BOSTON -- Tuukka Rask made 31 saves to help the defending Eastern Conference champion Boston Bruins beat the Red Wings 4-2 in Game 5 of their first-round playoff series on Saturday and eliminate Detroit from the postseason.
The Bruins, who finished the regular season with the best record in the NHL, advanced to the conference semifinals against the Montreal Canadiens.
Loui Eriksson opened the scoring for Boston, and Zdeno Chara snapped a second-period tie to give the Bruins the lead for good. Milan Lucic also scored, and Jarome Iginla added an empty-netter.
Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg scored and Jonas Gustavsson stopped 29 shots for Detroit.
PENGUINS 3, BLUE JACKETS 1
PITTSBURGH -- Jussi Jokinen scored the go-ahead goal in the third period and the Pittsburgh Penguins topped the Columbus Blue Jackets to take a 3-2 lead in their Eastern Conference playoff series.
Chris Kunitz and Kris Letang also scored for Pittsburgh, which has the upstart Blue Jackets on the verge of elimination with an opportunity to close out the series Monday during Game 6 in Columbus.
It hasn't been easy for the Penguins, a team considered by many a Stanley Cup contender. Columbus, which began the series searching for its first playoff win in franchise history, twice rallied to stun the heavily favored Penguins.
Boone Jenner scored the lone goal for Columbus, which played its first Game 5 in franchise history.