All four of the NHL Playoff series that resumed on Saturday featured the team that lost Game 1 winning Game 2. The two Eastern Conference and Western Conference playoff series will now all switch venues tied at 1-1 after the first two games.
NHL Scores, 2012 Playoffs: Four Series Leveled Up On Saturday
Every series that was in action on Saturday is now tied 1-1 after the teams that lost in Game 1 all won in Game 2.
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Washington Capitals 2-1 Boston Bruins (2OT)
Both Tim Thomas and Braden Holtby were excellent in this game, but the Capitals goalie put in the better performance with 47 big saves in the win. Troy Brouer opened the scoring for Washington in the second period, but Benoit Pouliot tied things up midway through the third period, eventually forcing overtime. Both goalies were able to keep things scoreless for another 20 minutes to force a second overtime, where Thomas gave up a relatively soft goal by his standards to Nicklas Backstrom for the game winner.
Ottawa Senators 3-2 New York Rangers (OT)
This game might produce multiple suspensions. Things got started with a massive brawl that resulted in the ejections of Matt Carkner and Brandon Dubinsky, the former of whom could face a suspension for punches to the back of the head of Brian Boyle. Later in the game, Carl Hagelin took out Daniel Alfredsson with a shot to the head that could cause him to miss time. Chris Neil was the unlikely scorer of the overtime winner, capitalizing on a scramble that caused Henrik Lundqvist to lose his stick.
San Jose was dominated from start to finish in this game, so they thought it was a good idea to start a fight at the end of the game to try and get some momentum heading into Game 3. That turned out to be a truly abysmal idea. The Blues won the fight very clearly.
Phoenix really threw this one away. They had the lead on two separate occasions and allowed Patrick Sharp to score the game-tying goal with just six seconds remaining in regulation to force overtime. In overtime, the Coyotes tried to catch Chicago in a change, but got caught themselves. Before going off the ice, Viktor Stalberg saw Phoenix's attempt at a quick break, kept the puck in his offensive zone, then passed to a wide open Bryan Bickell. He buried the simple opportunity for the game winner.
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