Lightning, Preds grab 2-0 leads

The good news for the Tampa Bay Lightning is they’re up 2-0 on New Jersey in the first round of the playoffs and still haven’t played their best hockey. Alex Killorn scored twice during a four-goal second period, helping the top seed in the Eastern Conference beat the Devils 5-3 yesterday in Tampa in Game 2 of the best-of-seven series. The Atlantic Division champions scored three times in a 2:47 span in the second period, and the reeling Devils pulled goalie Keith Kinkaid after Killorn’s third goal in two games made it 5-1 with 6:48 remaining in the period. Kinkaid, whose stellar play since January helped New Jersey finish strong and claim its first playoff berth since 2012, yielded five goals on 15 shots. Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point and Tyler Johnson also scored for Tampa Bay, which is up 2-0 in the series after going 0-2-1 against the Devils during the regular season. Predators 5, Avalanche 4 — Ryan Hartman’s empty-net goal with 1:09 left wound up the game-winner as host Nashville held off Colorado for a 2-0 lead in the first-round Western Conference series. Hartman’s goal gave the Predators a 5-3 lead until Alexander Kerfoot pulled Colorado within 5-4 with 35.8 seconds left. But the Avalanche couldn’t get another puck past goalie Pekka Rinne. The Presidents’ Trophy winners started slowly, giving up a goal on Colorado’s first shot for a second straight game. Yet the Preds rallied again to take their first 2-0 lead when starting a best-of-seven series at home.