Dublin collapsed in the third period, allowing Oslo to score five times to take the game and the lead in the series. Danny Briere’s second of period and the game turned out to be the most important Oslo goal ever thus far. It swung the pendulum the Devils’ way to the point they are up by a game in the playoff series. It could very easily have swung the other way. The Fighting Irish held a decided advantage in shots through two periods, 31-17, but Oslo outshot them 11-10 in the final period. Dublin is playing without winger Bobby Ryan, who is injured, but the rest of the team seems in good condition except for goalie Tim Thomas, the 37-year-old who has played in 73 of the Fighting Irish’s 85 games. Young Evander Kane was named the first star of the game. The 20-year-old who was acquired in a trade with Athens, scored 55 points this season. On Thursday, he had 10 shots on goal, two goals, an assist and 4 hits. Defenseman Mark Giordano started Oslo’s five-goal third-period onslaught with a long slapshot about 4 minutes into the period. Then the Devils skill shined with Pavel Datsyuk, Thomas Vanek and Briere scoring goals before Briere’s deciding goal. Giordano assisted on both Briere goals and now has 5 assists in the series. Jimmy Howard got the win in goal by stopping 37 Dublin shots.
Edinburgh 1, Stockholm 0
Visiting Stockholm gave the Capitals plenty of chances to score on the powerplay, but an even strength shot by Daniel Winnick produced the game’s only goal. Both teams played a game of cat and mouse through two scoreless periods, before stepping it up in the third period to nearly double their shot totals. Cam Ward of Stockholm was nearly perfect, stopping 21 of 22 shots, but Ilya Bryzgalov was perfect, stopping all 24 shots against him. On the only goal, Derek Stepan of Edinburgh fired the shot into a maze of players in front of Ward and the puck hit Keaton Ellerby in the privates. Both he and the puck dropped straight to the ice and Winnick swept the puck into an open side of the net. Ellerby was credited with a shot block. Stepan had more shots than anyone else in the game with 6, and more blocked shots than anyone with 4. He was named the second star behind Bryzgalov.
Copenhagen 6, Gothenburg 2
The first playoff game ever in Gothenburg was a lot like the first playoff game in Dublin, with the visiting team roaring in the third period. By the end of the second period, the score was tied. Jamie Langenbrunner and Troy Brouwer had goals for Copenhagen and Sam Gagner and Ales Hemsky had goals for Gothenburg. But the Tridents rattled off 4 goals in about 4 and a half minutes to walk away with the win. Forwards Teddy Purcell, Langenbrunner again, Stephen Weiss and Andrew Ladd scored the goals. Ladd also had three assists in the game and was one of 6 Tridents who finished plus 2. Defensively, Joni Pitkanen was the best Copenhagen player, as he had 5 shot blocks in front of goalie J0nas Hiller, who has now won two of three while filling in for injured Roberto Luongo. Luongo is just about healthy enough to play between the pipes again for coach Brent Sutter. Gothenburg’s second line of David Booth, Vincent Lecavalier and Radek Dvorak had a forgettable evening, going minus 3 as a unit.
St. Petersburg 3, London 0
Pekka Rinne and the St. Petersburg Lynx won 3-0 Thursday and lead their best of 7 series by the same margin. Three Petrograd players – two of them defensemen – scored their first goals of the playoffs. Willie Mitchell opened the scoring in the second period, Valterri Filppula scored later in the period, and Brent Burns scored in the third. The winners outshot London 33-24, with Rinne stopping everything the Knights had to offer. London played a disciplined game, taking only one minor penalty, but St. Petersburg was too powerful for them. The teams will play again in London on Saturday with the Knights facing a do or die situation.
