For the first time during the 2012 NHL Playoffs, a full day of games went by without any of them going into overtime. All of them were thoroughly exciting without it, especially for people who enjoy fighting. The Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers had plenty of dirty hits, fighting and offense while once again conveniently forgetting that defense and goaltending are important aspects of the game. Pittsburgh and the Vancouver Canucks appear to be on the way out of the playoffs, while the Florida Panthers grabbed their first playoff win since 1997.
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Nashville Predators 3-2 Detroit Red Wings
The Predators took control of their series with a win at Joe Louis Arena, as Pekka Rinne stole the show with 39 saves. Shea Weber got things off to a great start for his team with a power play goal just three minutes in and the Wings never really recovered. They created plenty of shots, but never tied the game as the Preds stayed in front throughout.
Philadelphia Flyers 8-4 Pittsburgh Penguins
This game featured 89 penalty minutes for the Penguins and 69 for the Flyers. Seven players picked up game misconduct penalties while one, Arron Asham, was given a match penalty. Marc-Andre Fleury's save percentage was .786 when he was pulled for Brent Johnson, who allowed two goals. The Penguins, who were odds-on favorites to win the Stanley Cup heading into the playoffs, are now in a 3-0 hole.
Florida Panthers 4-2 New Jersey Devils
The Panthers have won a playoff game for the first time since 1997, and they've leveled their series with the Devils at 1-1 heading to Newark. The game ended in amusing fashion with an empty net goal by Tomas Fleischmann, scored literally as the buzzer sounded. The crowd responded by throwing hundreds of plastic rats onto the ice.
Los Angeles Kings 1-0 Vancouver Canucks
The second odds-on favorite for the Cup was the Canucks, who are also in a 3-0 hole after their loss on Sunday. Jonathan Quick was spectacular for the Kings, saving all 41 shots that the Canucks hit him with. Dustin Brown scored the winner in the third period, capitalizing on a bad rebound given up by Cory Schneider after a Justin Williams shot.