PHILADELPHIA – Sidney Crosby had a goal and three assists and Matt Murray stopped 26 shots to help the Pittsburgh Penguins silence a raucous Philadelphia crowd and beat the Flyers 5-1 on Sunday to take a 2-1 lead in the first-round playoff series.
Two of the so-called fiercest rivals in the NHL have provided three lopsided games: Pittsburgh’s 7-0 win in Game 1 and Philadelphia’s 5-1 victory in Game 2 could about qualify as nail-bitters in this series. Game 4 is Wednesday night in Philadelphia.
Crosby scored his fourth goal of the series in the first period, and Derick Brassard, Evgeni Malkin and Brian Dumoulin scored in the second to make it 4-0. Malkin and Dumoulin scored 5 seconds apart.
Justin Schultz made it 5-1 in the third on Pittsburgh’s third power-play goal of the game.
Brian Elliott, yanked in Game 1, had another rough outing and might need to borrow fellow Wells Fargo Center tenant Joel Embiid’s black mask to have a better look at the puck.
ST. PAUL, Minn. – Mikael Granlund and Zach Parise scored power-play goals in the first period for the spark Minnesota was missing on the road, and the Wild used a four-goal second to roar back against Winnipeg the Western Conference series.
The Wild will try to tie the best-of-seven series 2-2 in Game 4 at home Tuesday night.
Jordan Greenway scored his first NHL goal just 20 seconds after Eric Staal sent a wrist shot past a struggling Connor Hellebuyck, who was pulled for Steve Mason at the second intermission.
Matt Dumba and Marcus Foligno bookended the furious middle frame with goals for the Wild, who won a postseason home game for only the second time in their last nine contests. Mikko Koivu and Nick Seeler each had two assists and Devan Dubnyk made 29 saves, keeping the crowd loud all night.
Blake Wheeler and Tyler Myers scored for the Jets.
WASHINGTON – Sergei Bobrovsky made 54 saves, Matt Calvert scored the winner 12:22 into overtime and the Columbus Blue Jackets overcame two goals from Alex Ovechkin to beat the Washington Capitals 5-4 in Game 2 on Sunday night to take a 2-0 lead in their first-round playoff series.
Calvert’s goal held up after the NHL situation room reviewed the play for a possible offside. Calvert was just onside when Josh Anderson brought the puck into the zone.
Columbus heads home for Games 3 and 4 on Tuesday and Thursday two victories away from advancing to the second round for the first time in franchise history. The Blue Jackets stunned the Metropolitan Division-champion Capitals with back-to-back overtime wins and have the advantage thanks in large part to the play of Bobrovsky.
The two-time Vezina Trophy-winning goaltender continued his playoff reputation rehab tour by keeping his team in the game. Bobrovsky, who entered the arena in a beige trenchcoat as sharp as his play in net, entered these playoffs 3-10 with a 3.73 goals-against average and .887 save percentage but has now stopped 81 of 88 shots through two games.
Cam Atkinson scored twice, Anderson had a goal at even strength and Zack Werenski added one on the power play for the Blue Jackets, who have the odds on their side. In Stanley Cup playoff history, 86.4 percent of teams that take a 2-0 lead in a best-of-seven series have gone on to win it.
