Caps survive scare vs. Leafs
Toronto native Tom Wilson scored his first NHL playoff goal 5: 15 into overtime, and the Capitals survived a scare to beat the Maple Leafs 3- 2 in Game 1 of their first- round series.
The top- seeded Capitals came back from a two- goal deficit to take the early lead in the series and at least momentarily stop the panic about a slip- up. Justin Williams scored twice in regulation, and Washington showed it could handle the adversity of falling behind.
Braden Holtby was up to the task in goal, stopping 35 of the 37 shots he faced. Toronto counterpart Frederik Andersen was arguably the best player on the ice with 41 saves before being beaten by Wilson with an absurd shot on the winner.
Mitch Marner and Jake Gardiner scored in the first period for Toronto, back in the playoffs for the first time since 2013. Game 2 is Saturday night in Washington.
The Maple Leafs lost when leading by multiple goals again after doing so an NHL- high eight times during the regular season.
Gallant to coach Vegas
The Vegas Golden Knights hired Gerard Gallant as the first coach of the NHL’s expansion team. Gallant helped revive the Panthers before being let go last November as the team got off to a slow start.
The abrupt firing came after the Panthers got off to an 11- 10- 1 start, and a year after Gallant was a coach-of-the- year finalist in just his second season in Florida. In 2015- 16, the Panthers set a franchise record with 47 wins and 103 points to finish first in the Atlantic Division and secure their second playoff berth in 15 seasons.