Red Wings, Hasek Stop the Canucks

A big mistake by Dan Cloutier took some of the pressure off Dominik Hasek.

Detroit defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom scored the winning goal from center ice as the Red Wings got back into their first-round best-of-seven playoff series with a 3-1 victory over the Canucks Sunday night at Vancouver, Canada.

Lidstrom’s 90-foot slap shot fluttered under Cloutier’s catching glove with 24.6 seconds left in the second period, giving the Red Wings the lead and reducing the Canucks’ lead to 2-1 in their Western Conference series.

Hasek finished with 22 saves. He stopped Todd Bertuzzi on a penalty shot and was named the game’s first star as the Red Wings ended a six-game playoff losing streak that dated to last season.

St. Louis 4, Chicago 0--On defense, the Blues were relentless. They clogged the middle with a physical style of play that left the Blackhawks struggling not only for goals, but for shots at the United Center in Chicago

“That’s as good defensively as we’ve played,” St. Louis Coach Joel Quenneville said after the Blues took a 2-1 lead in their playoff series.

Brent Johnson stopped only 12 shots--one in the third period--for his second shutout in a span of about 30 hours. He beat Chicago, 2-0, Saturday.

New Jersey 4, Carolina 0--Brian Rafalski scored two power-play goals at East Rutherford, N.J., as the Devils got back into their Eastern Conference series.

Bobby Holik added a goal and an assist and Patrik Elias had three assists as the Devils responded with one of their best games of the season after losing the opening two games of the series.

Rookie Brian Gionta, the goat in New Jersey’s overtime loss in Game 2, also had a goal for the Devils, who took advantage of some very undisciplined play by Carolina.

Boston 6, Montreal 4--Brian Rolston scored twice in the first 12 minutes at Boston, but the Bruins nearly wasted a 4-0 lead before tying the Eastern Conference series at 1-1. P.J. Axelsson, who had only seven goals in 78 regular-season games, scored from the top of the left circle at 17:42 of the second period to give the Bruins a 5-3 lead.