The Edmonton hockey players sent only 13 shots at Rittich, and Los Angeles had a significant advantage with 33 attempts, but they did not mature against the goalkeeper Stuart Skinner. The Czech goalkeeper started for the first time in this year’s knockout stage and conceded the only goal in the 32nd minute from Evan Bouchard on the power play. Rittich had a save success rate of over 92 percent, which his competitor Cam Talbot failed to do even once in the previous three duels.
“We knew that nothing easy was waiting for us, and that was confirmed. The important thing is that we found a way to win,” said Skinner after his first clean sheet in the playoffs.
Four games were enough for Rangers to advance to the top eight. They didn’t give Washington a chance. In the fourth game, they went ahead from the first minute when Kaapo Kakko opened the scoring. Thanks to Martin Fehérváry, the Capitals tied the game at 1:1, but never took the lead and lost after two goals in the third period.
“The whole series confirmed that we are an excellent team. In matches like today’s, we proved that even if we don’t do well, we can do the little things right that make the difference. Of course, we could rely on Igor (Sheshorkin),” said Rangers’ second goal scorer Vincent Trocheck.
Artěmij Panarin scored the winning goal in a power play at 43:21 and won for the second time in this playoff. “I look forward to every power play, but I knew this one could be key. Every numerical advantage can decide, and here I had a different feeling, after all, the third period was already being played,” said the Russian attacker.
Colorado moved closer to advancing with a 5-1 win over Winnipeg. The Avalanche lost the first game of the series, but have been 100 percent since then and are headed for the conference semifinals. The third point was secured by Valerij Ničuškin, who flashed a hat trick.
“We made mistakes in the first game, but we were able to learn from them. The team’s commitment was excellent,” praised coach Jared Bednar.
Elite Jets center Mark Scheifele also cut Colorado’s bow. “They play at a completely different intensity than in the regular season. Their guards have started putting pucks quickly off the stick and are a step ahead of us everywhere. We are not yet able to respond to their pace,” he assessed.
The hockey players of Vancouver also have a well-played series, they beat Nashville 4:3 in overtime and lead 3:1. At the same time, the Canucks were still losing 1:3 three minutes before the end, but Brock Boeser scored two hits in overtime and sealed the hat trick.
“We knew we could score goals without a goalkeeper, so we believed we could equalize. It’s clear that it’s also about luck,” said Boeser.
Elias Lindholm followed up his three goals from regular time and decided extra time after a minute. “Garland found me completely free in front of the goal. I didn’t have a difficult job then,” recounted the Swedish striker. Czech defenseman Filip Hronek played almost 18 minutes for the Canucs and did not score.
1st round of the NHL playoffs: Eastern Conference – 4th match: Washington – New York Rangers 2:4 (1:2, 1:0, 0:2) Goals: 15. Fehérváry, 28. Lapierre – 1. Kakko, 20 .Trocheck, 44. Panarin, 60. Roslovic. Shots on goal: 24:23. Spectators: 18,573. Stars of the match: 1. Panarin, 2. Zibanejad (both NY Rangers), 3. Feherváry (Washington). Final state of the series 0:4. Western Conference – 4th matches: Colorado – Winnipeg 5:1 (1:1, 3:0, 1:0) Goals: 32nd, 40th and 60th Ničuskin, 9. Lehkonen, 36 .Makar – 14. Schmidt. Shots on goal: 35:27. Spectators: 18,129. Stars of the match: 1. Nichushkin, 2. Lehkonen, 3. Makar (all Colorado). Series status 3:1. Nashville – Vancouver 3:4 in overtime. (1:1, 1:0, 1:2 – 0:1) Goals: 6. Jankowski, 26. Nyquist, 41. F. Forsberg – 3. Boeser, 58. Boeser, 60. Boeser, 62. E. Lindholm . Shots on goal: 30:20. Spectators: 17,590. Stars of the match: 1. Lindholm, 2. Boeser, 3. JT Miller (all Vancouver). Series status 1:3. Los Angeles – Edmonton 0:1 (0:0, 0:1, 0:0) Goal: 32. Bouchard. Shots on goal: 33:13. DAVID RITTICH caught 58 minutes and 36 seconds for Los Angeles, conceded one goal from 13 shots and had a success rate of 92.3 percent. Spectators: 18,145. Stars of the match: 1. Bouchard, 2. Skinner (both Edmonton), 3. Rittich (Los Angeles). Series status 1:3.
