APIt should come as no surprise to see how tight the New York Rangers/Washington Capitals series has been. Entering Game 5, nine of their last 10 meetings had been decided by one goal, with three of them needing overtime.

Game 5 kept with that theme as Mike Ribeiro's goal 9:24 into overtime gave the Capitals a 2-1 victory and moved them a win away from the second round:

Capitals head coach Adam Oates said before Game 5 he was "worried" about how his team would start the game. His fear became a reality when Brian Boyle scored just 53 seconds into the game to give New York the early lead.

Boyle would later watch from the penalty box as Joel Ward evened the score 11 seconds into Washington's first power play (drawn by Ribeiro) of the game 7:44 into the second period. That set the scene for Ribeiro to step up in the OT and score his first goal of the playoffs and first since April 18.

With the Maple Leafs also winning Friday night, Game 6 for Capitals/Rangers will be Sunday at 4:30 p.m. ET.

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Getty ImagesTD Garden has been a house of horrors of late for the Toronto Maple Leafs, but with their season on the line in Game 5, they survived to see another day thanks to a 2-1 victory. Game 6 is Sunday at Air Canada Centre.

After a scoreless first period, the Maple Leafs grabbed the lead on a Tyler Bozak shorthanded goal, their first since the centerman scored one on Feb. 7 versus the Winnipeg Jets.

As we see many times, a big save on one end of the ice leads to a goal on the other. That's what happened two minutes before Bozak's first of the playoffs when James Reimer, who finished with 43 saves, robbed Patrice Bergeron on the doorstep to keep the game scoreless:

Clarke MacArthur's goal 1:58 into the third period would stand as the game winner after Zdeno Chara cut the Toronto lead in half midway through the final period.

Maple Leafs fans spent the rest of the third period living and dying with each and every remaining scoring chance. Boston would outshoot Toronto 19-4 in the third, but Reimer stood tall stopping 18 of them to keep their season alive for at least one more game.

The Maple Leafs have made a habit of not making things easy in the postseason. Five of their last seven playoff series dating back to 2001 have gone seven games. Will they make it six of eight?

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Here are your Puck Previews: Spotlighting the key games in NHL action, news and views as well as general frivolity. Make sure to stop back here for the nightly Three Stars when the games are finished.

Getty ImagesPreview: Toronto Maple Leafs at Boston Bruins, 7 p.m. ET. (Bruins lead series 3-1) Matt Bartkowski is in and Wade Redden is out as the Bruins get their first crack at eliminating the Maple Leafs. History is not on the Leafs' side tonight. Toronto has won just 3 of their last 15 games at TD Garden. Subbing in for the injured Mark Fraser on the Leafs blueline will be John-Michael Liles, who has not played since Game 1.

Preview: New York Rangers at Washington Capitals, 7:30 p.m. ET (Series tied 2-2) One lineup change entering Game 5 tonight: Martin Erat will be scratched with an upper-body injury. Enter rookie Tom Wilson for the Capitals. Rangers defenseman Marc Staal said Friday morning that he will not play tonight, and could possibly be out for the rest of the series as he recovers from an eye injury. Steve Eminger will once again take his place.

Getty ImagesNew York Rangers defenseman Marc Staal returned after a two-month absence for Game 3 against the Washington Capitals. But on the morning of Game 4, he took himself out of the lineup and may not play the rest of the series.

Meeting with reporters on Friday morning in Washington, Staal ruled himself out for Game 5 and said a return to the series is unknown at this point.

From the Bergen Record:

“Not much, I’ll wake up tomorrow and go at it again,” Staal said before being asked whether he believes he’ll play again in the series. “I don’t know. With this thing, the way I’ve been dealing with it is I wake up in the morning and take it from there. I couldn’t speculate one way or another.”

