Andrei Svechnikov recorded the first postseason hat trick in franchise history to lead the Hurricanes to a 4-1 victory over the New York Rangers on Monday afternoon in Toronto, giving Carolina a 2-0 lead in a best-of-five Eastern Conference qualifying series.
Svechnikov, a second-year left winger, scored a goal in each period. His last tally came with 5:58 remaining.
Petr Mrazek made 23 saves for the Hurricanes, who will vie for a series sweep on Tuesday night. Jordan Martinook also scored, Sebastian Aho provided three assists, and Sami Vatanen set up two goals for Carolina.
Hart Trophy finalist Artemi Panarin had a goal and Henrik Lundqvist made 30 saves for the Rangers.
Oilers 6, Blackhawks 3
Connor McDavid’s first career playoff hat trick led host Edmonton to a victory over Chicago in Game 2 of their Western Conference qualifying series. The best-of-five series is tied 1-1.
After collecting a goal and two assists in Game 1, McDavid recorded another three-point performance with his first multi-goal game in the postseason.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins assisted on all three of McDavid’s goals while Edmonton forward Alex Chiasson had a goal and an assist. James Neal and Tyler Ennis also scored for the Oilers. Patrick Kane and Slater Koekkoek each had a goal and an assist for the Blackhawks.
Penguins 3, Canadiens 1
Jason Zucker’s third-period goal stood as the winner as Pittsburgh beat Montreal to even their qualifying-round series in Toronto. The teams have split the first two games of the best-of-five series.
Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel also scored for Pittsburgh, which broke a string of seven straight postseason losses. Matt Murray made 27 saves for the Penguins after having lost for the ninth time in his past 10 postseason starts in Game 1.
Jesper Kotkaniemi scored for Montreal, and Carey Price made 35 saves.
Jets 3, Flames 2
Nikolaj Ehlers scored the game-winning goal, and Adam Lowry netted one goal and an assist to lead injury-riddled Winnipeg to a win over Calgary Flames in Edmonton to even their Western Conference qualifying-round series at one win apiece.
With the score even midway through the third period, Ehlers set up shop in the high slot and neatly deflected Neal Pionk’s point shot at the 10:24 mark of the frame. His first career postseason goal came in his 23rd playoff game.
It was a huge win for the Jets, who were without two of their top forwards in Mark Scheifele and Patrik Laine, as well as Mason Appleton. All were injured in the first game of the series. Goaltender Connor Hellebuyck made 28 saves in the victory.
Lightning 3, Capitals 2 (SO)
Nikita Kucherov scored in regulation and added the winner in the shootout as Tampa Bay skated to a victory over Washington in the Eastern Conference round-robin tournament at Toronto.
The reigning Hart Trophy recipient recorded the game-winning tally by sending the puck off the right post and into the net in the third round of the shootout. Brayden Point also scored in the shootout for Tampa Bay, while T.J. Oshie potted the lone shootout goal for Washington.
In regulation, Mitchell Stephens had his first career playoff goal for Washington, and teammate Andrei Vasilevskiy made 31 saves. Washington’s Richard Panik and Evgeny Kuznetsov each scored late in the second period, and Braden Holtby stopped 26 shots.
Golden Knights 5, Stars 3
William Carrier, Mark Stone and Nate Schmidt each scored goals over a five-minute span to highlight a four-goal third period as Vegas rallied for a victory over Dallas in a Western Conference round-robin opener in Edmonton.
Carrier’s first career playoff goal, with 5:03 remaining, was initially waived off for goalie interference but was overturned following a Vegas challenge. It proved to be the game-winner. William Karlsson, who along with Schmidt and Stone each added an assist, sealed the win on an empty-netter with 21 seconds to go.
Joe Pavelski, Jamie Oleksiak and Corey Perry each scored goals and Miro Heiskanen had three assists to lead Dallas. Ben Bishop finished with 28 saves for the Stars. It was the first three-assist game of Heiskanen’s career.
–Field Level Media
