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NHL Three Stars: Holtby clamps Rangers; Johnson strikes Habs

Josh Cooper
WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 06: Braden Holtby #70 of the Washington Capitals makes a save during the first period against the New York Rangers in Game Four of the Eastern Conference Semifinals during the 2015 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Verizon Center on May 6, 2015 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/NHLI via Getty Images)

No. 1 Star: Braden Holtby, Washington Capitals

Stopped 28 of 29 Rangers shots on goal in Washington’s 2-1 victory. The win for the Caps gives them a commanding 3-1 series lead over New York. Holtby has been Washington’s best player, allowing five goals in four games against New York. One of his saves Wednesday was a penalty shot. During that stretch he has a .960 save percentage.

No. 2 Star, Tyler Johnson, Tampa Bay Lightning

The young forward delivered his eighth goal of the playoffs, with 1.1 seconds left in the third period to give Tampa a 2-1 win and a 3-0 series lead over Montreal. He now has 11 points in 10 playoff games for Tampa this year.

No. 3. Star: Andre Burakovsky, Washington Capitals

The 20-year-old forward scored both of the Caps’ goals to help give Holtby enough support for the win. They were Burakovky’s first two goals of his playoff career. He has three points in four games against the Rangers this series.

Honorable Mention: Rangers forward Derick Brassard scored his fifth goal of the playoffs … New York goaltender Henrik Lundqvist stopped 28 of 30 Caps shots on goal in the loss … Tampa forward Steven Stamkos notched an assist … Lightning forward Alex Killorn scored a goal and fellow forward Ondrej Palat notched an assist … Brendan Gallagher scored Montreal’s only goal of the night.

Did You Know?: Johnson has three game-winning goals in his playoff career (14 games) and 10 in 173 regular season games. Think he’s clutch eh?

Dishonorable Mention: Montreal goaltender Carey Price stopped 17 of 19 Tampa shots on goal. He has an .853 save percentage this series … Montreal defensemen Andrei Markov and P.K. Subban were each a minus-2 … Montreal forward Max Pacioretty has one goal this series for the Canadiens … New York forward Rick Nash has one goal in nine games.

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