Paajarvi scores in overtime as Blues oust Wild in Game 5
ST. PAUL, Minn. - Minnesota had the upper hand on St. Louis for most of this series, controlling the play for periods at a time.
With goalie Jake Allen as their guide and coach Mike Yeo on their side, though, the Blues sure had the right formula for beating the Wild in the playoffs.
Magnus Paajarvi scored at the 9:42 mark in overtime, giving the Blues a 4-3 victory on Saturday in Game 5 of their playoff series to eliminate the Wild in the first round following the best season in franchise history.
“They know us. We know them,” said Allen, who stopped 174 of the 182 shots he faced. “They got the best of us two years ago, and we came out on top this year. I’m sure we’re going to have many future series.”
The Blues advanced to play Nashville in the second round, with Game 1 against the Predators at home in St. Louis.
At Rangers 3, Canadiens 1: Mats Zuccarello scored twice in the second period and the New York Rangers beat the Montreal Canadiens to advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Derek Stepan also scored and Henrik Lundqvist stopped 27 shots to help New York get past the first round for the fifth time in six years. The Rangers won three straight after falling behind 2-1 to beat Montreal for the ninth time in 16 postseason series.
The Rangers will face the winner of the Ottawa-Boston series, which the Senators lead 3-2.
Alexei Emelin scored for Montreal and Carey Price finished with 20 saves. The Canadiens, winners of the Atlantic Division after missing the playoffs last year, were bounced from the postseason by the Rangers for the second time in four years. In 2014, it was in the conference finals.
Oilers 3, at Sharks 1: Leon Draisaitl and Anton Slepyshev scored on breakaways in the opening minutes of the second period and Edmonton advanced to the second round of the playoffs with a victory in Game 6 over San Jose.
Draisaitl and Slepyshev each buried their chances for their first career playoff goals and the Oilers held off the Sharks after that to get the win in their first playoff series since getting to the Stanley Cup Final in 2006. Connor McDavid iced the game with an empty-net goal with less than a second to play for his first even-strength point of the series.
Patrick Marleau got the Sharks on the board with 7:48 left in the third period, but Cam Talbot didn’t allow anything else on 28 shots to get the win.
Edmonton will take a young roster led by NHL scoring leader McDavid and eight other skaters under the age of 25 into the second round against Anaheim.
— Wire services