Blues series in the Second Round of the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Chicago played both clubs in last year’s postseason, defeating St. Louis in six games in the First Round and Minnesota in six games in the Second Round.

2015 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS BRACKET CHALLENGE
Among the more than 800,000 entries for the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs Bracket Challenge powered by Samsung, 75% picked the Blackhawks to win their series against the Predators – just 36.2% selected them to win in six games.

ISLANDERS EDGE CAPITALS, FORCE GAME 7
Jaroslav Halak made 38 saves and Nikolay Kulemin scored the tiebreaking goal with 9:27 remaining in regulation to help the Islanders stave off elimination and force a Game 7 against the Capitals.

* The Islanders improved to 26-18 all-time when facing elimination in the playoffs, including a 16-5 record at Nassau Coliseum.

* The Islanders scored the opening goal for the fifth time out of six games in the series (all but Game 4). There has only been one other instance when they recorded the first goal at least five times in one playoff series: the 1982 Patrick Division Semifinals vs. PIT, when the Islanders did so in all five contests of the best-of-five series (3-2 W).

* Per Elias, Halak improved to 6-1 with a 1.72 goals-against average and .956 save percentage in seven career playoff games when facing elimination.

* Kulemin registered his first career playoff goal (13 GP). Elias notes that he became the third player in Islanders history whose first career postseason goal stood as the decisive marker in a game in which the team faced elimination. The others to do so: Garry Howatt (in Game 6 of 1975 QF vs. PIT) and Randy Wood (in Game 5 of 1987 DF at PHI).

* John Tavares added 1-1—2, including his fifth career playoff goal just 6:56 after the opening face-off. He has posted at least one point in 11 of his last 12 games dating to March 29 vs. DET, totaling 6-12—18 in that span (2-4—6 in the playoffs).

* Nick Leddy collected a pair of helpers. He has 0-5—5 during a four-game assist/point streak, both career highs in the postseason.

* ICYMI: Mikhail Grabovski was mic’d up when Kulemin scored the tiebreaking goal late in the third period.

MRAZEK, RED WINGS (AGAIN) BLANK LIGHTNING
Petr Mrazek stopped all 28 shots he faced to record his second shutout of the series (also Game 3: 22 SV) and help the Red Wings take a 3-2 lead against the Lightning.

* Via Elias, Mrazek became the second rookie goaltender in Red Wings history to post two playoff shutouts. The only other to achieve that feat: Earl Robertson on April 13 and 15, 1937 vs. NYR. Mrazek, however, became the first to do so in the series in which he made his postseason debut.

* Elias also says that Mrazek became the fifth rookie goaltender in the NHL’s expansion era (since 1967-68) to register two shutouts in one playoff series. The others: Philadelphia’s Ron Hextall (1987 DSF vs. NYR), Anaheim’s Ilya Bryzgalov (2006 CSF vs. COL), Montreal’s Carey Price (2008 CQF vs. BOS) and Washington’s Semyon Varlamov (2009 CQF vs. NYR).

* Mrazek, who was the only goaltender to shut out the Lightning during the regular season (March 28 vs. TBL), also became the first goaltender to blank the Lightning in Tampa Bay since Nov. 29, 2013 (Marc-Andre Fleury).

* Riley Sheahan scored what proved to be the decisive goal with 23 seconds remaining in the first period, marking the first game-winning tally of his playoff career (10 GP).

* Pavel Datsyuk added his 42nd career postseason goal, tied for eighth among active players, while Drew Miller notched his sixth career playoff goal and first since May 20, 2013 vs. CHI.

* Mike Babcock picked up his 82nd career postseason victory to tie Toe Blake for ninth in NHL history.

* ICYMI: Click here to watch the Red Wings hand out their celebratory postgame shovel following the win.

LOOSE PUCKS
The Canucks built a 3-0 lead at 9:42 of the first period behind goals from Brandon McMillan, Jannik Hansen and Radim Vrbata. Elias says they were the fastest three goals to start a postseason game in franchise history . . . Predators forward James Neal (2-0—2) recorded his fourth career multi-goal playoff game and first since May 24, 2013 vs. OTT (3-1—4 w/ PIT). He also scored for the third consecutive game (4-1—5), a first in his postseason career . . . Per Elias, Neal’s goal at 1:10 of the first period marked the second-fastest goal to begin a playoff game in Predators history. Adam Hallset the mark on April 7, 2004 at DET, scoring 16 seconds after the opening face-off in the team’s first-ever postseason game . . . Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby made 35 saves. He has a 1.98 goals-against average and .934 save percentage in 26 career playoff appearances, including a 1.75 goals-against average and .945 save percentage vs. NYI (5 GP) . . . Islanders defensemen Scott Mayfield and Matt Donovan logged 10:30 and 10:17, respectively, in their postseason debuts. The two combined for 12 appearances during the regular season (all by Donovan) . . . Red Wings defensemanJonathan Ericsson collected two assists . . . Predators forward Matt Cullen posted his 12th career playoff goal and first since April 24, 2010 vs. PIT (w/ OTT) . . . Capitals defenseman John Carlson registered his sixth career postseason goal and first since May 7, 2012 at NYR . . . Red Wings defenseman Danny DeKeyser (12 GP) and Canucks defenseman Luca Sbisa (20 GP) scored their first career playoff goals . . . ICYMI: The NHL announced the start times and national television information forMonday’s playoff games . . . Actors Chloë Grace Moretz and Kevin Smith attended the Capitals-Islanders and Predators-Blackhawks games, respectively . . . Click here to watch the #MyPlayoffsMoment video from Friday’s action.

SNEAK PEEK AT SUNDAY’S ACTION
All Times Eastern
St. Louis @ Minnesota, MIN leads 3-2, 3:00 p.m., NBC, SN, TVA
Montreal @ Ottawa, MTL leads 3-2, 6:00 p.m., NBCSN, CBC, TVA
NBC Channel Finder
Sportsnet Channel Finder

the above information was supplied by the NHL PR department

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Paul Kukla founded Kukla’s Korner in 2005 and the site has since become the must-read site on the ‘net for all the latest happenings around the NHL.

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