Unser Chat » h MacKinnons speed and play

Newark, NJ (SportsNetwork.com) - Simon Despres scored with 2:39 remaining in overtime and Pittsburgh rallied to post a 2-1 victory over New Jersey at Prudential Center. Holding the puck near the right-wing boards, Brandon Sutter passed to Kris Letang, whose own backhanded dish landed on the stick of Despres at the point. His harmless flip to the net beat a screened Cory Schneider to complete a comeback from one goal down late in regulation. Chris Kunitz registered a power-play goal with 3:11 remaining for the Penguins, who won for the second time in their last seven games. Marc-Andre Fleury needed to make only 13 saves. Our energy on the bench was high and our attitude was dont get down, keep going, said Kunitz. It may be one of our best efforts all year of playing that 60-minute game. Steve Bernier tallied for the Devils, who had won two in a row. Schneider ended up with a season-high 41 saves in defeat. The hosts had a chance to seize control early, as Max Lapierre and Steve Downie were whistled for simultaneous infractions, giving the Devils a full two-minutes 5-on-3 at 6:39 of the first period. New Jersey came up with two shots and nothing close to a goal. Schneider made 14 saves to keep the game scoreless while his offense mustered four. The second period passed with only nine combined shots, six to the Penguins. Despres swept a loose puck out of the crease after Devils veteran Patrik Elias whiffed just under two minutes into the third. Bernier snapped the scoreless deadlock at 6:08 of the third, when his wraparound try at the left post slipped by Fleurys pad and crossed the goal line. Schneider slid to deny Sidney Crosby in front just prior to the midway point, seconds before Crosby hit the post on a wide-open chance at the right side of the crease. Pittsburgh tied the game shortly into a power play as Kunitz converted a Crosby rebound. That was the only time the visitors punctured Schneider, who didnt wilt under a 20-shot barrage in the third. No penalty at that time is a good penalty. It gave them life. Couldnt afford to do that, said Devils defenseman Peter Harrold, who committed a high- sticking foul with 3:29 to play. Game Notes Letang, who recorded an assist on all the Penguins goals in a 5-3 win over the Jets on Tuesday, picked up helpers on each of his clubs markers on Friday ... The Penguins allowed seven shots against in the first two periods, their fewest since also giving up seven to the Panthers on Feb. 21, 2001 ... Schneider stopped 40 shots in a 3-0 loss to the Bruins on Jan. 8 ... Penguins defenseman Christian Ehrhoff did not play, and has returned to the Steel City for concussion testing after taking a hit from Caps forward Alex Ovechkin late in Wednesdays 4-0 loss. 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Scott Cullen looks at Saturdays playoff action, including tough times for the undisciplined Chicago Blackhawks, Matt Calvert lifting the Blue Jackets to their first playoff win, and Nathan MacKinnon putting on a show as Colorado takes a 2-0 series lead over Minnesota. HEAVY HOCKEY The Chicago Blackhawks are within two minutes of having a 2-0 series lead, surrendering tying goals late in the third period (1:45 remaining in Game One, six seconds left in Game Two) of the first two games in St. Louis, leading to 4-3 overtime defeats in both games. Being that close doesnt amount to much now, though, as Chicago is facing a 2-0 series deficit along with the possibility that a top pair defenceman, Brent Seabrook, could be suspended for a crushing hit on Blues C David Backes, whose status has to be questionable in the immediate aftermath. Seabrook had a goal and an assist in Game Two, before taking a major penalty for his hit on Backes wit 4:51 remaining in the third period. If Seabrook is suspended, Sheldon Brookbank could move into the Chicago lineup, but Backes potential absence also causes issues for the Blues. Even though the St. Louis lineup was bolstered by the return of RW T.J. Oshie, their top three healthy centres after Backes in Game Two were Vladimir Sobotka, Maxim Lapierre and Derek Roy. If Backes is out (and Patrik Berglund is already out), then St. Louis may have to shuffle Steve Ott to the middle and add a winger, Dimitrij Jaskin or Brenden Morrow, to the lineup. Leading the way for St. Louis in Game Two was D Kevin Shattenkirk, who had a goal and two assists, and also happened to be break-even in Corsi%, which was rare