Stanley Cup playoffs roundup: Wild oust Blues; Canadiens end Ottawa's run

Minnesota Wild

The NHL announced the three finalists for the Vezina Trophy on Friday and two of the finalists led their respective teams to series-clinching wins Sunday in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Minnesota's Devan Dubnyk and Montreal's Carey Price helped their teams advance to the second round by making a combined 73 saves on Sunday. Pekka Rinne of the Predators is the other Vezina finalist.

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There were only two games on Sunday and just two scheduled for Monday, when the Red Wings can close out the Lightning and the Capitals play host to the Islanders in a Game 7. 

But Dubnyk and Price were the stars on Sunday. 

Wild 4, Blues 1 (Minnesota wins series 4-2)

Takeaway: The Wild might be the best road team in the playoffs and outplayed St. Louis twice in the series to win at Scottrade Center. Minnesota's win marks the end of another disappointing postseason for the Blues, who have a long history of playoff disappointment. Wild goalie Devan Dubnyk, despite getting shellacked in a 6-1 Blues win in Game 4, was the star of the series. He has been excellent since Minnesota acquired him from Arizona. He closed the regular season with a 15-2-1 road record and went 2-1 against the Blues. 

Quotable: "It just feels right," Dubnyk told NBC Sports after the game in a televised interview. "We're ready for (the second round) and I'm ready for it. It feels like we're where we're supposed to be. I had a great feeling (Sunday) and it's incredible to play behind these guys. We trust our game so much and believe in ourselves. If we stay with it for an entire 60 minutes, we've been on the right end of it more times than not."

Highlight: Zach Parise scored the game's first goal despite taking a shot from a nearly impossible angle on the left side of Blues goalie Jake Allen.

Next up: The Wild will face the Blackhawks in the Western Conference semifinals. 

Canadiens 2, Senators 0 (Montreal wins series 4-2)

Takeaway: The Senators made an impressive, and improbable, run to get into the playoffs. But their magic ran out against Carey Price and the Canadiens. Price is the front-runner for the Vezina and he played like it Sunday. The Canadiens are the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference and, if Price continues to play well, Montreal is a serious contender to win its first Stanley Cup since 1993 when goalie Patrick Roy was the Conn Smythe winner. 

Quotable: Price on the Senators: "They worked so hard to even get here, so you've got to tip your hat to them."

Highlight: Price was lights out, especially in the final three minutes, but this first-period save may have been his best of the night.

Next up: The Canadiens will face the winner of the series between Detroit and Tampa Bay, which the Red Wings lead 3-2. 

Three stars

3. Zach Parise, LW, Wild: Parise scored Sunday's first goal to give the Wild a 1-0 lead over the Blues. He then swung momentum back to the Wild after St. Louis had cut the lead to 2-1 with a goal early in the third period. Parise has come up big in Game 6 of a series before and Sunday was no different.

2. Devan Dubnyk, G, Wild: Dubnyk made 30 saves against a desperate Blues team that threatened the net often, but broke through just once. If you remove St. Louis' 6-1 win in Game 4, Dubnyk allowed just eight goals in the other five games of the series. 

1. Carey Price, G, Montreal: Price was a stone wall, even in the final minutes while the Canadiens killed a furious Ottawa power play in a 6-on-4 situation. Price made 43 saves, a career-high for him during regulation. Price led the NHL during the regular season with 44 wins, a 1.96 goals-against average and a .933 save percentage. He kept it going Sunday with perhaps the best goalie performance so far this postseason. 

Injury report

There were no major injuries during either game Sunday. 

Monday's games

(All times Eastern)

Lightning at Red Wings, 7 p.m., CNBC (Detroit leads series 3-2)

Islanders at Capitals, 7:30, NBC Sports Network (Series tied 3-3)

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