Patrick Kane leads Blackhawks to Game 6 victory over Kings

Patrick Kane skated to a patch of open ice near the painted Stanley Cup logo and fired a long, low shot at the Los Angeles net, hoping to hit an invisible hole.

His Chicago Blackhawks teammates weren't shocked when he found it.

Kane's career has been defined by his brilliance in the Blackhawks' biggest moments, and his tiebreaking goal with 3:45 to play in Game 6 of the Western Conference finals will rank among the best.

Kane scored two goals and set up Duncan Keith's tying score with 8:26 left, and the Blackhawks forced a decisive seventh game with a 4-3 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Friday night.

After two straight elimination wins, the Blackhawks are heading home with a chance to advance thanks to the forward who saves his best for the brightest lights. Kane had one point in the series' first four games before scoring seven more in Chicago's consecutive elimination victories.

"It's amazing what he can do in these big games when our season is on the line," Chicago captain Jonathan Toews said about Kane. "Nobody else seems to be able to do it the same way he does. It's pretty amazing."

Game 7 is in Chicago on Sunday night. Coverage begins on Hockey Night in Canada at 7:30 p.m. ET. The winner gets the New York Rangers, who eliminated Montreal on Thursday night.

The defending Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks avoided elimination for the second straight game in an already memorable playoff series between two NHL powers at the top of their games.

Both teams blew late leads in the third period, and Drew Doughty was primed to be Los Angeles' hero with a tying goal and a tiebreaking assist on Alec Martinez's score with 12:22 left. But after Kane took control, Corey Crawford came up with several late saves as Chicago hung on.

"We get the privilege of playing with a guy like that every day and seeing what he can do," Keith said of Kane. "You know when it comes down to crunch time, him and Johnny (Toews), I don't know if there are two other guys I'd rather have on my team."

The conference finals rematch between the NHL's last two champions will be decided in a winner-take-all Game 7 — the third of the post-season for the Kings, who are 6-0 in elimination games this spring.

Crawford made 26 saves and exchanged harsh words with counterpart Jonathan Quick as the Blackhawks won for the ninth time in their last 11 elimination games.

Chicago trailed 3-1 in the conference finals after its second straight loss at Staples Center on Monday, but the Blackhawks prolonged the series with an epic double-overtime victory in Game 5.

"I'm frustrated, but I'm over it pretty quickly," said Quick, who made 21 saves. "And we've got another game to play, Game 7. We've had two chances to close out this series, and we are not going to blow a third one."

Doughty played 26 minutes in another dynamic game for the Kings, who were less than nine minutes away from their second trip to the Stanley Cup finals in three years before Kane outdid Doughty.

Chicago led 2-1 entering the third after getting goals from Kane and Ben Smith early in the second period, and Staples Center echoed with worry until Doughty tied it with 14:28 left. The Kings' dominant defenceman took the puck from the point into the slot and fired a wrist shot past a screened Corey Crawford for his third goal in four games.

Doughty then collected the puck during a power play and fed Martinez for a low shot through traffic, putting the Kings ahead 3-2 and setting off a deafening celebration.

But the Blackhawks pressed for a tying goal, and got it when Keith beat Quick with 8:26 left. With the crowd hushed again, Kane dangled and scored the winner.

Kane is a familiar nightmare for Kings fans: He won last season's Conn Smythe Trophy largely because of his dominance against Los Angeles in the conference finals. But Kane was just one problem for Los Angeles' normally solid defence, which gave up numerous scoring chances.

"I feel like I'm a broken record here, but we've got to be sharp in our own end," Martinez said. "We weren't making plays that we normally make. We've got to be quick to contact on them. We weren't very sharp."

Crawford exchanged contact and angry words with Quick after the second-period horn. Quick was angry after Chicago agitator Andrew Shaw ran into him, and the goalies then had a brief confrontation in front of Chicago's bench. Crawford shook his glove and blocker at his waist, miming his willingness to fight Quick while a linesman separated them.

Dwight King scored an early goal for the Kings, who fell agonizingly short of their third Stanley Cup finals trip in franchise history.

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Ana Ivanovic, Petra Kvitova depart French Open

Getting her game in gear at a Grand Slam tournament, as usual, Sloane Stephens moved into the French Open's fourth round for the third consecutive time.

Now comes the 15th-seeded American's toughest test yet this year at Roland Garros, a matchup against No. 4 Simona Halep of Romania. Neither has ever made it to the quarterfinals in Paris.

"Obviously, as the tournament goes on," Stephens said, "the competition gets tougher."

She eliminated No. 22 Ekaterina Makarova of Russia 6-3, 6-4 Saturday, while Halep beat 55th-ranked Maria-Teresa Torro-Flor of Spain 6-3, 6-0 as the temperature approached 70 degrees (20 Celsius) on the sunniest afternoon of Week 1 at the clay-court major after several days of overcast skies and occasional rain.

At No. 4, Halep is the highest seeded woman left at Roland Garros, because of early losses by No. 1 Serena Williams, No. 2 Li Na and No. 3 Agnieszka Radwanska.

"That's a surprise for everyone," said Halep, the runner-up on clay at Madrid three weeks ago. "Is not easy to be the [top] seeded now, during the tournament. But I try just to keep ... the pressure (away)."

In other action Saturday, 2009 French Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova came back to beat an error-prone fifth-seeded Petra Kvitova 6-7 (3), 6-1, 9-7, while the 2008 title winner at Roland Garros, Ana Ivanovic, bowed out with a 6-3, 6-3 loss to 23rd-seeded Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic.

The 27th-seeded Kuznetsova, who also won the 2004 U.S. Open, broke at love in the final game when a 13-stroke exchange was capped by a missed forehand by Kvitova, her 65th unforced error on a day the 2011 Wimbledon champion repeatedly sought treatment from a trainer and had a bandage on her upper right leg. Kuznetsova, meanwhile, made only 20 unforced errors in the 3-hour, 13-minute match and faces Safarova next.

Tenth-seeded Sara Errani, the 2012 French Open runner-up to Maria Sharapova, made only seven unforced errors in her 6-0, 6-1 victory over 98th-ranked Julia Glushko of Israel. Errani now plays 2008 U.S. Open runner-up Jelena Jankovic, a 6-1, 6-2 winner against No. 26 Sorana Cirstea of Romania.

Eight-time men's champion Rafael Nadal faced Leonardo Mayer at Court Philippe Chatrier after Kuznetsova's victory. The Nadal-Mayer winner will face 83rd-ranked Dusan Lajovic of Serbia, who got past Jack Sock of the United States 6-4, 7-5, 6-3.

The man Nadal beat in last year's final, fifth-seeded David Ferrer, got to the fourth round by defeating No. 32 Andreas Seppi of Italy 6-2, 7-6 (2), 6-3.

Ferrer improved to 7-0 against Seppi, winning all 15 sets they've played. Ferrer, who has lost a total of 26 games through three matches this year in Paris, will face No. 19 Kevin Anderson of South Africa for a place in the quarter-finals.

Anderson advanced when Ivo Karlovic retired after one set Saturday because of a bad back.

Halep, a Romanian, was the girls' champion at Roland Garros in 2008, but she had never been past the second round of the French Open's main draw until this year.

"I hope," she said with a smile, "[it won't] be the first and the last."

She played quite cleanly against Torro-Flor, making only 11 unforced errors and saving all eight break points she faced. Halep converted 5 of 14 break points she earned.

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Hockey Night Post-Game

Video

Stanley Cup playoff highlights, analysis and player reaction

CBC Sports Posted: May 29, 2014 1:26 AM ET Last Updated: May 31, 2014 1:10 AM ET

Click the video player above and watch highlights, expert analysis and player interviews on demand as Hockey Night In Canada recaps Game 6 of the Western Conference final between the Los Angeles Kings and Chicago Blackhawks.

Watch Game 6 on demand in its entirety here.

Follow Hockey Night on Twitter @hockeynight.

Follow Rob Pizzo on Twitter @robpizzo.

Comments on this story are moderated according to our Submission Guidelines. Comments are welcome while open. We reserve the right to close comments at any time.

Submission Policy

Note: The CBC does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comments, you acknowledge that CBC has the right to reproduce, broadcast and publicize those comments or any part thereof in any manner whatsoever. Please note that comments are moderated and published according to our submission guidelines.

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Marcus Stroman to make 1st career start for Blue Jays

The starting pitchers for the Toronto Blue Jays and Kansas City Royals will both be making their first major league start as the third game of the series takes place at Rogers Centre on Saturday afternoon.

Toronto (32-24) will try to get back on track after two losses to Kansas City with top prospect Marcus Stroman (1-0, 12.79) making his first major league start. The 23-year-old was hit hard in his last two relief appearances earlier this month before being sent down, giving up nine runs and 11 hits in three innings.

The move was made to give originally scheduled starter Drew Hutchinson a couple of extra days' rest in his first year following Tommy John surgery.

"We've been trying to pick some spots, give Hutch a little breather," manager John Gibbons told the Jays' official website. "After his last start, I thought he looked a little bit tired."

Stroman lost both his starts with Buffalo after being demoted, giving up seven runs and 10 hits in nine innings.

Making his first major league start, Aaron Brooks will fill the spot of the injured Yordano Ventura and try to keep the Royals winning at Rogers Centre.

Brooks (0-0, 27.00 ERA) will be called up from Triple-A Omaha prior to the start, occupying the slot of Ventura, who had been wowing observers by hitting triple digits on the radar gun and posting a 3.45 ERA with 59 strikeouts in 57 1-3 innings, despite a 2-5 record. He's being skipped as a precautionary measure after leaving his last start with elbow pain, though an MRI taken afterward showed nothing out of the ordinary.

The 24-year-old Brooks made his major league debut in relief against Detroit on May 3, giving up six runs - all in his second inning of work - in a 9-2 defeat. After being sent back to the Storm Chasers, the right-hander went 4-0 in as many starts with a 2.05 ERA. He struck out only 16 in 26 1-3 innings.

