DALLAS - Rookie playoff points leader Robby Fabbri had a goal and assist, Brian Elliott turned away a strong Dallas push in the third period and the St. Louis Blues beat the Stars 4-1 Saturday for a 3-2 lead in their second-round series.

Related: Watch: Blues' Jaskin scores in 2016 postseason debut

Dmitrij Jaskin's first career playoff goal put the Blues ahead for good at 2-1 in the second period, and St. Louis protected a 3-1 lead in the third for a second straight road victory. The Blues surrendered the same lead before winning in overtime in Game 2 in Dallas.

Elliott had 27 saves to give the Blues a chance to wrap up the series in Game 6 at home on Monday night.

Troy Brouwer scored his fourth goal of the playoffs in a rare early start (noon) just 38 hours after the Stars won in overtime in St. Louis to even the series.

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ST. LOUIS - Alexander Steen and David Backes had two goals apiece and the St. Louis Blues' defense put the clamps on the Dallas Stars in a 6-1 victory that put them up 2-1 in the second-round series Tuesday night.

Vladimir Tarasenko had a goal and two assists, Troy Brouwer had a goal and assist and Brian Elliott was strong when he needed to be for the Blues in their first lopsided triumph of the postseason. Their other five wins were decided by one goal.

The Blues finished two points behind Western Conference champion Dallas in the regular season and have control of the series heading into Game 4 Thursday night in St. Louis. Despite a late start - more than 1 1/2 hours past the usual puck drop - the vast majority of a standing-room crowd of 19,323 stuck around to the finish.

St. Louis scored six unanswered goals after Colton Sceviour gave Dallas the early advantage, three coming in a breakaway second period. Steen capped the big second period with a power-play goal, matching his postseason career high for goals in a game.

Antti Niemi was the lone major lineup change for Game 3, replacing Kari Lehtonen in the Stars' net after playing effectively the last two periods plus overtime in Game 2. That switch didn't last long, and it didn't matter.

Lehtonen was back early in the second after Niemi allowed three goals on 12 shots.

The third period turned nasty when Stephen Johns boarded Alex Pietrangelo with 3:01 to go, leading to a pummeling of Curtis McKenzie by Blues regulator Ryan Reaves. Backes scored his fifth of the postseason during the 4-on-4, giving the captain his first career multi-goal game.

Tarasenko also had a three-point game in the first round against Chicago. He's the first St. Louis player with multiple three-point games in the postseason since Doug Weight also had two in 2003. He has 15 goals in 23 career playoff games.

Sceviour tapped in his own rebound for the Stars' lone goal at 4:44 of the first. Just 1:07 later, Steen tied it on a play that developed off a turnover by Alex Goligoski.

Backes, who got the winning goal on an overtime power play in Game 2, put St. Louis ahead on another power play on a deflection at 16:10.

The Stars just missed a chance to tie it late in the period. Jason Demers' shot off the crossbar was ruled a goal on the ice but was waved off after video review.

The rest was all St. Louis.

Brouwer skated in alone for his third goal of the postseason, Tarasenko scored off Goligoski's skate and Steen scored on a power play.

NOTES: The Blues' margin of victory matched their largest in the playoffs since a 6-1 decision in Game 4 of the first round last season at Minnesota. ... Earlier in the day, Stars coach Lindy Ruff said F Patrick Eaves (lower body) could return for Game 4, and should be back by Game 5 at the latest. ... Counting the postseason, Blues D Kevin Shattenkirk has 25 points in 25 games against Dallas. ... Steen also had two goals against the Kings on April 30, 2013.

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Shea Weber scored the go-ahead goal and had an assist and the Nashville Predators beat the San Jose Sharks 4-1 Tuesday night to pull within 2-1 in their Western Conference second-round series.

James Neal and Filip Forsberg each scored on the power-play, Colin Wilson had a goal, and Pekka Rinne made 26 saves for Nashville.

