Florida Panthers winger Matthew Tkachuk returned to action with two goals and an assist, and the Stanley Cup champs swiped home-ice advantage by thumping the host Tampa Bay Lightning 6-2 to start their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series on Tuesday night.
Sidelined for the season’s final 25 games with a lower-body injury, Tkachuk came back and tallied on two power plays. Defenseman Nate Schmidt added one on the man advantage and another at even strength as Florida went 3-for-3 on the power play.
Sam Bennett and Sam Reinhart had a goal and an assist apiece for Florida, and Aleksander Barkov posted two helpers. Sergei Bobrovsky made 20 saves.
Tampa Bay’s Jake Guentzel and Brayden Point scored, but Andrei Vasilevskiy surrendered six goals on just 16 shots.
Maple Leafs 3, Senators 2 (OT)
Max Domi scored at 3:09 of overtime, lifting Toronto over Ottawa and giving the hosts a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference first-round playoff series.
John Tavares had a goal and an assist for the Maple Leafs. Morgan Rielly also scored and Anthony Stolarz made 26 saves.
Brady Tkachuk and Adam Gaudette scored for the Senators, who overcame a two-goal deficit to force overtime. Linus Ullmark stopped 18 shots.
Hurricanes 3, Devils 1
Jordan Martinook continued to haunt the Devils in the postseason, posting a goal and an assist as Carolina beat New Jersey in Raleigh, N.C., to take a 2-0 lead in their Eastern Conference first-round series.
Martinook has four goals and 13 points in seven career playoff games against New Jersey. Shayne Gostisbehere and Seth Jarvis also scored for the Hurricanes, and Frederik Andresen stopped 25 shots.
Jesper Bratt got the goal for the Devils. Jacob Markstrom made 25 saves.
–Field Level Media
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