"He's been throwing good. He's a kid that's not afraid. Throws strikes, commands the ball. A simple decision," manager Ned Yost told the Royals' official website. "That's who they recommended, we had a lot of people there watching."

Yost can only hope Brooks was watching Jason Vargas, who allowed a solo home run to Jose Bautista and six other hits in six innings of Friday's 6-1 victory. Lorenzo Cain and Alex Gordon homered for the Royals (26-28).

The home runs represented a rare power surge for Kansas City, which has a major league-low 24. By comparison, Blue Jays first baseman Edwin Encarnacion - whom the Royals walked three times Friday - has 16 this month and 18 overall.

''This is more of the offence that we envisioned coming out of spring training,'' Yost said. ''We're not going to be a club that's going to lead the league in home runs but we've got home-run power that we haven't used.''

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IOC down to 3 bids for hosting 2022 Olympics

The Olympics have weathered world wars, boycotts and corruption scandals. These days, the IOC has a new crisis on its hands: Finding cities willing to host the games.

The troubled race for the 2022 Winter Olympics is a case in point. High costs and internal political opposition prevented several potential contenders not to bid. Two candidate cities withdrew and two others could still drop out.

The way things are going, the winner could be decided next year by default. Take the games, please.

"I have not seen anything like this before," senior Norwegian IOC member Gerhard Heiberg said. "This is urgent. We need to sit down and discuss what is going on. We are at a crossroads here."

'We have an image problem. People in Norway say we love the games but we hate the IOC.'- IOC member Gerhrd Heiberg on potential Oslo bid

It's a challenge the International Olympic Committee and new President Thomas Bach need to resolve quickly to ensure the long-term viability of the world's most prized sports event.

Changes to the bidding process and efforts to reduce the cost of the games are among the key issues being addressed by the IOC as part of Bach's "Agenda 2020," his blueprint for the future of the Olympic movement that will be voted on in December.

Watching closely are countries and cities considering whether to bid for the even bigger and more expensive Summer Olympics of 2024.

The financial burden is worrying potential host cities. Specifically, the $51 billion price tag associated with February's Winter Olympics in Sochi. Olympic officials say most of that huge sum went to long-term projects and that the operations costs of the Olympics were no higher than previous games.

No matter. The public perception is that the games cost too much.

Concerns over Rio de Janeiro's delayed preparations for the 2016 Olympics have further dampened enthusiasm for hosting the games.

The Olympics continue to succeed as a spectacle, with huge audiences on television and online. But the field for 2022 has taken one hit after the other.

Munich and St. Moritz-Davos withdrew planned bids when voters in Germany and Switzerland voted 'no' in referendums. Stockholm, one of the five declared candidates, pulled out in December after the city government declined to offer financial backing. On Monday, the Polish city of Krakow dropped out after 70 per cent of voters rejected the bid in a referendum.

That leaves four cities in contention for now: Almaty, Kazakhstan; Beijing; Lviv, Ukraine; and Oslo, Norway.

The bid from Lviv has been on hold because of the turmoil in Ukraine.

It's possible only three bids will still be in play when the IOC executive board meets in Lausanne, Switzerland, from July 7-9 to decide which cities go to the final stage. Rather than cut the field, the board would likely keep the remaining three. The host city will be selected by the full IOC in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on July 31, 2015.

Most worrying for the IOC is the uncertain status of the Oslo bid. Polls show 60 per cent of Norwegians are opposed. One of the two parties in the governing coalition came out against the bid earlier this month. The government won't decide until the autumn whether to provide the required financial guarantees.

"We have an image problem," Heiberg said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. "People in Norway say we love the games but we hate the IOC."

Oslo, which hosted the 1952 Winter Olympics, would have been the natural favourite. Norway lives and breathes winter sports and its athletes have won the most medals at the Winter Games. The 1994 Winter Games in Lillehammer, Norway, are widely described as the best ever.

"If there is a referendum today, the 'no' side will win by a large margin," said Heiberg, who organized the Lillehammer Games. "But this could change. We have time."

Amid all the instability, Almaty and Beijing stand as the most solid bids.

Beijing, which hosted the 2008 Olympics, is bidding to become the first city to host both the summer and winter games, with Alpine events in Zhangjiakou. Almaty, the commercial capital of the former Soviet republic of Kazakhstan in Central Asia, hosted the 2011 Asian Games and will host the Winter University Games in 2017. It looks like the current favourite.

Has the situation reached the stage where the Olympics can only be held in non-democratic countries where money is no object? No public referendums are being held in Beijing or Almaty. Kazakhstan has been ruled by the same leader since 1989. Both countries have been criticized for their human rights records.

"I see a problem in Western Europe," Heiberg said. "We have to accept the fact that we are not attractive to Western European countries. People think the games have become gigantic, the investments are too heavy."

The current crisis centres primarily on Winter Games, which also face concerns over whether rising temperatures will prevent countries from holding the event in future decades. But the attention will soon shift to the race for a bigger prize: the 2024 Summer Games.

The U.S., which hasn't hosted the Summer Games since Atlanta in 1996, is weighing another bid after failed campaigns by New York (2012) and Chicago (2016). The USOC is expected to decide whether to put a city forward by the end of the year.

Still in the mix are Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, Washington, Dallas and San Diego.

Paris, Rome and a city from Germany are potential contenders from Europe. Other possible bidders include Doha, Qatar; Istanbul, Turkey, and a city in South Africa.

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Stanley Cup final: Hockey Night in Canada schedule

While the matchup is yet to be determined, the dates for this year's Stanley Cup final have been confirmed by the National Hockey League.

CBC's Hockey Night in Canada, which will broadcast the entire final, starts its coverage with Game 1 on Wednesday, June 4.

The New York Rangers, who defeated the Montreal Canadiens for the Eastern Conference title, will open on the road against either the Los Angeles Kings or the Chicago Blackhawks.

The Kings hold a 3-2 lead in the Western final against the defending Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks, with Game 6 in Los Angeles on Friday night (CBC, CBCSports.ca, 8:30 p.m. ET). 

All games will be broadcast live on CBC Television and streamed online at CBCSports.ca.

Here's the Stanley Cup final schedule, with starting times yet to be determined.

GAME	TEAMS	DATE
1	Rangers at Blackhawks/Kings	Wed., June 4
2	Rangers at Blackhawks/Kings	Sat., June 7
3	Blackhawks/Kings at Rangers	Mon., June 9
4	Blackhawks/Kings at Rangers	Wed., June 11
5*	Rangers at Blackhawks/Kings	Friday, June 13
6*	Blackhawks/Kings at Rangers	Mon., June 16
7*	Rangers at Blackhawks/Kings	Wed., June 18

*if necessary

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Rangers to play for Stanley Cup after eliminating Canadiens

Henrik Lundqvist was perfect on a night he needed to be.

After one of the toughest games of his career, the New York goalie bounced back with a performance that put the Rangers in the Stanley Cup finals.

Lundqvist wasn't overly busy in stopping all 18 shots that came his way, but there was no margin for error as Dominic Moore's second-period goal was the only offense in New York's 1-0 victory over the Montreal Canadiens in Game 6 on Thursday night.

The Rangers, who spent parts of the season as a question mark to make the playoffs, are in the finals for the first time since winning the title 20 years ago.

"We played so well the entire game," Lundqvist said. "For me it was more about just being focused on the shots they had."

Lundqvist and the Rangers shook off a 7-4 loss on Tuesday night in Montreal when they had their first chance to end the Eastern Conference finals.

Lundqvist quickly grew tired of the questions about that poor night, when he was yanked after allowing four goals in less than two periods. Now he is in the finals for the first time in his nine-year career.

"It's been tough," Lundqvist said. "You have so many highs. You have a few lows where you're questioning a lot of things, but then you just have to make up your mind, you can't have any excuses. I don't think I've been more determined to win a hockey game. To put ourselves in a spot where we can play for the Cup is extremely special."

Lundqvist leaped several times in his crease with his hands raised as streamers were fired off from the rafters at the final buzzer.

"It was just such a great feeling to see how we responded from the last game," Lundqvist said. "The third period, I think we played our best period of the playoffs. When it mattered the most, the guys really stepped up."

Lundqvist tied the team record for playoff shutouts with nine.

The Rangers are the first team to advance to the finals after being stretched to seven games in the first two rounds. To celebrate, the Empire State Building was immediately lit up in the team's red, white and blue.

Blueshirts yield to superstition

The Rangers don't have a captain, so assistants Brad Richards, Dan Girardi and Marc Staal, were called to accept the Prince of Wales Trophy but didn't touch it. The whole team joined them and posed for a photo while the Garden rocked with yells of "We Want The Cup!"

The Stanley Cup finals will begin Wednesday at either Chicago or Los Angeles, which leads the Western finals 3-2.

"It's something you feel good (about), but you have to keep in the back of your mind that this isn't the ultimate goal," Richards said. "It's an amazing achievement to be able to play for the Cup."

Montreal's Dustin Tokarski, who replaced injured No. 1 goalie Carey Price after Game 1, was solid in making 31 saves.

"It's pretty tough to have this opportunity to be a couple wins away from the Stanley Cup finals," Tokarski said. "I know it's going to be hard to come by again, but it was a heck of a series."

Montreal made one final push after Tokarski was pulled for an extra skater with 1:53 left. Lundqvist held off the Canadiens as fans chanted "Hen-rik! Hen-rik!"

The Rangers broke the deadlock late in the second period after some good grinding work in the left corner by rugged forward Derek Dorsett. The puck came free to defenseman Ryan McDonagh, who sent it behind the net to Brian Boyle in the right corner. Boyle spotted Moore alone in the crease and fed a crisp pass for a hard shot that got through Tokarski with 1:53 left.

Moore punctuated his third goal of the playoffs with an emphatic fist pump and yell.

"Like any player on the team, you want to do your job," said Moore, who had six goals in the regular season. "In big games like this, every little bit counts."

