The lights came up on Round 2 of the Stanley Cup playoffs Thursday night as four teams kicked off their respective series' and the quest for the Cup continued.
Rangers vs. Capitals Preview and Prediction For Metropolitan Division Bracket Final
The Washington Capitals and New York Rangers took the ice at Madison Square Garden for Game 1 of their best-of-seven series while the puck dropped on the Anaheim Ducks and Calgary Flames for Game 1 at the Honda Center.
It was a night full of memorable moments as last-second daggers and sterling individual performances ruled the evening.
Ducks vs. Flames Preview and Prediction For Central Division Bracket Final
Here are our three stars of Thursday night's NHL Stanley Cup playoff action:
3) Joel Ward: The Washington Capitals forward was the hero that crashed the Garden party Thursday night. With the scored tied at 1-1 in the waning seconds of the third period and the game seemingly destined for overtime, Ward found himself all alone in front of Rangers netminder Henrik Lundqvist. Ward corralled a feed and beat Lundqvist with just 1.3 seconds remaining in the game for his second tally of the playoffs. Washington marched onto a 2-1 victory and took a 1-0 series lead and home-ice advantage away from the Rangers. Game 2 emanates back at the Garden on Saturday.
2) Corey Perry: The Ducks alternate captain had a night to remember in the team's 6-1 drubbing of the Flames. Perry had two goals and two assists in the contest to help stake Anaheim to a 1-0 series lead. Perry is now first in the NHL with 11 points in the playoffs and is tied for second with five markers. Perry found the back of the net just over two minutes into the second period to stake the Ducks to a 3-0 lead and he then lit the lamp on the power play 44 seconds into the third period to make it 5-0. Anaheim hosts Calgary in Game 2 on Sunday.
1) Alex Ovechkin: The Capitals captain was all over the Madison Square Garden ice on Thursday and made the Rangers pay. The Great 8 notched the first tally of the second round when he beat Lundqvist at the 18-minute mark of the opening frame. Ovechkin then set up Ward in front of Lundqvist for the game-winner with 1.3 seconds left to propel Washington to the series lead. While Ward was the hero, his goal wouldn't be possibly without the alert play by Ovechkin. The Hart Trophy finalist has three goals in the postseason and is tied for third with seven points overall.
Round 2 of the Stanley Cup playoffs got off to a quick start on Thursday and the fun continues Friday when the Montreal Canadiens host the Tampa Bay Lightning for Game 1 of their series and the Minnesota Wild visit the Chicago Blackhawks to open up their best-of-seven set.
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