Matt Duchene on Friday had a goal and three assists as the Columbus Blue Jackets defeated hosts Tampa Bay Lightning 5-1, taking a stunning 2-0 lead in their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series.
Tampa Bay lost each of their first two games of the best-of-seven series at home after tying the NHL single-season record for wins (62).
Nikita Kucherov, who led the NHL with 128 points this season, was held pointless and had just three shots on goal.
Photo: AP
Kucherov’s frustration was apparent, as he was assessed a minor penalty for tripping, a major penalty for boarding and a game misconduct for an incident involving Columbus’ Markus Nutivaara with 4 minutes, 26 seconds remaining.
The Lightning star was to have a hearing yesterday with the NHL’s Department of Player Safety to discuss that hit.
Per the NHL, boarding is the grounds on which the league is considering additional discipline — which could include a suspension.
ISLANDERS 3, PENGUINS 1
Jordan Eberle and Josh Bailey scored fewer than four minutes apart in the third period of Game 2 of the Eastern Conference quarter-finals for New York, who beat Pittsburgh in Uniondale, New York.
The Islanders, who have home-ice advantage for the first time since 1988, hold a 2-0 series lead for the first time since they swept the Edmonton Oilers in the 1983 Stanley Cup.
The Penguins are down 0-2 in a series for the first time since being swept by the Boston Bruins in the 2013 Eastern Conference Finals.
BLUES 4, JETS 3
Ryan O’Reilly’s goal early in the third period was the game-winner as visiting St Louis beat Winnipeg to claim both road games in the Manitoba capital and stake a 2-0 lead in their opening-round Western Conference playoff series.
With the score tied in the third period in a back-and-forth affair, O’Reilly raced up the ice and used the defenseman as a screen when he shot from the right face-off dot and hit the mark on the stick side at the 3 minute, 46 second mark of the final frame.
Taking a lead for the third time was the charm for the Blues.
Oskar Sundqvist scored twice for St Louis, who also got a goal from Patrick Maroon.
Patrik Laine, Mark Scheifele and Blake Wheeler scored for Winnipeg.
KNIGHTS 5, SHARKS 3
Max Pacioretty had a goal and an assist, and William Karlsson and Colin Miller each scored short-handed goals to lead Vegas past hosts San Jose to even their first-round Western Conference playoff series at 1-1.
Mark Stone and Cody Eakin also scored goals, and Paul Stastny added two assists for Vegas.
Marc-Andre Fleury finished with 34 saves for his 76th career playoff win, one behind Mike Vernon for seventh all-time.
Logan Couture had a goal and an assist, Joe Thornton and Tomas Hertl also scored goals, and Erik Karlsson had two assists for San Jose, who finished just 1-8 on the power play.
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