NHL playoffs 2013: Sharks finish sweep of Canucks; Sens stun Habs

Although the Canadiens played a solid road game in Ottawa Tuesday night, it all came undone quickly for Montreal in a hurry.

With the Habs holding a 2-0 lead with 8:05 left in regulation - and from tying the series after an emotional fight-filled game Sunday - the left skate of Senators forward Mika Zibanejad changed the complexion of the game - and perhaps the Canadiens’ fortunes for this season.

The book on Niemi is apparently left shoulder. Who knew?

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Take a look:

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Continuing the push that they began in Game 3, the underdog Wild outshot the Hawks 7-6 and killed both Chicago power plays in the period. In Game 3, the Wild were able to tie it at 1-1 late in the first period. This time, they could muster no such luck, and in fact Sharp scored again on Kuemper just 1:02 into the second period.

To tie the game and tie the series, the Wild will need Kuemper to rally.

Wow. Take a moment to catch your breath as we answer our pregame questions.

A little. The first period was physical, as the two teams combined for 31 hits. But for the most part, it was back to business for both sides.

The Islanders are officially calling it an “upper body” injury, the vague nomenclature of choice in the NHL.

MacDonald left the game midway through the second period, ironically getting a penalty but heading to the locker room instead of the box. The call on the play was holding, but his holding arm appeared to block a shot with his hand.

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The comeback started when Mike Zibanejad redirected the puck off his skate past Price at 11:55 into the period.

The key word there is redirected.

Here is a snippet of what will surely mean bad blood for Game 5 on Thursday in Pittsburgh:

That exchange resulted in meaningless fighting majors for both Hamonic and Malkin after Malkin answered with a series of undercuts as that scrum morphed further up the boards.

But was it a legal goal?

Here’s the play in gif form:

A major strength for the Penguins in this series has been their special teams, but in the second period their special teams luck turned. The Islanders finally scored on their fourth power play opportunity of the game -- just their second conversion of the series -- while the Penguins did everything but score on their two power plays despite several great chances on the first one.

As the Penguins have done in every game of this series where the Islanders have managed a goal, Pittsburgh struck right back, and fast.

The Habs and Sens are scoreless after one period in Ottawa, and neither side has really had a good scoring chance so far. Instead, as expected, the clubs have decided to trade checks with each other. However, it might start costing Montreal in the long run.

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In Game 3 of this series, the Islanders rode the energy of their home crowd to blitz the Penguins and open a 2-0 lead in the first six minutes. This time around, there was no blitz, despite the Isles receiving two power plays in the first 10 minutes of the game.

The Penguins killed both of those, as they have all but one of the Islanders power plays so far this series.

This guy is sitting directly behind the Canadiens bench. Look familiar?

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Well, they haven’t thus far in the series. With the exception of a lone power play goal from the Blackhawks in Game 1, both teams have failed to convert on 18 man advantage opportunities. Considering two of the three contests have gone to overtime and thus have been deiced by a single goal, a power play tally from either team could prove to be a deciding factor.

With the exception of the third period in Game 2, Minnesota has capably held Chicago in check. Will that be the case in Game 4?

To paraphrase a great film, Game 3 of the Canadiens-Senators series sure escalated quickly.

The game summary sheets from that violent, unhinged, controversial game will be keepsakes for quite some time. The ratings for the game were the highest of the series in Canada, and tied for the highest-rated game of the playoffs on cable in the United States. Everyone was talking about the Habs-Sens brawls on Monday across North America. Now, however, we have to find a way to move on, and the two teams have to find a way to move on. This is still a Stanley Cup Playoff series.