Jeff Petry scored at 13:57 of overtime as the Montreal Canadiens opened their qualifying series with an upset win over the Pittsburgh Penguins in Toronto on Saturday night.
Brendan Gallagher’s centering pass was deflected toward the high slot. Petry’s shot from above the right hash marks sailed past Penguins goaltender Matt Murray.
Montreal blew an early two-goal lead after Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Nick Suzuki scored in the first. Carey Price finished with 39 saves for the Canadiens. Sidney Crosby and Bryan Rust scored in the second period for Pittsburgh. Murray finished with 32 saves, after he wasn’t announced as the starter until earlier Saturday.
Pittsburgh’s Conor Sheary missed the net with a wide shot on a penalty shot with 3:03 left in regulation after he got hooked by Petry during a breakaway. It was Montreal’s turn at 6:46 of overtime, as Jonathan Drouin had the puck roll off his stick after he was awarded a penalty shot.
Blackhawks 6, Oilers 4
Dominik Kubalik tallied two power-play goals and three assists, and Jonathan Toews had two goals as Chicago defeated Edmonton in the opener of a best-of-five qualifying round in Edmonton.
Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford stopped 25 of 29 shots, helping Chicago withstand a late Oilers rush after the Blackhawks raced to a 4-1 lead through 20 minutes.
Connor McDavid finished with a goal and three assists to lead the Oilers. Leon Draisaitl had a goal and an assist.
Flames 4, Jets 1
A dominating special-teams performance, led by second-period power-play goals from Johnny Gaudreau and Mikael Backlund, helped Calgary beat Winnipeg in the opener of a best-of-five Western Conference qualifying round series in Edmonton.
Tobias Rieder added a short-handed marker in the middle frame for the Flames, who received a 17-save performance from goaltender Cam Talbot. Game 2 of the series will be Monday.
The Jets lost not only the series opener but also a pair of key players due to injury. Top-line center Mark Scheifele left the game before the six-minute mark after his leg appeared to be clipped by the skate of Matthew Tkachuk near the boards while the Flames forward was attempting a body check. Sniper Patrik Laine left midway through the third period due to an apparent injury to his right hand or wrist.
Islanders 2, Panthers 1
Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Anthony Beauvillier scored to lift New York to a victory over Florida in the opener of a best-of-five Eastern Conference qualifying round series in Toronto.
The seventh-seeded Islanders lost their final seven games (0-3-4) before the regular season was halted due to the coronavirus pandemic on March 12. They will attempt to take a commanding series lead on Tuesday in Game 2 of the series.
Semyon Varlamov made 27 saves to secure his first postseason win since April 26, 2014.
Hurricanes 3, Rangers 2
Jaccob Slavin scored barely a minute into the game, and Carolina went on to defeat New York in the opener of the best-of-five qualifying round in Toronto.
Hurricanes goalie Petr Mrazek made 24 saves in the first postseason meeting between the franchises.
Sebastian Aho and Martin Necas also provided goals for Carolina. Aho and Slavin each had an assist.
–Field Level Media