Montreal came right back and drew its second power play of the night when Richards was forced to hook Thomas Vanek as the struggling forward was making a strong drive in front from behind the net with 12.9 seconds remaining in the period.

'It's not what we wanted'

The Canadiens failed on their two power plays and finished 2 for 23 in the series. Montreal had only five shots in both the first and third periods.

"It's not what we wanted," Canadiens defenceman P.K. Subban said about the series. "Today they were opportunists. They scored a big goal and they really committed themselves to shutting it down after that."

Tokarski kept his club in it early in the third when the Rangers pushed for an insurance goal. Tokarski did splits and lunges to deny Derick Brassard on the doorstep after New York moved the puck out from behind the net.

Vanek nearly gave the Canadiens the lead with 4:45 to go in the second when he put a shot on net while Montreal had a mini 2-on-0 in front. Lundqvist made a desperate rolling move onto his back and got a piece of the puck with a swipe of his blocker, deflecting it away from the top of the net.

Montreal got back forward Brandon Prust after he served a two-game suspension for a late hit in Game 3 that broke Derek Stepan's jaw. Montreal's Dale Weise sat out two nights after he was wobbled by a hit to the head from John Moore that cost the Rangers' defenceman a two-game suspension that will carry into the Cup finals opener.

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Hockey Night Post-Game

Video

Stanley Cup playoff highlights, analysis and player reaction

CBC Sports Posted: May 29, 2014 1:26 AM ET Last Updated: May 30, 2014 12:26 AM ET

Click the video player above and watch highlights, expert analysis and player interviews on demand as Hockey Night In Canada recaps Game 6 of the Eastern Conference final between the New York Rangers and Montreal Canadiens.

Watch Game 6 on demand in its entirety here.

Follow Hockey Night on Twitter @hockeynight.

Follow Rob Pizzo on Twitter @robpizzo.

Comments on this story are moderated according to our Submission Guidelines. Comments are welcome while open. We reserve the right to close comments at any time.

Submission Policy

Note: The CBC does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comments, you acknowledge that CBC has the right to reproduce, broadcast and publicize those comments or any part thereof in any manner whatsoever. Please note that comments are moderated and published according to our submission guidelines.

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Blue Jays' win streak ends after Reyes error

Like he's done all month, Edwin Encarnacion did his part to put the Toronto offence in position for a victory.

It was the defence that came up short Thursday night and it proved costly in an 8-6 home loss to the Kansas City Royals.

With two outs in the ninth inning, Toronto shortstop Jose Reyes had a chance to seal the win on a routine ground ball. However, his throw was low and pinch-runner Jarrod Dyson came around from second base to tie the game.

The Royals scored two more runs in the 10th inning to end Toronto's season-high nine-game winning streak.

"There's no excuse," Reyes said. "I should make a better throw there. That's a routine ground ball, I got it perfect. I just didn't have enough on the throw."

Omar Infante drove in a pair of runs off Toronto reliever Todd Redmond (0-4) in the 10th inning as Kansas City (25-28) ended its four-game losing skid. Greg Holland got the last three outs for his 15th save.

"Well you don't expect to lose one like that," said Blue Jays manager John Gibbons. "But you know what, we've been playing some good baseball. The key is just to come back out and play a good clean game tomorrow."

Encarnacion continued his phenomenal play this month by launching two no-doubt homers to give him 18 on the season and a team record 16 for the month.

"To watch what he's been doing this month, I don't know where it goes down in history but it's pretty historic in my mind anyway," Gibbons said.

Jose Bautista also homered for the Blue Jays, who had their seven-game home winning streak come to an end.

Encarnacion is now one away from tying Barry Bonds' major-league record for most homers in the month of May. Bonds hit 17 with San Francisco in May 2001.

The Toronto slugger also has five multi-homer games this month, which ties the major-league record for any month currently shared by Albert Belle (September 1995) and Harmon Killebrew (May 1959).

Blue Jays starter R.A. Dickey pitched to two batters in the sixth inning before being pulled. He said the team will focus on its positive play over the last few weeks.

"Jose makes that play 99 out of 100 times, it was just a real fluke thing," Dickey said. "But we can't second-guess things the way that we've been playing and the way we've been pitching and hitting. I mean, Edwin — what can you say?

"I mean it's been fun to watch and to be on a team where so many things are going well and I think it'll continue tomorrow. I think this was just kind of a mild hiccup."

The American League East-leading Blue Jays fell to 32-23 with the loss.

Kansas City starter James Shields worked seven innings and reliever Wade Davis (4-1) pitched two innings for the win. The Royals left 11 batters on base but outhit Toronto 14-9.

"I was really pleased with the way we swung the bats tonight," said manager Ned Yost. "We were driving balls. We just had some great at-bats."

Salvador Perez hit his fifth homer of the season for the Royals in the second inning and Kansas City added three runs in the fifth.

The Royals also loaded the bases with two outs in the seventh inning but Aaron Loup got out of the jam by striking out Alcides Escobar on three pitches.

Closer Casey Janssen, who was looking to pick up his ninth save, recorded the first two outs in the ninth before Alex Gordon's single. He was replaced by Dyson, who stole second.

"We were facing a hot team that had swept their last three teams," Dyson said. "I thought we did a great job to come over here and kind of break that up a little bit and get going."

In the 10th, Redmond gave up a single to Escobar to open the inning and Pedro Ciriaco reached when he was beaned while squaring up to bunt. Nori Aoki advanced the runners with a sacrifice bunt.

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Rangers say goalie Henrik Lundqvist will rebound in Game 6

It was a new day for Henrik Lundqvist, and the Rangers were looking forward rather than backwards.

New York coach Alain Vigneault was anything but worried about his star goalie Wednesday, just hours after giving him the hook at 8:58 of the second period in the wake of four goals on 18 shots in what turned into a 7-4 loss to the Canadiens in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference final at the Bell Centre.

"I just gave him a quick pat after the game, but Henrik doesn't need to hear anything from me," Vigneault said at a morning availability in Montreal before returning to New York. "He's a veteran player. One of the best in his area, and I'm sure he's going to be focused and ready for the next game."

Vigneault, whose team rallied from 4-1 down to tie it at 4-4 before Montreal pulled away, discouraged further questions on the issue.

"Don't worry about it. It's over with. Move on," he said when asked if he had ever put a goalie back in after pulling him.

Game 6 goes Thursday night at Madison Square Garden. The Rangers lead Montreal three games to two.

Lundqvist was not made available on the off-day. But those teammates who did meet the media — all three alternate captains —were equally unconcerned about their goalie.

Forward Brad Richards said he expects Lundqvist to bounce back from the Game 5 letdown.

"I think you guys all see how competitive he is, and that's not going to sit well," he said. "Even when he plays good, he's focused. I would imagine we're going to see one of his better performances, especially going back to his crowd and wanting to rebound from that. It's not something we'll have to worry about. We always know he'll regroup."

Added defenceman Marc Staal: "Yeah, he'll be fine. It's the last concern of anyone on our team."

Lundqvist came into Game 5 with a .931 save percentage in the playoffs. That was reduced to .926 Tuesday night.

Lundqvist's play was prominent in the New York tabloids.

"King Sized Loss," was the New York Post back-page headline. "Yank Lundqvist," was the Daily News headline.

Defenceman Dan Girardi said none of the Rangers liked seeing Lundqvist exit early.

"Obviously, you don't want to see that in any game, let alone a playoff game," he said. "We didn't give him too much help, and obviously A.V. (Alain Vigneault) felt that was the right move just to get him out of the game. We didn't feel great about that, but we couldn't just sit there and mope around about it.

"We had to do something about it. We did. We came back and tied it."

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Rangers hope to end Habs' season at Madison Square Garden

The last time the New York Rangers had a game to forget, they responded with five straight wins that put them on the cusp of the Stanley Cup finals.

They are still there, and the Montreal Canadiens aren't going away without a fight.

New York needs one more victory to reach the championship round for the first time in 20 years. The Rangers know that Game 6 at home on Thursday is their best chance to get it.

They returned home from Montreal on Wednesday, one day after a wild 7-4 loss cut their series lead to 3-2. If New York doesn't end it Thursday, the Rangers will have to go back to Montreal for a deciding Game 7.

New York, which went the full seven games in each of the first two rounds of this year's playoffs, will be playing its 20th post-season game. No team that played a pair of seven-game series before the conference finals has reached the Stanley Cup finals.

"It's an opportunity to win the game to go to the Stanley Cup final," Rangers forward Brad Richards said. "I think everybody is alert and ready that way. We were talking about it all [Tuesday] how excited we were to get on the ice and start playing.

"We had some mental breakdowns, but I don't think it had anything to do with [fatigue]. We've had a lot of rest this series. The opportunity that faces us right now, we're pretty excited about it. I don't think there is too much letdown."

In the second round, a poor performance at home in Game 4 against Pittsburgh dropped the Rangers into a 3-1 series hole. But New York won Game 5 on the road, took Game 6 at home, and won the clincher back in Pittsburgh to set up the matchup with Montreal.

Now that the Canadiens have staved off elimination once, the Rangers are wary of giving them any more hope they can turn the tables.

"You learn a lot from it. That's why experience is experience," Richards said. "You go through many situations. [Tuesday] night was a bad feeling, but today we're getting on a plane to go back to our city, and we get to play in front of our fans.

"It's always, forget as quick as possible and try to remember the good things that we're doing. It was one bad night, but we've been doing a lot of good things in this series."

The Rangers won the opening two games in Montreal and then split a pair of overtime decisions at home. Even though they have had success on the road and in recent Game 7s, they know that going the distance again works against them.

"It's a desperate time," Richards said. "You don't want to go back to a Game 7 where anything can happen. We want to get this done. They're a good team anywhere.

"We're going to have to be a lot better, and we will be."

This is as far as New York has advanced since captain Mark Messier led the club to the 1994 Stanley Cup title — breaking the Rangers' 54-year drought.

