GAME RECAP
Winterhawks 7, Silvertips 2
Series: Portland leads 2-0. Games 3 and 4 are Wednesday and Thursday in Everett.
Key stat: Everett scored on only one of its seven power plays. Portland was 2 for 4 on the power play.
Player of the game: Nino Niederreiter scored two momentum-building goals, both on rebounds.
PORTLAND — For all of the offensive firepower on the Portland Winterhawks’ roster, one big reason they lead 2-0 in their Western Hockey League playoff series with the Everett Silvertips can be found at the other end of the rink.
For the second night in a row, Portland goalie Mac Carruth stood tall while his counterpart struggled. The result on Sunday was a 7-2 win for the Winterhawks in front of 6,119 at the Rose Garden.
GAME RECAP
Winterhawks 7, Silvertips 2
Series: Portland leads 2-0. Games 3 and 4 are Wednesday and Thursday in Everett.
Key stat: Everett scored on only one of its seven power plays. Portland was 2 for 4 on the power play.
Player of the game: Nino Niederreiter scored two momentum-building goals, both on rebounds.
The best-of-7 series shifts to Everett for games on Wednesday and Thursday.
Nino Niederreiter and Craig Cunningham each scored two goals, and the Winterhawks had a quick answer when Everett scored its first goal of the series midway through the second period.
Top Silvertip netminder Kent Simpson has been sidelined since early March with an ankle injury. Through two games, Portland has made things tough on stand-in Luke Siemens.
On Sunday it was New York Islanders prospect Niederreiter setting the tone, first with a rebound goal just 38 seconds into the game, and another rebound effort for a second-period momentum shifter.
“It’s just typical playoff goals,” said Niederreiter, who also had one assist. “You’ve just got to go to the paint and play there and get those greasy goals.”
Everett’s Marcus McCrea scored from a rebound 12:20 into the second period to pull the visitors within 2-1. At that point the Silvertips, in part because of Portland penalties, were dominating play.
The message from the Portland bench at that point was, “stay calm and keep it simple,” said defenseman Troy Rutkowski, who contributed a goal and two assists on Sunday. “We know we’re a good hockey club. We know we can score goals.”
Niederreiter scored a big one when he slammed home a loose puck created from a nifty play by Sven Bartschi to make it 3-1 at 15:42 of the second period.
“It was a great play (by Bartschi),” Niederreiter said. “Bartschi shot the net and I saw it bouncing on the goal line and jumped in there and got the lucky goal. In the end, it was huge for us.”
The Silvertips took two penalties shortly after that goal — their first infractions of the game. Brad Ross made them pay, deflecting a Rutkowski shot past Siemens for a power-play goal to make it 4-1 just 25 seconds from second intermission. Cunningham, Rutkowski and defenseman Derrick Pouliot added third-period goals to cap a strong home weekend for the Winterhawks.
Portland coach Mike Johnston complimented Everett’s effort on Sunday — and the way his team responded.
“(The Silvertips) had a lot of shots. They were really good off the rush. We got those two goals right away, which I thought really helped take a little bit of pressure off us,” Johnston said. “And then I thought we responded with a great third period.”
For the second time in as many nights, Portland grabbed a quick lead. The Winterhawks led 2-0 less than nine minutes in on goals from Niederreiter and Cunningham.
But, unlike Game 1 on Saturday, it was Everett that forced the action at the start. Carruth had to make two saves in the first 13 seconds, and he denied early point-blank chances for Everett’s Landon Ferraro and Campbell Elynuik.
But Carruth, who like Everett’s injured Simpson was drafted last June by the Chicago Blackhawks, had a very-early cushion.
Niederreiter scored 38 seconds into the game on a play he started by holding the puck in the attacking zone. The Swiss forward flipped a rebound over the shoulder of Siemens. Ryan Johnansen took a bad-angle shot after Brad Ross secured possession behind the net.
Cunningham scored 8:34 into the game on a quick wrist shot from the left circle that found its way through Siemens.
It was the type of goal that Everett’s struggling offense hasn’t gotten through two games, with Carruth stopping every puck he sees.
“It’s always great to know you have a goalie there who has confidence,” Rutkowski said. “He’s making saves at big times, so it’s great to know that guy is there to back us up just in case anybody makes a mistake.”
