Oilers, Predators open with wins

Weeks of winning that the Anaheim Ducks carried into the postseason started to trigger feelings that a long Stanley Cup playoff run might be in their future. Two goals that largely silenced a sellout Honda Center crowd showed that they’ve got a lot of work ahead of them.

If the Edmonton Oilers didn’t already serve notice that they were ready for prime time with their first-round win over San Jose, they were making themselves heard with goals by Mark Letestu and Adam Larsson just 100 seconds apart for a two-goal lead early in the third period.

And then when the Ducks stunned them with a quick comeback, Larsson came through again as his goal with 4:40 left in regulation Wednesday night ultimately lifted the Oilers to a 5-3 Game 1 victory in an opener of a Western Conference semifinal that created hope for a classic best-of-7 series.

Patrick Eaves and Jakob Silfverberg answered those twin Oilers strikes with bolts of their own only 83 seconds apart to forge a 3-3 tie, showing that the Ducks have plenty of resolve. But so do the Oilers, who got a clinching insurance empty-net score from Leon Draisaitl.

It was a tight game all the way through, with the first two periods settling nothing. All it revealed is that this matchup is an even one. And it shouldn’t be surprising, given that two points separated the first-place Ducks from the second-place Oilers during the regular season. (Orange County Register/TNS) NASHVILLE PREDATORS center Filip Forsberg (9) scores against St. Louis Blues goalie Jake Allen during the second period of the Predators’ 4-3 road victory over the Blues on Wednesday night, in Game 1 of the Western Conference second-round series.

Predators 4, Blues 3

Vernon Fiddler’s goal with 5:05 left in the third period broke a tie and gave Nashville a win over St. Louis in the first game in the second-round playoff series.

Fiddler, playing his first game in the postseason this year, kept the eighth-seeded Predators undefeated in the playoffs. Game 2 of the series will be Friday night in St. Louis.

“They had a little push there,” Fiddler said. “We got 3-2 and then 3-3 and the building’s rocking. You have to give our guys credit. We just regrouped and went back at them and found a way to get the two points.”

Fiddler scored when he was able to direct the puck past goalie Jake Allen after Allen failed to poke it away following a botched St. Louis attempt at a clearing pass.

“We dug ourselves a hole in the second period and I liked the push back and the fact we came out the way we did [in the third period],” Blues coach Mike Yeo said. “There are some things we can learn from that, but the reality is the second period was not good enough and ultimately it cost us the game.” (Reuters)