The Garden will be ready to celebrate again Thursday. After the Rangers lost Game 4 to Pittsburgh, the loyal fans thought they might not see their team again until next season. That will be the situation again if the Canadiens pull off another victory.

"You win a game, and things change in your locker room and you start feeling better about yourselves," Rangers defenceman Marc Staal said. "We know how it feels coming back in a series, but it doesn't change anything in our room. We are as confident as ever going into our building, and looking forward to it."

So are the Canadiens.

They know that if they would've scored in overtime of Game 4 as they did in Game 3, they would've had a two-game sweep at the Garden and would be the ones looking to advance Thursday.

"We'll be ready for one of those tight-checking games," defenceman Josh Gorges said Wednesday after an optional practice in Montreal. "I'm sure it will be again one of those hard-fought games that we'll have to make sure that we're even better than we were last game."

Montreal will have rugged forward Brandon Prust back in the lineup after he served a two-game suspension for a late hit on Derek Stepan in Game 3 that broke the Rangers forward's jaw. Stepan returned Tuesday and scored two goals while wearing a full face-guard.

The Rangers will be without defenceman John Moore. He was suspended for two games Wednesday after receiving a match penalty Tuesday night for a hit to Montreal forward Dale Weise's head.

Henrik Lundqvist will be back in goal for the Rangers after he was pulled in Game 5 on a rare off night in which he allowed four goals on 19 shots in less than two periods. He avoided the loss when New York rallied from a 4-1 deficit to get even. Backup goalie Cam Talbot gave up two goals in relief.

"[Tuesday] night was probably the best game we've played in this series," Canadiens forward Lars Eller said. "If we keep doing a lot of those things, I think the end result will be good."

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Blue Jays win 9th straight on Gose's walk-off bunt

The Toronto Blue Jays have used their big bats to power their way to victories over their nine-game winning streak.

On Wednesday night, they showed that stellar defence and a little small ball can get the job done too.

With pinch-runner Kevin Pillar aboard after Dioner Navarro opened the bottom of the ninth with a single, Anthony Gose dropped down an excellent bunt along the first-base line. Reliever Juan Carlos Oviedo threw wide to first and Pillar came all the way around to score to give the Blue Jays a 3-2 victory over Tampa Bay and their first walk-off win of the season.

"It's not every day you're going to come out and score 10 runs," said Toronto infielder Steve Tolleson. "Sometimes, you have to fight tooth and nail to win.

"The guys today really showed that and that's why we pulled through."

Toronto opened the series with a 10-5 win and followed with a 9-6 victory a night later. On Wednesday, in what was likely the Blue Jays' finest defensive effort of the year, Toronto stifled Tampa Bay all over the diamond.

After both teams scored a pair of early runs, Gose made an all-world catch against the centre-field wall in the third inning to keep the game tied.

In the sixth, Melky Cabrera offered a highlight-reel moment of his own with a great leaping grab against the wall in left field. Brett Lawrie of Langley, B.C., and Edwin Encarnacion got into the act too later in the frame.

James Loney hit a hard chopper that the Canadian sprawled to retrieve in shallow right field. Encarnacion dived to snag the throw to first and managed to keep his foot on the bag for the out.

In the eighth, it was Toronto third baseman Juan Francisco's turn.

He made a great diving snag off the bat of leadoff hitter David DeJesus and an inning later, Lawrie was at it again by barehanding a slow chopper on the fly and whipping it to first base in time.

"It was just one of those days that we just refused to lose," Tolleson said.

'Good things happened'

On the winning play, Pillar broke for third when he saw the ball roll down the left-field line and third-base coach Luis Rivera made a gutsy decision to send him home with nobody out.

"I wanted to score," Pillar said. "When I saw the ball go by, I mean Luis is aggressive over there.

"I mean, worst-case scenario, Gose is probably standing at third base with one out. He made a good call there."

The speedy Gose has been showing consistency with his bunting ability this season and it paid off.

"I got it down tonight," he said. "I just tried to move the runner and good things happened."

Toronto starter Liam Hendriks and Tampa Bay starter Chris Archer both gave up two earned runs over six innings. Blue Jays left-hander Rob Rasmussen came on for the seventh and Matt Joyce greeted him with a ground-rule double.

Toronto manager John Gibbons quickly went to the bullpen for Dustin McGowan, who gave up just one walk over two scoreless innings. Aaron Loup (2-1) worked the ninth as Toronto (32-22) completed the three-game sweep.

Encarnacion, who has tied a club record with 14 homers this month, drove in a pair of runs with a first-inning single. Jose Reyes opened the game with a single and moved to third on a single by Jose Bautista before Encarnacion cashed them in.

The Rays tied it in the second inning. Joyce doubled and scored when Wil Myers followed with a two-run shot, his fifth homer of the season.

'A huge win'

Tampa Bay (23-31) entered the series on a four-game winning streak. The three straight losses have sent the Rays into the division basement.

"It's been pretty much how the season has gone to this point, but we're going to change it," said Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon. "All these weird awkward breaks, we're just not catching them."

Toronto, meanwhile, has won 15 of its last 17 games and 19 of 24 overall. It's the Blue Jays' longest winning streak since an 11-gamer last June.

"I think that's a pretty exciting win I think all around for the team," Gose said. "Three straight sweeps and a sweep of another AL East opponent in the Rays, who we've had trouble with over the last couple years.

"It was a huge win."

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Blackhawks beat Kings in 2 OT, force Game 6

Michal Handzus is every day of 37 years old and 15 seasons in the NHL. He knows he's near the end of his career. He knows he's slower than most of his Chicago teammates.

He also knows how to finish a play in a big spot.

Handzus scored at 2:04 of the second overtime, and the Blackhawks beat the Los Angeles Kings 5-4 in Game 5 on Wednesday night to stay alive in the Western Conference final.

Brandon Saad made a nice pass to the middle, and the oldest player on the ice beat goaltender Jonathan Quick with a backhander for his second goal of the playoffs. The Slovak centre celebrated by pounding the boards behind the net as the sellout crowd of 21,871 roared.

"Saad, two guys went on him and I got open," Handzus said. "I was surprised I got open like that but he waited and waited and gave me a great pass."

Handzus has been all over Chicago's lines all season long as the Blackhawks searched for a second-line centre behind captain Jonathan Toews. His biggest value right now is on the penalty kill, but it was his offence that kept alive Chicago's title defence.

"I want to help the team as much as I can," Handzus said. "I'm playing on the PK a lot. I'm not playing very well offensively. I'm glad I came through."

Kane helps halt losing streak

Saad had a goal and two assists to help Chicago stop a three-game losing streak. Brent Seabrook, Johnny Oduya and Ben Smith also scored, and Patrick Kane set a playoff career high with four assists.

"Personally, I thought Saader was the best player on the ice tonight," Kane said. "He was bringing so much speed and puck protection."

Game 6 is Friday night in Los Angeles (8:30 p.m. ET, CBC, CBCSports.ca).

"We go home and we come out with a better effort," Kings defenceman Jake Muzzin said. "We've got some experience and veterans in here who know what it takes to stop it."

Marian Gaborik and Dustin Brown each had a goal and an assist, and Jarret Stoll and Tanner Pearson also scored for the Kings, who led 4-3 after two periods. It was Gaborik's NHL-best 11th playoff goal.

Quick and Chicago's Corey Crawford each stopped 40 shots.

Los Angeles was in position to advance to its second Stanley Cup final in three years before Smith drove to the net and swept in a rebound 1:17 into the third. Smith's third goal of the playoffs set the stage for a frantic finish as both sides pushed for the winning score.

"It's not easy," Kings forward Justin Williams said. "Attaining your ultimate goal is never easy and we're going to do our best to get it done."

Quick made a solid stop on Marian Hossa in overtime, and the loose puck was swept away by the Kings. Los Angeles star Anze Kopitar had a chance to win it about 9 minutes into the first overtime but his shot went off the side of the net.

'Greatest overtime I've ever seen'

Crawford had a kick save on Stoll in the first OT after Toews turned it over in the Blackhawks' zone.

"Overtime, I've seen a lot of games, been involved in a lot of games," said Chicago coach Joel Quenneville, a former NHL defenceman. "That might have been the greatest overtime I've seen."

Back at home for Game 5 after a disastrous stay in Los Angeles, the Blackhawks put together a terrific start. But the Kings weathered the storm and then stepped up their attack in the last part of the first period.

Seabrook, Oduya and Saad helped the Blackhawks to a 3-1 lead just 11:06 into the game. Chicago's second line of Saad, Andrew Shaw and Kane was a headache for Los Angeles all night long, creating numerous high-quality scoring chances.

But the Kings grabbed the momentum back with a terrific sequence with 7 minutes left in the first. Quick made a great stop on Toews, and Kopitar set up Gaborik at the other end to get the Kings within one.

It was reminiscent of Game 2, when Quick denied Seabrook on a 2-on-1 and the Kings went on to score six straight goals in a 6-2 victory.

This time around, Brown had a nice rebound goal after Crawford made a great save on Gaborik, and Pearson made it 4-3 with a wrist shot from the right circle at 13:08 of second. Pearson deftly used Blackhawks defenceman Niklas Hjalmarsson as a screen on his fourth goal of the playoffs.

Quick also had an outstanding save on Saad from inside the goal early in the second.

Pearson's goal stunned the crowd, but it woke up again when Saad's perfectly timed shot set up Smith's tying score. Saad had a plus-4 rating in almost 24 minutes of ice time in one of the best games of his young career.

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Hockey Night Post-Game

Video

Stanley Cup playoff highlights, analysis and player reaction

CBC Sports Posted: May 29, 2014 1:26 AM ET Last Updated: May 29, 2014 1:26 AM ET

Click the video player above and watch highlights, expert analysis and player interviews on demand as Hockey Night In Canada recaps Game 5 of the Western Conference final between the Chicago Blackhawks and Los Angeles Kings. 

Watch Game 5 on demand in its entirety here.

Follow Hockey Night on Twitter @hockeynight.

Follow Rob Pizzo on Twitter @robpizzo.

