Sunday’s results
Washington Capitals 4, Pittsburgh Penguins 1 (series tied 1-1): The Capitals built up another lead on Sunday, but this time they didn’t let it go, tying up the Eastern Conference Second Round series in impressive fashion, although not without controversy. Washington got off to a fast start again with Alex Ovechkin scoring 1:26 in. From there, the Caps built up a 3-0 lead before Kris Letang pulled one back. Washington would add the empty netter to tie up the best-of-7 series. Lars Ellers had three assists in the game. Braden Holtby made 32 saves for the win.
Nashville Predators 5, Winnipeg Jets 4 (2OT — series tied 1-1): A thriller from beginning to end, including three regulation periods and 25:45 of overtime. Frantic action back and forth and a double-overtime winner from Kevin Fiala that sent Nashville into the stratosphere. The game had it all and the Predators avoided having to head to Winnipeg down 2-0 in the series. Ryan Johansen scored a pair, as did Mark Scheifele, and the latter has four goals in two games in the series. Nashville needed the line of Fiala, Kyle Turris and Craig Smith to show up in the series, and they left their mark on the game-winner.
Three stars
Braden Holtby, Capitals: Holtby had a solid bounce-back game, making 32 saves as the Capitals evened their series with the Penguins in a tidy 4-1 win. Holtby simply needs to be great if they want to beat the two-time defending Stanley Cup champs, and he was certainly that and more on Sunday afternoon.
Ryan Johansen, Predators: Call the Game 2 a must-win and then scored 27 seconds into the game for a quick lead. In the third period, he dipsy-doodled around Toby Enstrom to put the Predators up 4-3.
Mark Scheifele, Jets: Scheifele, like Johansen, scored twice in the game, including a massive goal with 65 seconds left in the third period to force overtime. Scheifele has four goals over the first two games of the series.
Highlights of the Night
Kevin Fiala’s beauty game-winner in double overtime:
Johansen did Toby Enstrom dirty on this one:
Here’s Dustin Byfuglien ragdolling two grown men with ease:
Matt Murray didn’t get the win, but he did get this save:
World class release:
Factoids of the Night
Monday’s action
Boston Bruins vs. Tampa Bay Lightning (NBCSN) — Bruins lead series 1-0
Vegas Golden Knights vs. San Jose Sharks (NBCSN) — series tied 1-1
Scott Billeck is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @scottbilleck
• The Raleigh News & Observer provides an update on the coaching and GM searches in Carolina. There’s two known coaching candidates in the organization, but a general manager will likely have to be hired first. (Raleigh News & Observer)
• Leafs general manager Lou Lamoriello’s contract is set to expire at the end of the season, so there’s a chance he’ll be with a new team come next fall. Does a potential union with the Islanders make sense? (Newsday)
• Golden Knights forward Pierre-Edouard Bellemare didn’t take the typical path to the NHL, but his story is pretty remarkable. (ESPN)
• Winning the lottery will finally give head coach Phil Housley the opportunity to finally have the quality blue liner he needs. (Buffalo News)
• Great Britain will be playing in the 2019 IIHF World Hockey Championship thanks to a game-tying goal with just seconds remaining in their final qualifying game. It will be the first time in 25 years that they participate in the tournament. (Sportsnet)
• TSN hockey scout Craig Button put together his post-lottery mock draft over the weekend. No surprise, he has Rasmus Dahlin going first. There are six defensemen in his top 15 picks. (TSN)
• A Superior International Junior Hockey League player was suspended 25 games for punching a coach. (CBC.ca)
• David Pastrnak has put together an incredible postseason so far. How does he stack up against some of the all-time greats? The numbers may surprise you. (Stanley Cup of Chowder)
• The Canadiens’ offseason isn’t even a month old, but they’ve already made plenty of changes within their organization. Expect more moves between now and the draft. (Habs Eyes on the Prize)
• Not only did the Detroit Red Wings have a disappointing season, they also struck out with the NHL draft lottery on Saturday night. (Detroit Free Press)
• Up top, check out the highlights from Game 2 between the Nashville Predators and Winnipeg Jets.
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Joey Alfieri is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @joeyalfieri.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) The Predators gave Nashville a chance to give the man who wrestled an AR-15 rifle away from a gunman at a Waffle House a standing ovation.
James Shaw Jr. met with Nashville coach Peter Laviolette before Game 2 Sunday night of the Predators’ Western Conference semifinal with Winnipeg and he was given his own personalized jersey . The Predators recognized several of the first responders from that deadly shooting a week ago in Nashville. The sold-out crowd gave Shaw a roaring ovation.
Police have credited the 29-year-old Shaw for averting more bloodshed after a gunman opened fire outside the Waffle House and then stormed the restaurant. Four people were killed and four others, including Shaw, were wounded.
Shaw also has raised more than $160,000 for the victims.
Ryan Johansen called Game 2 of the Western Conference Second Round between his Nashville Predators and the Winnipeg Jets a must-win.
A little early for the distinction? Perhaps. But the thought of heading back to Winnipeg — and into the Whiteout — down 2-0 had to be a daunting thought.
[NBC’s Stanley Cup Playoff Hub]
In a game defined by the resiliency of both teams, it was the Predators who outlasted the Jets as Kevin Fiala scored on a deke past Connor Hellebuyck on a 2-on-1 rush at 5:45 of double overtime even the best-of-7 series 1-1.
Simply put, it was a massive goal, a massive win and maybe a little redemption after a dominant performance in Game 1 left the Predators wanting in Friday’s 4-1 loss.