Staal was on the ice Friday morning, but wouldn't go into detail why he ruled himself out for Games 4 and 5, and possibly the rest of the series. After taking a puck to the eye in March, blurred vision and a depth perception that's not 100 percent have been part of what's kept him out of the lineup.

He had also took part in the morning skate of Game 4, but said "it didn't go particularly well as the day went on."

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Getty ImagesNo. 1 Star: David Krejci, Boston Bruins

Krejci scored twice in the second period 3:40 apart to help the Bruins take a 3-2 lead over the Toronto Maple Leafs. In overtime, Krejci completed his hat trick at 13:06 to give Boston a 4-3 win and a 3-1 series lead. Tuukka Rask made 45 saves. Zdeno Chara led all players in time on ice with 33:09 and assisted on all four Boston goals.

No. 2 Star: Nick Bonino, Anaheim Ducks

Just 1:54 into overtime was all that the Ducks and Bonino needed to put the Detroit Red Wings on the brink of elimination with a 3-2 victory. Bonino's goal was his third of the series, tying him with Ryan Getzlaf for the Ducks' team lead.

No. 3 Star: Jeff Carter, Los Angeles Kings

Carter scored his second and third goals of the playoffs to pace the Kings to a 2-1 lead over the St. Louis Blues early in the third period. After the Blues knotted it up late in regulation, Slava Voynov's two-way play helped create the winning goal he would score for a 3-2 win, giving the Kings a 3-2 series lead. Jonathan Quick made 34 saves. Anze Kopitar and Mike Richards finished with a pair of assists.

APEntering Game 5, Anaheim Ducks defenseman Ben Lovejoy's last two assists came on what would be the eventual game-winning goals in 3-1 wins over the Detroit Red Wings in Game 1 and versus the Vancouver Canucks on April 25.

Lovejoy did it for a third time as he set up Nick Bonino's overtime winner to give the Ducks a 3-2 victory and go up 3-2 in the series:

Bonino's goal was his third of the playoffs, tying him with team captain Ryan Getzlaf, who evened the game at two late in the second period.

How good of an omen could knocking out the Red Wings be for Anaheim? The only two times the Ducks gotten by them in the playoffs they would go on to the Stanley Cup Final. Game 6 is Friday at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit.

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APSlava Voynov is embracing this hero role he's acquired over the last three games for the Kings.

The LA defenseman scored his second game-winning goal of the series in a 3-2 overtime victory over the St. Louis Blues in Game 5. The Kings head back to Staples Center on Friday night with a chance to eliminate the Blues for the second straight year.

After netting the only goal in LA's 1-0 win in Game 3, Voynov helped create the winning goal by denying Blues forward Jaden Schwartz a shot at one end, then coming down and beating Brian Elliott five-hold at the other end:

After Jeff Carter's second of the game 54 seconds into the third period gave the Kings a 2-1 lead, it was looking like the game would end in regulation, but Alex Pietrangelo's seeing-eye shot from the point beat Jonathan Quick with 44.1 seconds to go to force overtime.

How big have Voynov's contributions been? Including playoffs, the Kings are undefeated in the last 10 games he's scored a goal.

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APDion Phaneuf thought he could pinch and keep the puck in the Boston Bruins zone. He was wrong and the puck caromed off the boards to David Krejci, who would go up ice on and a 2-on-1 and finish his hat trick in overtime for a 4-3 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs:

The hat trick was the second of Krejci's playoff career. The series heads back to Boston on Friday with the Bruins up 3-1.

Things were looking bright for the Maple Leafs early on as they grabbed a 2-0 first period lead. As they are this time of year, special teams played a huge role in the swinging of momentum as the Bruins scored on two of their five power plays, both of which helped them take the lead in the second period. Toronto was unable to capitalize on any of their four opportunities.

As the Maple Leafs attempt to avoid elimination, they may do so without defenseman Mark Fraser, who took a puck to the head in the third period. He did not return to the game and went to a local hospital for a CT scan, according to head coach Randy Carlyle.

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