Elliott leads Blues to 2-1 win vs Sharks in Game 4

St. Louis Blues goalie Brian Elliott (1) blocks a shot by a San Jose Shark as Chris Stewart watches during the first period in Game 4 of an NHL Stanley Cup first-round hockey playoff series, Thursday, April 19, 2012, in San Jose, Calif.
St. Louis Blues goalie Brian Elliott (1) blocks a shot by a San Jose Shark as Chris Stewart watches during the first period in Game 4 of an NHL Stanley Cup first-round hockey playoff series, Thursday, April 19, 2012, in San Jose, Calif.

CHICAGO (AP) - Mikkel Boedker scored in overtime for the second straight game and the Phoenix Coyotes beat the Chicago Blackhawks 3-2 on Thursday night to take a 3-1 lead in the first-round series.

Boedker skated ahead of defenseman Nick Leddy and shoveled the puck under goalie Corey Crawford at 2:15 in the fourth straight game that has gone to an extra period.

Game 5 is Saturday night in Arizona.

Michael Frolik's tap-in from the left side with 1:26 left in regulation tied it and marked the third time in four games the Blackhawks rallied to force overtime after pulling Crawford for an extra attacker.

Shane Doan and Taylor Pyatt scored 44 seconds apart to give the Coyotes a 2-0 lead in the third. But Brendan Morrison, making his first appearance in the series, scored to make it 2-1.

Doan stripped the puck from Chicago's Johnny Oduya, made a nice cross-ice pass to Ray Whitney and then scored on a rebound of Whitney's shot at 7:03 of the third. The Coyotes struck again quickly when Antoine Vermette got the puck near the boards and made a nice feed to Pyatt.

The Blackhawks played without star right wing Marian Hossa, who was driven to the ice and carried off on a stretcher in Game 3 after a shoulder-to-head hit from the Coyotes' Raffi Torres.

Torres was suspended indefinitely Wednesday and was scheduled for a hearing with the league Friday. The Blackhawks were already without rookie forward Andrew Shaw, who drew a five-game suspension for knocking Smith to the ice in Game 2.

DEVILS 4, PANTHERS 0

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) - Martin Brodeur bounced back from his shortest postseason performance with a record-setting 24th playoff shutout, and New Jersey beat Florida to tie the series 2-all.

Brodeur made 26 saves in taking over sole possession of the shutout mark from Patrick Roy. The 39-year-old goalie also added his second assist of the series, giving him 10 for his career - four behind leader Grant Fuhr. The effort came two days after Brodeur was lifted after giving up three goals in 22:18 in a 4-3 loss.

Zach Parise, Steve Bernier, Travis Zajac and Ilya Kovalchuk scored for New Jersey.

Brodeur made at least six outstanding saves in winning his 101st career postseason game, while seemingly benefiting from some early luck when Sean Bergenheim hit a post.

Game 5 is Saturday night in Florida.

CAPITALS 2, BRUINS 1

WASHINGTON (AP) - Playoff rookie Braden Holtby followed up a shaky outing with a superb one by making 44 saves, and Alexander Semin scored the go-ahead goal, helping Washington beat Stanley Cup champion Boston to tie the series at two games apiece.

Marcus Johansson put the puck past Tim Thomas less than 1 1/2 minutes after the opening faceoff, but Boston's Rich Peverley tied it later in the first period. Semin put Washington ahead for good with 1:17 left in the second on a power-play goal, his second score of the series.

Game 5 is Saturday in Boston.

BLUES 2, SHARKS 1

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) - Brian Elliott made 24 saves, B.J. Crombeen and Andy McDonald scored and St. Louismoved one win away from the second round of the playoffs, beating San Jose to take a 3-1 series lead.

Patrik Berglund and David Perron each assisted on both goals for the Blues, who can win their first playoff series since 2002 by beating the Sharks in Game 5 at home Saturday night.

San Jose played well for long stretches, especially in the second and third period, but once again struggled to score against St. Louis' stingy defense that allowed the fewest goals ever in an 82-game season. Joe Thornton broke the shutout with 1:07 remaining, but the Sharks couldn't get the equalizer.

The Sharks are in danger of being knocked out in the first round after making it to the Western Conference final the previous two seasons. They need to win three straight games against a team they have beaten once in eight tries this season.

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