IN THE ZONE - NY Rangers and LA Kings lead the Conference Finals

Eastern Conference – Montreal Canadiens vs. New York Rangers

The second game was an important one for the Canadiens, as they faced the possibility of falling in a 0-2 hole in the series. Max Pacioretty got Montreal on the scoreboard first, but the lead lasted only 17 seconds until Ryan McDonagh’s shot found its way past Montreal goalie Dustin Tokarski. With 1:02 to go in the first period, Rangers star-forward Rick Nash scored his second goal in as many games after being held scoreless for the first 14 games of the playoffs. Martin St. Louis added another one on the power play to top it off and give his Rangers the 2-0 lead in this series that gave them the home-ice advantage before heading back home to Madison Square Garden. Back there, Swedish winger Carl Hagelin took advantage of a bad giveaway by Subban and scored on a 2-on-1 opportunity to give the Rangers the lead. Montreals Andrei Markov tied the game with an accurate snap shot from the right circle after 23:20 and seemed to be the last goal scorer in regulation in a game that looked like knotted at 1-1. It was no surprise that Montreal’s goal for the 2-1 lead came from a lucky bounce after nearly 40 goalless minutes and two outstanding goalies. Briere’s pass from behind the goal line bounced off McDonagh’s leg past Lundqvist with 3:02 to go. Rangers rookie Chris Kreider tied the game with 29 seconds left on another own goal, when his deflection hit Emelin’s right skate and changed direction another time with Tokarski unable to make a save. Only 1:12 into the first overtime period, Montreal got the game-winner, when Galchenyuk drove to the net and a rebound after Plekanec’s shot hit his upper-body and fell into the net to pull his team within one in the series.

Western Conference – Chicago Blackhawks vs. Los Angeles Kings

The Blackhawks took a 1-0 lead in the series with a 3-1 home win at United Center. Brandon Saad opened the score after 14:46, when he screened LA goaltender Jonathan Quick and deflected a shot from the blue line past him. LA rookie Tyler Toffoli tied the game only four minutes into the second period, before Chicago took the lead again on a lucky goal, when Keith’s shot bounced off two Kings players past Quick. Jonathan Toews scored his sixth of the playoffs to make it 3-1 late in the third. The second game in Chicago looked to go the Blackhawks’ way when Ben Smith made it 2-0 after 1:40 in the second period (defenseman Nick Leddy scored his first post season goal in the first period), but LA made a strong comeback and scored six goals in a row to win it 6-2 and tie the series at one.  Kings veteran forward Jeff Carter completed his hat trick with an empty net goal and finished off an impressive rally with five goals (Carter (3), Toffoli and Muzzin) in the last 20 minutes. The series shifted back to LA for Game 3 on Saturday, where the Kings rode the momentum to get another win. Chicago’s captain Jonathan Toews showed how important he is for his team, scoring a shorthanded goal to open the score, then tipping in a rebound at the side of the net to give his team a 2-1 lead after the first period, after Kings defender Slava Voynov equalized on the man advantage. Three unanswered goals for Los Angeles from Carter, Toffoli and Doughty gave them a 4-2 lead, with Doughty’s slapper from the blueline as the game-winning goal, because Chicago scored another goal late in the third with 3.0 seconds left, when Sharp’s deflection rang off the post and in.