Wild Canadiens advance to NHL playoffs 2nd round

(MENAFN- Arab News) ST. PAUL Minnesota: Zach Parise scored twice including a spectacular short-handed goal to spark Minnesota in the first period as the Minnesota Wild advanced to the Western Conference semifinals with a 4-1 victory over the St. Louis Blues on Sunday in Game 6.
Justin Fontaine also scored Nino Niederreiter added an empty-net goal and the Wild set up a rematch of their second-round loss last year to Chicago. The Blackhawks beat Nashville in six games to move on.
The Blues had their third straight first-round ouster.
Devan Dubnyk made 30 saves giving him 66 over the last two games after the 6-1 defeat here that allowed the Blues to tie the series. The Wild outscored them 8-2 after that and the Blues lost their 10th straight postseason game when facing elimination.
In Ottawa Ontario the Montreal Canadiens advanced to the second round of the NHL playoffs after Carey Price made 43 saves and Brendan Gallagher scored in the first period in a 2-0 win over the Ottawa Senators.
Max Pacioretty sealed the win with an empty-net goal with 1 second remaining.
Montreal won the best-of-seven series in six games but lost two in a row after taking a 3-0 series lead and Ottawa nearly sent it to a deciding seventh game.
Price nominated for the Vezina Trophy as the league's top goalie rebounded after allowing five goals in Game 5 with a masterful effort as the Senators outshot the Canadiens 43-20.
Montreal which reached the Eastern Conference finals last spring is in the second round for a second consecutive year for the first time since 1992 and '93.
Meantime the Minnesota Wild have signed Swiss center Christoph Bertschy (BAIRT'-chee) to a three-year entry-level contract starting with the 2015-16 season.
The Wild announced the signing Sunday.
A 21-year-old native of Fribourg Switzerland Bertschy had 14 goals 16 assists and 26 penalty minutes in 44 games with SC Bern in the Swiss League in 2014-15. He added a goal and two assists in seven playoff games.
He had three goals and two assists for Switzerland in six games at the 2013 World Junior Championship.
The 5-foot-10 189-pounder was selected by Minnesota in the sixth round of the 2012 draft.

Malkin Crosby reaffirm commitment to Penguins
Pittsburgh Penguins stars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin say they're in it for the long haul.
Crosby and Malkin reaffirmed their commitment to the team Sunday as players packed up for the offseason. Pittsburgh lost to the New York Rangers in five games in the opening round of the playoffs last. It marked the team's earliest postseason exit since 2007. Still Malkin and Crosby say the Penguins are still legitimate contenders and a spate of injuries this spring hurt their chances of a deep playoff run.
Malkin said the Penguins have a "good group" while Crosby said losing sometimes is part of the process.
Malkin praised first-year coach Mike Johnston for keeping Pittsburgh competitive as the injuries piled up.

Belarus hockey player Mikhail Stefanovich banned for doping
A Belarusian hockey player who was once part of the Toronto Maple Leafs organization has been banned for a doping violation.
Mikhail Stefanovich who has represented Belarus at three world championships was handed a two-year ban by the Russian Anti-Doping Agency backdated to Nov. 10 for the unspecified breach of anti-doping rules.
The 25-year-old right winger was a fourth-round pick for the Maple Leafs in the 2008 draft but never played an NHL game.