The New Jersey Devils got an early 1-0 lead off a Brian Gionta goal early in the first period and looked to take game 6 in commanding fashion. The New York Rangers immediately responded by scoring less than half a minute later to tie it 1-1 on a goal by Michal Rozsival, and captain Jaromir Jagr and Scott Gomez added two more in the first.

Rangers forward Chris Drury added to the lead in the second to give them a 4-1 lead. The Devils rallied to bring the defecit within 1 goal, but the Rangers refused to relinquish the lead. They even survived a John Madden penalty shot that was stopped by Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist.

An empty net insurance score from Brandon Dubinsky and some late game heroics from Ryan Callahan (he single-handedly ate precious time from the clock battling for the puck behind the Devils net against a pair of Devils defencemen) were all the Rangers needed to take the 5-3 win, and close out the round 1 series in 5 games.

The Rangers now wait along with the Pittsburgh Penguins for the outcome of the Montreal / Boston series, and the Washington / Philadelphia series to find out who their second round counterparts will be.

Detroit takes 3-2 series lead
The Detroit Red Wings benched starting goaltender Dominik Hasek in favor of Chris Osgood and the gamble payed off. The Nashville Predators tied the game late on a goal by Radek Bonk to force overtime, however the Wings halted their attempted comeback early in extra time on a game winning goal by Johan Franzen and won the game 2-1. The Red Wings now lead the series 3-2.

Anaheim Ducks stay alive, force game 6
The longer this series goes on, the more it will get into Dallas Stars goaltender Marty Turco. Although I think he shed the monicker of playoff goat last season during their first round playoff exit at the hands of Vancouver ( I know that sounds like an odd declaration, but Turco was amazing in that series, and had 3 shutouts versus the Canucks) I"m sure there is still a small doubt somewhere in his head. The Ducks fired 31 shots at Turco and got goals from Teemu Selanne, Ryan Getzlaf and the returning Corey Perry who started the scoring. The Ducks defeated the Stars 5-2 and prevented Dallas from closing out the series. If Dallas doesn't win game 6, they will lose this series. Dallas currently holds the 3-2 series lead.

Quick Shave:
We could have a very interesting day today. Three series could come to a conclusion today.... or we could have ourselves of handful of game 7's. Nice!

Washington Capitals vs. Philadelphia Flyers
Matinee matchup as the Flyers will look to closeout the Capitals in Washington this afternoon. The Flyers lead the series 3-1.

Montreal Canadiens vs. Boston Bruins
The Montreal Canadiens will look to bounce back after a lopsided loss to the Bruins in game 5, and advance to the second round as they visit the Bruins tonight. The Habs lead the series 3-2.

San Jose Sharks vs. Calgary Flames
The San Jose Sharks finally began showing some playoff chops late in this series and will look to put the Flames out tomorrow in Calgary. The Sharks lead the series 3-2.

Minnesota Wild vs. Colorado Avalanche
The Wild will look to force a game 7 tonight as they visit the Avalanche at the Pepsi Center this evening. The Avs can finish off the Wild and move onto round 2 with a win. The Avalanche lead the series 3-2.

Enjoy the games!

Your friend on ice,
Captain Bosh