The Pittsburgh Penguins lost to the Islanders in Game 4 on Tuesday night for the Eastern Conference series to sit tied at 2-2 as the Game 5 shifts back to Pittsburgh with home ice still intact for both sides. Evgeni Malkin scored a goal for the Penguins, while Jonathan Tavares added another goal for the Islanders.
Apart from those games, Wednesday's matchups could end up being just as good, as each of the series is either 2-1 or 2-2 and no team has the chance to eliminate yet. The New York Rangers desperately needed a win in Game 3 after dropping the first two games to the Capitals on the road and after winning 4-3 the team appears back to its winning ways. The rangers were shutout in Game 2 in overtime 1-0 and hadn't scored a goal since the first period of Game 1.
Brian Boyle stopped the scoreless streak with his goal in the game and he tied the game after the Capitals took a 1-0 lead on a goal from Nicklas Backstrom. The Rangers had a the lead a number of items and the Caps kept coming back, but the final goal by Derek Stepan could not be matched and New York held on after a furious comeback attempt at the end to get the much-needed victory at Madison Square Garden. Rick Nash set up the winning goal for Stepan and Derick Brassard and Arron Asham were the other two players that scored.
Goalie Henrik Lundqvist allowed the Caps to tie the game at 2-2 and 3-3 when the Rangers had leads, but he was excellent when it counted, stopping the Capitals at the end when they had a six on four advantage after pulling their goalie. The team could not convert and the Rangers held onto the win after scoring four goals on Braden Holtby, something they had not been able to do at all during the first two games. Mike Green added one of the tying goals after scoring the winner in Game 2 and despite a penalty at the end of the game on Brad Richards, New York was able to kill the advantage.
Another important factor for the Rangers was Brassard's power play goal, as the team was previously 0 for 7 in the second game and desperately needed a breakthrough on the unit. The Caps had been able to kill all 10 of the Rangers power plays before the score and now they finally have a chance to add to it in Game 4. The Bruins and Maple Leafs are now at 2-1 to the Boston advantage after a win in Game 3 and now the home ice is back with the lower seed.
Boston spoiled the return of playoff hockey to Toronto, which hadn't hosted a game for nearly a decade when the game hit the Air Canada Centre on Monday night. Phil Kessel scored a goal, but he couldn't muster up enough for a victory, as Boston was able to win to take a 2-1 advantage. Kessel is leading the team in goals, but so far the Leafs have not been able to generate enough offense.
The Red Wings and Ducks are tied at 2-2 after a tough win by Detroit and the Kings and Blues are also tied at 2-2 after a great win by LA that kept home ice advantage intact. Jonathan Quick has been excellent for the Kings and the team looks like they did last year when they made a run to the Stanley Cup finals win their first championship.
