Red Wings and Kings Shut Out Opponents, Rangers Win in OT

Jakub Kindl scored on a power play in the second period, Daniel Cleary had an empty-net goal and Jimmy Howard made 27 saves to help the Detroit Red Wings hold on for a 2-0 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday night, putting the NHL's best team during the regular season on the brink of elimination.

After losing Game 1, the seventh-seeded Red Wings have surged into control of the second round series by handing Chicago its first three-game losing streak of the year.

Game 5 is Saturday night in Chicago.

The Blackhawks had a power play with 4:45 left in the game when Kindl was called for hooking, but they couldn't tie the game.

RANGERS 4, BRUINS 3, OT

Chris Kreider steered in a pass from Rick Nash 7:03 into overtime, and New York stayed alive in the Stanley Cup playoffs with a victory over Boston.

New York, which erased 2-0 and 3-2 deficits in the critical Game 4 matchup in the Eastern Conference semifinals, still trails the series 3-1. The Rangers will need to win again on Saturday in Boston to force a Game 6 back in Madison Square Garden.

The Rangers, who were outshot 40-32, won a faceoff deep in their zone, and Nash rushed the puck up ice. He stopped above the right circle and fed a hard pass in front that Kreider skated into and tipped past goalie Tuukka Rask for his first goal of the playoffs.

Kreider, who made his NHL debut in last year's playoffs, has six career postseason goals in just 25 games.

Derek Stepan and Brian Boyle scored tying goals in the third period for the Rangers, who even found success on the power play. Carl Hagelin netted New York's first goal of the game in the second period.

Henrik Lundqvist made 37 saves for the Rangers.

Boston got second-period goals from Nathan Horton and rising star Torey Krug to build an early lead. Tyler Seguin's first of the playoffs put the Bruins back on top 3-2 in the third.

KINGS 3, SHARKS 0

Jonathan Quick made 24 saves in his seventh career playoff shutout, and Los Angeles moved to the brink of its second straight trip to the Western Conference finals with a victory over San Jose in Game 5.

Anze Kopitar and Slava Voynov scored, and Jeff Carter added an empty-net goal as the defending Stanley Cup champions won their 13th consecutive home game in dominant fashion and lead the series 3-2.

Antti Niemi stopped 26 shots for the Sharks, who have played more than 96 minutes without a goal since they appeared to be taking control of the series midway through Game 4.

Game 6 is Sunday night at the Shark Tank.

The home team has won every game in the series, and the Kings remained unbeaten at Staples Center since March 23.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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