No. 2 San Jose vs. No. 3 Detroit
(Sharks win series 4-3)

Game 1: Sharks 2, Red Wings 1 (OT)

Game 2: Sharks 2, Red Wings 1

Game 3: Sharks 4, Red Wings 3

Game 4: Red Wings 4, Sharks 3

Game 5: Red Wings 4, Sharks 3

Game 6: Red Wings 3, Sharks 1

Game 7: Sharks 3, Red Wings 2
Patrick Marleau has shouldered more than his fare share of blame for San Jose’s continued postseason failures over the years, so it was only fitting that his play proved to be the difference as the Sharks fended off Detroit’s final rally to advance to the Western Conference finals. Marleau notched his first point of the series when he knocked in a rebound with 7 minutes 47 seconds left and then broke up a scoring chance in front of net in the final seconds and cleared the puck to seal the victory. Despite losing Todd Bertuzzi and Danny Cleary to concussions during the game, the resilient Red Wings dominated the second period and pulled within 2-1 on Henrik Zetterberg’s goal at the 13:10 mark. Marleau’s tally gave his team a bit of breathing room until Pavel Datsyuk scored for the Red Wings with six minutes left in the third to set up a frantic finish. Devin Setoguchi and Logan Couture scored first-period goals for the Sharks and goalie Antti Niemi stopped 38 of the 40 shots he faced on the night.
Sharks captain Joe Thornton salutes the San Jose faithful after the Sharks eliminated Detroit in Game 7. (Ezra Shaw - GETTY IMAGES)

Quote of the night: “I think we proved we have just a little bit of resiliency.” — Sharks goal-scorer Devin Setoguchi on Game 7

- Read the full story from Game 7

- You can exhale, Sharks fans, your team held on by the skins of their fins, writes San Jose Mercury News columnist Mark Purdy

- Video: This time, the Sharks don’t choke

- In winning Game 7 against the Red Wings, San Jose’s Patrick Marleau and Joe Thornton find sweet redemption, writes San Jose Mercury News columnist Tim Kawakami

- Game 7 brought a heartbreaking end to a thrilling series for the Red Wings, writes Detroit Free-Press columnist Drew Sharp

- Despite a valiant effort, the Red Wings finally ran out of rallies in Game 7 (Detroit Free-Press)

- San Jose avoided yet another playoff collapse to end Detroit’s wild run (National Post)

- Thursday night the Sharks finally proved they could win the big game when it counted (ESPN.com’s Pierre LeBruin)

- Box score

- Tweets and facebook updates from around the country during Thursday’s Game 7 (San Jose Mercury News)

- Veteran Nicklas Lidstrom will take time to ponder retirement or a return to Detroit (Detroit Free-Press)

WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS

No. 1 Vancouver vs. No. 2 San Jose

Game 1: Sunday at Vancouver, 8 p.m. (Versus)

Game 2: Wednesday at Vancouver, 9 p.m. (Versus)

Game 3: Friday at San Jose, 9 p.m. (Versus)

Game 4: Sunday, May 22 at San Jose, 3 p.m. (NBC)

*Game 5: Tuesday, May 24 at Vancouver, 9 p.m. (Versus)

*Game 6: Thursday, May 26 at San Jose, 9 p.m. (Versus)

*Game 7: Saturday, May 28 at Vancouver, 8 p.m. (Versus)

- The Vancouver Sun explores what’s behind the in­cred­ible playoff feats of star center Ryan Kesler

- The Canucks set their sights on another top-notch goalie in San Jose’s Antti Niemi (Vancover Sun)

- Apparently the rest of Canada is none too eager to hop aboard the Vancouver bandwagon, which is just fine with Canucks fans (Vancouver Sun)

EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS

No. 3 Boston vs. No. 5 Tampa Bay

Game 1: Saturday at Boston, 8 p.m. (Versus)

Game 2: Tuesday at Boston, 8 p.m. (Versus)

Game 3: Thursday, May 19 at Tampa Bay, 8 p.m. (Versus)

Game 4: Saturday, May 21 at Tampa Bay, 8 p.m. (Versus)

*Game 5: Monday, May 23 at Boston, 8 p.m. (Versus)

*Game 6: Wednesday, May 25 at Tampa Bay, 8 p.m. (Versus)

*Game 7: Friday, May 27 at Boston, 8 p.m. (Versus)

- Two years after joining the Bruins as a temporary stop-gap, Mark Recchi is still in Boston and continues to produce (Boston Globe)

- When the Lightning claimed their first cup in 2004, a key defenseman led the way. Now Eric Brewer is playing that role. (Tampa Tribune)

- Martin St. Louis and Bruins goalie Tim Thomas are old friends, and big-time rivals (Tampa Tribune)

- The Bruins know they have a challenge ahead of them as they try to bottle up Tampa’s high-octane attack (Boston Globe)

- The Boston Globe takes a look at the Bruins’ best playoff beards

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