Sharks get jump on Oilers in overtime

Melker Karlsson scored at 3 minutes 22 seconds of overtime and the San Jose Sharks came back to beat the host Edmonton Oilers 3-2 on Wednesday night in Game 1 of their first-round Western Conference playoff series.

The Oilers took a 2-0 first-period lead only for the veteran Sharks to come back and tie the score with just over 15 minutes to play in the third period.

Milan Lucic and Oscar Klefbom scored for Edmonton. Joel Ward and Paul Martin scored for San Jose.

Oilers center Connor McDavid, the NHL’s leading scorer in the regular season, had one assist in his playoff debut. It was the first playoff game in the Oilers’ new downtown arena and the team’s first postseason game in almost 11 years.

The Sharks played without star center Joe Thornton, who is day to day with a left knee injury.

St. Louis 2, at Minnesota 1 (OT): Joel Edmundson scored at 17:48 of overtime and Jake Allen made a career-high 51 saves for the Blues in a Western Conference series. Zach Parise tied the score with 22.7 seconds left in regulation for the Wild, whose dominance was thwarted by a stellar performance from Allen.

N.Y. Rangers 2, at Montreal 0: Tanner Glass scored in the first period and Henrik Lundqvist made 31 saves for his 10th career playoff shutout as the Rangers won the opener of an Eastern Conference series. Michael Grabner added an emptynet goal with 1:10 left to play.

at Pittsburgh 3, Columbus 1: Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 31 shots in a surprise start in place of injured Matt Murray and the Penguins opened their Stanley Cup title defense by beating the Blue Jackets in an Eastern Conference series. Murray was a late scratch after suffering a lower-body injury during warmups.

Boston 2, at Ottawa 1: Brad Marchand scored off the rebound of Patrice Bergeron’s shot with 2:33 left to break a 1-1 tie and the Bruins won Game 1 in an Eastern Conference series.