Three points today.
— #StanleyCup Playoffs (@NHL) April 24, 2016
Ten points in the series.
A ridiculous shot.
Jamie Benn.#StanleyCuphttps://t.co/fFLAVwE82w
Jamie Benn is a train that can't be stopped.
The Dallas Stars captain continued his stellar postseason, collecting his fourth goal of the playoffs and third point of the day with a deadly wrister over the glove hand of Minnesota Wild netminder Devan Dubnyk.
The goal stretched the Stars lead to 4-0 in a crucial Game 6, while Benn's three points Sunday put him atop the playoff scoring-race with 10 points.
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The tributes to Prince continued before Game 6 between the Minnesota Wild and the Dallas Stars on Sunday.
The Wild held a moment of silence for the late icon, who died Thursday at the age of 57.
It wasn't the only way the club remembered the singer, producer and multi-instrumentalist, who was born in the North Star State and lived there until his death.
Prince and Wild Hockey !!! #prince #mnwild pic.twitter.com/p53CjIEB7B
— Susan Kolze (@SusanKolze) April 24, 2016
#Prince pic.twitter.com/kjqJd8fy6i
— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) April 24, 2016
The tributes involved even more of Prince's music.
At the request of #mnwild players, they emerge to Prince's 1999
— Michael Russo (@Russostrib) April 24, 2016
"Let's Go Crazy" will be the #mnwild goal song today. They were thinking pregame of maybe alternating between that and Delirious, too
— Michael Russo (@Russostrib) April 24, 2016
On Saturday night, the Wild teased their plans with a sneak peek at the Xcel Energy Center seats.
They also added a purple background to the profile pictures for all of their social media platforms following Prince's death.
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If Milan Lucic has his way, he will be off the market come July 1st.
The Los Angeles Kings forward is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, but remains set on being a member of the Kings going forward, and would rather avoid the chaos free agency is sure to bring if he hits the open market.
"The sooner the better," Lucic told LA Kings Insider Jon Rosen, regarding his expected timeline on inking a new contract. "To be honest, I really don't have much interest into hitting the open market or even hearing what's out there, because in my mind this is where I want to be. Why flirt with something when you know what you want."
Lucic *very* much wants to remain in Los Angeles. Talks progressing; he indicated that they're not worlds apart.
— Jon Rosen (@lakingsinsider) April 24, 2016
Early last month ESPN's Pierre LeBrun reported that both sides had exchanged contract proposals. Lucic has remained adamant all season that his desire would be to remain with just the second team he has played for during his nine-year career.
The 27-year-old amassed 20 goals and 55 points in his first season with the Kings and added three assists in five playoff games.
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With a 26-save shutout on Sunday, Braden Holtby backstopped his Washington Capitals to a 1-0 win, helping clinch their first-round series against the Philadelphia Flyers in six games.
While advancing to the second round, Holtby also made history by recording the 20th playoff victory of his career, tying Olaf Kolzig for the most in franchise history.
He also joined Kolzig as the only Capitals goalies to post a series-clinching shutout, with the former Vezina winner accomplishing the feat in 1998 against the Ottawa Senators.
The 26-year-old now has to prepare for what is sure to be an incredible series against the Pittsburgh Penguins - the only team Holtby recorded three losses against during the regular season, finishing with a 2-2-1 record.
Despite the tough competition, the netminder is confident his team can handle its upcoming opponent:
Holtby to NBC: "If we play our game, it doesn't matter." #penguins #capitals
— Mike Zeisberger (@Zeisberger) April 24, 2016
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The Dallas Stars appear to be sticking with their goalies as long as they win, and after Antti Niemi allowed five goals in Friday's loss, head coach Lindy Ruff is returning Kari Lehtonen to the net for Game 6 on Sunday against the Minnesota Wild.
Kari Lehtonen leads the Stars on to the ice for warmups. #DALvsMIN pic.twitter.com/BpZcKYKTJi
— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) April 24, 2016
Lehtonen was incredible in the opening two games of the series, stopping 47 of 48 shots over a pair of wins, but followed that up by allowing 4 goals during the Stars' first loss of the series in Game 3.
The Wild, meanwhile, will stick with Devan Dubnyk who made 37 saves in Minnesota's overtime victory in Game 5. He has started every game for his team in the series.
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PHILADELPHIA - Nicklas Backstrom scored, Braden Holtby had 26 saves, and the Washington Capitals beat the Philadelphia Flyers 1-0 on Sunday in Game 6 to win the series 4-2 and advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals.
The Capitals will play the Pittsburgh Penguins, setting up a marquee matchup of Alex Ovechkin vs. Sidney Crosby.
Ovechkin had an assist on Backstrom's second-period goal that was easily enough against the punchless Flyers.
