Away wins for Rangers, Bruins and Blues give them playoff edge

Rangers 1, Senators 0 Henrik Lundqvist made 39 saves for his fourth NHL playoff shutout, and Brian Boyle scored for the third straight game to break a third-period deadlock as the New York Rangers beat the Ottawa Senators 1-0 on Monday. The Rangers, who lost Game 2 at home in overtime, lead the best-of-seven, first-round series 2-1. Game 4 will be Wednesday night in Ottawa before the series returns to New York. Lundqvist's biggest save came in the last minute when he robbed Kyle Turris on the doorstep with a quick pad stop. Craig Anderson was nearly as good, keeping the Senators in it with a 22-save effort. Ottawa was without captain Daniel Alfredsson, who sustained a concussion in Game 2 when he was elbowed in the head by Rangers rookie Carl Hagelin. Hagelin served the first of a three-game NHL suspension for the hit. Bobby Butler replaced Alfredsson. Chris Kreider, who nine days earlier won the NCAA championship with Boston College, made his NHL debut in place of Hagelin. Bruins 4, Capitals 3 At Washington, Zdeno Chara scored the tiebreaking goal during a 4-on-4 play with less than 2 minutes left as reigning Stanley Cup champion Boston beat Washington to take a 2-1 lead in the first-round series. Chara's shot from the right circle appeared to get deflected on its way past Braden Holtby. The Bruins captain also had two assists. Tim Thomas, last season's playoff MVP, made 29 saves and ignored the taunting from fans who held up photos of President Barack Obama, reminding Boston's goalie that he turned down a trip to the White House in January with his teammates. Game 4 is Thursday in Washington. After that, the best-of-seven Eastern Conference series shifts back to Boston for Game 5 on Saturday. Brian Rolston, Rich Peverley and Daniel Paille also scored for the Bruins. Alex Ovechkin, Alexander Semin and Brooks Laich got Washington's goals. Laich scored on a breakaway with 6 minutes left to make it 3-3, but Chara came through with 1:53 remaining. Holtby, who blocked 72 of 74 shots through the first two games, made 25 saves. Blues 4, Sharks 3 At San Jose, California, Andy McDonald scored one goal and set up another in the second period to help St. Louis regain home-ice advantage in their first-round series against San Jose by in Game 3. Patrik Berglund, Jason Arnott and Alexander Steen added power-play goals, and Brian Elliott made 26 saves in place of injured Jaroslav Halak as the Blues won their second straight following a double-overtime loss in Game 1 to take a 2-1 series lead. Game 4 is Thursday in San Jose. Brent Burns, Colin White and Logan Couture scored for the Sharks, who again struggled to find answers against St. Louis, losing for the sixth time in seven meetings this season. If San Jose doesn't find a way to penetrate St. Louis soon, the Sharks could exit in the first round after making it to the Western Conference finals the past two seasons.