Comments on this story are moderated according to our Submission Guidelines. Comments are welcome while open. We reserve the right to close comments at any time.

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Blue Jays outslug Rays for 8th straight win

Another blast by Edwin Encarnacion helped make Mark Buehrle the first nine-game winner in baseball.

Buehrle won his season-best fifth straight decision, Encarnacion and Adam Lind hit back-to-back home runs and the Toronto Blue Jays extended their winning streak to eight games, beating the Tampa Bay Rays 9-6 on Tuesday night.

"Everybody's having fun," Encarnacion said. "You can see it on their faces. We're playing great baseball."

Juan Francisco also homered for the AL East-leading Blue Jays, who have won 13 of 15 and are 19-7 in May.

Buehrle said he's grateful to have Encarnacion's booming bat supporting him.

"He's everything you could ask for," Buehrle said. "Offensively and defensively, he's awesome."

Encarnacion connected for the 14th time in May, matching Jose Bautista's team record for home runs in a month. Bautista hit 14 homers in June 2012.

"Eddie's on some kind of roll right now," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said.

Encarnacion has homered in three straight games for the third time this season.

The Blue Jays lead the majors with 76 home runs. They have gone deep in 10 straight games and 29 of their past 34, hitting 58 homers in that span.

Buehrle (9-1) allowed four runs, three earned, and eight hits in 6 2-3 innings. The left-hander walked one and struck out three.

Casey Janssen finished for his eighth save in as many chances.

Sean Rodriguez had three RBIs for the Rays, who lost their second straight following a season-best four-game winning streak. Rays manager Joe Maddon said he's just hoping to get out of Toronto without being swept.

"Taking one out of three right now sounds very enticing," Maddon said.

Lind and Encarnacion both connected off Rays right-hander Alex Cobb, who lost for the first time since April 1 and saw his streak of 24 2-3 scoreless innings snapped.

Cobb (1-2) allowed season-worsts of six runs and nine hits in five innings. He walked one and struck out seven.

The Rays gave Cobb the lead in the fourth on an RBI double by Rodriguez and an RBI grounder by Will Myers, but the right-hander couldn't hold it. Brett Lawrie and Dioner Navarro hit two-out RBI singles in the bottom half to tie the game and snap Cobb's scoreless streak. Cobb had not allowed an earned run since his first start, April 1 against Toronto.

Jose Reyes began the fifth with a line drive that struck Cobb on the right thigh, knocking him to the ground. Cobb appeared shaken up, but stayed in the game after a few warmup pitches.

"The first couple of warmup pitches the leg was still a little bit dead," Cobb said. "Honestly, by the third or fourth pitch, going back into game mode, it wasn't a factor. It was something I felt was out of my mind."

Last June, Cobb was hit in the head by a line drive off the bat of Kansas City's Eric Hosmer and wound up in hospital. He didn't return until mid-August.

Cobb said that incident "didn't even cross my mind while I was out there."

Things unraveled quickly for Cobb after the scare. Reyes went to second on a grounder and scored on Bautista's single. Lind hit an opposite field home run and, two pitches later, Encarnacion drilled a towering homer into the third deck, his 16th, tying him with Baltimore's Nelson Cruz for most in the majors.

"He was carving us up pretty good early until he got hit," Gibbons said of Cobb.

Rodriguez hit a sacrifice fly in the sixth but Toronto added two more in the bottom half on an RBI single by Melky Cabrera and a bases-loaded balk by reliever Brad Boxberger.

The Rays chased Buehrle in the seventh when James Loney doubled and scored on Matt Joyce's RBI grounder.

Francisco replied in the bottom half with a leadoff homer off Josh Lueke.

Rodriguez tripled home a run off Steve Delabar in the eighth and scored on Myers' sacrifice fly.

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Did You See That? John Moore hits Dale Weise

Video

NHL summons New York Rangers defenceman for hearing

CBC Sports Posted: May 28, 2014 1:52 AM ET Last Updated: May 28, 2014 1:52 AM ET

Click the video player above to watch John Moore of the New York Rangers deliver a questionable hit to Dale Weise in a 7-4 loss to the Montreal Canadiens late in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference final. 

The NHL department of player safety tweeted shortly after the game that "Rangers defenseman John Moore will have a hearing Wednesday for an Illegal Check to the Head of Montreal forward Dale Weise."

Listen to post-game reaction to Moore's hit here. 

Follow Hockey Night on Twitter @hockeynight.

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Rene Bourque nets hat trick as Canadiens extend series

The Montreal Canadiens are not ready to concede the NHL Eastern Conference to the New York Rangers just yet.

Rene Bourque scored three goals and the Canadiens chased star goalie Henrik Lundqvist from the game as they defeated the Rangers 7-4 on Tuesday to stave off elimination.

The Rangers, who lead the best-of-seven series 3-2, will have another chance to book a trip to the Stanley Cup final in Game 6 on Thursday night in New York.

"I think you're starting to see us playing Montreal Canadiens hockey," said Montreal forward Max Pacioretty. "I don't think you've really seen it in this series just yet.

"It was great to see a little taste of it. I think we still have more. I think we still have little things to work on. And it should be a fun one going back there."

Alex Galchenyuk, Tomas Plekanec and Pacioretty also scored for Montreal, which outshot the Rangers 28-27.

Derek Stepan, playing with a guard on his helmet to protect a broken jaw suffered from a Brandon Prust hit in Game 3, returned to the lineup to score twice for the Rangers. Chris Kreider had a goal and three assists and Rick Nash also scored.

"It was just a strange game," said Rangers coach Alain Vigneault. "It was a different game from what we've seen so far in the series, but now we're going home."

It was the third time in these playoffs that the Canadiens have faced elimination and, as they did after falling behind 3-2 to Boston in the conference semifinals, they came up with their best hockey to stay alive.

Pacioretty feels that being under the gun helps his team focus.

"There's a lot of distractions and noise in this city and I think that when we let it affect us and we don't worry about ourselves and what we can control we get away from our game a bit," he said. "Now that we're in desperation mode and our backs are against the wall, we're just worrying about what we can control.

"When we get four lines buzzing like that and play the way we're capable of we have a lot of success. Hopefully we can do that next game."

The Rangers weren't facing the same desperation and spent the game trying to play catch-up. Going only 1-for-7 on the power play didn't help.

Neither did getting an ordinary game from the often extraordinary Lundqvist.

He let in four goals on only 18 shots before he was pulled at 8:58 of the second frame in favour of Cam Talbot.

"I pulled him because I thought at that time we needed a little momentum shift, and I thought it might catch everybody's attention," said Vigneault. "It did for a while. Obviously it didn't work out."

Montreal's Dustin Tokarski, starting a fourth game since Carey Price was injured in the series opener, allowed four on his first 14 shots, but then made some big saves in the third to preserve the win.

It prompted a bold observation from Bourque.

"Everybody talks about how (Lundqvist) is a great goalie: Has he been better than (Tokarski) this series?" asked Bourque. "I don't think so.

"(Tokarski) made some big saves for us too. We had a couple bad bounces but our power play was the difference. We got some traction, got a couple goals in tight."

Bourque's second goal proved to be the winner and came just after the Rangers came back to tie the game at 4-4 in the second period.

"Everybody was ready for this game," said Bourque. "We knew the situation.

"It was just a see-saw battle back and forth. (Dale) Weise made a great play to me. I called for the puck and somehow it got through. It was nice to get in there."

Bourque has been an entirely different player in the post-season than he was while scoring only nine goals in 63 games in the regular season, when he found himself a healthy scratch late in the campaign for the first time in his career.

"It's easy to sit back and get down on yourself after giving up that lead, but coming out right away and putting that in the top corner, that's the difference in the game," said Pacioretty. "It was a huge boost for us."

'It was a late hit'

At 10:41 of the third, Rangers defenceman John Moore was given a major penalty and was ejected for a blindside, open ice hit on Dale Weise that was almost identical to Prust's hit on Stepan. Weise was wobbly when he got up and went for treatment, but returned to the bench late in the period.

The NHL player safety department announced that Moore will have a hearing on Wednesday to see if further discipline is in order.

"The league will do what it has to do," Vigneault said of the hit. "John is not the type of person who would try to hurt someone, but it was a late hit."

There was no mention of Bourque, who took a slashing major at the end of the game.

It was a night of strange bounces and spotty goaltending, even if New York's best chance of the game saw Carl Hagelin's shot stopped by the end of Tokarski's stick midway through the first period.

The Rangers did a good job of cancelling the initial rush Montreal gets from its pre-game buildup in winning the opening two games of the series, but Ginette Reno's O Canada worked to plan this time.

Only 22 seconds in, Kreider was sent off for tripping and the Canadiens converted when Galchenyuk tipped in P.K. Subban's point shot from the edge of the crease at 1:48.

Stepan made it 1-1 at 10:44 of the first on a 30-foot shot off a rush that fooled Tokarski. Plekanec restored the lead with a similar goal at 12:24 as he swiped the puck between two defenders and saw it beat Lundqvist.

'I wasn't really worried'

The second period was a festival of goals.

Pacioretty got it started on a gritty feed from Brendan Gallagher at 3:44 and Bourque gave Montreal a three-goal lead when he spun and scored from close range. That chased Lundqvist.

Nash whipped a puck at the Montreal net and saw it go in off defenceman Andrei Markov's skate 9:48, Stepan got his second in a mass scramble in front of Tokarski at 12:06 and Kreider tied it on a power play at 14:12 on a tic-tac-toe play after Subban lost his stick.

The Bell Centre went quiet, but exploded again when Bourque got his second at 15:10 as he beat Talbot from 10 feet out.

Several hats were thrown on the ice after Weise sent Bourque in alone to get his third of the game 6:33 into the third period. Desharnais scored into an empty net during a New York power play at 15:43 and crowd sang Ole Ole in celebration.

There was some nastiness at the end between New York's Derek Dorsett and Montreal's Mike Weaver.

