Elliott comes to Blues' rescue

No team in the playoffs is deeper at goalie than the St. Louis Blues. It's a big reason they are one win away from their first playoff series triumph in a decade.

Brian Elliott is more of a 1A than Jaroslav Halak's backup. Elliott led the NHL with a 1.56 goals-against average, including nine shutouts. He's been carrying the load since Halak was sidelined by a lower-body injury early in their first-round series against the San Jose Sharks.

Elliott, who wasn't assured of a job in training camp, was just 1:07 shy of a shutout in Game 4. The 2-1 victory gave St. Louis a 3-1 series lead coming back home for Game 5 on Saturday night.

The Phoenix Coyotes have lost players to injuries and suspensions. They get off to slow starts, give up goals late in regulation. Nothing ever seems to be easy.

So how do they handle the adversity? Shrug and grit their teeth. The Coyotes have scrapped their way to the doorstep of the franchise's first playoff series victory in 25 years.

Leading the Chicago Blackhawks 3-1 after Mikkel Boedker's second straight overtime winner, the Coyotes can close out the testy series in what figures to be a charged-up Jobing.com Arena for Game 5 Saturday night.

The Boston Bruins know there are worse positions to be in than tied 2-2 in the first round of the playoffs. During their Stanley Cup championship run last year, the Bruins dug out of a 2-0 hole in the first round against Montreal, and rallied from down 2-0 and 3-2 down in the Cup Finals against Vancouver.

So the second-seeded Bruins aren't panicking as they head into Game 5 of their Eastern Conference series with the seventh-seeded Washington Capitals.

Bruins captain Zdeno Chara said, "I think that most of the guys in here, from last year, we know that there is no room for getting too high or too low, or getting frustrated or panicking. You just got to regroup and get mentally and physically ready for the next game."

- Associated Press