Larsson leads Oilers past Ducks in opener
ANAHEIM: Adam Larsson scored his second goal of the third period with 4:40 minutes to play, and the Edmonton Oilers blew a two-goal lead in a wild third period before beating the Anaheim Ducks 5-3 on Wednesday night in their second-round play-off series opener.
Mark Letestu scored two power-play goals and Cam Talbot made 33 saves for the upstart Oilers, who seized home-ice advantage from the Ducks with a four-goal final period.
Jakob Silfverberg scored the tying goal with 9:13 minutes to play in regulation for the Ducks, who lost in regulation for the first time in 19 games since March 10.
Larsson scored just four goals in his first 85 games this season, but the Swedish defenceman improbably got two goals in seven and a half minutes.
Game Two is tomorrow morning (Thai time) in Anaheim.
In St Louis, PK Subban had a goal and two assists and Vernon Fiddler scored with 5:05 minutes left, sending Nashville to the 4-3 road win in Game One of their secondround play-off series.
The Predators lost Kevin Fiala to an ugly leg injury in the second period and blew a 3-1 lead before Fiddler poked a loose puck by Jake Allen in the third.
It was the fifth career play-off goal for the 36-year-old Fiddler, who did not play in Nashville’s first-round sweep of Chicago.
Colin Wilson and Filip Forsberg also scored for Nashville, and Pekka Rinne made 27 saves.
Colton Parayko, Jaden Schwartz and Vladimir Sobotka scored for St Louis. Allen finished with 28 stops.
Game Two is tomorrow morning (Thai time).
Meanwhile the Vancouver Canucks didn’t look far for their new head coach as they promoted Travis Green from their American Hockey League affiliate, the Utica Comets on Wednesday.
Canadian Green, 46, replaces Willie Desjardins, who was fired as coach on April 10 after Vancouver finished with the second-fewest points in the NHL and missed the play-offs for the second straight season.
“It’s a proud day for me, something I’ve been working at for a long time,” Green said. “To get the opportunity here in Vancouver is extra special. I’m confident I’m ready and I’m really excited for the challenge.”
Green served as the coach of the Comets for the last three seasons.
Green guided the Comets to a 120-78-20 record and an appearance in the Calder Cup Final two seasons ago.