Asked if he had been head-butted, Weaver said: "Ah, so many things happened I don't really know. I was more concentrating on where the puck was.

"I wasn't really worried about what he was doing."

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Hockey Night Post-Game

Video

Stanley Cup playoff highlights, analysis and player reaction

CBC Sports Posted: May 28, 2014 1:18 AM ET Last Updated: May 28, 2014 1:18 AM ET

Click the video player above and watch highlights, expert analysis and player interviews on demand as Hockey Night In Canada recaps Game 5 of the Eastern Conference final between the Montreal Canadiens and New York Rangers. 

Watch Game 3 on demand in its entirety here. 

Follow Hockey Night on Twitter @hockeynight.

Follow Rob Pizzo on Twitter @robpizzo.

Follow P.J. Stock on Twitter @PJStockHNIC.

Comments on this story are moderated according to our Submission Guidelines. Comments are welcome while open. We reserve the right to close comments at any time.

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Note: The CBC does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comments, you acknowledge that CBC has the right to reproduce, broadcast and publicize those comments or any part thereof in any manner whatsoever. Please note that comments are moderated and published according to our submission guidelines.

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Rangers' John Moore faces NHL hearing for Wiese hit

The National Hockey League has scheduled a hearing Wednesday into Rangers defenceman John Moore's hit on Montreal forward Dale Weise in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference final.

Moore was given a major penalty and ejected from Tuesday night's game at Montreal's Bell Centre when, at 10:41 of the third period, he nailed Weise with a blindside open-ice hit that was almost identical to Montreal forward Brandon Prust's unpenalized hit on Derek Stepan in Game 3.

Prust, who had been suspended once before by the league, was subsequently given a two-game ban for the late check, which the NHL deemed as interference.

Stepan's jaw was broken by Prust's hit but the Rangers' centre returned to action Tuesday after undergoing surgery, and scored two goals while wearing a chin guard.

Weise's helmet was knocked off after Tuesday night's hit and he was wobbly when he got up, with teammate P.K. Subban grabbing him in a bear hug for support.

He left for treatment but returned to the bench late in the period.

"The league will do what it has to do," New York coach Alain Vigneault said of the Moore hit after the game, won 7-4 by Montreal. "John is not the type of person who would try to hurt someone, but it was a late hit."

The NHL department of player safety said the hearing was into an illegal check to the head.

Moore plays on New York's third defensive pairing with Kevin Klein.

The win staved off elimination for Montreal, narrowing the Rangers' lead in the series to three games to two. Game 6 is Thursday at Madison Square Garden (CBC, CBCSports.ca, 8 p.m. ET).

The series has already seen two suspensions - New York's Dan Carcillo was banned for 10 games for jostling a linesman in the wake of the Prust hit.

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Canadiens veterans defiant in face of elimination

It was up to veterans Brian Gionta and Tomas Plekanec to convince the world — and perhaps themselves — that the Montreal Canadiens still have hope.

The team that looked so solid in coming back to eliminate the first-place overall Boston Bruins is down 3-1 to the New York Rangers in the Eastern Conference final, but Gionta insisted Monday that morale is good and the Canadiens are far from finished.

They will be facing elimination in Game 5 of the best-of-seven series at the Bell Centre on Tuesday (CBC, CBCSports.ca, 7:30 p.m. ET).

'With the group we have in here, we believe we can do it. And we believe we have got better as the series goes on'- Canadiens captain Brian Gionta

"It's no secret," Gionta said. "You start doing the right things, you start getting rewarded for it and momentum builds.

"You keep carrying that. A couple of teams have been able to do that this year, the Kings and the Rangers.

Tomas Plekanec, left, and Brian Gionta were key contributors when Montreal erased a 3-1 deficit to oust Washington in 2010. (Richard Wolowicz/Getty Images)

"So it's not something that can't be done and, with the group we have in here, we believe we can do it. And we believe we've got better as the series goes on."

Gionta and Plekanec were part of a Canadiens team that came back from a 3-1 deficit to upset the high-powered Washington Capitals en route to their last trip to the conference final in 2010.

They did it that time with desperate shot-blocking, spectacular goaltending from Jaroslav Halak and a quiet belief that they could pull it off.

This time, they are looking to third-stringer Dustin Tokarski to imitate Halak. The 24-year-old has been solid in goal since replacing the injured Carey Price in Game 2, allowing eight goals in 11 periods over three games.

He helped them claim an overtime win in New York in Game 3, but was beaten on Martin St. Louis' overtime snipe in Game 4 on Sunday night.

The Canadiens have played the Rangers close to evenly since a 7-2 loss in the series opener, but there were worrying signs in their latest loss. Defenceman Alexei Emein missed most of the first period after blocking a shot and then was mostly immobile after he returned.

And top forwards Thomas Vanek, who has struggled all series, and Max Pacioretty were all but invisible.

Plus, they remain without Price, the Canadian gold medallist from the Sochi Olympics in February who suffered a suspected right knee injury when New York's Chris Kreider crashed the net in the second period of the series opener.

Price skated for about 20 minutes without equipment before the team's optional practice, but Canadiens head coach Michel Therrien said he will not be back in this series.

'We need to get better'

For Gionta, hope comes from a feeling that his team is getting better and still has time to turn things around, as they did when they fell behind 3-2 to the Bruins in the conference semifinal.

The Canadiens rebounded with their best game of the playoffs in Game 6 and closed it out in Boston two days later.

"We were able to wear [the Bruins] defence down with our speed and our forechecking," he said. "We need to get better at that and I think that's what we've got better at as [the Rangers series] went on.

"Try to take advantage of their defencemen down low, try to spend some time in the offensive zone and start to make breakdowns and make things happen that way. Our backs are against the wall.

"It's win or go home. I would expect the same kind of effort as we had against Boston for sure."

They could also improve on special teams, although they had a breakthrough when defenceman P.K. Subban finally got a power play goal to tie the game in the third period on the sixth of Montreal's eight man-advantages.

"We sat down after the second period and made a little adjustment and it worked," Plekanec said. "And hopefully, we can carry it over to the next game.

"Special teams was one of the things that we probably weren't good enough at in the series so far. So it would be a good time to turn that around.

"It's not over. I didn't see one guy that was down after the game."

'Making the right plays' 

Plekanec was among five players in the Game 4 lineup who joined the reserve players in the optional skate, along with Tokarski, Rene Bourque, Michael Bournival and defenceman Francis Bouillon, who scored in his first appearance in the series in place of rookie Nathan Beaulieu.

Another potential boost for the Canadiens would be to score the first goal, which they did consistently in the first two rounds but have yet to do against the Rangers.

It would perhaps give them another missing element — confidence.

"We have to start playing more with confidence, making the right plays at the right time," said Plekanec. "When there's a play, we've got to make it.

"When there's no play, we've got to go for the puck. Sometimes, we didn't make the right decisions, so that's an aspect that definitely can be better.

"Confidence is a thing that, when you don't make the right plays, you start chipping it in instead of making plays. And sometimes, it's a situation where you should have made a play."

'No one is panicking'

Therrien feels his team has shown it can bounce back against the Bruins and can do it again.

Gionta, a Stanley Cup winner with New Jersey in 2003, agrees.

"Part of the playoffs part of being a professional, of being part of a winning team is being able to regroup and forget about it and deal with the circumstances that are ahead of you and not with what's behind you," he said. "Guys were disappointed.

"It was a huge blow. But the series isn't over.

"We still believe in this group. So no one is panicking."

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Hockey Night Radio: No stopping Martin St. Louis

Audio

Montreal Canadiens have hands full with New York Rangers star

CBC Sports Posted: May 26, 2014 7:04 PM ET Last Updated: May 26, 2014 7:04 PM ET

Click on the media player above as host Rob Pizzo and Hockey Night in Canada colleague Scott Oake assess the impact of Martin St. Louis of the New York Rangers on the outcome of the Eastern Conference final.   

Listen to more Hockey Night in Canada Radio interviews here. 

Follow Rob Pizzo on Twitter @robpizzo.

Follow Scott Oake on Twitter @ScottOake.

Rob Pizzo and his crew of co-hosts David Amber, Mike Brophy, Cassie Campbell-Pascall, Elliotte Friedman, Kelly Hrudey, Craig Simpson and Tim Wharnsby talk hockey in an entertaining way on Hockey Night in Canada Radio, the flagship of NHL Network Radio on SiriusXM, weekdays from 3-5 p.m. ET on Sirius 207 and XM 92.

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Blue Jays pound Rays for 7th straight win

The Toronto Blue Jays power numbers have been impressive during their seven-game winning streak that has taken them to the top of the American League East standings.

They're also doing the little things right and it paid off in a 10-5 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday night.

Bunt singles, hustle plays, slick defence, outfield assists — the Blue Jays are doing it all while keeping the long ball in their arsenal. Edwin Encarnacion, Steve Tolleson and Dioner Navarro hit solo home runs and Toronto (30-22) pounded out 16 hits in the opener of a three-game series on a muggy night at Rogers Centre.

"They just put the heavy gloves on and beat us up tonight," said Rays manager Joe Maddon.

The Blue Jays jumped out to a 2-0 lead after opening with five straight hits on Canadian starter Erik Bedard (2-3). Tampa Bay (23-29) did some damage against Toronto starter Drew Hutchison (4-3), but could never move into the lead.

Every time the Rays scored, the Blue Jays were quick to answer.

When Tampa Bay tied the game in the third inning, Navarro and Tolleson responded with back-to-back homers in the fourth.

When the Rays pulled even again in the fifth, Toronto put four more runs on the board in the bottom half before Encarnacion added an insurance run with a solo shot in the sixth inning.

With the win, Toronto remained two games ahead of second-place New York in the AL East. The Yankees defeated St. Louis, 6-4 in 12 innings.

The Blue Jays have won seven of their last eight home games and 12 of their last 14 games overall.

"When things are going good, they're going good," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said.

