Toronto ties up series vs. Tampa
TORONTO — John Tavares had his first playoff hat trick as the Toronto Maple Leafs rebounded from a poor playoff start with a lopsided 7-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning to even the teams’ first-round playoff series at a game apiece.
Mitch Marner had two goals and an assist, William Nylander added a goal and an assist, and Zach Aston-Reese also scored for Toronto.
Morgan Rielly tied a franchise record with four assists. Auston Matthews also had two assists for the Maple Leafs, whose stars stepped up. Ilya Samsonov made 19 saves for Toronto after being pulled in Tuesday’s 7-3 loss.
Ian Cole and Corey Perry scored for the Lightning, who were without injured defensemen Victor Hedman and Erik Cernak. Andrei Vasilevskiy, who has played every minute of Lightning postseason action since 2020, allowed seven goals on 35 shots.
The series shifts to Florida, where Games 3 and 4 of the best-ofseven set are scheduled for Saturday and Monday.
Facing a 0-2 deficit against an opponent that’s a perfect 10-0 all-time when winning the first two games of a series, Toronto scored 47 seconds into the opening period on a power play when Marner beat Vasilevskiy with a slap shot on the first shot.
The Maple Leafs survived two Lightning power plays thanks to Samsonov and some desperate shot blocks. Then, Tavares made it 2-0 at 12:45 when he took a pass from Rielly and fired through a screen.
Toronto took a threegoal lead on a delayed penalty when Nylander scored his second of the series at 15:08.
RANGERS 2, DEVILS 0
Chris Kreider scored two power-play goals in a three-goal second period as New York stunned host New Jersey to a take a 2-0 lead in their first-round series.
Patrick Kane added a goal and two assists and fellow trade deadline acquisition Vladimir Tarasenko scored for the second straight game as the Rangers again had their way with the young Devils.
Kaapo Kakko also scored and Adam Fox added two more assists to give him six in two games. Igor Shesterkin had a relatively easy night, making 21 saves.
Erik Haula scored for New Jersey, which has been outscored 10-2 after going 3-0-1 in the regular season against New York. Vitek Vanecek finished with 26 saves in a game that got one-sided and chippy late.
Referee Wes McCauley and Frederick L’Ecuyer sent five players from each team to the locker room with 6:40 left.
AVALANCHE 3, KRAKEN 2
Devon Toews scored with 7:01 remaining to complete host Colorado’s rally from two goals down to beat Seattle to even their first-round series at a game apiece.
Trailing 2-0 in the second period, Artturi Lehkonen and Valeri Nichushkin scored 48 seconds apart to tie the game. It set the stage for Toews, who knocked in a rebound for the defending Stanley Cup champions.
Justin Schultz and Brandon Tanev scored for a Kraken team that once again got off to a flying start after winning 3-1 in Game 1.
Alexandar Georgiev was tested all night and finished with 27 saves. One of his top stops was in the closing seconds of the second period with Seattle on a 3-on-1 break. A pass was sent over to Jordan Eberle, but a sprawled-out Georgiev prevented the score with his extended right leg.
GOLDEN KNIGHTS 5 JETS 2
Mark Stone scored two third-period goals and assisted on another in just his second game since returning from back surgery to give Vegas a victory over visiting Winnipeg in Game 2 to even the firstround series.
Chandler Stephenson and William Karlsson each had a goal and an assist, Jack Eichel scored his first career playoff goal and Phil Kessel and Alex Pietrangelo each had two assists. Laurent Brossoit made 31 saves.
Stone’s goals were his first since January. He underwent back surgery Jan. 31 and returned in time for this game.
Adam Lowry and Kevin Stenlund each scored for the Jets, and Connor Hellebuyck made 34 stops.