Former NCAA Players Taking Center Stage in NHL Playoffs

The 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs are almost a week old, and already former NCAA players have been stepping up and serving as difference-makers.

Case in point was Monday night in Chicago, where the defending NHL champion Blackhawks won 2-0 over the St. Louis Blues. Hawks captain Jonathan Toews (North Dakota) tallied the game-winning goal against Ryan Miller (Michigan State), who finished with 23 saves. St. Louis still leads the series, 2-1.

Ryan Garbutt (Brown) helped the Dallas Stars climb back into their series with the Anaheim Ducks, scoring the Stars' third goal in a 3-0 win in Game 3 on Monday night in Texas. Anaheim now leads the series, 2-1.

The Pittsburgh Penguins scored three times in the third period to best the Columbus Bluejackets, 4-3, in Ohio and take a 2-1 lead in that series. Brooks Orpik (Boston College) and Lee Stempniak (Dartmouth) scored for the Pens, who also got two assists from Paul Martin (Minnesota). Jack Johnson (Michigan) and Cam Atkinson (Boston College) scored for Columbus.

Lastly, in the Land of 10,000 Lakes, the Minnesota Wild clawed away at its two-game deficit with a 1-0 overtime victory against the Colorado Avalanche. Zach Parise (North Dakota) assisted on the Wild's winning goal.