NHL playoffs: Bruins knock out Rangers in playoff series

Boston • Claude Julien decided not to give his goalie a pep talk after a pratfall in the crease handed the Rangers a goal that had the potential to turn the series around.

Instead, the Bruins coach waited until after Tuukka Rask responded with 28 saves to help Boston beat New York 3-1 in Game 5 on Saturday and advance to the Eastern Conference finals.

"That's what I told Tuukka at the end of the game, 'You can start laughing now,' " Julien said after the Bruins followed their seven-game series against Toronto by avoiding a nail-biter against the Rangers.

"We probably played with fire in the first round and almost got burnt," Julien said. "We knew we couldn't let our guard down [against New York]. Because if we did, they would come right back at us."

Gregory Campbell scored twice and recent call-up Torey Krug scored his fourth goal of the series for Boston, which will meet Pittsburgh for the right to play for the Stanley Cup. The Bruins reached the third round of the NHL playoffs for the second time since 1992.

The other was 2011, when the Bruins won the sixth Stanley Cup in franchise history.

Tim Thomas was in goal then, and Rask's playoff memories aren't quite so fond. The 26-year-old Finn was the Bruins' starter when they blew a 3-0 lead in the 2010 East semifinals against Philadelphia, giving up a 3-0 lead in Game 7 as the Flyers advanced.

Boston was up 3-0 in the second-round series against New York this year, with a 2-0 lead in Game 4 when Rask tripped on a rut in the crease and flailed at a slow-moving puck as it rolled over the line. The Rangers went on to win 4-3 in overtime, forcing the series back to Boston for a fifth game.

"We wanted to make sure we ended this series — for all the right reasons," including rest for players who went to overtime in Game 7 against Toronto, Julien said. "It also gives Tuukka the opportunity to laugh about that goal."

Blackhawks 4, Red Wings 1 • Jonathan Toews and Andrew Shaw scored power-play goals in the second period, and Chicago avoided elimination with a victory over Detroit in Game 5 of the second-round playoff series.

Shaw added his third career playoff goal in the third as the Blackhawks stopped the Red Wings' three-game winning streak by creating chaos in front of Jimmy Howard, who had shut down Chicago's attack while moving Detroit to the brink of the Western Conference finals.

With the sellout crowd chanting "Ho-ward! Ho-ward!" in an attempt to shake him, the standout goalie made 41 saves in another solid performance. But the Blackhawks created enough quality chances that he simply couldn't stop all of them.

Bryan Bickell scored the first goal of the game and Corey Crawford had 25 stops for Chicago, which managed only two goals during its first three-game losing streak of the season.

Daniel Cleary scored for the second straight game for Detroit, which will have another chance to close out the top-seeded Blackhawks in Game 6 on Monday night. That will be at home, too, where the Red Wings are 4-1 in this postseason.

Detroit trailed 1-0 before Cleary completed a strong rush during a 4-on-4 stretch in the second period, beating Crawford from a tough angle on the left side for his fourth goal of the postseason. —

NHL playoffs

P Saturday

• Boston 3,N.Y. Rangers 1

Bruins win series 4-1

• Chicago 4, Detroit 1

Red Wings lead series 3-2

Sunday

• Los Angeles at San Jose, 6 p.m., NBCSN

Kings lead series 3-2