NHL Playoff Capsules: Sharks close out series with 5-2 win over Avs
DENVER — The San Jose Sharks organization has been saddled with the reputation of postseason underachievers. This current crop of players, however, doesn't feel that label applies to them.
It's not their burden to bear. That's why they weren't bothered by negative talk of the past.
Still, the Sharks took the first step toward silencing the detractors. Joe Pavelski scored two goals to lift San Jose to a series-clinching 5-2 win over the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday night in Game 6.
"We talked about it all year that this was a new team," Sharks captain Rob Blake said. "The organization might have lost in the past, but this team hasn't. That was put behind us early and we moved on."
The top-seeded Sharks are moving on again, to the Western Conference semifinals where they'll face an undetermined opponent.
This is a franchise known for early playoff exits. The Sharks have failed to move past the second round in their four previous postseason trips. San Jose had the best mark in the NHL last season, but fell to Anaheim in a first-round flameout.
The postseason woes were all the Sharks heard about leading up to the series with Colorado. They didn't buy or believe it. Still don't.
"The media likes to talk about past playoff failures. This locker room doesn't talk about that," defenseman Dan Boyle said. "We focused on this series and we'll focus on the next one when we start preparing for that one. This was a good series for us."
When the Sharks fell behind 2-1 in the series, following a fluke overtime goal that Boyle put into his own net off a deflection, the spotlight and scrutiny only intensified. But the Sharks turned around their fortunes, capturing the final three games.
"We realized that nothing comes easy after last year," Pavelski said.
Pavelski gave San Jose the lead 47 seconds in, but Marek Svatos tied it in the second period. Brandon Yip then provided Colorado with a brief advantage, energizing the Pepsi Center. It didn't last long as Boyle made it 2-2 with a slap shot over Anderson's glove.
Moments later, Pavelski scored the winner. Devin Setoguchi and Douglas Murray added empty-net goals in the final minute after the Avalanche pulled goalie Craig Anderson for an extra skater.
With the series over, San Jose doesn't plan to linger in the moment.
"There is a lot more work ahead of us," Boyle said.
Evgeni Nabokov was steady in net all night, but not very busy as he stopped just 16 shots. Anderson finished with 29 saves. He has faced the most shots of any goalie in the postseason and made the most saves. He also led in both categories during the regular season.
"They made some good plays and they got everything because they earned it. We didn't give them any freebies," Anderson said.
Being so young, the upstart Avalanche weren't expected to be a playoff contender this season. They worked their way in with a couple of key wins down the stretch and then gave the Sharks quite a tussle.
For that, rookie coach Joe Sacco couldn't be more pleased. The Avalanche had 12 players make their postseason debut against the savvy Sharks.
"We're certainly headed in the right direction," Sacco said. "But it's tough right now because we're disappointed."
In an effort to ignite the offense, the Avalanche juggled their lines. Matt Hendricks and Chris Stewart moved up to join rookie Matt Duchene. Later in the game, Svatos replaced Hendricks and scored his first goal of the series.
The Avalanche struggled to find the net all series. They scored five goals in an overtime loss in Game 2, but had just six in the other five contests.
Part of the difficulty had to do with a rash of recent injuries. The Avalanche were without Peter Mueller the entire series because of a head injury sustained when he took a hit along the boards against the Sharks on April 4.
Mueller skated Saturday morning, but wasn't ready to play.
"Toughest thing in the world to watch your teammates go out there and give everything they've got," Mueller said. "I wish I could have been a part of it."
Colorado also was without Milan Hejduk, who was the team's third-leading goal scorer in the regular season. He was sidelined for the final three games by an upper body injury.
"I have to admit (injuries) definitely took a toll on us," Sacco said. "But (The series) was what we expected. It was hard fought."
For San Jose, this may have been just what the team needed to banish some of those postseason demons.
"We showed some heart and we worked and we came back," Boyle said. "Hopefully, we can grow from this."
NOTES: The Avalanche are 10-10 when facing elimination since the franchise moved to Colorado. ... The Sharks have a 3-13 record in Game 6. ... Sharks F Ryane Clowe had seven assists in the series.
Dupuis’ OT goal gives Pens series win over Sens
OTTAWA — Even with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin held in check, the Pittsburgh Penguins scored four unanswered goals and moved into the second round of the playoffs with a huge comeback win.