It was Encarnacion's 13th homer this month, breaking Jose Bautista's club record for home runs in the month of May that was set in 2010. Melky Cabrera chipped in with three hits, while Brett Lawrie of Langley, B.C., Navarro and Kevin Pillar added two hits apiece.

"It was just not enough," Maddon said. "They kept adding on.

"They have such a good lineup and, when the bottom [of the order] contributes like they did today, it makes it even more difficult."

The Blue Jays showed their mix of skill and power in the first inning. A bunt single, double and three straight singles got the crowd of just 15,616 into the game early.

David DeJesus hit a solo shot for Tampa Bay in the third and James Loney later drove in Evan Longoria with a sacrifice fly. The Rays loaded the bases but Tolleson showed his range at second base by cutting off a sharp grounder by Cole Figueroa and making an off-balance throw to first for the third out.

Toronto responded in the fourth inning by hitting back-to-back homers for the third time this season. The Blue Jays also used a little small ball to push another run across.

Pillar reached on an infield single and moved to second when Anthony Gose dropped down a nice sacrifice bunt. Reyes moved Pillar to third on a grounder to the right side of the infield and Cabrera drove him in with a single.

In the fifth, Tampa Bay's Matt Joyce hit a one-out double and cleanup hitter Desmond Jennings followed with his fifth homer of the season. Loney tied the game with a solo shot — the first time the Rays have hit back-to-back homers this year.

Toronto responded with four runs in the bottom half of the frame. Encarnacion and Lawrie hit back-to-back doubles and Navarro added a run-scoring single to make it 7-5, knocking Bedard out of the game.

Alex Colome came on in relief and didn't fare much better.

He walked pinch-hitter Juan Francisco and got Pillar to fly out before being burned by the speedy Gose, who out-hustled Colome to the bag on a slow chopper to the right side. Reyes drew a bases-loaded walk and Cabrera drove in Francisco with a sacrifice fly.

Encarnacion led off the Toronto half of the sixth by turning on a 2-2 pitch from Colome. Entering the game, the Toronto slugger led the major leagues in homers in May, was tied for first with 17 extra-base hits and was second with 25 runs batted in.

Cabrera and Gose each chipped in with an outfield assist. Pillar also showed off his defensive skill in right field by making a nice sliding catch at the warning track to prevent Longoria from driving in a couple of runs.

Hutchison allowed seven hits, five earned runs and four walks. Bedard, from Navan, Ont., gave up 12 hits, seven earned runs and struck out a pair.

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LeBron James, Bosh power Heat past Pacers

Chris Bosh got them started. LeBron James took over in the second half. And in the end, the Miami Heat moved one win from yet another Eastern Conference title.

James had 32 points and 10 rebounds, Bosh added 25 points — nearly matching his output from the first three games of the series combined — and the Heat grabbed control of the conference finals by topping the Indiana Pacers, 102-90 in Game 4 for a 3-1 series lead.

Dwyane Wade added 15 points and Miami never trailed, leading by 23 at one point.

"We try to get better every single day, every single game," James said. "When you do that and go out and play the type of game that you are capable of playing, you can be satisfied with the results and that's what we've built over the years."

Only the Celtics and Lakers franchises have been to the NBA Finals in four straight seasons. The Heat now have three chances to join that club, starting with Game 5 at Indiana on Wednesday night.

"We got outplayed by the Heat," Pacers head coach Frank Vogel said. "I wasn't disappointed in our fight, I was disappointed in the result."

Paul George scored 23 points and David West added 20 points and 12 rebounds for the Pacers, who got 15 points from George Hill. But Lance Stephenson, who made news in the days between Games 3 and 4 by suggesting he was in James' head, was held to nine points and 7-foot-2 centre Roy Hibbert was scoreless in 22 minutes for Indiana.

"I was trying to get into his head," Stephenson said, referring to James.

"I guess he stepped up and got the win. I can take the heat."

The heat, maybe. The Heat, maybe not.

Miami has won the last three games in the series and going back to Game 3 when the Heat trailed by 15 points, they have outscored the Pacers by 39 points in a span of about 6 1/2 quarters.

The Pacers won two elimination games in the first round against Atlanta, and need to win three more if their yearlong plan of topping Miami as kings of the East is going to become reality.

The odds are, obviously, stacked against them. When holding a 3-1 lead, Miami is 8-0 in Game 5s over the past four post-seasons.

"We have a chance to play an NBA game on our home floor," West said. "We are going to try to do something that's very tough."

'A fast start'

Bosh scored the game's first eight points, making a pair of three-pointers and ending a series-long funk. He had scored exactly nine points in each of the first three games of this series and was held under 10 points in each of his last seven playoff games against Indiana.

But he came out flying and, probably not coincidentally, the Heat finally had a good start.

"I told him he was going to have a great game," James said. "We got off to a fast start because of him."

Miami won the first quarter for the first time in the series, going up 27-19 and helped in part by a late three-pointer from Shane Battier, with replays showing Vogel moved down the sideline toward the Heat forward as he shot from near the Indiana bench.

If nothing else, at least he was trying to beat Big Brother.

Much as he did Sunday, Vogel used the big brother-little brother analogy with his team, trying any way to urge the Pacers to break through against the team that has ended their season in each of the past two years.

"He's got to make a decision at some point in his life, that no matter what, we're not going to lose this fight anymore," Vogel said, likening the Pacers to the little brother in that scenario.

"We're at that point."

'Best offensive team'

The fight isn't over. But it was awfully one-sided for long stretches of Game 4.

Miami outscored Indiana 31-20 in the third quarter and kept pulling away before the Pacers used a 15-3 run to make things rather interesting. Stephenson had a layup with 3:20 left that would have gotten Indiana within nine — but it was waved off after he was called for fouling Wade on his way to the basket.

Stephenson scored with 1:31 left to make it 99-90, but James snuffed out any comeback hopes right there with a three-point play.

Miami was without Chris Andersen, inactive because of a bruised left thigh. The Heat also tweaked their starting lineup, with Rashard Lewis in and Udonis Haslem out.

The Pacers were down only 49-44 at halftime, even though Hibbert and Stephenson both had three fouls. The Heat didn't have a turnover until the second quarter and Miami shot 10 more free throws in the half and Bosh and James combined for 32 points in the first 24 minutes.

If there was any doubt, Miami erased it quickly after halftime. James scored five points in a 7-0 spurt to open the second half and the Heat were on their way.

"They're the best offensive team in the NBA," Vogel said.

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Kings 1 win away from Stanley Cup final

The ovations started after the Los Angeles Kings' third goal in 16 minutes to open Game 4 of the Western Conference final, and the home crowd eventually serenaded its team off the ice for intermission.

The low-scoring Kings have become the Stanley Cup playoffs' highest-scoring team. This defensive powerhouse is shutting down the Chicago Blackhawks' big stars while pushing the defending champions to the verge of elimination.

Yep, the Kings deserved a hand — even if they insist they still haven't anything that's really worth cheering.

Jake Muzzin, Marian Gaborik and captain Dustin Brown scored in a dominant first period, and Los Angeles beat Chicago 5-2 Monday night to take a 3-1 series lead.

Muzzin and Drew Doughty each had a goal and an assist, and Jonathan Quick made 22 saves as the Kings moved to the brink of their second trip to the Stanley Cup Final in three seasons with their third straight win over the defending champion Blackhawks.

Jake Muzzin (6) celebrates a goal with his Los Angeles Kings as Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews, rear, skates past on Monday in Los Angeles. ( Harry How/Getty Images)

Gaborik, who joined the Kings on March 5 and immediately catalyzed their offence, took a momentary break from the businesslike atmosphere of the Kings' dressing room and just plain marveled what Los Angeles has accomplished this spring.

"To come into every game with that confidence, to have that mojo that you can win every game, that's the difference," Gaborik said. "It's great to come to a team like this and be part of a winning culture."

Tanner Pearson added an empty-net goal for the Kings, who have been to the NHL finals just twice in franchise history, winning their only title in 2012. One year after Los Angeles lost the conference finals in five games to Chicago, the Kings have their own chance to close it out in five.

Game 5 is Wednesday in Chicago.

"We're not looking ahead," Kings forward Justin Williams said. "Chicago, I believe they've been down 3-1 before. Every team has been through experiences that have made them better. Stanley Cup championship teams like Chicago and us, we've been through a lot. We've persevered through a lot, and they're down 3-1, we're trying to squash them, and they're trying to get some life."

Two days after the Kings gritted out a 4-3 victory over Chicago in Game 3, they won again at Staples Center by scoring three goals on their first six shots of Game 4, capping an incredible three-game offensive performance by the lowest-scoring NHL team to make the post-season.

After trailing 2-0 late in the second period of Game 2, Los Angeles scored 13 goals in less than 100 minutes, capped by a dominant first period in Game 4.

Muzzin scored on a power play. Gaborik added his 10th goal of the post-season off Duncan Keith's turnover. Brown banged a puck into an open net for another power-play goal, his first score since Game 7 of the first round against San Jose.

Cue the standing ovations.

Brandon Saad and Bryan Bickell scored and Corey Crawford stopped 16 shots for the Blackhawks, who didn't get rolling until they trailed 4-0 late in the second period.

"I don't think we played that poorly," Chicago captain Jonathan Toews said. "We made some mistakes, and their confidence snowballed on us. Next thing you know, it doesn't matter how hard you work or how many shifts you spend in their zone. If the bounces aren't going your way, it's tough to get back in a game like this. We're going to find a way to get those bounces again and get things rolling our way. We'll work ourselves out of it."

The Blackhawks escaped a 3-1 hole in the second round against Detroit last season, but that's the only time in franchise history Chicago has rallied from that deficit — and the Kings are an entirely different post-season challenge.

"It's not a good position to be in," said Patrick Kane, who assisted on Bickell's goal for his first point in the series. "Coming into this series, we'd be lying if we thought we'd be in this position, but it happens. Got no one to blame but ourselves, so we're the only ones that can get ourselves out of it."

