Taking a Lead, Tying One Up, Putting Two to the Brink

There's an upset in the making between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Detroit Red Wings, as the veterans are playing well against the young whipper-snappers and after Tuesday night's 3-0 victory, the Red Wings now have a 2-1 series lead, with another game to play at home.

There was only one notable player in this one, as Pavel Datsyuk scored the eventual winning goal, midway through the 1st period, and he was the only pool player to have 2 points in the game.  Petr Mrazek, who recorded the shutout, was not included on the sheet, so those points floated off into oblivion.

Game 4 in this series will go on Thursday night in another early start.

It's a hotly contested series between the Washington Capitals and New York Islanders, a series that has seen three 1-goal games, including Tuesday night's 2-1 overtime victory by the Capitals, evening the series at 2-2.

For the Capitals, their best players were just that in this one, as Nicklas Backstrom was a 3-point player and Alex Ovechkin had a couple of points as well, while Braden Holtby picked up his first win of the playoffs, earning him 2 points as well.  Backstrom is now one of six players in the hockey pool to lead the way in scoring, with 6 points in four games.

Game 5 will shift back to Washington, DC on Thursday night, where the Capitals will look to put some momentum together with their home crowd.

Although it started as the last game of the night, it didn't finish as the last game of the night.  The Calgary Flames kept their momentum going at home against the Vancouver Canucks, putting together a very convincing 3-1 win together, taking advantage of some early penalty troubles and then locking down the game in the final two frames.  The Flames now own a 3-1 series lead, pushing the Canucks to the edge of elimination.

Jiri Hudler led the way for the Flames, picking up 3 points on the night, while Dennis Wideman and Jonas Hiller were good enough for 2 points each.  Goalie Hiller is also a part of the group of players with 6 points, as the Flames are one win away from moving on.

Their first opportunity to move on will come on Thursday night, as they go back to Vancouver with the Canucks behind the 8-ball.

Finally, a triple overtime game in these playoffs!  The Chicago Blackhawks and Nashville Predators have already seen a double overtime game before Tuesday night and the Blackhawks have won both games that have gone to extra time.  Last night, it was a 3-2 games, which moved the Blackhawks up to a 3-1 series lead as well.

Brent Seabrook, the overtime hero, was also the only notable player in the pool in this game, as there were a whole bunch of singles and another goaltending situation that doesn't involve a playoff pool goaltender.

The scene shifts back to Nashville for Game 5, giving the Predators home ice to try and stay alive and try to force a Game 6.  The game goes on Thursday night, a 7:30pm MT start.