Pascal Dupuis scored 9:56 into overtime for Pittsburgh, which erased a three-goal deficit and eliminated the Ottawa Senators from the playoffs with a 4-3 victory in Game 6 on Saturday night.
The Senators led 3-0 in the second period and appeared to go up 4-1 in the frame, but lost a goal to video replay when it was determined the puck crossed the line after the net was knocked off its moorings.
Matt Cooke scored his second of the game with 7:36 left in regulation to tie it at 3. Bill Guerin had a power-play goal earlier in the third, a period in which Pittsburgh held an 18-4 shots advantage.
With Crosby held off the score sheet and Malkin limited to one assist, the Penguins got their offense from the rest of the lineup.
"It says a lot," said Crosby, who recorded 14 points through the first five games. "We’re going to do our best to create things, but there are going to be nights where it’s tougher than others.
"Some nights it may not go in, or whatever the case is, but we’ve still got to do things out there. We’ve still got to be productive, whether it’s not on the score sheet. We’ve got to be responsible out there and find ways to help, but certainly there are other guys who can step up and score those goals like we saw tonight."
Matt Cullen and Daniel Alfredsson each had a goal and an assist for Ottawa, which won Game 5 at Pittsburgh in triple overtime to stave off elimination. The Senators hoped to force a decisive Game 7 back in the Steel City.
Dupuis made sure a return trip wouldn’t be necessary. He took Jordan Staal’s pass from the left corner and fired a shot past Pascal Leclaire for the winner.
"Jordan made an unbelievable play there in the corner, beat one guy," Dupuis said. "I thought he was going to give it to me right away. He’s strong enough that he decided to beat another one by himself and he slid it to me there. I’m still not sure where the puck went. I haven’t seen it yet, but it’s in. This is an unbelievable feeling."
Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 28 shots for the Penguins, who won for the eighth time in nine playoff series after they were eliminated by Ottawa in five games in the first round in 2007.
Staal, who also assisted on Cooke’s first goal midway through the second, said the Penguins struggled to find the killer instinct in the series.
"We need to find that better and really finish them when they’re down. We didn’t do that," he said. "But I just love the character in this room and the way we can bounce back from things and forget about things and work for the next shift and the next game."
The fourth-seeded Penguins will have to wait for the remaining two Eastern Conference first-round series to end to know who they will face next.
Leclaire made 38 saves, and Chris Neil also scored for the Senators, who missed the playoffs last season to end a run of 11 straight postseason appearances.
"They really had us on our heels, especially in the third," said Alfredsson, who said he played despite a stomach injury that occurred at the end of the regular season. "When they scored that power-play goal we just couldn’t get the momentum back. We made a lot of mistakes to lose that momentum and that’s why we’re done."
Leclaire, who took the loss in Game 4 after relieving Brian Elliott, gave Ottawa a strong effort for a second straight game after he was barely used down the stretch in the regular season.
Guerin drove a one-timer from the left circle off Leclaire’s left arm and into the net 7:03 into the third to draw the Penguins within 3-2. Cooke tied it with a backhand into an open side at 12:24.
"We went after them, and even in overtime I thought we had a lot better mindset than we did at home, especially the first two overtimes," Crosby said. "Last game we felt like it was 50-50. We didn’t really go after them. I think it was just more of a carry-over of our third period. We just tried to bring the exact same game into overtime."
Leclaire made his first career playoff start Thursday, setting a team record with 56 saves in the Senators’ 4-3 win. Matt Carkner scored the winning goal in that one to end the longest game in Senators history.
Neil and Alfredsson had goals in the second period o Saturday to put Ottawa up 3-0 after Cullen scored on a breakaway in the first. Cooke made it 3-1 when he put a backhand of Staal’s rebound past Leclaire at 10:56.
Cullen scored his third goal on a breakaway 5:19 in after he got open behind defensemen Kris Letang and Mark Eaton to take Alfredsson’s pass up the middle. Fleury went for the poke check, and Cullen fired the puck into the top of the net to put Ottawa up 1-0.
Mike Rupp came close to drawing Pittsburgh even at 12:40. Leclaire’s pad save on the goal line was subjected to a lengthy video review that supported referee Wes McCauley’s ruling that the puck didn’t go over the line.
