Offense carries Bruins to Game 1 victory

BOSTON — Nathan Horton scored the goahead goal late in the first period and the Boston Bruins used a revived offense to beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-1 in their playoff opener Wednesday night.

The Bruins scored more than three goals for the first time in 10 games. They closed the regular season on a 2-7 skid that dropped them to the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference.

That set up a first-round matchup with fifthseeded Toronto, the first time the teams have met in the postseason since 1974. The Maple Leafs, who are in the playoffs for the first time since 2004, lost four of their last six regularseason games.

Wade Redden also scored in the first period for Boston, and David Krejci and Johnny Boychuk added goals in the second.

James van Riemsdyk had given Toronto a 1-0 lead with a power play just 1:54 into the game.

Game 2 is scheduled for Saturday night in Boston.

Horton gave the Bruins a 2-1 lead at 19:48 of the first period.

Redden took a shot from the top of the right circle. Horton lifted his stick and deflected the puck past goalie James Reimer.

PENGUINS 5, ISLANDERS 0: In Pittsburgh, Pascal Dupuis scored twice, Marc-Andre Fleury made 26 saves, and top-seeded Pittsburgh opened the playoffs with a romp over New York.

Beau Bennett, Kris Letang and Tanner Glass also scored for the Penguins, who had no trouble against the upstart Islanders even with star Sidney Crosby sidelined by a broken jaw. Pittsburgh hardly needed its captain to continue its mastery of the Islanders, who made their first playoff appearance since 2007.

The Penguins, the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, beat Evgeni Nabokov four times in the game’s first 22 minutes, including goals by Letang and Dupuis 32 seconds apart early in the second period to send Nabokov to the bench after he stopped just 11 shots.

Kevin Poulin came on in relief and surrendered a soft goal to Glass. Game 2 is Friday in Pittsburgh. SHARKS 3, CANUCKS 1: In Vancouver, British Columbia, Dan Boyle and Patrick Marleau scored in the third period for San Jose, which rallied to beat Vancouver in the first-round Western Conference series opener.

Boyle and Logan Couture both had a goal and an assist, and Marleau pushed San Jose’s lead to 3-1. Antti Niemi made 28 saves for the Sharks, who were outshot 30-28.