Western Conference
Chicago Blackhawks 5, Vancouver Canucks 0 -- For the second straight game, the heavily favored Canucks failed to close out the series. Instead, the reigning champion Blackhawks blewout the top seed in the West, and chased their starting goalie Roberto Luongo with four straight goals. Chicago defenseman Duncan Keith continued his stellar play with two goals and three assists in the game. With the series moving to Chicago, this suddenly became a close series to watch.
Vancouver leads the series, 3-2.
San Jose Sharks 6, Los Angeles Kings 3 -- Sometimes, the playoffs aren't fair. The shorthanded Kings have played tough and rigid defense, and should be up in this series. Instead, they head back to northern California and face elimination against a high-powered Sharks team that lay dormant the first half of the season. The Sharks scored three goals in the second period, with forward Joe Pavelski scoring the game-winning goal in the third period to give the Sharks a dominating lead in the series they aren't likely to surrender.
San Jose leads the series, 3-1.
Eastern Conference
Boston Bruins 5, Montreal Canadiens 4 (OT) -- The Bruins were in danger of falling well behind in this series, but Michael Ryder scored a goal two minutes into overtime -- his second of the game -- to send the series tied back to Boston. Chris Kelly assisted on both Ryder goals and added a goal of his own, and Tim Thomas stopped 34 of the 38 shots he faced. For Montreal, the would-be hero was Michael Cammaleri with a goal and two assists. Goalie Carey Price was also superb in net as he has been all series, stopping 30 of 35 shots. But his efforts were not enough, as the Bruins prevailed for the second straight game. The road team has won every single game in this series.
Series tied at 2-2.
Games To Watch Tonight
Buffalo Sabres at Philadelphia Flyers, 7:30 p.m. EDT on Versus --After Ryan Miller's second shutout of the series in Game 4, this is now down to a best-of-three matchup. Buffalo has the advantage in goal, the Flyers have the advantage on offense, and both teams are hoping their injured stars can come back in time to swing the series back in their favor. The Sabres' top forward Derek Roy appears close to returning from a knee injury he suffered in December and Philadelphia's Chris Pronger could be be ready at anytime.
Nashville Predators at Anaheim Ducks, 10:00 p.m. EDT on Versus -- The Predators were unable to take advantage of two games without star Ducks forward Bobby Ryan, and they return to California with the series tied. Mike Fisher has been the offensive star that the Predators have desperately needed, but they need to win one more game on Anaheim ice. Ray Emery has stabilized the situation in net, and the Ducks' still boast a potent offense that could explode for five goals a night. This is now a best-of-three series, as expected.