Neil made it 2-0 with his third goal 1:51 into the second, and Alfredsson put the Senators ahead by three when he moved to his forehand to beat Leclaire inside the right post for his second of the series.
A very long video review overturned an apparent Ottawa goal by Mike Fisher at 16:19 that would have restored the Senators’ three-goal lead.
NOTES: Referee Stephen Walkom had a gash on his left cheek after he was struck by Crosby’s stick late in the first. ... The defending Stanley Cup champion Penguins’ six-game loss to Detroit in the 2008 finals was Pittsburgh’s only defeat in the eight previous series. ... The Penguins are now assured of playing at least two more games at Mellon Arena — their longtime home. The Penguins will move into the new Consol Energy Center next season.
Hossa’s OT goal gives Chicago 3-2 lead over Preds
CHICAGO — Marian Hossa sat in the penalty box for what seemed like the longest time — five minutes to be exact — and when he finally got out Saturday, he quickly found the puck and sent the Chicago Blackhawks to an inspiring victory.
Hossa scored 4:07 into overtime after Patrick Kane’s short-handed goal had tied the game with 13.6 seconds remaining in regulation as the Blackhawks rallied and beat the Nashville Predators 5-4 for a 3-2 series lead.
Kane’s goal and the Blackhawks ability to kill yet another Predators power play gave Hossa a reprieve after he had knocked Nashville’s Dan Hamhuis into the boards and drew a major penalty. Hamhuis, who was shoved from behind by Hossa, stayed on the ice for about a minute before he was able to get up and slowly skate off.
"I tried to go for the puck," Hossa said. "The guy turned his back to me. You don’t want to hit a player that way, but I couldn’t stop my motion."
Nashville coach Barry Trotz compared the hit to one that Washington’s Alex Ovechkin put on Chicago’s Brian Campbell last month, breaking Campbell’s collarbone and resulting in a two-game suspension for Ovechkin.
"I don’t even know the difference looking at the two. The league will handle it. I trust the league’s judgment. They’ve been fair all the time," Trotz said. "It’s unfortunate Hossa comes out and scores the winning goal. Ironic how that works out, but that’s the way it is."
Chicago can advance to the second round of the Western Conference playoffs with a win at Nashville on Monday night.
The Blackhawks blew a 3-1 lead Saturday, and the Predators went ahead 4-3 with two third-period goals by Martin Erat.
With Nashville protecting its lead late and on the major power play created by Hossa’s penalty, Kane backhanded in a rebound off a shot by Jonathan Toews to tie it with his third goal of the series. Although the Blackhawks were short-handed, they negated Nashville’s skating advantage by pulling goalie Antti Niemi.
"Sometimes you catch a break," Kane said. "Five-on-five with the goalie pulled you’re trying to do everything you can to score a goal."
Kane called the clutch goal the best of his career.
"Nothing tops it," he said. "Thirteen seconds left to tie and keep us in the series, probably. Going to Nashville down 3-2, that would be a tough game to win."
After the game went to overtime, the Blackhawks killed the remaining 3:57 of Hossa’s penalty. The Predators are the only team in this year’s playoffs without a power-play goal. Their latest failure with the game on the line pushed the drought to 0 for 21 with the advantage.
Hossa hit the ice after his penalty expired and put himself in position to win the game. He got the puck on the left side of the net after a shot from teammate Brent Sopel appeared to deflect to him off the stick of Nashville’s Joel Ward.
Hossa then slid a shot past goalie Pekka Rinne for his second career postseason overtime goal. This one sent the crowd at the United Center into pandemonium.
"When I saw the puck coming to me, I just tried to put it in. What a relief. A huge win," Hossa said.
"It hit our forward’s stick and it just deflected to the guy on the other side, whoever he was, and he put it in. I didn’t even know it was Hossa. It happened so quick," Rinne said.
"It’s disappointing. It hurts. Now it’s going to be a big test on Monday. It’s real emotional right now."
Andrew Ladd, Niklas Hjalmarsson and Tomas Kopecky also had goals for Chicago in regulation.
David Legwand had a goal and an assist, and Ward added a short-handed tally for the Predators.
Rinne had 27 saves and Niemi made 17. Nashville ended up 0 for 4 on the power play.