Patrick Marleau scored for the Sharks, who lost for the first time away from San Jose this postseason and first since a loss at Arizona on March 17.

Game 4 is Thursday night.

The Predators not only lost the first two in San Jose, but were facing the NHL's best regular-season road team. The Sharks also went 4-2 in Nashville in winning first-round series in both 2006 and 2007.

Nashville has not lost a game in regulation on home ice to San Jose since Feb. 25, 2012, with the lone defeat in seven games a shootout loss April 2. This time, the Predators shut down the Sharks' power play, killing four penalties after San Jose went 3 of 5 in the first two games.

Predators coach Peter Laviolette switched up his lineup with Mike Ribeiro a healthy scratch in place of Pontus Aberg making his NHL debut. Ribeiro had only one assist in nine postseason games and a minus-3 rating. Laviolette also put Craig Smith, Forsberg and Ryan Johansen together on the top line and moved Neal with Mike Fisher and Wilson.

For a little extra mojo, the Predators brought Tennessee Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota onto the ice before the puck dropped to rally the fans.

The Sharks scored first. Marleau got the puck and skated past the Nashville defense for an easy wrister into an open net, catching Rinne too far from the crease at 13:13. But San Jose failed to convert on two man-advantages in the period.

In the second, Sharks right wing Joonas Donskoi got a double-minor for high-sticking Neal at 2:19. Neal finally scored on the power play at 5:11 with a one-timer from the edge of the right circle off a pass from Mattias Ekholm. With Matt Nieto in the box for hooking Johansen, Smith joined him a minute later setting up 60 seconds of 4-on-4 play.

Weber gave the Predators their first lead since the opening goal of Game 1 with a blast from the slot that beat Martin Jones high to his glove side with 13 seconds left in 4-on-4. Then, Nashville killed off the ensuing power play.

Nashville forward Colton Sissons had to be helped off the ice at 6:09 of the third after his left knee crashed into the post while he was chasing down a loose puck. No penalty was called, and went to the locker room after coming off. He was back on the bench late in the game.

Wilson then padded the Predators' lead at 6:55, scoring off the rebound of Ryan Ellis' shot. Forsberg added his power-play goal and just second goal of the postseason at 15:49.

NOTES: Weber's goal tied him with David Legwand for most in Nashville postseason history with 13. Weber reached that mark in his 55th game, while Legwand did it in 47. ... The Sharks now are 5-4 in Game 3s when leading a series 2-0 and snapped a streak of three straight wins in such situations.

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PITTSBURGH - Patric Hornqvist and Tom Kuhnhackl scored a minute apart in the first period, Matt Murray stopped 47 shots and the Pittsburgh Penguins took control of their Eastern Conference semifinal with a 3-2 win in Game 3 on Monday.

Carl Hagelin added his third goal of the playoffs for Pittsburgh, which took a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series on another contentious night guaranteed to keep the NHL player safety office busy. Two days after Washington's Brooks Orpik earned a three-game suspension for an illegal hit on Pittsburgh's Olli Maatta, Penguins defenseman Kris Letang took a shot at Capitals forward Marcus Johansson sure to be reviewed before Wednesday's Game 4.

Alexander Ovechkin and Justin Williams scored in the third, but the Capitals find themselves in a deficit against a franchise they have beaten just once in eight previous playoff meetings.

The Penguins were hardly crisp but turned Washington mistakes into goals while Murray did the rest. The 21-year-old rookie outplayed Vezina Trophy finalist Braden Holtby to move Pittsburgh within two wins of a spot in the conference finals.

Playing with the urgency they lacked early in a 2-1 loss in Game 2, the Capitals outshot Pittsburgh 49-23 and outhit the Penguins 58-25. It hardly mattered.

The NHL's best team during the regular season has just one goal in the last six periods against Murray, who is playing so well Marc-Andre Fleury - who dressed for the first time since suffering a concussion on March 31 - might want to get used to the view on the bench.

