St. Louis 4 – MINNESOTA 0… Ville Husso stopped all 27 shots at goal and the Blues breezed past the Wild to open the Western Conference first-round playoff series. David Perron scored three goals and had an assist. Torey Krug assisted on three goals. The series remains in Minnesota for Game 2 tomorrow.
CAROLINA 5 – Boston 1… Seth Jarvis opened the scoring with a second-period goal, Nino Niederreiter found the net 2 minutes later and the Hurricanes skated past the Bruins to open the Eastern Conference first-round playoff series. Teuvo Teravainen and Vincent Trocheck added third-period goals. Goalie Antti Raanta made 35 saves. The series remains in Raleigh for Game 2 tomorrow.
TORONTO 5 – Tampa Bay 0… Goalie Jack Campbell stopped all 23 shots and the Maple Leafs blanked the Lighting in the opener of the Eastern Conference first-round playoff series. Auston Matthews scored two goals and assisted on another. Mitch Marner added a goal and two assists. The series stays in Toronto for Game 2 tomorrow.
Los Angeles 4 – EDMONTON 3… Phillip Danault found the net with a tie-breaking goal at 14:46 of the third period and the Kings made it stand in beating the Oilers to open the Western Conference first-round playoff series. Trevor Moore and Alex Iafallo each had a goal and assist. Goalie Jonathan Quick made 35 saves. The series remains in Edmonton for Game 2 tomorrow.