Associated Press
| Associated Press
Dallas – Mikko Rantanen had a goal and two assists, including on the tiebreaking goal by Alexander Petrovic that was finally confirmed after a lengthy review as the Dallas Stars beat the Winnipeg Jets 5-2 on Sunday to take 2-1 lead in the second-round Western Conference series.
Officials reviewed Petrovic’s goal for well over five minutes and while determining there was a kicking motion, the goal was good after the puck went off goalie Connor Hellebuyck’s stick and into the net with 16:09 left. That all came off the rebound of the initial a shot by Rantanen, who 49 seconds after play resumed scored his ninth goal of the playoffs – all coming in the last six games.
Game 4 is Tuesday night in Dallas.
Roope Hintz had a goal and an assist for the Stars, and Wyatt Johnston added a late goal. Sam Steel and Mikael Granlund each had two assists.
Rantanen, who has 18 points this postseason, had the primary assist on a power-play goal by Hintz only 2:27 in for a 1-0 lead. When Dallas scored again late in the first period for a 2-1 lead, Rantanen was on the ice for defenseman Thomas Harley’s goal, but the assists went to Granlund and Steel.
That ended Rantanen’s NHL playoffs-record streak of consecutive goals involved in at 13 in a row for the Stars since Game 5 of their first-round series against Colorado.
Stars goalie Jake Oettinger stopped 23 shots. Hellebuyck, the odds-on favorite to win his third Vezina Trophy as the league’s best goalie, and also among three finalists for the Hart Trophy that goes to the MVP of the NHL regular season, dropped to 0-4 in road games this postseason after giving up the five goals on 26 shots.
Nino Niederreiter got Winnipeg even at 2 midway through the second period on his shot from the bottom of the right circle after Josh Morrissey made a nifty move to get around Stars center Colin Blackwell before making the pass for the score.
The Stars had gone ahead 2-1 late in the first after Niederreiter tripped Granlund, who slid with the puck along the boards behind the net and got his knees to swipe it to Harley in the slot.
Kyle Connor scored the first Winnipeg shot when he recovered a shot wide left of the net, then scored on a wraparound goal that got under Oettinger’s extended glove.
► (At) Florida Panthers 2, Toronto Maple Leafs 0: Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 23 shots for his fifth career playoff shutout, Carter Verhaeghe and Sam Bennett scored and the Florida Panthers beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 2-0 on Sunday night in Game 4 to even the Eastern Conference semifinal series.
Verhaeghe scored on a power play in the first period, Bennett added the insurance score with 7:50 left and Bobrovsky did the rest. He’s the first goalie with two shutouts this year in the playoffs.
Joseph Woll stopped 35 shots for the Maple Leafs, who took a 2-0 series lead with a pair of home wins and now return there for Game 5 on Wednesday night with the series tied.
Verhaeghe’s goal came on Florida’s fourth power play of the first period. Matthew Tkachuk, along the left-wing boards, threaded a pass through the slot and past two defenders onto the waiting stick of Verhaeghe — who slammed a one-timer past Woll.
It was part of a spree of shots early for Florida. The Panthers took 21 of the game’s first 26 shots on net, simply controlling play for long stretches and keeping all the action in front of Woll. He held firm, time and again, keeping Toronto in it.
Bennett said enough.
He came in from Woll’s left, with Verhaeghe on the other side of the slot, then waited for a passing lane. When none appeared, Bennett simply went to the front of the net, watched Woll commit, then pushed the puck into the net before punching the air.
Florida has won 25 consecutive playoff games — going back to May 5, 2022 — when leading after two periods, matched Edmonton for the most wins in the NHL over that span. The Oilers are 25-3 when leading after two since that date.
Oliver Ekman-Larsson — part of the Florida team that won the Stanley Cup last season — delivered a shot to the head and neck area of Panthers forward Evan Rodrigues about five minutes into in the third period. It was originally called a major, then downgraded to a minor after review.
The Maple Leafs not only killed the penalty off but they even had the best chance of those two minutes when Matthew Knies skated in on a short-handed try. He missed the net.
That might have been the last great chance for Toronto.
Second round playoff scheduleEastern ConferenceCapitals vs. Hurricanes
(Carolina leads 2-1)
▶ Game 1: Carolina 2-1 (OT)
▶ Game 2: Washington 3-1
▶ Game 3: Carolina 4-0
▶ Game 4: Monday at Carolina, 7 p.m.
▶ Game 5: Thursday at Washington, 7 p.m.
▶ Game 6: x-Saturday at Carolina, TBA
▶ Game 7: x-Monday May 19 at Washington, TBA
Maple Leafs vs. Panthers
(Series tied 2-2)
▶ Game 1: Toronto 5-4
▶ Game 2: Toronto 4-3
▶ Game 3: Florida 5-4
▶ Game 4: Florida 2-0
▶ Game 5: Wednesday at Toronto, 7 p.m.
▶ Game 6: Friday at Florida, TBA
▶ Game 7: x-Sunday at Toronto, TBA
Western ConferenceJets vs. Stars
(Series tied 1-1)
▶ Game 1: Dallas 3-2
▶ Game 2: Winnipeg 4-0
▶ Game 3: Dallas 5-2
▶ Game 4: Tuesday at Dallas, 8 p.m.
▶ Game 5: Thursday at Winnipeg, 9:30 p.m.
▶ Game 6: x-Saturday at Dallas, TBA
▶ Game 7: x-Monday May 19 at Winnipeg, TBA
Golden Knights vs. Oilers
(Edmonton leads 2-1)
▶ Game 1: Edmonton 4-2
▶ Game 2: Edmonton 5-4 (OT)
▶ Game 3: Vegas 4-3
▶ Game 4: Monday at Edmonton, 9:30 p.m.
▶ Game 5: Wednesday at Vegas, 9:30 p.m.
▶ Game 6: x-Friday at Edmonton, TBA
▶ Game 7: x-Sunday at Vegas, TBA
x-If necessary