This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Boston • The regular season wasn't much of a struggle for the Boston Bruins, and neither was their first-round playoff series against the Detroit Red Wings.

Tuukka Rask made 31 saves Saturday, and the defending Eastern Conference champions eliminated the Red Wings with a 4-2 victory in Game 5.

After finishing the regular season with the best record in the NHL, the Bruins advanced to the conference semifinals against the Montreal Canadiens.

"That series was much tougher than maybe the results showed," said Bruins captain Zdeno Chara, who gave Boston the lead for good with 4 seconds left in the second period. "I think that we handled it well, we came into this series ready and we got the job done."

Loui Eriksson opened the scoring for Boston, and Chara's goal on a 4-on-3 advantage snapped a 1-1 tie. Milan Lucic also scored, and Jarome Iginla added an empty-netter.

Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg scored and Jonas Gustavsson stopped 29 shots for Detroit. The Red Wings scored only six goals in the five-game series.

Penguins 3, Blue Jackets 1 • In Pittsburgh, Jussi Jokinen scored the go-ahead goal in the third period and Pittsburgh topped Columbus to take a 3-2 lead in their Eastern Conference playoff series.

Chris Kunitz and Kris Letang also scored for Pittsburgh, which has the upstart Blue Jackets on the verge of elimination with an opportunity to close out the series Monday during Game 6 in Columbus.

It hasn't been easy for the Penguins, a team considered by many a Stanley Cup contender. Columbus, which began the series searching for its first playoff win in franchise history, twice rallied to stun the heavily favored Penguins.

Avalanche 4, Wild 3 (OT) • Nathan MacKinnon scored 3:27 into overtime after P.A. Parenteau tied the game late in regulation, helping the Colorado Avalanche rally for a 3-2 win over the Minnesota Wild on Saturday night and a 3-2 lead in the first-round series.

Kings 3, Sharks 0 • In San Jose, Calif., Jonathan Quick made 30 saves to shut out San Jose for the fourth time in his career in the postseason and Los Angeles staved off elimination for a second straight game by beating San Jose in Game 5 of their first-round series. The Sharks lead the series 3-2. —

NHL playoffs

O Saturday

Boston 4, Detroit 2

Bruins win series 4-1

• Pittsburgh 3, Columbus 1

Penguins lead series 3-2

• Colorado 4, Minnesota 3 (OT)

Avalanche lead series 3-2

• Los Angeles 3, San Jose 0

Sharks lead series 3-2

Sunday

• Philadelphia at N.Y. Rangers, 10 a.m., Ch. 5

Series tied 2-2

• St. Louis at Chicago, 3 p.m., NBCSN

Hawks lead series 3-2

• Anaheim at Dallas, 8 p.m., NBCSN

Ducks lead series 3-2