Erat took a nice crossing pass from Denis Grebeshkov, was wide open on the edge of the right circle, and beat Niemi on the stick side — his fourth goal of the series — to put the Predators ahead at 11:39.
Less than 2 minutes into the third period, Erat scored a game-tying goal from in front as he broke in and took a nifty pass from J.P. Dumont in the right circle.
Kopecky’s goal, seconds after a Nashville power play ended, gave the Blackhawks a 3-1 lead at 16:24 of the second period.
Kopecky came out of the penalty box and was skating across the rink, but when Hossa cleared the puck up the ice, Kopecky caught up with it, skated in, faked Rinne and pushed in a backhand.
Nashville responded quickly a minute later with a short-handed goal by Ward, who took a nice pass from Legwand on a 3-on-1 and scored to cut the Chicago lead back to one.
NOTES: The Predators played their fourth straight game without leading goal scorer Patric Hornqvist, who has been out with an upper body injury. D Grebeshkov made his first appearance in a game since sustaining a groin injury on March 7 and had two assists. RW wing Jordin Tootoo played 3 minutes and 15 seconds despite taking 45 stitches after being hit in the face by a puck in Game 4.
-- Rick Gano
Previews
Kings need Quick defensive fix to avoid ouster
LOS ANGELES — Unless the Los Angeles Kings get a Quick reversal of their recent fortunes on defense, the Vancouver Canucks are headed onward in the playoffs.
Embattled goalie Jonathan Quick and his Kings will attempt to stave off elimination Sunday night when they host the Canucks in Game 6 of their first-round series.
Vancouver has moved to the brink of its second straight trip to the second round of the postseason with four dominant periods in a row, yet the Canucks have faced enough trouble from the Kings during the series to realize the importance of their opportunity at Staples Center.
"You don't want to give teams a second chance," Vancouver defenseman Kevin Bieksa said Saturday. "Sure, we have two chances to take them out of the series. We've learned that with bad bounces and officiating, anything can happen on any given day. You don't want to let it go to a Game 7 if you can help it."
The Kings had a 2-1 series advantage and a third-period lead in Game 4 before their defense disintegrated. Los Angeles has been outscored 11-3 in the last four periods, including an embarrassing 7-2 loss in Vancouver on Friday night, ending with a series of brawls and scrums.
What's more, the inconsistent Quick looks shaky again in the final games of the winningest season for a goalie in franchise history. Although Quick was pulled from Game 5, coach Terry Murray is sticking with him Sunday — and his teammates agree they've got to do more to keep their entire season from slipping away.
"Start with one game back home in L.A., and win that game," Quick said. "And we've just got to beat them two in a row, like we did once already. There's no doubt in our locker room we could do it."
Quick went nine appearances without a victory after winning his 39th game during the regular season, only getting back in the win column in Game 2. His struggles have worried the Kings, but as backup Erik Ersberg proved in allowing two goals during his brief stint in Game 5, Quick is the best option available at the moment — at least since Los Angeles refuses to push the panic button to call up star prospect Jonathan Bernier from the minors.
"There just were no discussions about it," Kings coach Terry Murray said of recalling Bernier. "The lineup for the coach is based upon what we have here, and Quick is the goaltender playing (Sunday). He's our guy. He's the guy who has done a great job for us all year long."
Even if Quick reverts to form, the Kings might need even more help from their power play, which has been their greatest strength in the series. Los Angeles is 10 for 21 with a man-advantage, including a stunning 5 for 7 in its two home games.
The Canucks' penalty kill had perhaps its best game Friday, holding the Kings to one goal on five power plays, including a fruitless two-man advantage.
Although Game 5 got away from the Kings, many echoed defenseman Sean O'Donnell's belief that the size of the loss doesn't matter.
"We expected this thing to go 7," O'Donnell said. "I said early on, this was going to be a seven-game series, and it still feels that way. We're playing in front of our fans, and we get maybe the matchups that we're looking for. But this is going to be a test of the character in this room. I fully believe we can wipe the slate and start over going home. We know we can play with these guys, and we're going to give everything we have."
The Kings again will get favorable defensive matchups in Game 6, which will allow them to put their best defenders against the Sedin twins' new line with Mikael Samuelsson, who was teamed up with his Swedish teammates midway through Game 4. Samuelsson has been spectacular throughout the series, with his seven goals leading the NHL entering Saturday's games.
