Ovechkin scores his 1st playoff overtime goal as the Capitals beat the Canadiens 3-2 in Game
WASHINGTON AP Alex Ovechkin scored the first playoff overtime goal of his NHL career to give the Washington Capitals a - win over the Montreal Canadiens in Championship of their first-round playoff series on Monday night Fresh off current Wayne Gretzky s record for the the bulk goals in league history days earlier Ovechkin s second of the match into OT allowed the Eastern Conference top-seeded Capitals to escape after blowing a two-goal third-period lead Before letting it slip away they spent much of the night bullying the smaller less experienced Canadiens with one big hit after another But it was not easy Pierre-Luc Dubois penalty paved the way for Cole Caufield to start Montreal s comeback bid with left in regulation The Capitals tried to hold on and a defensive-zone mess allowed Nick Suzuki to tie it with left on a shot into a wide-open net after goaltender Logan Thompson slid out to his right and was inadvertently knocked out of the crease by teammate Connor McMichael as he tried to keep the puck out JETS BLUES WINNIPEG Manitoba AP Mark Scheifele had a goal and assist Kyle Connor scored his second consecutive game-winner in the third period and Winnipeg beat the St Louis for a - lead in their opening-round playoff series Connor Hellebuyck stopped shots to help the Jets take a - playoff series lead for the first time in three seasons The past two years Winnipeg won the first event and then lost the next four to be eliminated Rookie Jimmy Snuggerud scored his first playoff goal and Jordan Binnington had saves for the eighth-seeded Blues St Louis hosts Meeting on Thursday KINGS OILERS LOS ANGELES AP Phillip Danault scored his second goal with seconds to play and Los Angeles blew a four-goal lead before rallying for a conquest over Edmonton in the opener of the clubs fourth consecutive first-round playoff series Monday night The Kings led - in the final minutes before Zach Hyman and Connor McDavid tied it with an extra attacker Los Angeles improbably responded with Danault skating up the middle and chunking a fluttering shot home while a leaping Warren Foegele screened goalie Stuart Skinner Andrei Kuzmenko had a goal and two assists in his Stanley Cup playoff debut and Adrian Kempe added another goal and two assists for the second-seeded Kings who lost those last three series against Edmonton Quinton Byfield Phillip Danault and Kevin Fiala also scored and Darcy Kuemper made saves in his first playoff start since raising the Cup with Colorado in Los Angeles has home-ice advantage this spring for the first time in its tetralogy with Edmonton and the Kings surged to a - lead late in the second period in the arena where they had the NHL s best home record That s when the Oilers woke up and made it a memorable night Leon Draisaitl Mattias Janmark and Corey Perry scored before Hyman scored with left and McDavid scored an exceptional tying goal with remaining McDavid had a goal and three assists for the Oilers who reached Contest of the Stanley Cup Final last season Skinner stopped shots Meeting is Wednesday night in Los Angeles STARS AVALANCHE OT DALLAS AP Colin Blackwell scored into overtime and Dallas beat Colorado in Event to even up their first-round Western Conference series Blackwell took a shot that was blocked in front of the net by a teammate but with the loose puck wobbling on the ice he circled around and knocked it into the top of the net for the winner Tyler Seguin Thomas Harley and Evgenii Dadonov also had goals for Dallas which avoided losing the first two games in its opening-round series for the second year in a row The Stars did open with their eighth consecutive Challenge loss since after going into this postseason with a seven-game losing streak Colorado had finished the final of regulation and first seconds of overtime on a power play after a hooking penalty against Mikko Rantenen who the Avalanche traded on Jan to Carolina in the East where he played only games before getting traded March back to the Central Division to Dallas and getting a new million eight-year contract Stars goalie Jake Oettinger stopped shots Mackenzie Blackwood had saves in his second career playoff event but the final shot went over his left shoulder Nathan MacKinnon scored on a power play for his third goal in this series for the Avalanche and his st in the NHL playoffs Jack Drury and Logan O Connor also scored The series switches to Denver to Championship on Wednesday night Source
