NHL Three Stars: Lundqvist leads Rangers to Game 7; Ducks eliminate Flames
No. 1 Star: Henrik Lundqvist, New York Rangers
King Henrik came up huge for the Rangers in their 4-3 win over the Capitals to force a Game 7 back in New York. The goaltender made 42 saves including an onslaught by Washington at the end of the game.
No. 2 Star: Corey Perry, Anaheim Ducks
Towards the end of the second period, it looked the like the Ducks could be without the services of the playoffs leading scorer when he collided with Matt Stajan. Luckily, he emerged for the third as the Ducks tied the game and took it to OT. Perry scored the game winner 2:26 in to the extra frame. The Flames wanted goaltender interference…
No. 3 Star: Karri Ramo, Calgary Flames
Ramo played one helluva series after relieving original starter Jonas Hiller in Game 1. Game 5 was no different. Ramo was hit with 47 shots on goal by the Ducks and only allowed 3 to get past him.
Honorable Mention: Chris Kreider scored the first and second goals of the game for the Rangers. The first came 40-seconds into the match, and the second, on the power play, with about 00.3-seconds left in the first:
Joel Ward had a hand in all 3 Caps goals. He assisted on the first 2 and scored the third to bring Washington within one. Brooks Orpik was credited with 9 hits … Anaheim’s power play was 2-for-4 with Matt Beleksey and Ryan Kesler, from the second PP-unit, scoring the goals. Kesler was 83% on the faceoff dot. Tiny human Johnny Gaudreau is good right now; he’s going to be scary good as he continues to mature. Take a look at his goal in the game:
Did You Know? The Ducks advancing to the Western Conference Finals marks the first time in Bruce Boudreau’s NHL coaching career he’s made it past the second round.
Dishonorable Mention: Tom Wilson played a team-low 5:32 for the Capitals … Sean Monahan was 23% on faceoffs. Brandon Bollig played 4:59 for Calgary, and Tim Jackman was on the ice for 3:32 for Anaheim.
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Jen Neale is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter!
