Chicago Blackhawks' Marian Hossa (L) scores on Minnesota Wild goaltender Josh Harding during the second period of Game 5 of their NHL Western Conference quarterfinal playoff in Chicago Thursday. — Reuters MONTREAL — Cory Conacher scored twice and Craig Anderson stopped 33 shots Thursday as the Ottawa Senators beat the Montreal Canadiens 6-1 to reach the second round of the NHL playoffs. The victory gave the Senators a 4-1 triumph in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference first-round series. Erik Condra notched a goal and two assists for Ottawa, which reached the second round for the first time since it advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2007. Kyle Turris, Zack Smith and Daniel Alfredsson also scored for Ottawa. P.K. Subban scored the lone goal for the Canadiens, who had to make do without captain Brian Gionta (bicep surgery), forwards Lars Eller (concussion, broken nose), Brandon Prust and Ryan White (upper-body injuries) and starting goaltender Carey Price — who sustained an unspecified lower-body injury late in game four. In the Western Conference, the Chicago Blackhawks reached the second round with a 5-1 victory over the Minnesota Wild. Corey Crawford made 21 saves and Marian Hossa delivered two goals and an assist to help Chicago polish off a 4-1 series victory. Marcus Kruger had a goal and an assist, Andrew Shaw and Patrick Sharp scored a goal apiece and Duncan Keith and Jonathan Toews notched two assists each for the Blackhawks — who avoided a third straight first-round exit after winning the Stanley Cup in 2010. Torrey Mitchell scored the Wild's only goal. Minnesota was in the playoffs for the first time since the 2007-09 season. Penguins 4, Islanders 0: Tomas Vokoun turned aside 31 shots in his first postseason appearance since 2007 and captain Sidney Crosby collected a goal and an assist as host Pittsburgh seized a 3-2 advantage in its Eastern Conference first-round series with eighth-seeded New York. Kris Letang scored a goal and set up another while fellow defenseman Douglas Murray and Tyler Kennedy also tallied. Pascal Dupuis, Evgeni Malkin and Jarome Iginla each notched an assist to extend their respective point streaks to six games for the top-seeded Penguins, who will look to clinch the series on Long Island in Game 6 Saturday. Playing in place of the ineffective Marc-Andre Fleury, Vokoun showed no signs of rust en route to his second career postseason shutout. The 36-year-old entered the contest with a 3-8 mark in the playoffs — with all 11 decisions coming while he was a member of the Nashville Predators. — Agencies
