Defending champion Lightning eliminate Hurricanes
Brayden Point and Ross Colton scored and Andrei Vasilevskiy controlled the crease, helping the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Carolina Hurricanes 2-0 on Tuesday night to win the second-round playoff series in five games.
Vasilevskiy finished with 29 saves and stumped the homesteading Hurricanes for the third time in as many series games at PNC Arena. The former Vezina Trophy winner as the NHL’s top goaltender and a finalist this year had allowed just two goals on 70 shots through the first two games to open this series.
Then, after a wild Game 4 in Florida that saw each team score four secondperiod goals, Vasilevskiy
turned away all shots to help the reigning Stanley Cup champions advance. Among his saves was a huge glove stop of a 2-on-1 short-handed chance by Carolina’s Vincent Trocheck.
Next up for Tampa Bay is the winner of the series between the New York Islanders and the Boston Bruins. The Islanders lead that best-of-seven series 3-2 and can close it out Wednesday at home.
GOLDEN KNIGHTS 3, AVALANCHE 2 » Mark Stone scored on a breakaway 50 seconds into overtime as Vegas overcame a two-goal deficit to win at Colorado and take a 3-2 lead in their second-round series.
Max Pacioretty corralled the puck after a blocked shot and fed it to Stone, who was off to the races. Stone beat Philipp Grubauer on the glove side to hush what had been a boisterous crowd.
Trailing 2-0 entering the third, the Golden Knights found another gear with Alex Tuch scoring 1:03 into the period and Jonathan Marchessault tying it up just 3:04 later.
KADRI’S 8-GAME SUSPENSION UPHELD » Colorado Avalanche forward Nazem Kadri saw his eight-game suspension for an illegal hit upheld by an arbitrator hours before Game 5 on Tuesday in a second-round series against Vegas.
Kadri has already served six games of a suspension he was given after an illegal check to the head of St. Louis Blues defenseman Justin Faulk in Game 2 of their first-round series. Faulk sustained a concussion, according to the report, and didn’t play in the final two games as the Avalanche swept the Blues to advance.
BRUINS COACH FINED $25,000 FOR CRITICIZING REFS » The NHL fined Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy $25,000 for his criticism of the officials after Game 5 of Boston’s second-round playoff series against the New York Islanders.