Pius Suter and Dakota Joshua scored 12 seconds apart in the third period and the Vancouver Canucks stormed back for a 4-2 win over the Nashville Predators in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series Sunday night. Joshua had two goals and an assist, Elias Lindholm also scored and Thatcher Demko stopped 20 shots for Vancouver, the Pacific Division champion which hosted a playoff game for the first time since 2015.
Matt Rempe helped the New York Rangers get their postseason off to a strong start. Rempe and Artemi Panarin scored 33 seconds apart in the second period, and the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Rangers beat the Washington Capitals 4-1 on Sunday in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series. Jimmy Vesey had a goal and an assist, Chris Kreider also scored, Barclay Goodrow had two assists for the Rangers. Igor Shesterkin finished with 20 saves.
Carter Verhaeghe tapped in a pinpoint pass from Aleksander Barkov for the lead 58 seconds into the third period, Matthew Tkachuk added a goal and an assist and the Panthers beat the Lightning 3-2 in Game 1 of their NHL playoff series Sunday. Barkov had two assists, Sam Reinhart also scored and Sergei Bobrovsky had 17
Captain Adam Lowry and Kyle Connor each scored twice to propel the Winnipeg Jets to a 7-6 victory over the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series.