Wearing the same Pittsburgh gold uniforms that team owner Mario Lemieux wore during the club's consecutive Stanley Cup runs in 1991 and 1992 - runs that included victories over Washington - it seemed like old times for the Penguins. The defense in front of Murray was steady even with Derrick Pouliot making his playoff debut while replacing Maatta, who is out indefinitely after taking a shot to the head from Orpik.

Pittsburgh's depth at the blue line could be tested in Game 4 after Letang made a run at Johansson that had some of the hallmarks of the elbow Orpik threw at Maatta. Johansson was skating into the offensive zone when he was headed off by four Penguins. The puck was steered away and long gone by the time Letang turned toward Johansson and launched himself into the forward. Letang earned a penalty for interference and Johansson remained on the ice for several moments before skating away.

Unlike Maatta, Johansson returned. By then, however, the Capitals were already on their heels after the Penguins counterattacked brilliantly. Sidney Crosby keyed a rush that ended with Conor Sheary chasing down a blocked shot in the corner and feeding it to Trevor Daley at the point. Hornqvist reached out and expertly smacked the puck off the ice, allowing it to skid right by Holtby to give Pittsburgh a lead perhaps it didn't deserve just 6:37 into the game.

A minute later Washington's deficit doubled when Nicklas Backstrom whiffed while trying to intercept Letang's long stretch pass to Cullen. The ensuing 2-on-1 ended with the puck smacking off Kuhnhackl's back and into the net.

Murray hardly appeared phased by having his team's franchise goaltender active for the first time in more than a month. He withstood whatever Washington threw at him, everything from heavy blasts from the point to chaos from in close.

When the Capitals weren't firing away they were giving it up.

Nate Schmidt opened the door for the Penguins to make it 3-0 late in the second period, flipping a blind backhand pass deep in the Washington end into the slot. Two passes later Hagelin was tipping in a slick feed from Nick Bonino, who drew Holtby out, and then tucked the puck around the sprawled goaltender to Hagelin in front of the open net.

Ovechkin's fourth of the postseason, a blur that whizzed by Murray's mask 8:02 into the third, gave Washington momentum, but there wasn't enough time to catch up.

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SAN JOSE, Calif. - Joe Pavelski scored the tie-breaking goal with 2:40 left in regulation and Martin Jones stopped 37 shots to lead the San Jose Sharks to a 3-2 victory over the Nashville Predators on Sunday night and a 2-0 lead in their second-round playoff series.

Logan Couture added a power-play goal and Joe Thornton scored an empty-netter to put the Sharks in control as the series shifts to Nashville for Game 3 on Tuesday night.

Mattias Ekholm tied the game earlier in the third and Ryan Johansen also scored for Nashville.

After San Jose blew a one-goal lead earlier in the third, the top line delivered when it mattered most. Joe Thornton slid a cross-ice pass to Matt Nieto, whose initial shot was stopped by Pekka Rinne. But Pavelski batted the rebound in for his sixth goal of the playoffs to give the Sharks the lead.

Thornton scored an empty-net goal that proved crucial when Johansen scored with 3.6 seconds left for Nashville.

Rinne had helped keep Nashville in the game long enough to get the equalizer midway through the third. With San Jose leading 1-0, Rinne robbed Nick Spaling with a pad save on a 2-on-1 with San Jose short-handed.

A few minutes later, Ekholm got the equalizer when his shot from the high slot got past a screened Jones to make it 1-1.

The Sharks scored first following an odd penalty late in the second period. Nashville defenseman Roman Josi tried to rush off the ice after a bad line change to avoid a too many men penalty, but jumped into the Sharks bench because he couldn't reach his own in time.

That move shocked the San Jose players but didn't avoid the penalty and the Sharks made Nashville pay for the mistake. Early on the ensuing power play, Brent Burns fired a point shot on net that Rinne stopped with his pads. But Couture jumped on the rebound and knocked it in with 1:24 left for his third goal of the series.

