VIVA LAS VEGAS IN NHL PLAYOFFS
Lightning finishes off Boston in East
The Golden Knights are moving on to the Western Conference Final after eliminating the Sharks.
SAN JOSE, Calif. — MarcAndre Fleury made 28 saves in his fourth shutout of the playoffs and the expansion Vegas Golden Knights are headed to the Western Conference final in their inaugural season after beating the San Jose Sharks 3-0 in Game 6 of their second-round series Sunday.
Jonathan Marchessault opened the scoring, Nate Schmidt added an insurance goal that was only detectable by replay and Cody Eakin sealed it with an empty-netter to help Vegas become just the third team in NHL history to win multiple series in its first season.
The Toronto Arenas won the Stanley Cup in the first postseason in league history in 1918 and St. Louis won two rounds to win the all-expansion West Division in 1968.
The Golden Knights relied on a crew of castoffs, led by a goalie who was part of three Stanley Cup-winning teams in Pittsburgh before headlining a new team. Fleury posted shutouts in Games 1 and 6 against the Sharks and was also spectacular in an overtime win in Game 3.
Next up for Fleury and Vegas will be the Western Conference Final against either Winnipeg or Nashville. The Jets lead that series 3-2 heading into Game 6 on Monday night.
The Sharks had numerous opportunities all night but were thwarted by a couple of shots that hit the iron, some acrobatic saves from Fleury and other chances that trickled just wide. This marked the fourth straight postseason for the Sharks that ended with a loss on home ice.
LIGHTNING 3, BRUINS 1: In Tampa, Fla., the Tampa Bay Lightning, with a primary assist from a team that handled them during the regular season, are back in the Eastern Conference final for the third time in four years.
“The first two times we played them, they literally manhandled us,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said after his team’s victory over the Bruins ended their second-round playoff series in five games. “and we knew if we were going to go anywhere when we made the playoffs, or if we made the playoffs, that we had to be as good as Boston.”
Brayden Point and J.T. Miller scored second-period goals and Anton Stralman added an empty-netter with 1:29 remaining to end any chance for a Boston comeback.
Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 27 shots — 14 in the final period — for the Lightning, who rebounded from losing the series opener at home to eliminate the Bruins.
Boston won three of the four games between the teams during the regular season, finishing one point behind Tampa Bay for the Atlantic Division title and the No. 1 seed in the East.
The Bruins scored six goals in Game 1 against Tampa Bay, but failed to score an even-strength goal in the final three games.