Patrik Elias scored two of New Jersey's team-record five power-play goals and the Devils earned their 12th straight victory by beating New York 6-1 in their playoff opener.
Scott Gomez, Brian Rafalski and Jamie Langenbrunner also scored power-play goals for New Jersey.
New York, which lost its final five games of the regular season to allow the Devils to win the Atlantic Division on the last day, tied it 1-1 on rookie Petr Prucha's first-period, power-play goal. But the Rangers, playing their first postseason game since 1997, were hurt by a slew of penalties in the second and third.
The Rangers took 13 penalties in all.
Elias gave New Jersey a 1-0 lead during New York's first infraction, and Gomez and defenseman Ken Klee beat Rangers rookie goalie Henrik Lundqvist in the second. Rafalski, Langenbrunner and Elias made it a blowout in the third.
The final New Jersey goal, scored with 4:26 remaining, might prove way more costly to New York than just on the scoreboard. Right after Elias scored, Rangers leading scorer Jaromir Jagr was helped to the dressing room with an apparent elbow injury.
Sabres 3, Flyers 2
At Buffalo, New York, Daniel Briere tipped in Jochen Hecht's centering pass 7:31 into the second overtime to lift the Buffalo Sabres past the Philadelphia Flyers 3-2 in Game 1 of their NHL playoff series on Saturday.
Tim Connolly and Jay McKee also scored for the Sabres, who won after squandering a 2-0 lead in the postseason opener.
Philadelphia's Simon Gagne forced overtime with a power-play goal with 1:51 left in regulation. Robert Esche was strong in stopping 55 shots, and Mike Knuble had a goal and assist for the Flyers.
With a delayed penalty being called against the Flyers, Hecht got to a loose puck in the left circle of the Philadelphia zone. Circling along the left boards, he sneaked a pass into the middle, where the wide-open Briere stuck his stick out and directed the puck past a helpless Esche.
Avalanche 5, Stars 2
At Dallas, Rob Blake and John-Michael Liles scored power-play goals 2:04 apart in the second period and seventh-seeded Colorado overcame an early 2-0 deficit to win Game 1 of the Western Conference series.
Colorado cut the 2-0 deficit in half before the end of the first period, and had three goals in the second. Rookie winger Wojtek Wolski tied it at 2 before Blake and Liles scored. Milan Hejduk and Brett Clark also scored for the Avalanche.
Joe Sakic, the Avs' captain and leading scorer, had two assists, and Jose Theodore stopped 16 shots. Bill Guerin and Brenden Morrow scored for Dallas.
Canadiens 6, Hurricanes 1
At Raleigh, North Carolina, Cristobal Huet made 43 saves, 12 players recorded points and Montreal made up for four lopsided losses to Carolina during the regular season with a blowout victory in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference series.
Alex Kovalev had two goals and Francis Bouillon, Radek Bonk, Chris Higgins and Sheldon Souray each added one for seventh-seeded Montreal, which ended the regular season with four losses in its last six games.
The Hurricanes earned the second seed in the conference with the best season in franchise history, a run that included a 4-0 record against Montreal. None were really close, with the combined margin of the final three 20-6.
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