Burns and the rest of the Sharks had struggled to get shots on net before that with Nashville blocking five shots by Burns before he finally got one to Rinne off a deflection by Pavelski.

Even when they did manage to get shots through the defense, Rinne was there to stop them. His best sequence came early in the second period when Joonas Donskoi slid a pass to Couture, whose shot from the slot was stopped by Rinne. Donskoi got the rebound and appeared to have an empty net to shoot at but Rinne slid over to make another save.

The power-play goal by Couture was San Jose's third in its first five chances with the man advantage this series as special teams have played a major role in the Sharks' success the past two games

San Jose even killed a penalty for too many men in the ice shortly before Couture's goal as Nashville fell to 2-for-31 on the power play this postseason.

NOTES: The Predators have lost all six postseason games they have played in San Jose, getting outscored 23-12. ... F Craig Smith returned to the lineup for Nashville after missing Game 1 with a lower-body injury.

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SAN JOSE, Calif. - Joe Pavelski scored the tie-breaking goal with 2:40 left in regulation and Martin Jones stopped 37 shots to lead the San Jose Sharks to a 3-2 victory over the Nashville Predators on Sunday night and a 2-0 lead in their second-round playoff series.

Logan Couture added a power-play goal and Joe Thornton scored an empty-netter to put the Sharks in control as the series shifts to Nashville for Game 3 on Tuesday night.

Mattias Ekholm tied the game earlier in the third and Ryan Johansen also scored for Nashville.

After San Jose blew a one-goal lead earlier in the third, the top line delivered when it mattered most. Joe Thornton slid a cross-ice pass to Matt Nieto, whose initial shot was stopped by Pekka Rinne. But Pavelski batted the rebound in for his sixth goal of the playoffs to give the Sharks the lead.

Thornton scored an empty-net goal that proved crucial when Johansen scored with 3.6 seconds left for Nashville.

Rinne had helped keep Nashville in the game long enough to get the equalizer midway through the third. With San Jose leading 1-0, Rinne robbed Nick Spaling with a pad save on a 2-on-1 with San Jose short-handed.

A few minutes later, Ekholm got the equalizer when his shot from the high slot got past a screened Jones to make it 1-1.

The Sharks scored first following an odd penalty late in the second period. Nashville defenseman Roman Josi tried to rush off the ice after a bad line change to avoid a too many men penalty, but jumped into the Sharks bench because he couldn't reach his own in time.

That move shocked the San Jose players but didn't avoid the penalty and the Sharks made Nashville pay for the mistake. Early on the ensuing power play, Brent Burns fired a point shot on net that Rinne stopped with his pads. But Couture jumped on the rebound and knocked it in with 1:24 left for his third goal of the series.

Burns and the rest of the Sharks had struggled to get shots on net before that with Nashville blocking five shots by Burns before he finally got one to Rinne off a deflection by Pavelski.

Even when they did manage to get shots through the defense, Rinne was there to stop them. His best sequence came early in the second period when Joonas Donskoi slid a pass to Couture, whose shot from the slot was stopped by Rinne. Donskoi got the rebound and appeared to have an empty net to shoot at but Rinne slid over to make another save.

The power-play goal by Couture was San Jose's third in its first five chances with the man advantage this series as special teams have played a major role in the Sharks' success the past two games

San Jose even killed a penalty for too many men in the ice shortly before Couture's goal as Nashville fell to 2-for-31 on the power play this postseason.

NOTES: The Predators have lost all six postseason games they have played in San Jose, getting outscored 23-12. ... F Craig Smith returned to the lineup for Nashville after missing Game 1 with a lower-body injury.

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TAMPA, Fla. - Tyler Johnson had two goals and an assist and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the New York Islanders 4-1 on Saturday to even the second-round series at a game apiece.

Lightning goalie Ben Bishop rebounded after being pulled in second period of Game 1 to make 19 saves. He gave up four goals on 13 shots Wednesday night in a 5-3 loss.

