Hockey Today
SCOREBOARD
Wednesday, April 29
No games scheduled.
STARS
Tuesday
— Jussi Jokinen and Eric Staal, Hurricanes, scored in a 48-second span late in the third period and Carolina stunned New Jersey 4-3 in Game 7 of their first-round Eastern Conference playoff series.
— Cam Ward, Hurricanes, made 32 saves to keep it close before Jokinen and Staal scored in the last 1:20 to lift Carolina into the second round.
— Sergei Federov, Capitals, who won three Stanley Cups with Detroit, beat Henrik Lundqvist with a screened wrist shot with 4:59 left in the third period, and Washington edged the New York Rangers 2-1 in Game 7 of their Eastern Conference series.
PLAYOFF MATCHUPS
Boston, the top seed in the East, will play No. 6 Carolina in the second round. Washington, which eliminated the Rangers on Tuesday night in Game 7, will face Carolina, which won Game 7 at New Jersey. In the West, defending champion Detroit plays Anaheim, and Vancouver takes on Chicago.
BLOWN OVER
The Devils have lost their last three playoffs series to the Hurricanes. The latest loss might have been the most painful, with New Jersey blowing a late one-goal lead and falling 4-3 at home in Game 7. Jussi Jokinen and Eric Staal scored in a 48-second span late in the third period to win it.
TURNAROUND
Not only did Washington come back from a 3-1 deficit to beat the Rangers in their Eastern Conference series, but it was the franchise’s first series victory since the 1997-98 season, when Washington made it all the way to the Stanley Cup finals.
OLD NEW HERO
Capitals forward Sergei Federov, who won three Stanley Cups with Detroit, scored the winning goal in Game 7 against the Rangers. The 39-year-old Federov, in his eighth career Game 7, beat Henrik Lundqvist with a screened wrist shot with 4:59 left in the third period for a 2-1 victory.
SIDELINED
New Jersey defenseman Bryce Salvador missed Game 7 against Carolina with a knee injury. Salvador was hurt in Game 4 and sat out three straight games. Andy Greene played in his place. … Capitals enforcer Donald Brashear was out, suspended by the NHL for six games for a hit that broke a bone near Rangers center Blair Betts’ eye in Game 6. Betts, New York’s top penalty-killing forward, also missed Game 7.
SPEAKING
“Let’s face it: Realistically, we should have won the first six games.”— Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau after beating the Rangers in Game 7, finishing off a comeback from a 3-1 series deficit.
“This is as sweet as it comes. What a finish. It’s hard to believe right now just because we were down 3-2 with only 2 minutes to go. How quickly things can change. That’s why you never give up and play until the final buzzer.”— Carolina goaltender Cam Ward after a sensational late comeback lifted the Hurricanes into the second round of the playoffs.