PetrMrazek didn't know he would be starting Game 1 of his team's playoff series, let alone shutting down hockey's most potent offense. On the other hand, it was more of the same for Corey Perry, who added another memorable postseason performance in a career full of them.Although Day 2 of the Stanley Cup playoffs lacked the controversy and overtime drama of the opening night, it still provided intrigue. How it all played out:MORE: | | | Rangers 2, Penguins 1(New Yorkleads series 1-0)When DerickBra sard opened the scoring 28 seconds into the game, the i sues that haveplagued goalieMarc-Andre Fleury and the Pens in playoffs past appeared to beresurfacing.But afterRyanMcDonagh gave the Rangers a2-0 lead before the first intermi sion,Fleury and Pittsburgh rebounded. A goal byBlake Comeau6:15 into the second period cut the deficit in half, and the Pens' injury-ravaged defensecorps kept the Rangers in check.Fleuryfinished strong,
Josh Jackson Jersey stopping all 25 Rangers shots over the final two periods. He ended with 36 saves on 38 shots.The Penguins' biggest stars,Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, came up short. Crosby was a minus-1 with only one shot on goal and Malkin had just two shots as the deep Rangers defense keyed in on the stars.''Their best defense was puck po se sion,'' Crosby told reporters after the game, ''and holding onto it in our end. You have to get pucks behind them and really work their D.''Rangers
Elgton Jenkins Jersey goalie Henrik Lundqvistdid his part, too, stopping 24 of 25 shots and, more important, appearing healthy and sharp.NEED PLAYOFF TICKETS? Red Wings 3,Lightning 2(Detroit leads series 1-0)One of the teams in this series was supposed to have a goalie problem.It wasn'tsupposedto be the Lightning. But that's how Thursday's Game 1 playedout.The stellar play of Red Wings starter Petr Mrazek, comparedwith a subpar showing from TampaBay's Ben Bishop, was the difference.''Found a way to win as a team. It wouldn't have been the way I would have drawn it up, but I don't care, you got a win,'' Detroit coachMike Babcock told reporters after the game. ''Mrazek stood tall for us. We can all get better, which is a positive thing.''Detroit scored its first two goals both by Pavel Datsyuk on four shots, and tooka 2-1 lead into the first intermi sion. The Lightning dominated puck po se sion from there, outshooting the Red Wings 27-10 through the final two periods. They finished with a 46-14 shot advantage, but Mrazek made a number of big saves in his first career postseason start.Babcock deliberated until Wednesday over who would start in net the 23-year-old Mrazekorstruggling veteran Jimmy Howard.''Petr really saved us tonight,'' Red Wings captainHenrik Zetterberg told reporters. ''We knew he was a good goalie.''Both goalies were making theirfirst career playoff starts.The Lightning, who had the league's best power play in the regular season, finished 0 for 7 with the man advantage.Detroit improved to 27-1-4 when leading after two periods this year. Tampa Bay fell to 3-22-2 when trailing after two.Wild 4, Blues 2 (Minnesota leads series 1-0)Even after one game, it might be time for the Blues
Amari Rodgers Jersey , who haven't had the best luck in the playoffs,to sweat a little.The Wild controlled the pace Thursday, especially in the second periodwhen defensemanMatt Dumba scored at 4:10to give the Wild a 2-0 lead.Jaden Schwartz netted the Blues'first goal with 12:48 to play in the third period. After a Wild empty-net goal made it 3-1, Alexander Steen responded with 58.7 seconds remaining.Jason Pominville ended the drama with another empty-netter.The win was the Wild's first Game 1 victory since April 10, 2010, ending a streak of seven straight such lo ses. Minnesota is up1-0 in a series for the first timesince April 10, 2003, when thefranchise played itsfirst playoff game.The Blues' history is more ominous. They've been eliminated in the first round in each of the pasttwo years and were swept in the second round in 2012.They're4-13 in their past17 playoff games.Blues goalie Jake Allen stopped 25 shots in his first playoff start. Coach Ken Hitchcock, who made a last-minute decision to start Allen over veteran Brian Elliott, told reporters Allenlooked "great" and will
Don Hutson Jersey stick with him going forward.Ducks 4, Jets 2(Anaheim leads series 1-0)The inexperienced Jets received a le son in playoff hockey and holding leads this time of year, courtesy of Perry, Ryan Getzlaf and the Ducks'legion of playoff vets.Anaheim was sluggish at thestart and Winnipeg, the heavy underdog, matched itsphysicality and puck po se sion. The Jets took a 2-1 lead into the second intermi sion, but forgot one key factor: The Ducks have been around the block a time or two. Anaheim, which had12 wins in the regular season when trailing after two periods, tied the game 1:09 into the thirdon Perry's first goal. It took the lead when Perry scored again with 6:39 remaining.Perry's second goal was peculiar. He buried a rebound after Jets goalie Ondrej Pavelec made the save on his initial shot, but only Perry realized he had scored. The goal judge didn't turn on the red light, the referee didn't signal a goal,and play continued.The play was reviewed after the next whistle and Perry was awarded themost anticlimactic game-winning goal in recent playoff memory.Getzlaf added the game's final goal shortly after on an a sist from Perry.Three stars3.PavelDatsyuk, F, Red Wings: He provided the most offensive support in front ofthe night's first star.2. Corey Perry, F, Ducks: Perry was dominant, finishing with four points (two goals, two a sists) and a game-high six shots.1. Petr Mrazek, G, Red Wings: In a game with a 32-shot differential, it's hard to imagine a more important performance.Injury reportSteven Stamkos, F, Lightning: Stamkos tweaked his knee in the second period and hobbled offto the bench. He finished the game, playing an even 20 minutes. There was no update on hisconditionafterward.Rob Scuderi,
Darnell Savage Jr. Jersey D, Penguins: Scuderi took a KevinHayes high stick to the face in the third period. He said after the game the gash on his nose took "six or seven" stitches to close.Dan Girardi, D, Rangers: Girardi did not return after he was hit in the face by thepuck and Chris Kunitz'sstick on the same play in the third period. Rangers coachAlain Vigneault told reporters after the game that Girardi was still with the team dentist and had no further update.GIF Girardi gets a puck AND stick to the head Stephanie Vail (@myregularface) Gottasee itIt wasn't a good night for players getting hit in the face.Before Girardiand Scuderiwent down,Lightning wingerJ.T. Brown was hit square in the face by a shot from Stamkos. He returned to the ice a few minutes later.Friday's games(All times East
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