Jonathan Drouin and Victor Hedman each had a goal and an assist for Tampa Bay.

Nikolay Kulemin scored for the Islanders, and Thomas Greiss 27 stopped shots.

Game 3 is Tuesday night in Brooklyn.

After Islanders teammates Cal Clutterbuck and Nick Leddy collided at the Tampa Bay blue line, the Lightning got an odd-man rush that resulted in Johnson's backhander that opened the scoring 6:03 into the game.

Johnson extended the Tampa Bay advantage to 4-1 with a late empty-netter.

Drouin made it 2-0 on another backhander that trickled past Greiss at 11:55 of the first. It was the first career playoff goal, coming in his 13th game, for the third overall pick in the 2013 draft.

Kulemin's deflection cut the deficit to 2-1 on the Islanders' third power play with 4:45 left in the first.

Hedman stopped a 23-game playoff goal drought to give Tampa Bay a 3-1 lead during a power play at 11:59 of the second. His shot from the blue line went off New York's Calvin de Haan.

Hedman's goal came after Clutterbuck was sent off for goalie interference, a penalty that appeared to stun players on the New York bench.

NOTES: Tampa Bay D Anton Stralman, out since breaking his left fibula March 25, is skating before practice but is not ready yet to return. Tampa Bay also was without D Matt Carle, who sat out with an undisclosed injury. ... Islanders D Ryan Pulock (upper-body injury) missed his fourth straight game but could soon be ready to play. ... New York has allowed the first goal in seven of its eight playoff games this season.

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SAN JOSE, Calif. - Joel Ward scored the tiebreaking goal against his former team with 8:11 remaining in regulation to help the San Jose Sharks rally past the Nashville Predators 5-2 on Friday night in Game 1 of their second-round series.

Ward also set up Tomas Hertl's power-play goal that tied the game earlier in the period before scoring one of his own to help San Jose win its first playoff game when trailing after two periods since 2011.

Logan Couture added a power-play goal and an empty-netter for insurance, before Tommy Wingels sealed it with another empty-net goal as the Sharks showed few signs of rust after having six days off since beating Los Angeles in a five-game series in the first round. Martin Jones made 29 saves, and Brent Burns had two assists.

Mike Fisher and Ryan Johansen scored for the Predators, who allowed five goals in the third period after having only one day off since winning Game 7 of a first-round series in Anaheim. Pekka Rinne made 33 saves.

Ward has long played his best hockey in the postseason, most notably when he scored seven goals in 12 games in 2011 to help lead Nashville to its first appearance ever in the second round. He proved he could do it just as well against the Predators.

He started the comeback by setting up Hertl near the side of the net late in a power play early in the third. Hertl then fired a shot just under Rinne's glove on the short side.

Ward then scored his 15th career playoff goal when he was left all alone after taking a pass from Joonas Donskoi. He stickhandled past Rinne before tucking the puck into the net.

Couture's first goal on the power play gave San Jose breathing room it needed when Johansen scored with 1:49 left and Rinne off for an extra skater.

But Couture and Wingels answered with the empty-netters to clinch the win.

The game lacked the usual playoff atmosphere in the Shark Tank at the start where there were rows of empty seats in the first non-sellout in the playoffs in franchise history.

Nashville's tight-to-the-vest play also helped keep the crowd out of it as the Predators did their best to prevent the Sharks from setting up in the offensive zone and Rinne was once again sharp against San Jose.

But San Jose nearly scored first when Melker Karlsson shot his own rebound toward the net just as a sliding Anthony Bitetto knocked it off the moorings. The Sharks argued that the puck would have gone in had Bitetto not knocked off the net but a replay review was inconclusive and the call of no-goal stood.

The Predators then struck early in the second after Matt Nieto was sent to the box for tripping in the offensive zone. Nashville had failed to convert on 26 of its first 27 power-play chances this postseason, including one in the first period, and appeared on its way to another blown opportunity.

