Rangers vs. Capitals – Washington and New York have been playing some very good, defensive minded, hockey. It also helps that both goalies have been sensation thus far in the series. Game 3 of the series would be no different. Things started out slow, once again, as Neuvirth and Lundqvist held things scoreless in the first period.
Early in the second the Capitals saw John Carlson head to the box after being called for a cross check on Marc Staal. Erik Christensen tallied the power play goal and gave the Rangers a 1-0 lead. Late in the second, Alexander Ovechkin grabbed the tying goal from a nice redirection on a Jason Arnott pass. The Ovie celebration was a great one too, as the guy was so excited he struggled to get back to his feet. He finally gave up and celebrated from his knees.
Eight minutes into the third, the Rangers put themselves back on top after a goal from Vinny Prospal, his first of the playoffs. With just over five minutes to play, however, the Rangers Marian Gaborik was called for a cross check. As he sat helplessly in the box, Mike Knuble buried the puck to tie the game 2-2. It began to look as though we would see another overtime game, until the great individual effort by Brandon Dubinsky (along with a bit of luck) resulted in the game winner as the teams skated four on four. Dubinsky’s game winner game with a minute and a half to play, and the Rangers defense was able to shut down the Capitals for a huge win. Washington now leads the series 2-1.
Anaheim vs. Nashville – This game seemed to be dominated by the Predators for the most part, but somehow ended up being a close one on the scoreboard. Martin Erat got things going late in the first with a power-play goal from Cody Franson and Joel Ward. Thirty-eight seconds later it was Jordin Tootoo, the grinder and high energy forward, who grabbed a goal for a 2-0 Nashville lead.
The game continued to lean in Nashville’s favor until just after the eighteen minute mark of the 2nd period when Teemu Selanne put the Ducks on the board with a power-play goal of his own. Thirty seconds later, Selanne was back at it and scored another one to knot the game at two goals a piece. The Ducks were sitting in a good position tied at two after being out-shot 27-10 after two periods.
The third period was a bit more back and forth, but Nashville grabbed the lead early as David Legwand buried his first of the postseason. Just over a minute later, it was Matt Beleskey of the Ducks who evened the score at 3-3. But it wouldn’t take long for Mike Fisher, who has been outstanding for Nashville, to give his squad the go ahead goal, and eventual game winner. The Predators finish the game out-shooting the Ducks 37-16, and are now two wins away from the clubs first post-season series win as they lead Anaheim 2-1.
Vancouver vs. Chicago – While the Blackhawks have played tough against the Canucks, it is starting to appear as though the off-season losses have been too much to recover from. To top it off, Roberta Luongo has been playing very well, and that by itself is hard enough to overcome.
Chicago brought another good effort to the barn in game 3, and scored a big first goal on the power-play by Duncan Keith. That would be the only goal of the first period, and Chicago skated to the dressing room with an early 1-0 lead.
Midway through the second, however, Vancouver hit hard with a power-play goal by Christian Ehrhoff. It took only 54 seconds for the Canucks to tally another one, this time from MVP candidate Daniel Sedin. The goal was Sedin’s third of the playoffs. The Blackhawks weren’t going away quickly, though, as Patrick Sharp answered right back, on the power-play, to tie the game 2-2.
The game would remain knotted up until just under seven minutes into the third period when Mikael Samuelsson scored his first of the playoffs. The Canucks played strong defensively throughout the remainder of the period, and picked up another win in a tight game against the defending Stanley Cup Champions. Things aren’t looking good for the Blackhawks as they trail Vancouver 3-0 in the series. Game four, and what likely could be the final game of the season for Chicago, will take place Tuesday, April 19th, in Chicago.
