Wild grounds Jets, cuts into series deficit
ST. PAUL, MINN.» Mikael Granlund and Zach Parise scored power-play goals in the first period for the spark Minnesota was missing on the road, and the Wild used a four-goal second to roar back in the firstround playoff series with a 6-2 victory over the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday night.
The Wild will try to tie the best-of-seven series 2-2 in Game 4 at home Tuesday.
Jordan Greenway scored his first NHL goal just 20 seconds after Eric Staal sent a wrist shot past a struggling Connor Hellebuyck, who was pulled for Steve Mason at the second intermission.
Matt Dumba and Marcus Foligno bookended the furious middle frame with goals for the Wild, who won a postseason home game for only the second time in their last nine contests. Mikko Koivu and Nick Seeler each had two assists and Devan Dubnyk made 29 saves, keeping the crowd loud all night.
Blake Wheeler and Tyler Myers scored for the Jets.
The blizzard that blanketed the Twin Cities forced the Jets’ charter flight to land in Duluth on Saturday afternoon and return to Winnipeg for the night. The Jets arrived Sunday about eight hours before faceoff.
Blue Jackets 5, Capitals 4, (OT). WASHINGTON»
Sergei Bobrovsky made 54 saves, Matt Calvert scored the winner 12:22 into overtime and Columbus overcame two goals from Alex Ovechkin to beat Washington and take a 2-0 lead in their firstround playoff series.
Calvert’s goal held up after the NHL situation room reviewed the play for a possible offside. Calvert was just onside when Josh Anderson brought the puck into the zone.
Columbus heads home for Games 3 and 4 on Tuesday and Thursday two victories away from advancing to the second round for the first time in franchise history.
The Blue Jackets stunned the Metropolitan Divisionchampion Capitals with back-to-back overtime wins and have the advantage thanks in large part to the play of Bobrovsky.
The two-time Vezina Trophy-winning goaltender continued his playoff reputation rehab tour by keeping his team in the game. Bobrovsky, who entered the arena in a beige trenchcoat as sharp as his play in net, entered these playoffs 3-10 with a 3.73 goals-against average and .887 save percentage but has now stopped 81-of-88 shots through two games.
Penguins 5, Flyers 1.
PHILADELPHIA» Sidney Crosby had a goal and three assists and Matt Murray stopped 26 shots to help Pittsburgh silence a raucous Philadelphia crowd and beat the Flyers to take a 2-1 lead in the first-round playoff series.
Two of the so-called fiercest rivals in the NHL have provided three lopsided games: Pittsburgh’s 7-0 win in Game 1 and Philadelphia’s 5-1 victory in Game 2 could about qualify as nailbitters in this series.
Crosby scored his fourth goal of the series in the first period, and Derick Brassard, Evgeni Malkin and Brian Dumoulin scored in the second to make it 4-0. Malkin and Dumoulin scored 5 seconds apart.
Sharks 3, Ducks 2.
CALIF.» Logan Couture had a goal and an assist, Martin Jones made 28 saves and San Jose excelled on the road again, beating Anaheim late Saturday to take a 2-0 lead in their firstround playoff series.
Marcus Sorensen and Tomas Hertl also scored for the Sharks, who gave another disciplined, organized performance while moving halfway to their first playoff series victory since their Stanley Cup Final run in 2016.