The NHL Stanley Cup playoffs were back in full force on Thursday night as four games were on the schedule and an exciting spring continued.
Two teams avoided a handshake line symbolizing their elimination, a rookie notched a hat trick and plenty more happened on the Quest to the Cup.
Here are the four major highlights of Thursday night's action:
4) Capital Punishment: In a pivotal Game 5 at the Verizon Center in the nation's capital, the Washington Capitals came out swinging against the New York Islanders, scoring five unanswered goals after falling behind 1-0 in the first period. Evgeni Kuznetsov opened up the scoring for the Capitals to draw Washington even with his first career playoff goal and he would notch his second tally in the third period. Karl Alzner, Brooks Laich and Jason Chimera also lit the lamp for the Capitals as they steamrolled the Islanders 5-1 and took a 3-2 series lead back to Long Island. New York now has the daunting task of not only winning two straight games to stay alive, but avoiding elimination in potentially their last game at the Nassau Coliseum on Saturday.
3) Miller Time: With his team looking to stave off elimination, Ryan Miller stood tall in the crease to collect his first ever playoff win as a member of the Vancouver Canucks. Miller stopped 20 of the 21 shots he faced against the Calgary Flames in Game 5 of their series to ensure that the Canucks didn't get eliminated on home ice. After falling behind 1-0 early, Nick Bonino and Henrik Sedin both scored to lift Vancouver to victory. The Canucks now trail the Flames 3-2 as the series shifts back to Calgary.
2) In A Flash: The Tampa Bay Lightning were in an unenviable position down 2-0 in a road game against the Detroit Red Wings and trailing the series 2-1 with 5:25 remaining in Game 4 at the Joe Louis Arena. When it seemed as though Tampa Bay was on the cusp of a 3-1 series hole, the unthinkable happened as Tyler Johnson and Ondrej Palat lit the lamp just 1:17 apart to tie the game and it eventually went to overtime. Johnson's night wasn't done there, as he received a perfect feed from Victor Hedman and beat Red Wings goalie Petr Mrazek 2:25 into overtime to win the game for the Lightning with his fourth goal of the series. The set now shifts back to Tampa Bay tied 2-2.
1) Scoresberg: The NHL announced the Calder Trophy candidates Thursday, a list that includes Florida Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad, Flames forward Johnny Gaudreau and Ottawa Senators forward Mark Stone. One notable exception to that list was Nashville Predators rookie phenom Filip Forsberg. The snub didn't impede Forsberg on the ice however, as he proceeded to net a hat trick in Game 5 against the Chicago Blackhawks with his team facing elimination on home ice. Forsberg scored a timely first period goal to tie the contest at 1-1 and then padded his team's lead in the middle stanza when his second marker made it 4-1. Forsberg then found the empty net in the waning seconds to complete the hat trick as the Predators forced a Game 6 back in Chicago and pulled to within 3-2.
The Stanley Cup playoffs have been epic so far and Thursday night continued the trend with some amazing hockey moments.
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