The 33-year-old Swedish veteran had never scored more than five goals in an entire postseason, even while twice reaching the Stanley Cup finals and playing 45 total playoff games during the past two years.
"I'm on a roll," said Samuelsson, who scored a career-best 30 goals during the regular season. "I feel good about myself, I feel good about the team and the way the team is playing. It's not only me. It feels like we started to get confidence. We have done more and more things to be better. ... When you feel good about yourself, you think you can do things with the puck. You're not so tight. You're loose and play the game you really want to play."
Daniel Sedin didn't skate at Saturday's practice after taking a slash in Game 5, but said he'll play Sunday. Vancouver also called up defenseman Lawrence Nycholat from the minors, but coach Alain Vigneault wouldn't say whether he'll play in Game 6.
Murray said forward Rich Clune won't play after getting a stinger in a third-period fight. He'll be replaced by Scott Parse or enforcer Raitis Ivanans on the Kings' fourth line.
-- Greg Beacham
Red Wings head home with chance to advance
TAYLOR, Mich. — The Detroit Red Wings did something for the first time during their streak of playing in 19 straight postseasons.
On a travel day before an afternoon game at home, the Red Wings got off a plane and practiced.
Detroit coach Mike Babcock made the unusual move because a week ago he chose to give his players rest after flying home from Phoenix. A lackluster effort the next day led to a Game 3 loss to the Coyotes.
"We didn't win, so we're doing something different," Babcock said Saturday. "There isn't one player on this team that wanted to put their equipment on, I can guarantee you that. I didn't want to be here, either.
"The bottom line is, we've got to make sure our legs are ready to go. The last time we came back for an early game, we didn't play very well."
The Coyotes, meanwhile, opted to have off-ice workouts in the Motor City instead of skating on the travel day as they did a week ago.
"We thought that was our best approach," Coyotes associate coach Ulf Samuelsson said.
Detroit will host Phoenix in Game 6 of the first-round series Sunday with a chance to advance. The Red Wings grabbed the series lead with third-period goals and Jimmy Howard's goaltending. They outscored the Coyotes by a combined 7-1 in the back-to-back wins.
"Very important how we handle this and respond," Babcock said on Saturday night in Arizona. "You don't want to give them any life whatsoever. They've got a good team and good goaltending. We'd hate to tempt fate and have to come back here and win three games on the road."
The two-time Western Conference champions have won nine playoff series, including the 2008 Stanley Cup finals, during the last three postseasons under Babcock.
Phoenix is 0-5 in the first round of the playoffs. The franchise hasn't advanced since 1987, when it was the Winnipeg Jets.
Coyotes forward Vernon Fiddler said the Red Wings are taking advantage of the breaks they're getting, such as scoring off his skate in Game 5.
"They're the best team in the league for a reason," Fiddler said. "They get a lot of respect from a lot of people, and the refs are especially one of them. We got to work for everything we get, and we've done it all year. No one has thrown us a bone all year and we don't expect it now."
The Coyotes have been without captain Shane Doan since his right shoulder took the brunt of a collision with the end boards in Game 3. Coyotes coach Dave Tippett said the team will wait until Sunday afternoon to decide if he will play in Game 6.
"It's one thing when he has the desire to go, but he's got to be functional to go," Tippett said. "You can't put a player in that can't compete in the game, especially the way he plays. We'll continue to monitor that. He gets better every day."
Phoenix's power play has gotten worse since scoring a third man-advantage goal in Game 1, going 0 for 19.
"Their penalty killing has been tremendous," Samuelsson said. "They're putting pressure on us, and Howard has made some big saves."
Howard stopped 30 shots Saturday night and none seemed more important than the solid and spectacular saves he made against Martin Hanzal to keep it 1-all about 5 minutes into the third period.
"That's one you can look back and say, that's a turning point in the game," Babcock said.
Maybe in the series, too.
-- Larry Lage
Ruff and ready: Sabres coach in upbeat mood
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Lindy Ruff wasn't in the mood Saturday to instigate a debate over what the NHL deems to be an instigator penalty.