Riding the momentum of Michal Neuvirth in net, the Flyers won two straight to force an unlikely trip home. Neuvirth was sensational again, but the Flyers were ultimately doomed by a power play that could not cash in against Holtby. The Flyers wasted nearly 2 minutes of a 5-on-3 power play in the second period that made a critical difference.
Holtby, who had a 19-save shutout in Game 1, was barely tested the last two games. The Flyers took only 11 shots against him in Game 5 and matched that feeble total midway through the second period. Most of their shots Sunday came from long range, and the Flyers never really attacked Holtby.
The Flyers entered a miserable 1 for 21 on the postseason power play.
Backstrom was whistled for a double minor for a high stick and Matt Niskanen was hit 5 seconds later for hooking, giving the Flyers 1:55 of a 5-on-3. The Flyers missed both shots with a two-man advantage. They later got hit with a penalty to make it 4 on 4 and wipe out the one-man edge.
Backstrom helped Washington break Neuvirth's shutout streak that stretched nearly 110 minutes when he scored on a one-timer just below the circle with 8:59 left in the second period.
The Capitals scored two goals over the final three games of the series and clearly need more from Ovechkin and Co. to have a chance against the Penguins, who beat the Rangers in five games.
Against the Flyers, it was just enough, though.
Neuvirth replaced the ineffective Steve Mason with the Flyers on the brink of getting swept headed into Game 4. He responded with two fantastic outings, highlighted by his 44-save effort in Game 5's shutout win. He stopped a flurry of shots, including a point-blank one-timer from Justin Williams - late in the first period and skated off the ice to a thunderous standing ovation.
He was pulled after 28 saves with 1:30 left in the game for an extra skater. Not even a sixth Flyers skater helped.
Neuvirth, who went 18-8-4 with a 2.27 goal against and a .924 save percentage in 32 games, did his share to keep the Flyers in the series. But the Flyers' top line vanished in the series and gave them no real chance at pulling off an upset against the best team in the Eastern Conference. Flyers captain Claude Giroux (67 points) had one assist in the series. Wayne Simmonds (60 points) had two assists.
Notes: The Flyers have not won the Stanley Cup since 1975. ... Capitals D Brooks Orpik sat out with an undisclosed injury. ... The team that scored first won five games. ... Ovechkin and Crosby are playing each other in the postseason for the first time since 2009.
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Philadelphia Flyers forward Brayden Schenn caught Washington Capitals winger T.J. Oshie with a hit to the head late in the second period of Game 6 on Sunday.
The Capitals forward left for the dressing room and missed the rest of the period, but returned for the third.
Oshie challenged Schenn to a fight off the opening faceoff in Game 5 on Friday night, in response to the Flyers center's cross-check on Washington forward Evgeny Kuznetsov in Game 4.
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Vinny Lecavalier isn't changing his mind.
The veteran forward met with the local media in Los Angeles on Sunday and confirmed he's still planning to retire, according to Kings beat reporter Jon Rosen.
Lecavalier's 17th NHL season came to an end when the Los Angeles Kings were eliminated by the San Jose Sharks in Game 5 of their first-round series Friday night.
The 36-year-old center said he plans to return to Tampa Bay at some point. He played for the Lightning from his rookie season in 1998 to 2013, wearing the "C" for his final five seasons with the club.
Lecavalier's agent, Kent Hughes, told ESPN's Pierre LeBrun in January that his client planned to retire at season's end following the trade that sent him to the Kings from the Philadelphia Flyers.
He notched 383 goals and 874 points in 1,037 career games, collecting another 56 points in 75 playoff games.
Lecavalier won the Stanley Cup with the Lightning in 2004, won the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy in 2007, and was named to the All-Star Game four times.
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For the second postseason in a row, the Tampa Bay Lightning have had to overcome a flu bug as they advance through the playoffs, but forward Valtteri Filppula assured the illness was out of the dressing room as they now await their second-round opponent.
The worst for wear was forward Tyler Johnson, as head coach John Cooper told reporters the 25-year-old was "struggling to sit on the bench" during their series-clinching Game 5 win against the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday.
"All of a sudden, the trash can got a little heavier and my body got a little lighter," Johnson described, per Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times. Cooper added that up to five players were dealing with the flu.
During last year's Eastern Conference Finals against the New York Rangers, at least four players (Johnson, Ondrej Palat, Ben Bishop, and Braydon Coburn) were all rumored to be ill. Tampa Bay went on to win the series in seven games.
Meanwhile, the Lightning still await the returns of defenseman Anton Stralman and forward J.T. Brown, who remain out indefinitely with lower- and upper-body injuries, respectively. Neither player is expected to dress early in the series.
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