Western Conference
Vancouver Canucks 4, Nashville Predators 2 -- The Canucks took charge of this series, finally, after taking a late game lead in Nashville and playing solid defense to maintain their lead. At 7:28 in the third period, Canucks forward and hart Trophy candidate Ryan Kesler scored the game-winning goal, his third of the series and of the playoffs. Henrik Sedin added an empty-net goal at 19:39 to finalize the game. With the victory, Vancouver now holds a 3-1 series lead and can close out this hard fought series on their home ice.
Vancouver leads the series, 3-1.
Games To Watch Tonight
San Jose Sharks at Detroit Red Wings, 7:00 p.m. EDT, on Versus -- The Sharks won Game Three in overtime and have a chance to sweep the Red Wings on Joe Louis Arena ice. Red Wings goalie Jimmy Howard has played well all series, but has been unable to completely shut down the deep and potent Sharks offense. Devin Setoguchi was the hero with a hat trick in Game Three, but Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau have led San Jose to a dominating series lead. in 2010, these two teams decided their series in five games; it could be even shorter in 2011.
San Jose leads the series, 3-0.
Philadelphia Flyers at Boston Bruins, 8:00 p.m. EDT, on Versus -- The Boston Bruins have completely dominated this series, depending on the superb play of Vezina Trophy favorite Tim Thomas. Thomas has shut down the Flyers offense all series, and the Bruins offense has taken advantage of a revolving door in Flyers goal, showcasing an usually high offensive output for this Boston team. The Bruins want to close out this series as soon as possible to avoid a historic collapse, as they suffered in 2010 against this very same Flyers team.
Boston leads the series, 3-0.