Kukla's Korner Hockey

Kukla's Korner Hockey

Morning Notes

05/24/2013 at 9:42am EDT

Provided by the NHL...

FRIENDLY CONFINES
Home teams won all three games Thursday and have a 44-20 record (.688) in the playoffs, including a 14-3 mark (.824) in the second round. Home clubs also have won 15 of the 21 overtime games (.714) in the postseason, including all four in the Conference Semifinals.

The Kings set a franchise record with their 13th consecutive victory at STAPLES Center dating to the regular season. Los Angeles also has won a team-record seven straight home playoff games dating to last year.

DOWN, BUT NOT OUT
The Rangers overcame 2-0 and 3-2 deficits to force overtime and eventually win in the extra frame, marking the third time in franchise history that the team won a game in which it faced elimination and trailed by two or more goals. The other wins of that description were a triple-overtime victory in Game 6 of the 1971 Semifinals against Chicago and Mark Messier’s famous “guaranteed win” in Game 6 of the 1994 Eastern Conference Final at New Jersey. Thursday’s victory also marked the first time the Rangers won any playoff game in which they trailed by two or more goals since 1995 against Quebec. (Elias)

FRIENDLY CONFINES
Home teams won all three games Thursday and have a 44-20 record (.688) in the playoffs, including a 14-3 mark (.824) in the second round. Home clubs also have won 15 of the 21 overtime games (.714) in the postseason, including all four in the Conference Semifinals.

The Kings set a franchise record with their 13th consecutive victory at STAPLES Center dating to the regular season. Los Angeles also has won a team-record seven straight home playoff games dating to last year.

DOWN, BUT NOT OUT
The Rangers overcame 2-0 and 3-2 deficits to force overtime and eventually win in the extra frame, marking the third time in franchise history that the team won a game in which it faced elimination and trailed by two or more goals. The other wins of that description were a triple-overtime victory in Game 6 of the 1971 Semifinals against Chicago and Mark Messier’s famous “guaranteed win” in Game 6 of the 1994 Eastern Conference Final at New Jersey. Thursday’s victory also marked the first time the Rangers won any playoff game in which they trailed by two or more goals since 1995 against Quebec. (Elias)

WORKING OVERTIME
The Rangers won their fifth postseason overtime game in which they faced elimination. The last time they did so was in Game 7 of the 1994 Eastern Conference Final, when Stephane Matteau scored in double-overtime to defeat the Devils.

PRIMETIME PERFORMER
NY Rangers forward Chris Kreider scored his first career overtime goal (regular season or playoffs). He has six goals in 25 career postseason games, three of which have been game-winners. Kreider has just two goals in 23 career regular-season appearances, neither of which have been game-winners.

The Boxford, Mass., product also is only the second Massachusetts-born player to score a playoff overtime goal against the Bruins. Bob Sweeney was the first, with an overtime tally for the Sabres in Game 1 of the Adams Division Semifinals in 1993. (Elias)

THE KING STANDS TALL
NY Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist made 37 saves, including seven in the extra frame, to pick up his fourth victory in 15 career playoff overtime games. He improved to 5‑0 with a 0.98 goals-against average, .966 save percentage and two shutouts in his last five playoff games at Madison Square Garden in which the Rangers faced elimination.

FIRING BLANKS
The Blackhawks were shut out for the first time this season (regular season and playoffs). It also was the third time they were shut out by the Red Wings in 78 all-time playoff meetings:Terry Sawchuk backstopped Detroit to a 3-0 win on March 31, 1964, and Roger Crozier led the team to a 7-0 victory on April 10, 1966.

HOW ABOUT THAT?
Detroit goaltender Jimmy Howard improved to 5-1 with a 1.67 goals-against average and .950 save percentage in his last six games. His lone prior playoff shutout was on April 20, 2010, when he posted 29 saves in a 3‑0 victory over the Coyotes in Game 4 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals.

