James Neal scored the game-winning goal with 6:57 left, and the Nashville Predators beat the St. Louis Blues 2-1 Tuesday night to take a 3-1 lead in their Western Conference semifinal. Pekka Rinne outdueled St. Louis' Jake Allen with 32 saves, and the Predators are a victory away from reaching the Western Conference final for the first time in franchise history. Ryan Ellis scored at 5:09 of the third to break up a scoreless game. Neal then scored with 6:57 left to crank up the Nashville celebration as the Predators won their eighth straight playoff game at home. Joel Edmundson scored with 3:49 left as St. Louis avoided the shutout. Blues coach Mike Yeo pulled Allen late, but they couldn't beat Rinne again. Allen finished with 23 saves as the Blues lost consecutive road games for the first time since Feb. 28 and March 3. Game 5 is Friday night in St. Louis. Rangers 4, Senators 1: Mats Zuccarello had a goal and an assist to lead New York over Ottawa, cutting the Rangers' deficit to 2-1 in the Eastern Conference semifinal series. Michael Grabner, Rick Nash and Oscar Lindberg also scored, and Henrik Lundqvist stopped 26 shots for the Rangers. New York has won three straight playoff games at Madison Square Garden after losing six straight on home ice, including Game 3 of the first round against Montreal. Jean-Gabriel Pageau, who had four goals in Ottawa's 6-5 double-overtime win in Game 2, scored again for the Senators, and Craig Anderson finished with 26 saves. Game 4 is Thursday night. Crosby has concussion, out for Game 4 Pittsburgh star Sidney Crosby has been diagnosed with another concussion and will miss Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinal against Washington. Coach Mike Sullivan disclosed the severity of the injury Tuesday, one day after Crosby left in the first period of a 3-2 overtime loss after getting cross-checked in the head by Capitals defenseman Matt Niskanen. "He's very upbeat and he's very positive and we're very optimistic and we're hopeful we'll get him back in a timely fashion," Sullivan said. Crosby was at the team's practice facility earlier in the day. The Penguins lead the series 2-1. Game 4 is Wednesday night. Crosby has dealt with multiple concussions during his career, including one against Washington in the 2011 Winter Classic that he needed nearly two years to fully recover from. The two-time MVP also missed the first couple weeks of this season with a concussion but returned to lead the NHL in goals as the Penguins try to win back-to-back Stanley Cup championships. Niskanen received a five-minute major and a game misconduct. The league decided against holding a hearing to determine whether the hit should be subject to review from the NHL's Department of Player Safety. Niskanen said following the game the hit was not intentional. The NHL's leading scorer and one of the game's best players was skating by Washington goaltender Braden Holtby when he turned awkwardly after being stick-checked by Alex Ovechkin. He ended up facing Niskanen as his body was going toward the ice and took Niskanen's stick across the side of the head. Crosby was on the ice in obvious pain for several minutes before exiting slowly under his own power. Crosby entered the game tied for second in scoring for Pittsburgh with 11 points, including two goals in Pittsburgh's Game 1 victory over Washington. Pittsburgh forward Conor Sheary is also dealing with a concussion after colliding with teammate Patric Hornqvist in the second period Monday night. Sheary's status for Game 4 was uncertain. — AP