on a Blues team that was easily handled by Chicago at even strength. The problem for the Blackhawks, however, was an appalling lack of discipline, as Chicago was shorthanded nine times, including 11 minutes of shorthanded time in the final 15 minutes of the game. A positive for the Blackhawks was the performance of RW Marian Hossa, who matched his season high with eight shots on goal in Game Two. Blackhawks C Jonathan Toews, who was on the ice for both the tying and game-winning goals against, had a dominant possession game (85% Corsi%), getting the better of a strength-on-strength matchup against the Blues top line of Backes, Alexander Steen and T.J. Oshie. Returning to the lineup for the first time since a late-season concussion, Oshies Corsi% for the game was 13.0%. The results through the first two games could have gone either way, so its not as if Chicago is out of the running as they head home for Game Three. However, their margin for error is gone. They need to get on the board with a win if they are going to make a series out of this. JACKETS EVEN UP Matt Calverts second goal of the game, 1:10 into double overtime, earned the Columbus Blue Jackets the first playoff win in the franchises history. Calvert, who was favourably included in my piece on which fighters can handle more playing time, played a career-high 22:26 in the double-overtime affair, having possession success with linemates Cam Atkinson and Brandon Dubinsky. Blue Jackets D Jack Johhnson led all skaters with 38:21 of ice time and scored the game-tying goal with 6:01 remaining in the third period.dddddddddddd Johnson now has 15 points in 14 career playoff games. Among defencemen with at least a dozen career playoff games, Johnsons 1.07 points per game in the postseason ranks second, behind only Bobby Orr. Blue Jackets C Ryan Johansen added a goal and an assist, while D David Savard contributed two assists to the winning effort. On the Penguins side, RW Brian Gibbons scored a pair of goals, and Sidney Crosby had a couple of assists, but no other Penguins forwards got on the scoresheet. D Paul Martin had two assists while Matt Niskanen added a goal and an assist. Perhaps the most troubling issue for Pittsburgh in Game Two was the play of D Kris Letang, who was stomped (32.5% Corsi%) in possession terms. His minus-14 Corsi was his lowest of the season. Even so, his 27:40 of ice time was behind only Paul Martin (34:07) and Brooks Orpik (28:02) on the Penguins blueline. Columbus D Fedor Tyutin left the game with a presumed upper-body injury after taking a couple of hard hits and playing just 6:55. If Tyutin is out, Dalton Prout or Nick Schultz are available to join the Columbus lineup, but Savard is the one who moves up the depth chart. He played 33:46 in Game Two. Earning the Game Two win ought to give the Blue Jackets some feeling of belonging in the postseason. They can compete with the Penguins, play them close enough that G Sergei Bobrovsky (who stopped 39 of 42 shots in Game Two) has a chance to make a difference. MACKINNONS COMING OUT PARTY 18-year-old Avalanche rookie RW Nathan MacKinnon had a goal and three assists in Colorados 4-2 Game Two win over the Minnesota Wild, giving the Avs a 2-0 lead in the series, and MacKinnon seven points through two games. There is a good chance that MacKinnon is on his way to the best playoff scoring for an 18-year-old in league history, as Jaromir Jagr holds the current mark with 13 playoff points in 1991. The line of MacKinnon, LW Gabriel Landeskog (two goals) and C Paul Stastny (one goal, three assists) carried the day for the Avalanche, with MacKinnons speed and playmaking ability creating huge difficulty for the Wild, even though Minnesota frequently had their top defence pairing of Ryan Suter and Jonas Brodin matched up against them. Though he wasnt particularly to blame for Colorados first three goals, Wild G Ilya Bryzgalov was pulled with 8:01 remaining in the second period, replaced by Darcy Kuemper, the rookie who last played March 27. Kuemper stopped all 14 shots he faced. That Colorado has high-end skill up front comes as no surprise, nor is it shocking that G Semyon Varlamov has been the better of the goaltenders in the series but, coming home for Game Three, the Wild need their own top forwards to answer the bell and hope that whomever they go with in net, Kuemper or Bryzgalov, will give them a chance to get back in the series. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TS