Josi, Rinne help Preds sweep Hawks

Roman Josi scored twice, Pekka Rinne had 30 saves and the Predators beat the Blackhawks 4-1 on Thursday night in Nashville, Tenn., to complete a sweep of the Western Conference’s top seed.

Colton Sissons also scored and Viktor Arvidsson added an empty-net goal as the Predators completed the franchise’s first playoff sweep. Led by Rinne and a terrific defensive performance by their lines and defensive pairings, the Predators limited the high-scoring Blackhawks to just three goals in 13 periods.

The Predators will face the winner of the BluesWild series in the second round. The Blues have a 3-1 lead heading into Game 5 on Saturday in Minnesota.

The Blackhawks became the first No. 1 seed to lose in the opening round since the Kings knocked off the Canucks on their way to the Stanley Cup title in 2012. The Hawks’ first-round exit followed a regular season in which they went 50-23-9 and recorded 109 points, the second-highest total in franchise history.

It was the first time a No. 1 seed was swept in the first round since the NHL adopted its current playoff format in 1994.

Sidney Crosby and Scott Wilson scored 51 seconds apart in the third period, helping the Penguins eliminate the Blue Jackets in Game 5 of their Eastern Conference series in Pittsburgh.

Bryan Rust scored twice for the Penguins, Phil Kessel added his second of the playoffs and MarcAndre Fleury finished with 49 saves. The defending Stanley Cup champions will face the winner of the Maple Leafs-Capitals series in the conference semifinals.

William Karlsson and Boone Jenner scored for the Blue Jackets, but Sergei Bobrovsky stopped just 27 of 32 shots to finish a forgettable series.

Mika Zibanejad scored at 14:22 of OT to give the Rangers a victory in Game 5 in Montreal to grab a 3-2 lead in the Eastern Conference series.

Chris Kreider’s shot on a rush went off Alexei Emelin’s stick right to Zibanejad for a shot into an open side.

The Rangers will look to advance when they host Game 6 on Saturday.

Jesper Fast and Brady Skjei also scored for the Rangers.