NHL Playoffs: Rangers stay alive with rally over Penguins, Panthers and Flames take series lead
Anthony Scultore
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The NHL Playoffs recap had three games on the docket for May 11, 2022 with one team having a chance to advance. When the last of the final buzzers sounded, all three series will head to a Game 6.
It was do-or-die time for the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night. A second period explosion followed by a gutsy final frame kept them alive in their series with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Meanwhile, the Florida Panthers overcame a three goal deficit to take a 3-2 series lead over a stunned Washington Capitals team. Plus the Calgary Flames came up big at home and are one win away from beating the Dallas Stars to advance to Round 2.
NHL Playoffs: Rangers 5 vs Penguins 3
Filip Chytil scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period on the power play and New York rallied from a 2-0 second-period deficit to stave off playoff elimination with a victory over visiting Pittsburgh.
It was the first career playoff goal for Chytil, who was the 21st overall pick in the 2017 NHL Draft by the Rangers.
“We were not happy with what happened in Pittsburgh,” Chytil said. “We just had a good meeting, good practice yesterday and we just believed today that we were going to win and go back to Pittsburgh.”
Jacob Trouba and Alexis Lafreniere each had a goal and an assist and Adam Fox and Ryan Lindgren also scored goals for the Rangers, who still trail the best-of-seven first round Eastern Conference series, 3-2. Game 6 is Friday night in Pittsburgh. Vezina finalist Igor Shesterkin stopped 29 of 32 shots.
The game turned around after a big hit by Jacob Trouba on Sidney Crosby that caught him a bit high. He was knocked out of the game and the Penguins said he was being evaluated after the game.
“Did you see the hit? Then you have the same opinion I do,” an upset Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. No word yet if Trouba will face any discipline for the hit.
Panthers 5 vs Capitals 3
Carter Verhaeghe scored twice — including the go-ahead tally in the third period — and added three primary assists as the Florida Panthers rallied from a three-goal deficit to defeat the Washington Capitals, 5-3, on Wednesday night in Game 5 of their first-round playoff series at Sunrise, Fla.
The top-seeded Panthers lead the best-of-seven series 3-2. The eighth-seeded Capitals will host Game 6 on Friday night, hoping to stave off elimination.
“It took us a while,” Florida coach Andrew Brunette said. “Give them credit. They came out and played hard and we weren’t too invested early for some reason, which is concerning. It took us a while to be get dragged into the fight.”
NHL.com
Verhaeghe has set a team record with five goals in a playoff series. On his go-ahead goal with 16:56 left in the third, Verhaeghe’s backcheck stripped the puck from Capitals star Alex Ovechkin. Verhaeghe then passed ahead to Aleksander Barkov before finishing the 2-on-1 rush.
T.J. Oshie scored twice, and Ilya Samsonov made 33 saves to lead Washington. Justin Schultz added one goal, and Evgeny Kuznetsov added two assists.
“I felt like we gave that game away,” Nicklas Backstrom said.
Flames 3 vs Stars 1
Andrew Mangiapane scored the winning goal and host Calgary netted three unanswered third-period tallies to claim a victory over Dallas in Game 5 of their Western Conference first-round playoff series.
“I think it was tight hockey game, a tight series,” Mangiapane said via NHL.com. “We just have to stick to our game and not deviate. Stay patient with it and stick to our system and keep grinding them down. Eventually it paid off in the third.”
Mikael Backlund and Trevor Lewis also scored for the Flames, who hold a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series. Both Mangiapane and Backlund also collected an assist. Calgary’s Jacob Markstrom made 20 saves to claim another goaltending battle.
Jason Robertson scored for the Stars, while goaltender Jake Oettinger made 29 saves in a strong outing.
–Field Level Media contributed to this article