The Buffalo Sabres coach will leave that definition to the league after it rescinded a one-game suspension to Zdeno Chara. It's a ruling that allows the Bruins captain to play in Game 6 of the best-of-seven first-round playoff series at Boston on Monday.
Ruff was far more open to discussing how buoyed he was a day after Buffalo avoided elimination by rebounding from three straight losses with a dominating 4-1 victory that cut Boston's series lead to 3-2.
"I think the hope tank just got filled up again," Ruff said, after holding a brief team meeting to give his players a day off from practice during a two-day break between games. "We hope our hope tank went up, and we're hoping that we could raise the level of the doubt tank on the other side."
As difficult as it might be to gauge the levels of hope and doubt in a tightly contested series between Northeast Division rivals, it's become evident that the Sabres have gotten under the skin of Chara, after how the Bruins leader unraveled in the final seconds of Friday's game.
Chara erupted with a flurry of punches — sparking an 11-player skirmish that included Buffalo goalie Ryan Miller — in response to being slashed across the back of his left skate by Sabres forward Paul Gaustad.
Officials issued Chara an instigator penalty, which under league rules results in an automatic one-game suspension because it occurred in the final 5 minutes of a game. Chara got off the hook after the league reviewed what happened.
"The league's interpretation is what it is," Ruff said. "It really doesn't matter what I think."
Bruins coach Claude Julien said common sense prevailed.
"To be honest with you, I wasn't even worried because I couldn't see that happening," Julien said, referring to Chara being suspended. "It's just common sense. The league looked at it and they felt that he didn't deserve it and took care of it."
Now the question is whether the sixth-seeded Bruins can finally take care of the division champion Sabres in a series in which Boston has already won twice at home?
"It's a must-win, just like Friday was," said Julien, who also gave his players the day off from practice. "We probably didn't play our best hockey, obviously. And so it's up to us to bounce back."
The Bruins came out flat on Friday, allowing the Sabres to score less than 2 minutes in and build a 3-0 lead through two periods, during which the Bruins were out-shot 26-14. Buffalo proved to be the more desperate team by out-hitting the Bruins 35-25 and earning a big edge in forced takeaways, 9-2, and blocked shots 26-9.
"Monday will be a huge game for us," defenseman Matt Hunwick said. "I think we'll be focused and determined. And I think we'll come out with a lot more jump."
The Bruins have been slow-starters throughout the series, having allowed Buffalo to score the opening goal in each of the five games. Boston, though, has the edge, because of its ability to rally back, having twice snuffed out two-goal deficits.
In what might be the most curious statistic, the Bruins have only held a lead over Buffalo for 19 minutes and 40 seconds of the series. That includes a 3-2 double-overtime victory in Game 4, during which Boston never led until Miroslav Satan's decisive goal.
The Sabres, by comparison, have held a lead over a stretch spanning 178:03.
"There's some games we'd like to have back, some situations that we'd love to have back. We can't have them back," Sabres captain Craig Rivet said. "What we're going to continue to do is try to get better as a team."
The Sabres are holding out hope that forward Thomas Vanek could be ready to return after missing three-plus games with an injury to his left foot. Buffalo's scoring leader practiced at a suburban rink on Saturday with a group of Sabres minor-league call-ups.
Ruff said he wouldn't have an update until the team returns to practice Sunday.
Bruins star forward Marc Savard also continued to skate on Saturday, but still hasn't been cleared to play. Savard has been out since sustaining a Grade 2 concussion on March 7 on a blindside hit by Pittsburgh's Matt Cooke.
-- John Wawrow
Capitals' No. 1 power play shut down by Canadiens
MONTREAL — How have the Montreal Canadiens shut down the Washington Capitals' top-ranked power play in the playoffs?
"Simple. It's one-on-one battles," Capitals left winger Tomas Fleischmann said after practice Saturday in Arlington, Va. "They are really fast little guys just going around and taking the pucks from us. We always have one guy on the puck and they always have two and they win the battle. It's tough. We have to get the power play going if we want to win the series."
Washington has only goal from Alex Ovechkin to show for its 24 opportunities with the man advantage in its first-round series against Montreal.
Despite a 2-1 loss to the Canadiens in Game 5 on Friday night, the Capitals are ahead 3-2 in the Eastern Conference first-round series — with nearly no contribution from a key source of offense.
