BERGERON SCORES OT WINNER FOR BRUINS
Patrice Bergeron, centre, celebrates with teammates Brad Marchand and Torey Krug as the Bruins defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 4-3 to win the opening game in their first-round series. Also Wednesday, the Islanders beat the Capitals and the Avalanche shut out the Coyotes.
Bruins 4, Hurricanes 3 (2OT): After being told to come back the next morning because another game lasted five overtimes, the Boston Bruins didn’t want to repeat history so quickly.
“We talked about trying to end this before the fifth overtime,” Patrice Bergeron said.
Bergeron accomplished that by scoring early in double overtime, and the Bruins beat the Carolina Hurricanes 4-3 in Game 1 of their first-round series that was postponed15 hours. Playing all Eastern Conference games at Scotiabank Arena had the potential for games going long and messing with the schedule.
“We knew it was a possibility,” said Bergeron, whose four playoff OT goals are the second-most behind Patrick Kane among active players. Islanders 4, Capitals 2: Josh Bailey scored a short-handed goal 6:52 into the third period and the New York Islanders overcame a two-goal deficit to beat the Washington Capitals 4-2 on Wednesday in a hard-hitting opener to the firstround playoff series. Jordan Eberle and Anders Lee scored 1:54 apart spanning the second intermission. Avalanche 3, Coyotes 0: Nazem Kadri and J.T. Compher scored 10 seconds apart in the third period, Philipp Grubauer stopped14 shots and the Colorado Avalanche opened the Stanley Cup playoffs with a 3-0 victory over the Arizona Coyotes. Colorado dominated the Coyotes through the first two periods, outshooting them 29-7, yet couldn’t get anything past goalie Darcy Kuemper. Flyers 2, Canadiens 1: Carter Hart made 27 saves, Joel Farabee scored 16 seconds after Montreal tied the game, and the Philadelphia Flyers took the opener of their first-round series.