The majority of the 25:45 of free hockey that was played was a lesson in how manic the game of hockey can be. Chances, near-misses, desperate saves — all contained in some of the most exciting hockey thus far in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The game arrived in overtime after a frantic battle between two determined teams in regulation.
If Game 1 didn’t live up to the hype after a lopsided game one way resulted in an unlikely win in the other direction, Game 2 certainly made up for it.
Mark Scheifele‘s goal with 1:05 remaining in the third period, with Winnipeg’s net vacant, capped it off and ensured the hype train would keep chugging along.
Prior to that, Johansen scored his second goal of the night to give the Predators a 4-3 lead with 14 minutes and change remaining in the game.
His first came two periods earlier, just 27 seconds into the game to give the Preds a quick 1-0 lead. The lead wouldn’t hold and the Jets scored twice in 29 seconds before the period was through, including Scheifele’s first of the game.
Nashville rallied in the second period, scoring twice to take a 3-2 lead into the third period. Brandon Tanev tied the game at 5:11 of the third, only to watch from the bench as the Johansen scored a beauty 34 seconds later to retake the lead, one that would last until Scheifele’s crucial equalizer at 18:55.
Pekka Rinne made 46 saves when it was all said and done, just 48 hours after he was removed from Game 1 following a poor outing.
Game 3 of the series shifts to Winnipeg on Tuesday night
Scott Billeck is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @scottbilleck
After allowing three different two-goal leads to disappear on home ice this postseason, the Washington Capitals were able to hold on to one on Sunday afternoon, picking up a 4-1 win to tie their second-round series with the Pittsburgh Penguins at one game apiece.
It was another fast start for the Capitals as they were able to jump all over a sloppy Penguins team in the first period.
Alex Ovechkin started the scoring just 1:26 into the game when he pounced on a Patric Hornqvist turnover at the blue line and wired a shot into the top corner behind Matt Murray to give the Capitals an early lead. Later in the period Jakub Vrana scored on the power play to give the Capitals what has become — for them — a dreaded two-goal lead. But unlike in Games 1 and 2 of the first-round series against the Columbus Blue Jackets, and also in Game 1 of this series against Pittsburgh, the Capitals were able to build on that lead and hold on for the win.
They were able to add to it when Brett Connolly scored on a breakaway early in the second period, again capitalizing on another sloppy Penguins turnover, this time by Dominik Simon.
With all of that important details taken care of, it was a pretty chaotic path to get us to the end result.
[NBC’s Stanley Cup Playoff Hub]
Vrana’s goal in the first period had to withstand a goaltender interference review after the Penguins challenged it due to Brett Connolly taking a whack at Murray’s pad.
Connolly clearly knocked Murray off balance, but in the eyes of the league he had enough time to reset himself and get back into position to continue to play his position.
The call on the ice was upheld and the Capitals had their two-goal lead.
The Penguins were not happy with it, but that seems to be fairly consistent with how these reviews have been handled. Murray had time to recover after the contact from Connolly while that contact did not really alter his ability to stop the puck. There is a lot of griping about how interference reviews have been handled this season — and in many cases the griping is justified — but not all of them are completely arbitrary and inconsistent. If the goalie has time to get back into position, they usually let it go.
That would not be the only review in the game.
Midway through the third period, with the Penguins now trailing 3-1, they thought they had scored to pull within one on a Patric Hornqvist rebound attempt on the doorstep. It was unclear whether or not Capitals goalie Braden Holtby was able to keep the puck out of the net or if it had entirely crossed the goal line.
The call on the ice was no-goal and after a lengthy review it was determined that there was no conclusive evidence to overturn the call.
Holtby’s leg blocked the overhead and in-net cameras from determining whether or not the puck was entirely across the line.
This was the only angle that clearly showed the puck.
The team you want to win — or the team you are playing for — will determine what you want to see here.
This was a play that no matter what the call on the ice was they were going to stick with it given the replay angles they had to work with.
Then there was Tom Wilson!
Wilson was involved in another controversial play when he knocked Penguins defenseman Brian Dumoulin out of the game with a hit to the head.
There was no penalty called on the play but it will almost certainly be reviewed by the NHL’s Department of Player Safety. Wilson avoided a suspension in the first-round when he knocked Columbus’ Alex Wennberg out of the series for a few games with a high hit.
Losing Dumoulin was a big blow to the Penguins because it not only forced them to play with only five defensemen for the rest of the game — not a great spot for a team that is already lacking blue line depth to be in — but because Dumoulin has been great for them this postseason. If he can not go in Game 3 they would have to turn to Matt Hunwick.
The Penguins are already dealing with some significant injury issues as forwards Evgeni Malkin and Carl Hagelin have yet to play in this series due to injuries they sustained in their first-round series win against the Philadelphia Flyers. Malkin’s absence has been glaring on the power play, while he and Hagelin make up two-thirds of what has been the team’s second line this postseason. That is a major dent in their forward depth. That said, they have still won two of the three games they have played this postseason without Malkin, managed to split in Washington without him and Hagelin, and head home on Tuesday night for Game 3 tied in the series.
There also needs to be some attention given to the game Holtby played in net for the Capitals on Sunday because he was outstanding, stopping 32 of the 33 shots he faced.
The only goal he allowed, a long distance shot from Penguins defenseman Kris Letang, was one that beat him through traffic that he probably did not get a clear view of. He made a couple of highlight reel saves — including two on Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel that really stood out — to help slow down the Penguins’ offense.
Related: Penguins’ Dumoulin injured by hit to head from Tom Wilson
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Adam Gretz is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @AGretz.
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