Ducks bounce back
Anaheim finally played like the defending Stanley Cup champion – at least long enough to avoid a nearly insurmountable deficit.
Chris Pronger scored two power-play goals after assisting on the Ducks’ first goal and they held on for a 4-2 victory Tuesday night over the Dallas Stars, who lost for the seventh time in their last eight home playoff games and missed a chance to take a commanding 3-0 series lead in the first-round Western Conference playoff series.
“It was nice to chip in,” Pronger said. “We had a lot of guys step up and improve their efforts. It was better than it was in Anaheim, that’s for sure. … We realize the mistakes we made. We did a good job correcting those the first 33 or 35 minutes.”
Anaheim led 4-0 before Stars captain Brenden Morrow scored two power-play goals 1:39 apart in the third period, but Jean-Sebastien Giguere held firm the rest of the way.
Giguere had 31 saves, four of them coming during a during a 4-minute power play after Mathieu Schneider got called for a double-minor after a high stick on Morrow. The Stars had plenty of traffic in front of Giguere during that span, but never could get a third goal.
The Ducks scored three goals in the first 141/2 minutes – on only four shots.
Sharks 3, Flames 2: At Calgary, Alberta, Joe Thornton’s first goal of playoffs was a big one.
Thornton scored the winner with just 9.4 seconds left in regulation to give San Jose a win over the Flames, evening their first-round series at 2-2.
Thornton tipped Douglas Murray’s shot from the point past Flames goalie Miikka Kiprusoff to win a game the Sharks trailed twice.
Game 5 is Thursday at San Jose.
The Flames set a franchise low for shots on goal in a playoff game, mustering just 10 against the Sharks’ Evgeni Nabokov. The previous low was 15.
Ryane Clowe scored his fourth goal of the series and Jonathan Cheechoo had his first for the Sharks.
Flyers 6, Capitals 3: Danny Briere’s so-so first season in Philadelphia has turned sensational in the playoffs.
Briere has played more like the top player in the league than likely MVP Alex Ovechkin, scoring two more goals with an assist, leading the Flyers to a victory over the Washington Captials in Philadelphia in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference first-round series.
No player has more postseason points the past three years than Briere. His four goals and two assists in the first three games of this series are a huge reason why the Flyers hold a 2-1 series lead.
Game 4 is Thursday night in Philadelphia.
Canadiens 1, Bruins 0: At Boston, Patrice Brisebois snapped a scoreless tie late in the second period, rookie Carey Price posted his first playoff shutout and Montreal Canadiens moved within one game of advancing with a win over the Bruins.
The Canadiens, the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, lead the best-of-seven, first-round series 3-1 and can wrap it up at home Thursday night.
Avalanche 5, Wild 1: At Denver, no fluke finish to this one. No overtime, either.
Jose Theodore stopped 24 of 25 shots and Colorado used a three-goal first-period to rout Minnesota, tying the first-round series at 2-2.
The first three games of the series – as well as the last two when these two teams met in the 2003 playoffs – all went into OT and ended in 3-2 scores.
The series goes back to Minnesota for Game 5 on Thursday night, and it should be interesting – this game featured a lot of fighting, including some fisticuffs after the final horn sounded.
Martin gets GM job
Jacques Martin will return as the Florida Panthers’ general manager.
Martin, who was stripped of his coaching duties last week, said he will accept the offer team owner Alan Cohen made to remain with the Panthers and focus on front office duties.
“I’ve talked with the ownership and I’ll stay on as the general manager,” Martin said when reached by phone in Ottawa. “It’s an opportunity to continue the work I’ve started as general manager. I’m happy with and excited about the new challenge.”