Kukla's Korner Hockey

Kukla's Korner Hockey

NHL Short Notes

05/08/2016 at 8:19pm EDT

LIGHTNING ELIMINATE ISLANDERS, RETURN TO EASTERN CONFERENCE FINAL
Victor Hedman (2-0—2) registered his first career multi-goal game in the postseason and Ben Bishop stopped all 28 shots he faced to help the Lightning win their series with the Islanders in five games and reach the Eastern Conference Final for the second consecutive season.


* The Lightning have now reached the Eastern Conference Final in three of the last six campaigns and four times overall (also 2015, 2011 and 2004). Tampa Bay went on to the Stanley Cup Final in two of those series (2015 and 2004), winning the franchise’s only Stanley Cup in 2004.

* Per Elias, Hedman became just the third defenseman in franchise history to score twice in a playoff game and first to do so in a series-clinching victory. He also became the first defenseman on any team to score twice in a series-clinching win since Nicklas Lidstrom (DET) in Game 7 of the 2010 Western Conference Quarterfinals at PHX.

* Hedman collected eight points through five games in the Second Round vs. NYI (4-4—8). Per Elias, Hedman’s four goals and eight points were the most in franchise history by a defenseman in one playoff series.

* The Lightning will face the winner of the Capitals-Penguins series (PIT leads 3-2). Tampa Bay has faced Washington twice before in the postseason (2003 CQF: 4-2 W and 2011 CSF: 4-0 W) and Pittsburgh once (2011 CQF: 4-3 W).

ANOTHER SERIES-CLINCHING SHUTOUT FOR BISHOP
Lightning goaltender Ben Bishop (28 SV) picked up his fourth straight win and improved to 8-2 in the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs (1.89 GAA, .938 SV%, 2 SO).

* Bishop registered his fifth career playoff shutout and fourth in a series-clinching win (also Game 5 of 2016 FR vs. DET, Game 7 of 2015 FR at DET and Game 7 of 2015 CF at NYR). Per Elias, he moved into a tie with Jacques Plante and Martin Brodeur for the second-most series-clinching shutouts in NHL history:

Most series-clinching shutouts, NHL history
5 – Chris Osgood
4 – Jacques Plante
4 – Martin Brodeur
4 – Ben Bishop

MILESTONES & BENCHMARKS
* Lightning goaltender Ben Bishop registered his 21st career playoff win (all w/ TBL) to tie Nikolai Khabibulin for the most in franchise history. His fifth career postseason shutout also tied Khabibulin for the most in Lightning history.

LOOSE PUCKS
Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov (1-0—1) has scored in three straight games and paces the NHL with nine goals in the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs (9-3—12) . . . The Senators named Guy Boucherhead coach . . . Coyotes captain Shane Doan served as a guest analyst on NHL Network both Friday and Sunday and shared his perspective on new general managerJohn Chayka . . . Several NHL players took to social media to celebrate Mother’s Day . . . ICYMI: Gert Friedman, who will turn 101 years old on Tuesday, celebrated early by attending Game 5 of the Capitals-Penguins series at Verizon Center on Saturday.

SNEAK PEEK AT MONDAY’S ACTION
All Times Eastern
Dallas @ St. Louis, 8:00 p.m., STL leads 3-2, CBC, TVAS, NBCSN
San Jose @ Nashville, 9:00 p.m., SJS leads 3-2, SN, TVAS2, CNBC
NBC Sports Channel Finder
Sportsnet Channel Finder
NHL Network Channel Finder

the information above 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.

From breaking news to in-depth stories around the league, KK Hockey is updated with fresh stories all day long and will bring you the latest news as quickly as possible.

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