Wednesdays NHL Stanley Cup Playoff Capsules
BOSTON 4, MONTREAL 1
MONTREAL Former Montreal forward Michael Ryder scored twice and assisted on David Krejcis goal to help the Boston Bruins complete a four-game sweep of the Canadiens with a 4-1 victory.
Tim Thomas made 26 saves, and Phil Kessel also scored for Boston, which won the Eastern Conference quarterfinal for its first playoff series win in 10 years.
The top-seeded Bruins had lost five straight seriesincluding losses to Montreal in 2002, 2004 and 2008since beating Carolina in the first round in 1999.
Andrei Kostitsyn gave Montreal a 1-0 lead 39 seconds in and the Canadiens dominated the scoring chances in the opening period, outshooting Boston 16-7.
The Bruins, though, went to the dressing room with a 2-1 lead after Ryder and Krejci scored 1:58 apart late in the period.
Kessel extended the lead to 3-1 when he stepped out of the penalty box and drove the right side before putting a low shot past Carey Price 11:58 into the second for his fourth goal in four games.
Ryder, who scored the winner Monday night in a 4-2 victory, got his second of the gamehis fourth of the seriesat 12:43 when he scored off a Krejcis cross-ice pass.
CALGARY 6, CHICAGO 4
CALGARY, Alberta Eric Nystrom scored off a rebound with 6:56 remaining and the Calgary Flames held off the Chicago Blackhawks, 6-4, in Game 4 to even the best-of-seven Western Conference series.
Nystrom also had two assists, Olli Jokinen scored the first two goals of his playoff career, Jarome Iginla completed a two-goal game with an empty-netter and Adrian Aucoin added a goal for the Flames, 4-2 winners on Monday night at home after dropping the first two games in Chicago.
Patrick Kane, Kris Versteeg, Cam Barker and Dustin Byfuglien scored for Chicago. The Blackhawks overcame a 4-1 deficit in the second period to tie it.
Game 5 is Saturday night in Chicago.
NY RANGERS 2, WASHINGTON 1
NEW YORK Henrik Lundqvist made 38 saves, half of them in the second period, and the seventh-seeded New York Rangers put the Washington Capitals on the brink of elimination with a 2-1 victory.
Lundqvist, who posted a 1-0 shutout win in Game 2, was on top of his game all night as the Capitals controlled play from the second period to the endoutshooting New York, 39-21. But its the Rangers who hold a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.
Paul Mara staked the Rangers to the lead with 6:05 left in the first period, scoring just the second goal against 20-year-old rookie Simeon Varlamov, who has stopped 75 of 78 shots since taking over for Jose Theodore after New Yorks 4-3 win in Game 1.