Sharks match franchise record for goals, tie series with Oilers

SHARKS BURST OUT OFFENSIVELY, EVEN SERIES WITH OILERS …

* The Sharks became the first team to win a postseason game by a seven-goal margin since the Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Philadelphia Flyers 10-3 in Game 4 of the 2012 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Elias adds that the Sharks became the first team to do so in a playoff shutout since the New York Rangers defeated the Atlanta Thrashers 7-0 in Game 3 of the 2007 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals.
* Joe Pavelski (2-1-3) opened the scoring
15 seconds into the game
to establish a Sharks record for the fastest goal to begin a playoff game, eclipsing the mark set by Dany Heatley, who scored 28 seconds into Game 1 of the 2011 Western Conference Quarterfinals against the Kings.
* Brent Burns matched an NHL playoff career high with three assists. He also did it against the Kings in Game 5 of 2016 Western Conference First Round.
* Martin Jones made 23 saves for his fourth NHL postseason shutout, all with the Sharks. Only Evgeni Nabokov has more in Sharks playoff history with seven.

TUESDAY'S RESULTS

Home Team in Caps
NY RANGERS 2, Montreal 1 - series tied 2-2
COLUMBUS 5, Pittsburgh 4 - PIT leads 3-1
SAN JOSE 7, Edmonton 0 - series tied 2-2

… RANGERS WIN TO PULL EVEN IN SERIES WITH CANADIENS

Rick Nash scored the go-ahead goal at 4:28 of the second period and Henrik Lundqvist made 23 saves for the win as the Rangers evened their series with the Montreal Canadiens.
* The Rangers have won six of their past eight postseason games when trailing in a series dating to Game 5 of the 2015 Eastern Conference Second Round against the Washington Capitals.
* Lundqvist got his 57th NHL playoff win, all with the Rangers, to extend his franchise record for most by a goaltender and move within three of tying Turk Broda (60) for 15th place in Stanley Cup Playoff history. Lundqvist also played in his 120th playoff game to pass Tom Barrasso and Dominik Hasek (119) for 10th on the all-time list among goaltenders.

WHEN A SERIES IS TIED 2-2

Elias notes that when teams are tied 2-2 in a best-of-7 Stanley Cup Playoff series, the winner of Game 5 holds an all-time series record of 193-54 (78.1 percent).

BLUE JACKETS HANG ON TO AVOID ELIMINATION

Five players scored to help the Columbus Blue Jackets stave off elimination and force Game 5 in their Eastern Conference First Round series against the Penguins. The Blue Jackets won a playoff game in regulation for the first time and won a playoff game in which it faced elimination for the first time.
* Markus Nutivaara had a goal and an assist in his first NHL playoff game while Boone Jenner (1-1-2), William Karlsson (1-1-2) and Brandon Saad (0-2-2) also had multipoint games.

LOOSE PUCKS

Penguins rookie Jake Guentzel had a goal and leads all skaters with five goals in the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs (5-1-6 in 4 GP). Elias notes that Guentzel became the first player to score five goals in his first four career postseason games since Maurice Richard in 1944 with the Canadiens. … Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin had two assists and leads all skaters with eight points (two goals, six assists during the playoffs. … Sharks forward Patrick Marleau (1-1-2) scored his 66th career playoff goal to tie Joe Nieuwendyk and Denis Savard for 18th on the all-time list. Only Jaromir Jagr (78) has scored more postseason goals among active players. … T-Mobile Arena will host the
2017 NHL Awards and NHL Expansion Draft
on June 21 in Las Vegas.

SNEAK PEEK AT WEDNESDAY'S ACTION

All Times Eastern
Washington @ Toronto, TOR leads 2-1 - 7 p.m. ET; CBC, TVA Sports 2, NBCSN, CSN-DC
Ottawa @ Boston, OTT leads 2-1 - 7:30 p.m. ET; SN, TVA Sports, USA, NESN
Minnesota @ St. Louis, STL leads 3-0 - 9:30 p.m. ET; SN360, TVA Sports 2, NBCSN, FS-MW, FS-N
Anaheim @ Calgary, ANA leads 3-0 - 10 p.m. ET; CBC, TVA Sports, USA, PRIME

DUCKS, BLUES LOOK TO ADVANCE TO SECOND ROUND

The Anaheim Ducks and St. Louis Blues look to become the first two teams to advance to the second round of the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs when they face the Flames and Wild, respectively, in Game 4 on Wednesday.
* The Pacific Division champion Ducks took a 3-0 series lead Monday after rallying from a three-goal deficit to win a postseason game for the first time. The Ducks are aiming for their fifth four-game sweep in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, most recently against the Winnipeg Jets in the 2015 Western Conference First Round.
* The Blues are looking to sweep an opponent in a best-of-7 series for the sixth time, and first time since the 2001 Western Conference Semifinals against the Dallas Stars. The Blues have not trailed at any point during the series (197:48) and have held the lead for 103:51 of total playing time (52.5 percent).