"We have to look at things on the power play. It's obviously not working," Washington coach Bruce Boudreau said. "It's new to this group because for two years it's always worked. We're watching it and watching video and looking for mistakes and looking for changes. Sometimes you change too much instead of just saying go out there and do what you normally do. We'll figure something out."
The Capitals, who led the NHL with a 25.2 percent success rate during the regular season, had a great opportunity to work on their struggling power play Saturday. Washington went 0 for 5 with the man advantage in Game 5, failing in their first of up to three straight chances to close out the series against the eighth-seeded Canadiens.
With two days off until Game 6 in Montreal on Monday night, Boudreau was confident that his power play would benefit from extra practice. He couldn't resist taking a shot at Canadiens coach Jacques Martin, who Boudreau spotted in the Bell Centre stands while the Capitals were trying to work out the kinks in practice.
"I think the last time we had this situation and we got a chance to regroup it was better for us," Boudreau said. "We get a chance to have a practice under our belt and work on some things that aren't working without anybody watching."
Martin practiced some gamesmanship of his own as the Canadiens held a team meeting and off-ice workouts at their suburban practice rink Saturday.
"They're the number one team in the league," Martin said. "You look at what their accomplishment has been during the regular season and you look at their skill players, their depth — for sure the pressure is on them but the bottom line is we have to be ready to compete and go hard on Monday."
The Canadiens, who will return to the ice for practice Sunday, were written after they lost twice at home last week. But a solid 37-save effort from Jaroslav Halak and a strong team game gave Montreal its second road win of the series.
"I think the pressure is still on us," forward Travis Moen said. "We have to win two in a row and they just have to win one."
Moved onto one of Montreal's top lines Friday, replacing Benoit Pouliot alongside Scott Gomez and Brian Gionta, Moen scored the Canadiens' second goal.
"I wasn't sure what to expect," Moen said. "I didn't know if it was just a first shift of the game thing. But if it was me with those guys I was just going to keep it simple, play physical and try and get them the puck."
After winning the series opener in Washington, 3-2 in overtime, Montreal blew a 4-1 lead in Game 2 and lost 6-5 in overtime. The Canadiens came home and had an excellent first period, but fell apart after giving up a short-handed goal and were beaten 5-1. They followed with two strong periods in Game 4, but came undone again after another short-handed goal.
"It's kind of bizarre that way," Capitals forward Boyd Gordon said. "We have been good at home all year. Montreal is a tough building to play in and we go in there and win two. It hasn't really made too much sense, but hopefully that trend continues for us in Game 6 and we can get the win."
The Canadiens have lost each of their last six playoff games at home over the last three years.
"We have to play a lot better at home," Moen said. "We've played a lot better in Washington and I think we owe it to the fans to come out and have a strong performance."
Playoff News & Notes
Ouch! Capitals C Belanger plays after losing teeth
WASHINGTON — Capitals center Eric Belanger really is putting his — well, his employer’s — money where his mouth is after losing a half-dozen or so teeth in a run-in with an opponent’s stick.
Belanger says Saturday he "felt my teeth shatter, right away," when Canadiens defenseman Marc-Andre Bergeron’s stick hit him in the mouth in the first period of Montreal’s 2-1 victory at Washington in Game 5 of their playoff series Friday night.
Belanger needed some serious dental work at the arena, getting exposed tooth roots trimmed — then returned to the ice midway through the third period.
Explains Belanger: "I knew I was in trouble, but what are you going to do? It’s the playoffs."
He expects to play in Game 6 at Montreal on Monday.
NHL rescinds instigator penalty to Bruins’ Chara
TORONTO — Boston’s Zdeno Chara will play in Game 6 against the Buffalo Sabres after the NHL rescinded an instigator penalty assessed to the Bruins’ defenseman in a Game 5 loss.
Chara was assessed a minor penalty for instigating, a major for fighting and a game misconduct at the end of Buffalo’s 4-1 victory Friday night. That resulted in an automatic one-game suspension, pending review.
The NHL rescinded the suspension on Saturday under Rule 47.22, which states it shall be served unless the director of hockey operations "deems the incident is not related to the score, previous incidents in the game or prior games, retaliatory in nature, ‘message sending,’ etc."
The Bruins lead the first-round series 3-2 going into Monday’s game at Boston.