THE ROYAL TREATMENT
The Kings have not allowed more than three goals in any of their last 31 playoff games dating to last year, an NHL record. The previous mark was set by the Red Wings, who went 27 games without allowing more than three goals in a postseason game from 2002-06. (Elias)

CLIMBING THE LADDER
Los Angeles goaltender Jonathan Quick posted his 27th career postseason victory to pass Kelly Hrudey for sole possession of first place on the team’s all-time playoff wins list. Quick leads all netminders this postseason with a 1.50 goals-against average, .948 save percentage and three shutouts. He also has a 7‑0 record with a 1.14 goals-against average, .956 save percentage and three shutouts in his last seven home playoff games dating to last year.

SPECIAL TEAMS
NY Rangers forward Brian Boyle scored a power-play goal to even the game at three and snap the team’s 0‑for‑23 drought with the man advantage. The Rangers improved to 3-0 when scoring a power-play goal in the postseason.

Detroit defenseman Jakub Kindl netted a power-play goal that stood up as the game-winner, the first of his postseason career. The goal broke Chicago’s streak of 30 successful penalty kills to begin the playoffs.

The Sharks failed to score on their three power-play opportunities, falling to 1-for-19 (5.3%) with the man advantage on the road this postseason. They have the best home power play in the playoffs at 37.5% (9‑for‑24).

EARLY IMPACT
Boston defenseman Torey Krug, who made his postseason debut in Game 1 against the Rangers, scored his third goal of the series. His three tallies are the most by a Bruins rookie blueliner since Glen Wesley had six in the 1988 Stanley Cup Playoffs. (Elias)

DID YOU KNOW?
Thursday’s defeat marks the first time the Blackhawks have lost three consecutive games all season.

WINGIN’ IT IN MOTOWN
Ndamukong Suh ‏@NdamukongSuh
My boy Al taught me a little @DetroitRedWings tradition!!! #octopihockeytown pic.twitter.com/zuRWMMwbpe

Matthew Stafford ‏@Staff_9
What a win! Great time tonight with @kellybhall @KrisDurham16 @ShaunChapas @NdamukongSuh #letsgowings #chitowncloseout

Detroit Lions ‏@DetroitLionsNFL
Entire crew at the Joe tonight! @Staff_9 @KrisDurham16 #ShaunChapas @kellybhall pic.twitter.com/3ohqugdYao

LOOSE PUCKS
The Kings improved to 21-0 when scoring at least two goals in the playoffs over the last two years . . . Twenty-two of the last 28 meetings between the Rangers and Bruins (regular season and playoffs) have been decided by one goal . . . Boston goaltender Tuukka Rask couldn’t recover in time to stop the Rangers’ first goal of the game . . . Boston forward Tyler Seguin recorded 1-1—2, including his first goal of the postseason; he had one point in his first 10 games of the playoffs . . . Los Angeles defenseman Slava Voynov scored his fourth goal of the postseason, tied for first among blueliners . . . Liam Neeson, Jason Bateman,John McEnroe, Alyssa Miller and Kate Bock were among the celebrities at the NY Rangers-Bruins game . . . Detroit Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh rode the Zamboni at the Red Wings-Blackhawks game . . . Actor Tom Cruise cheered on the Kings after they scored their first goal.

Create an Account

In order to leave a comment, please create an account.

About Kukla's Korner Hockey

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.

Email Paul anytime at [email protected]

Most Recent Posts

Most Recent Comments

Comment by VPalmer in Abel to Yzerman from the entry What's Your Gut Telling You About Tonight? - 1 minute ago
Comment by Wingding in Abel to Yzerman from the entry What's Your Gut Telling You About Tonight? - 8 minutes ago
Comment by Wingding in Abel to Yzerman from the entry What's Your Gut Telling You About Tonight? - 9 minutes ago
Comment by bezukov in Abel to Yzerman from the entry What's Your Gut Telling You About Tonight? - 58 minutes ago
Comment by OlderThanChelios in Abel to Yzerman from the entry What's Your Gut Telling You About Tonight? - 1 hour ago