NEW YORK, 15 April 2004 — Tomas Vokoun continued his outstanding play by making 41 saves as the Predators blanked the Detroit Red Wings 3-0 in National Hockey League playoff in Nashville on Tuesday.
The surprising Predators, the eighth-seeded team in the Western Conference, tied the best-of-seven series 2-2 as the series moves back to Detroit for Game Five today. Vokoun stopped 82 of the 83 shots directed at him since the series moved to Nashville, where the Predators won both games by a combined score of 6-1.
The Red Wings, winners of the Presidents Trophy, scored more goals than any other NHL team this season but could not solve Vokoun for the second straight game.
Scott Sullivan, Vladimir Orszagh and Greg Johnson scored the goals for the Predators, while Dan Hamhuis added a pair of assists.
In other games, Scott Thornton and Alexander Korolyuk both scored their first two goals of the playoffs as the San Jose Sharks beat the St. Louis Blues 4-3.
The Sharks take a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference opening round series ahead of Game Four in San Jose today.
In Montreal, Glen Murray took advantage of an error by Alexei Kovalev to score on a breakaway at 9:27 of the second overtime period, giving the Boston Bruins a 4-3 win over the Montreal Canadiens.
Boston leads the best-of-seven Eastern Conference opening round series 3-1 and can wrap up the series when it moves back to Boston for Game Five tonight.
Kovalev collided with his teammate Sheldon Souray in the neutral zone and was shaking his hand after being slashed and lost site of the puck. That allowed Murray to go in alone and beat goalie Jose Theodore to give the Bruins the win. Andrew Raycroft made 42 saves for the Bruins. Mike Knuble tied the game with a goal with 30.7 seconds left in regulation time, while Michael Nylander and Jiri Slegr also scored for Boston.
Mike Ribeiro scored twice for the Canadiens, while Kovalev also scored for Montreal.
Miikka Kiprusoff made 20 saves for the shutout as the Calgary Flames overwhelmed the Vancouver Cancuks 4-0 in Calgary.
The best-of-seven series is tied 2-2 with series headed back to Vancouver for Game Five today. Chris Clark led the Calgary offense with a goal and an assist while Stephane Yelle, Shean Donovan and Jarome Iginla added singles.
Johan Hedberg, starting in place of the injured Dan Cloutier, made 28 saves for the Canucks, who were out-shot 32-20.
