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NHL Three Stars: Zibanejad, Desharnais OT heroes; Pens, Preds advance

Sean Leahy
Contributing writer
MONTREAL, QC – APRIL 20: The New York Rangers celebrate an overtime victory against the Montreal Canadiens in Game Five of the Eastern Conference First Round during the 2017 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Bell Centre on April 20, 2017 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The New York Rangers defeated the Montreal Canadiens 3-2 in overtime. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)

No. 1 Stars: Mika Zibanejad New York Rangers

Zibanejad was the hero for the Rangers scoring 14:22 into overtime to give New York a 3-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens. The Rangers now have a chance to close out the Habs in Game 6 Saturday night at Madison Square Garden.

David Desharnais, Edmonton Oilers

Oscar Klefbom tied the game with less than three minutes to go in the third period and Desharnais ended things at 18:15 of overtime to give the Oilers a 4-3 win over the San Jose Sharks. They now lead the series 3-2 with Game 6 coming up on Monday.

No. 2 Star: Roman Josi, Nashville Predators

Josi’s two goals led the way as the Predators finished their sweep of the Chicago Blackhawks with a 4-1 victory.

No. 3 Stars: Bryan Rust / Marc-Andre Fleury, Pittsburgh Penguins

Rust scored twice and Fleury stopped 49 of 51 shots he faced as the Penguins knocked out the Columbus Blue Jackets with a 5-2 in Game 5. Rust now has 10 goals in 28 career playoff games while Fleury recorded the 57th win of his postseason career to pass Tom Barrasso on the franchise’s all-time list.

Honorable Mention: Via the AP, Brady Skjei’s goal gave him two this postseason and made him the second Rangers rookie blue liner to score at least two goals since Brian Leetch tallied three in 1989 … Nashville is the third NHL team sweep a conference top-seed, joining the 1981 Oilers and 1993 St. Louis Blues … The series sweep was the first in Predators history … Viktor Arvidsson may be feeling this Duncan Keith hit into Round 2:

Martin Jones had an eventful overtime making a number of quality stops while trying to keep the Sharks’ hopes alive:

Connor McDavid, hit machine:

Did You Know? Welp.

Dishonorable Mention: Columbus lost all five games they played at PPG Paints Arena this season … Sergei Bobrovsky was not good this postseason with an .898 even strength save percentage … The Blackhawks are the first top seed to lose in the opening round since the 2012 Vancouver Canucks … San Jose was outshot 14-2 in overtime.

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