Tyler Bozak is joined by teammates after scoring.
Tyler Bozak broke a 1-all tie with just over two minutes left in regulation as the Blues slipped past the Jets 2-1 to open their first-round playoff series in Winnipeg. David Perron scored earlier in the third period to tie the game for St. Louis, which took a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven set. Jordan Binnington made 24 saves in the victory. Patrik Laine scored the lone goal in the first period for the Jets, who will also host Game Two on Friday. Connor Hellebuyck denied 24-of-26 shots in defeat.
Tyler Bozak on overcoming a nervous first period.
Miro Heiskanen scored two goals to lift the Stars to a 3-2 win over the Predators in Nashville to capture the opener of the first-round playoff series. Mats Zuccarello’s goal midway through the final period proved to be the difference. Ben Bishop stopped 30 of 32 shots in the win. P.K. Subban scored with just more than six minutes left to pull the Predators within a goal. Roman Josi gave Nashville a 1-0 lead in the first period. Pekka Rinne logged 26 saves in defeat. Game Two is Saturday also in Nashville.
The Sharks scored three goals in the second period en route to a 5-2 win over Golden Knights in their playoff opener in San Jose. Brent Burns, Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Evander Kane all lit the lamp to help the Sharks build a 4-1 lead. Joe Pavelski also scored when a shot deflected off his face in the first. Tomas Hertl added an empty-netter for San Jose. Mark Stone scored twice for Vegas. Marc-Andre Fleury allowed four goals on 32 shots for the Golden Knights, who have lost five straight playoff games dating back to last season.
Josh Bailey put the puck past a sprawling Matt Murray in overtime to give the Islanders a 4-3 win against the Penguins in their playoff opener at Nassau Coliseum. Jordan Eberle, Brock Nelson and Nick Leddy also lit the lamp for New York, which got 41 saves from Robin Lehner. The Isles will also host Game Two on Friday. Justin Schultz set up OT for Pittsburgh with the tying goal at 18:31 of the third. Phil Kessel and Evgeni Malkin also scored for the Pens. Matt Murray made 29 saves in the loss.
The Blue Jackets scored four unanswered goals, including three in the third period, to stun the Lightning 4-3 in Game One of their first-round playoff series in Tampa. David Savard, Josh Anderson and Seth Jones all scored in the third for Columbus, which trailed 3-0 after the first period. Nick Foligno also lit the lamp in the win. Alex Killorn, Anthony Cirelli and Yanni Gourde [[ Gord ]] scored first-period goals for the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Bolts, who also host Game Two on Friday.
