April 14 is officially in the history books and the first game of all opening round series in the NHL playoffs are complete. Thursday was full of thrillers, as nobody won by more than two goals. Here’s what went down:
San Jose 3, Los Angeles 2: Joe Pavelski scored 14:44 into overtime to lift San Jose to a 1-0 series lead against LA. It wasn’t for lack of effort for the Kings: Jonathan Quick was peppered with 45 shots and made 42 saves.
Buffalo 1, Philadelphia 0: Michigan State alumni Ryan Miller backstopped the Sabres to a 1-0 lead, stopping 35 shots for the shutout. Patrick Kaleta’s tally six minutes into the third proved enough for Buffalo.
Montreal 2, Boston 0: Brian Gionta’s tally 2:44 into the game turned out to be enough for the Canadiens in this highly anticipated matchup. Carey Price seemed to shake off his playoff skeletons for at least a night, stopping 31 shots for the win.
The first two days of the playoffs have been a defensive battle. Four teams posted shutouts and the losing squad in each matchup has had two goals or less. Nobody has scored more than four times, which Nashville and Detroit both accomplished.
After one game, here’s how each series stands:
WEST
Detroit leads Phoenix 1-0
Vancouver leads Chicago 1-0
San Jose leads Los Angeles 1-0
Nashville leads Anaheim 1-0
EAST
Pittsburgh leads Tampa Bay 1-0
Washington leads New York 1-0
Buffalo leads Philadelphia 1-0
Montreal leads Boston 1-0