NHL roundup: Hurricanes even series in OT

Share this: Email | Facebook | X

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) " Jussi Jokinen deflected in Dennis Seidenberg's slap shot with 0.2 seconds remaining and the Carolina Hurricanes evened their series with New Jersey at two games apiece by beating the Devils 4-3 Tuesday night.

Eric Staal, Ryan Bayda and Chad LaRose also scored for the Hurricanes, who blew a 3-0 lead but regrouped just in time to avoid a third straight overtime game.

Jokinen started the dramatic sequence when he tried to stuff a backhander past Martin Brodeur with about 7 seconds remaining. The puck circled around to Joni Pitkanen near the blue line and he passed off to Seidenberg, who unloaded a hard blast from the point that clicked off the Finn's left skate and past Brodeur's low left side as time expired.

After a review of about 2 minutes, officials determined that the puck crossed the goal line with 0.2 seconds left. An incensed Brodeur, who had been bumped outside the crease by Jokinen seconds before the goal, smashed his stick into the boards.

David Clarkson scored the tying goal with 11:14 left for New Jersey. Brian Gionta added a goal and an assist, Brendan Shanahan scored his 60th career playoff goal and Brodeur stopped 42 shots for the Devils.

Canucks 3, Blues 2, OT

ST. LOUIS (AP) " Alex Burrows scored his second goal of the game with 18.9 seconds to go in overtime and Roberto Luongo made 47 saves to help Vancouver complete a first-round sweep.

Kyle Wellwood also scored for the Canucks, who swept a four-game series for the first time in franchise history. Vancouver won a series before the seventh game for the first time in 12 tries since 1994.

Brad Boyes and David Perron scored for the Blues, who rallied from a two-goal, second-period deficit thanks to increased traffic around Luongo. But more power play woes doomed St. Louis, which was 0-for-7 with the man advantage and 1-for-23 in the series including a four-minute double-minor midway through overtime.

Red Wings 4, Blue Jackets 1

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) " Henrik Zetterberg scored two goals and the Detroit Red Wings dominated from start to finish to grab a 3-0 lead in their first-round series.

The first NHL playoff game at Nationwide Arena " in the Blue Jackets' 659th game " was a mammoth letdown for a franchise-record crowd of 19,219.

Dan Cleary had a goal and two assists, Tomas Holmstrom scored 1:07 in and Johan Franzen added two assists. The Red Wings can advance to the conference semifinals with a win Thursday night.

Chris Osgood's shutout streak of 144 minutes, 27 seconds ended with 3:53 left when R.J. Umberger scored on a backhander off a rebound of Rick Nash's drive.

Penguins 3, Flyers 1

PHILADELPHIA (AP) " Sidney Crosby and the Penguins can finish off the Flyers back on home ice.

A sliding Crosby scored a goal that ricocheted off his skate, his midsection and into the back of the net to spark Pittsburgh to a 3-1 win over Philadelphia on Tuesday night.

Marc-Andre Fleury was sensational with 45 saves and the Penguins grabbed a 3-1 lead in the Eastern Conference first-round playoff series.

Tyler Kennedy and Maxime Talbot also scored for the Penguins, who can eliminate the Flyers in five games just like they did in last year's Eastern Conference finals. Game 5 is Thursday in Pittsburgh.