But late in the man advantage, Johansen slid a cross-ice pass to Fisher, who beat Jones with a wrist shot from the circle to the short side.

NOTES: The Sharks last overcame a deficit after two periods to win a playoff game in Game 3 against Detroit in the second round in 2011. San Jose trailed 3-2 after two before winning 4-3 in OT. ... F Craig Smith (lower body) missed his third game of the playoffs and Eric Nystrom got the nod in his place.

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DALLAS - Radek Faksa scored the tiebreaking goal on a rebound with 4:44 to play and had an assist on the other Dallas goal to help the Stars open the second round of the Western Conference playoffs with a 2-1 victiry over the St. Louis Blues on Friday night.

Like Antoine Roussel did on his second-period goal on which Faksa had an assist, Faksa started the rush that led to his winner.

Blues defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk tied it at 1 with 8:28 left in the third period with a shot from the top of the left circle after Dallas failed to clear the puck out of the zone.

Game 2 is Sunday in the best-of-seven series matching the Western Conference's top two teams from the regular season.

After Faksa pushed the puck up the ice, Ales Hemsky had the initial shot stopped but not secured by Brian Elliott. Faksa was there to score his second goal of the playoffs.

Along with the Western Conference's top two teams, this is a matchup of Stars coach Lindy Ruff and St. Louis' Ken Hitchcock, coaches who became friends after being assistant coaches as Team Canada won gold medals in the last two Winter Olympics.

Hitchcock was coach of the Stars when the franchise won its only Stanley Cup in 1999, complete with a disputed clinching goal in triple overtime of Game 6 against Ruff's Buffalo Sabres. They also went head-to-head in the 2006 playoffs, when the Sabres beat Hitchcock's Philadelphia Flyers.

Kari Lehtonen stopped 31 shots, withstanding a final surge when the Blues pulled Elliott out of the net and had an extra skater the final 1:40.

Elliott, who has played all eight playoffs games for the Blues, had 40 saves.

Dallas took its initial lead midway through the second period when Roussel started a rush down the right side and then had a cross-ice pass John Klingberg before Faksa's wrist shot from the om the left slot. Roussel was there to knock in the rebound.

It was Roussel's second goal of the playoffs, the first one that he got a stick on the puck.

Roussel scored from behind the net in Game 2 of the first-round series against Minnesota. A puck ricocheted off a teammate's skate and then hit Roussel's, popping over the net and into the back of the goalie's head before falling to the ice. The strange goal was initially waived off before being overturned following a lengthy review.

NOTES: Stars right wing Patrick Eaves was down between the circles and had a struggle getting off the ice after getting hit by a shot taken by teammate Stephen Johns early in the third period. Once to the bench, Eaves hobbled to the locker room. ... The Stars hosted a Game 1 in the second round for the first time since 2003, the last time they were a No. 1 seed. ... St. Louis opened a playoff series on the road for the first time since 2009. ... Masters and U.S. Open champion Jordan Spieth was in a suite watching his hometown team with former Stars captain Brenden Morrow. In another suite was Dallas Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki.

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ANAHEIM, Calif. - Colin Wilson and Paul Gaustad scored in the first period and the Nashville Predators hung on to win the franchise's first Game 7, advancing to the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs with a 2-1 victory over the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday night.

Pekka Rinne made 36 saves for the wild-card Predators, who rallied from a 3-2 series deficit and ousted the Pacific Division champion Ducks with a gritty road victory. Nashville earned just the third playoff series victory in team history - the first since 2012, and the second over Anaheim.

Nashville will travel up the California coast to face the San Jose Sharks on Friday night.

For the fourth consecutive season, the Ducks blew a 3-2 series lead and lost a Game 7 at home.

Frederik Andersen made 18 saves and Ryan Kesler scored a power-play goal early in the third period for the Ducks. They had numerous late chances to tie it while largely dominating the final two periods, but a redirected shot clanked off Rinne's post in the final minutes, and nothing went in during a frantic final minute.

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