After their dominant opening period, the Kings kept pressing in the second, and Doughty put a long shot through traffic midway through the period. Doughty, the Kings' leader in ice time, has goals in back-to-back games after scoring just once in the first 16 playoff games.

Chicago finally beat Quick when Saad scored on a backhand. The Kings sat back on defence to start the third period, and Bickell got just his second goal in eight games when he jumped on a loose puck in the slot with 10:31 to play.

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Coach's Corner: No room for little guys

Video

Grapes explains why smaller NHL players may be on the way out

CBC Sports Posted: May 25, 2014 11:14 PM ET Last Updated: May 25, 2014 11:14 PM ET

Click the video player above to watch Don Cherry and Ron MacLean in the Coach's Corner during the first intermission as they as they talk about small players in the NHL and why Grapes thinks they may not be around for much longer.​

Watch previous episodes of Coach's Corner here. 

Follow Don Cherry on Twitter @CoachsCornerCBC.

Follow Ron MacLean on Twitter @RonMacLeanCBC.

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Inside Hockey: Josh Gorges

Video

Habs defenceman in conversation with Hockey Night's Scott Oake

CBC Sports Posted: May 25, 2014 8:48 PM ET Last Updated: May 25, 2014 8:48 PM ET

Click the video player above and watch Inside Hockey on demand as Hockey Night in Canada rinkside reporter Scott Oake interviews Canadiens defenceman Josh Gorges prior to Game 4 of the Eastern Conference final.

Watch previous segments from Inside Hockey here. 

Follow Hockey Night on Twitter @hockeynight.

Follow Scott Oake on Twitter @ScottOake.

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Martin St. Louis, Rangers put Habs on brink of elimination

Martin St. Louis found another way to lift up his New York Rangers teammates. This time he carried them within one win of the Stanley Cup finals.

What St. Louis lacks in physical size, he compensates with heart. Since he rejoined the club one day after the unexpected death of his mother, without missing a game, St. Louis has provided inspiration on and off the ice.

Now he also is delivering the clutch offence he has always been known for.

St. Louis scored his sixth goal of the playoffs 6:02 into overtime to give the Rangers a 3-2 victory over the Montreal Canadiens in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals Sunday night.

New York leads the series 3-1 and can advance to the championship round for the first time since claiming the Cup 20 years ago as early as Tuesday night in Montreal. The Rangers won the first two games on the road before losing Game 3 in overtime Thursday night.

"It's a big difference up 3-1 instead of 2-2 going back to Montreal," St. Louis said. "We were obviously disappointed with the result last game. We thought we played a good game. That's just hockey. Tonight we are on a good end, and it's a big plus."

A loose puck came to St. Louis, alone in the right circle, and he fired a snap shot over goalie Dustin Tokarski's shoulder.

"I just got open," said St. Louis, who has 39 career playoff goals. "I tried to trust my instincts. I hit some good shots, he made some good saves. I was fortunate this one got by him."

The Rangers won after squandering a pair of one-goal leads.

"I just remember there was a turnover somewhere around the neutral zone. I'm not sure," Tokarski said. "St. Louis had some time and picked a corner on me. It's a game of inches, and we came up a bit short."

Carl Hagelin put the Rangers in front with a short-handed tally in the first period, and Derick Brassard made it 2-1 in the second. Hagelin also assisted on St. Louis' winner.

King Henrik ties franchise record

Henrik Lundqvist made 27 saves and earned his 41st postseason win, tying the franchise record of Mike Richter, who was in attendance. He also earned an assist on Brassard's goal for his first career postseason point.

"I'm really proud to be out there with those guys, and hopefully can keep it going a little more," Lundqvist said.

The Rangers are 6-1 since the death of St. Louis' mother galvanized the team. St. Louis was acquired from Tampa Bay at the March trade deadline for former captain Ryan Callahan.

"He has been great for us ever since he got here," said Hagelin, who also scored his sixth goal. "He shows a lot of tenacity and emotion every time he steps on the ice."

Francis Bouillon tied it for Montreal in the second, and fellow defenseman P.K. Subban made it 2-2 in the third with a power-play goal. David Desharnais assisted on both for Montreal. Tokarski stopped 26 shots for the Canadiens, who went 1 for 8 on the power play.

"By no means are we counting ourselves out," Canadiens captain Brian Gionta said. "It's a tough loss, it's a bitter loss, but at the end of the day we are still in this series. I still like our chances with two games at home."

The Rangers rallied from a 3-1 deficit in the second round against Pittsburgh.

Though there were 13 minor penalties, there was no carry-over of the nastiness in Game 3 when a hit by Montreal's Brandon Prust broke the jaw of New York forward Derek Stepan. Prust served the first game of a two-game suspension. Stepan sat out after having surgery.

Habs break up Rangers' special team streak

The Rangers gave Montreal five power plays through the first two periods, and New York's penalty-killers stood tall. But the sixth produced the tying goal two minutes into the third period when Subban scored his first goal of the series and first point in six games.

That broke the Rangers' run of 27 straight killed penalties, dating to Game 2 of the second round.

Montreal came at the Rangers in waves for much of the third period and nearly grabbed the lead when Alex Galchenyuk, who scored in overtime of Game 3, struck the crossbar with 3:17 left in regulation.

Brassard, the focal point of some of the war of words between the two head coaches over the weekend, proved he has recovered from his Game 1 injury when he ripped a slap shot past Tokarski to restore the Rangers' lead with 55.3 seconds left in the second.

Lundqvist stopped a puck behind the net and moved it up to Dan Girardi in the right circle. Girardi sent a pass nearly the length of the ice to Brassard, who grabbed the puck at the lower edge of the left circle, pulled his stick way back, held it loaded and then unleashed a drive that soared into the net for his fifth of the playoffs.

Brassard had missed most of the first three games of the series. Canadiens coach Michel Therrien said on Saturday he knew exactly what was ailing Brassard, comments that were perceived by the Rangers as a veiled threat.

The goal was a strong response by the Rangers, who lost their 1-0 lead at 8:08 of the second when Bouillon fired a shot in over Lundqvist's left shoulder during a 2-on-1 break.

The Rangers put themselves into trouble by taking three straight offensive-zone penalties in the first period, but they were the ones who produced a goal during the power plays.

While Benoit Pouliot was serving the first few seconds of his high-sticking penalty against defenseman Alexei Emelin, the Rangers gained control of the puck after a faceoff in their end. Brian Boyle was deep in the zone when he spotted Hagelin streaking up the middle of the ice.

Boyle hit him in stride with a pass just before the blue line, and Hagelin carried the puck in alone, shifted to his backhand in close, and slid the puck in at 7:18. New York's first short-handed goal of this postseason came 12 seconds into Pouliot's penalty.

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Hockey Night Post-Game

Video

Stanley Cup playoff highlights, analysis and player reaction

CBC Sports Posted: May 26, 2014 1:07 AM ET Last Updated: May 26, 2014 1:07 AM ET

Click the video player above and watch highlights, expert analysis and player interviews on demand as Hockey Night In Canada recaps Game 4 of the Eastern Conference final between the Montreal Canadiens and New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden. 

Watch Game 4 on demand in condensed form here. 

Follow Hockey Night on Twitter @hockeynight.

Follow Rob Pizzo on Twitter @robpizzo.

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French Open: Eugenie Bouchard wins at rainy Roland Garros

Canada's Eugenie Bouchard overcame a rain delay to easily dispatch her first-round opponent at the French Open, defeating Israel's Shahar Peer 6-0, 6-2 on Monday at Roland Garros.

Bouchard, seeded 18th, was leading 3-1 in the second set when the match was suspended. When it resumed, the Montrealer claimed three of the next four games to finish off the unseeded Peer.

Bouchard will face the winner of the match between Portugal's Michelle Larcher De Brito and Germany's Julia Goerges. Both are unseeded.

Earlier, Maria Sharapova took advantage of a break in the rain — and several breaks of her opponent's serve — to win her opening match.

The 2012 champion was first on court in the main stadium at Roland Garros and needed little more than an hour to reach the second round by beating Ksenia Pervak 6-1, 6-2.

"It's always nice to get out there on a day like this. It's good to play first match, as you know," Sharapova said. "Hopefully you'll be able to finish the match today with the weather conditions being as they are. It's always nice to get through."

Sharapova broke Pervak five times and finished with 17 winners, while Pervak had only four.

Sharapova, seeded seventh at the French Open, completed a career Grand Slam at Roland Garros two years ago. She then lost to Serena Williams in the 2013 final.

Up next in Paris will be Tsvetana Pironkova of Bulgaria in the second round. But she could face Williams in the quarterfinals.

"It's tough to think about that match down the line where you have to compete in three matches before that," Sharapova said. "Obviously it's a match that many people always look forward to when we play against each other."

Monday's match started about 1 hour, 20 minutes late because of the wet weather. The forecast called for more rain Monday, and for the rest of the week.

Shortly after Sharapova's match ended, and shortly after Novak Djokovic's match started, the rain returned and play was suspended.

Djokovic was leading Joao Sousa of Portugal 4-1 when play was halted.

Australian Open runner-up Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia also advanced, beating Virginie Razzano of France 7-5, 6-0.

Other winners include No. 12 Flavia Pennetta of Italy and No. 16 Sabine Lisicki of Germany. Pennetta beat Patricia Mayr-Achleitner of Austria 6-2, 6-2, while 2013 Wimbledon runner-up Lisicki defeated Fiona Ferro of France 6-1, 7-5.

On the men's side, ninth-seeded Kei Nishikori was knocked out at the first step, losing to Martin Klizan of Slovakia 7-6 (4), 6-1, 6-2.

Nishikori came into the tournament after winning his first clay-court title in Barcelona last month and then reaching the final in Madrid against Rafael Nadal where he had to retire with a back injury.

Nishikori, the highest-ranked Japanese man in history, is No. 10 in the world, one spot lower than his career high.

Later Monday, eight-time champion Nadal and Australian Open champion Stan Wawrinka were scheduled to play — weather permitting.

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