NHL Three Stars: Flyers stay alive; Stars, Sharks take 3-1 series lead
No. 1 Star: Michal Neuvirth, Philadelphia Flyers
In Game 4 for the Flyers, it was win or go home for the summer. Neuvirth started in his first game of the series after Steve Mason took the net in the first three. Philly responded to the change. The goaltender made 31 saves in the Flyers 2-1 win. The series moves back to Washington where the Capitals will have another go at closing out the series.
No. 2 Star: Patrick Marleau, San Jose Sharks
The Sharks scored all three of their goals on the power play. Marleau assisted on Joe Pavelski’s PPG and scored one of his own that would stand as the game winner.
No. 3 Star: Jason Spezza, Dallas Stars
The Minnesota Wild held the lead twice in the game, and both times Dallas came back. Spezza assisted on Patrick Eaves’s redirect goal on the power play to tie it up, and scored on a deflection off his skate for the 3-2 game winner. Dallas heads back home with a 3-1 series lead.
Honorable Mention: Birthday boy Shayne Gostisbehere scored his first NHL playoff goal on the power play to start the scoring for the Flyers:
Andrew MacDonald and T.J. Oshie were the two other goal scorers in the game. The Flyers blocked 29 shots to the Capitals 12. The two teams combined for 81 hits total … Jaromir Jagr scored his 200th career playoff point as the Florida Panthers beat the New York Islanders 2-1. The series is now tied and shifts back to Florida. Roberto Luongo made 26 saves in the win. John Tavares scored his third goal of the playoffs with this one coming on the power play … In his first game of the series for the Stars, Antti Niemi had 28 saves. One goal he couldn’t stop was this beauty by Charlie Coyle off a pass from Jason Zucker. Even better than the goal was the hug afterwards.
… Trevor Lewis and Luke Schenn scored within about four minutes of each other in the third period to bring the Kings with a goal of the Sharks. Martin Jones picked up 27 saves in San Jose’s win. The two teams combined for 81 hits. Roman Polak and Jake Muzzin lead their respective teams with 7 hits each. Drew Doughty played a ridiculous 30:33 TOI.
Did You Know?
Dishonorable Mention: Scary moment when Scott Laughton was stretchered off the ice after colliding with the boards. Good news is all tests came back negative. He’s being held overnight in the hospital as a precaution. Brandon Manning appears to make contact with the head of a falling Tom Wilson as he’s blasted to the ice. There was no penalty on the play. To discipline or not?
… The ‘dumbest coach’s challenge in NHL history‘ happened in the Islanders-Panthers game … Tyler Seguin was held out of Game 4 with a lower-body injury. Minnesota’s penalty kill was 0-for-2 against Dallas. The Wild’s power play had a 6-on-4 for 90 seconds to close out the game and could not capitalize … San Jose has a 3-1 series lead over LA. Should the Sharks be worried?
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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! Follow @MsJenNeale_PD.
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