Kyle Connor had two goals and an assist for the Winnipeg Jets in their 7-6 win against the visiting Colorado Avalanche in Game 1 of a Western Conference first-round playoff series on Sunday evening.
Adam Lowry also scored two goals, Mark Scheifele had a goal and two assists and Connor Hellebuyck made 40 saves for the Jets, who ended the regular season with an eight-game winning streak.
Cale Makar had a goal and two assists, Nathan MacKinnon and Artturi Lehkonen each had a goal and an assist and Alexandar Georgiev made 16 saves for the Avalanche, who were swept by Winnipeg in the three-game regular-season series, getting outscored 17-4.
Game 2 is Tuesday night in Winnipeg. The Jets took the lead for good at 8:57 of the second when Lowry finished a two-on-one rush to give Winnipeg a 4-3 lead.
Canucks 4, Predators 2
Pius Suter and Dakota Joshua scored 12 seconds apart just before the midpoint of the third period as host Vancouver beat Nashville in Game 1 of their Western Conference first-round playoff series.
The comeback victory featured the fastest pair of playoff goals in Canucks franchise history. Joshua scored twice in a three-point outing, and Elias Lindholm also scored for Vancouver. Goaltender Thatcher Demko made 20 saves.
Jason Zucker and Ryan O’Reilly scored for the Predators, while goalie Juuse Saros stopped 17 shots. Nashville held leads of 1-0 and 2-1.
Rangers 4, Capitals 1
Matt Rempe and Artemi Panarin scored 33 seconds apart as part of a three-goal second period as New York opened the postseason by defeating visiting Washington in their Eastern Conference first-round series.
After a scoreless first period, Rempe lifted a cross-ice pass from Jimmy Vesey past goalie Charlie Lindgren 4:17 into the second. Then Panarin, who was alone in the left faceoff circle, put the puck by Lindgren’s right arm at 4:50.
Martin Fehervary scored 7:31 into the second for the Capitals, who were 0-for-4 on the power play. Lindgren allowed four goals on 31 shots, while Igor Shesterkin made 20 saves for New York.
Panthers 3, Lightning 2
Carter Verhaeghe scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period as Florida defeated Tampa Bay in the opener of their best-of-seven, first-round Eastern Conference playoff series at Sunrise, Fla.
Verhaeghe scored on the power play off a pass from Aleksander Barkov, who had two assists. It increased Verhaeghe’s team record postseason goal count to 16. The Panthers also got goals from Sam Reinhart and Matthew Tkachuk. Sergei Bobrovsky made 17 saves.
Tampa Bay, which has never lost a playoff series to the rival Panthers — winning in 2021 and again in 2022 — got goals from Brandon Hagel and Steven Stamkos. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 25 saves for the Lightning.
–Field Level Media
