Capitals avoid elimination; Stars, Predators on brink

OSHIE, OVECHKIN HELP CAPITALS FORCE GAME 6 AGAINST PENGUINS
T.J. Oshie and Alex Ovechkin each had a goal and an assist to help the Washington Capitals stave off elimination and trim their Eastern Conference Second Round series deficit to 3-2 against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
* The Capitals forced a Game 6 when trailing 3-1 in a best-of-7 series for the fifth time in eight all-time scenarios. They have gone on to win two of those previous series: 1988 DSF vs. PHI and 2009 CQF vs. NYR.

* Oshie scored his fifth goal of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs (11 games) to match his total from his first 30 career playoff games. He has scored each winning goal for the Capitals in this series, including the overtime goal in Game 1 to complete a hat trick.

* Ovechkin put the Capitals on the board 4:04 after the opening face-off with his 13th career postseason power-play goal (all with Washington), tied for the most in Capitals history with Peter Bondra.
SATURDAY'S RESULTS
Home Team in Caps
St. Louis 4, DALLAS 1 - STL leads 3-2
WASHINGTON 3, Pittsburgh 1 -PIT leads 3-2
SAN JOSE 5, Nashville 1 - SJS leads 3-2

SHARKS, BLUES SEIZE CONTROL OF RESPECTIVE SERIES
The San Jose Sharks and St. Louis Blues each picked up wins to take 3-2 leads in their respective series and move within one victory of the Western Conference Final:

* Joe Pavelski (2-0-2) had his seventh career multi-goal postseason game to power the Sharks past the Nashville Predators. Pavelski, who ranked fifth in the NHL with 38 goals during the regular season, shares the League lead with eight goals in the playoffs. He also scored his second game-winning goal of the postseason after pacing all players with 11 during the regular season.

* Making his first appearance in the 2016 playoffs, Dmitrij Jaskin scored what stood as the winning goal to lift the Blues past the Dallas Stars. Jaskin scored his first career postseason goal (7 GP) and ended a 12-game goal drought since March 1. He has five game-winning goals in 139 career regular-season games.

BENN, CROSBY AND KANE VOTED HART TROPHY FINALISTS
The NHL announced that forwards Jamie Benn of the Stars, Sidney Crosby of the Penguins and Patrick Kane of the Chicago Blackhawks are the three finalists for the 2015-16 Hart Memorial Trophy, which is awarded "to the player adjudged to be the most valuable to his team."
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for more information.

MILESTONES & BENCHMARKS
* Penguins captain Sidney Crosby earned his 82nd career postseason assist (all with Pittsburgh) to tie Jaromir Jagr for second in Penguins playoff history behind Mario Lemieux (96).

* Predators forward Colin Wilson (0-1-1) extended his point streak to six games (3-5-8), establishing a team playoff record.

* Blues coach Ken Hitchcock earned his 83rd career postseason win to move past Mike Babcock and Toe Blake (both w/ 82) and into sole possession of ninth place in Stanley Cup Playoffs history.

LOOSE PUCKS
Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby made 30 saves, including a
cross-crease glove stop
late in the second period. He has allowed no more than one goal in 18 of his 22 career playoff wins . . . The Sharks improved to 7-0 in seven all-time postseason games against the Predators in San Jose . . . Blues forward Troy Brouwer (1-0-1) picked up his seventh point in his past seven games (4-3-7) . . . Predators forward Mike Fisher (4-2-6) and Capitals defenseman John Carlson (1-4-5) each extended their point streaks to five games . . .Sharks forward Logan Couture (5-8-13) scored to move within one point of the League lead. . . . NHL LiveWire: Lightning forward Alex Killorn was
mic'd up for Tampa Bay's overtime win
in Game 4 against the New York Islanders . . . ICYMI: The Minnesota Wild named Bruce Boudreau
their new coach
. . . Nyquist, the horse named after Red Wings forward Gustav Nyquist, drank from the Stanley Cup hours before winning the Kentucky Derby (photo courtesy of
@TheNyquistHorse
).
SNEAK PEEK AT SUNDAY'S ACTIONAll Times Eastern
NY Islanders @ Tampa Bay, 3:00 p.m. ET, TBL leads 3-1, NBC, SN, TVA Sports
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