Leafs dominate reigning champion Lightning
Auston Matthews had two goals and an assist and Jack Campbell made 23 saves in the second playoff shutout of his career as the host Toronto Maple Leafs shut out the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning 5-0 Monday night in Game 1 of their first-round playoffs series.
Mitch Marner had a goal and two assists. Jake Muzzin scored and David Kampf added a goal on a short-handed breakaway for Toronto, which killed off five Lightning power plays, including an early five-minute major.
Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 28 shots for the Lightning.
The second game of the best-of-seven series is Wednesday in Toronto.
Over the past two postseasons, Tampa Bay has followed each of its 14 defeats with a win in the next game.
The Lightning’s ability to make adjustments allowed them to rebound in every series they played in 2020 and ‘21, ultimately coming out on the winning end.
So while Toronto celebrates its Game 1 win, Tampa Bay is reminded that it has won seven series in which it lost Game 1 dating back to 2015.
“Learn from what we did last night, or what we didn’t do, and move on,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. “During the regular season, you’re on a plane to Ottawa or Montreal. Playoffs, it’s one team, you dive in a little bit more.
“We’ve had a feel for what this is going to be, in the building and the players. But we’ve got to dig a little deeper. The players know that. It was way too easy a night for their goaltender. We’re a proud group, and I’m not worried about these guys.”
Kings 4, Oilers 3:
Phillip Danault scored at 14:46 of the third period, leading Los Angeles at Edmonton in Game 1.
Trevor Moore and Alex Iafallo each had a goal and assist for the Kings. Brandon Lemieux also scored.
Connor McDavid and Kailier Yamamoto each had a goal and assist for Edmonton. Leon Draisaitl rounded out the scoring with a power-play goal.
Kings goalie Jonathan Quick made 35 saves. Mike Smith stopped 31 of 35 shots for Edmonton.
Game 2 is Wednesday in Edmonton. The series shifts to Los Angeles for Game 3 on Friday.
Hurricanes 5, Bruins Seth Jarvis and Nino Niederreiter scored second-period goals and Antti Raanta had 35 saves his his playoff debut as host Carolina defeated Boston.
Jarvis and Niederreiter scored roughly two minutes apart in the second period to break a scoreless tie. Teuvo Teravainen and Vincent Trocheck added third-period goals. Andrei Svechnikov punctuated the win with an empty-net goal at 17:59,.
Taylor Hall scored for Boston early in the third. Linus Ullmark finished with 20 saves for the Bruins, who have lost all four matchups with Carolina this year by a combined score of 21-2.
Game 2 is Wednesday in Raleigh.
Blues 4, Wild 0: David Perron had a hat trick and an assist to lead St. Louis at Minnesota, one year after he missed the playoffs with COVID-19.