Blues push Wild to the brink
Jaden Schwartz scored the goahead goal in the second period, and Jake Allen made 40 saves to lead the St. Louis Blues to a 3- 1 victory Sunday against the visiting Minnesota Wild for a 3- 0 lead in their Western Conference firstround series.
Colton Parayko and Alexander Steen ( empty- netter) also scored for the Blues, who will try to sweep the series with a victory Wednesday in St. Louis. Charlie Coyle scored for the Wild, who got 28 saves from Devan Dubnyk.
Allen has been the star of the first three games. He has stopped 114 of 117 shots for a .974 save percentage against a Wild team that ranked second in the NHL in scoring during the regular season.
‘‘ He’s in the zone, and he’s really backstopping us right now,’’ Schwartz said of Allen. ‘‘ He’s making some big, timely saves, which gives us a lot of momentum.’’
Schwartz scored a power- play goal at 15: 19 of the second period after scoring with 2: 27 left in the third period of Game 2 to give the Blues a 2- 1 victory Friday.
The Blues opened the scoring 3: 25 into the first period when Parayko beat Dubnyk with a shot from the high slot after a nice pass from Patrik Berglund. The Wild tied the score on a goal by Coyle at 12: 59 of the second, their first evenstrength goal of the series.
Penguins 5, Blue Jackets 4 ( OT)
Jake Guentzel completed a hat trick by scoring at 13: 10 of overtime to lift the Pittsburgh Penguins past the host Columbus Blue Jackets for a 3- 0 lead in their Eastern Conference first- round series.
Bryan Rust added two goals and Marc- Andre Fleury overcame a shaky first period to make 33 saves for the defending Stanley Cup champion Penguins, who will go for a sweep Tuesday in Columbus, Ohio.
The Blue Jackets scored three goals— two by Cam Atkinson— in the first 6: 10 of the game but tallied only once after that.
Canadiens 3, Rangers 1
Alexander Radulov scored a goal and assisted on another, Carey Price made 20 saves and the visiting Montreal Canadiens opened a 2- 1 lead in their Eastern Conference first- round series with a victory against the New York Rangers. Game 4 is Tuesday in New York.
Oilers 1, Sharks 0
Zack Kassian scored midway through the third period, Cam Talbot made 23 saves and the Edmonton Oilers blanked the host San Jose Sharks to take a 2- 1 lead in their Western Conference firstround series. Game 4 is Tuesday in San Jose, California.