DENVER (AP) — Logan O’Connor scored for the first time in more than a year, Scott Wedgewood stopped 24 shots in his first Stanley Cup playoffs start and the top-seeded Colorado Avalanche beat the Los Angeles Kings 2-1 in Game 1 on Sunday.
O’Connor’s third-period tally was his first since Game 4 of a playoff series against Dallas on April 26. He missed most of this season with a hip injury. Artturi Lehkonen had a second-period goal for the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Avalanche.
Wedgewood got the nod in net over Mackenzie Blackwood after leading the league in goals-against average and save percentage. Wedgewood made four career playoff appearances in relief before Sunday’s start.
Game 2 is Tuesday night in Denver.
Artemi Panarin scored a power-play goal with 2:22 left to make it 2-1. Shortly after, forward Joel Armia was called for high-sticking and the Kings were unable to tie it up.
Anton Forsberg stopped 28 shots in his NHL postseason debut.
CANADIENS 4, LIGHTNING 3, OT
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Juraj Slafkovsky scored his third power-play goal 1:22 into overtime and Montreal beat Tampa Bay in Game 1 of their first-round series.
Slafkovsky fired a slap shot from the left circle that beat Andrei Vasilevskiy to the far side for the hat trick.
Game 2 is Tuesday night at Benchmark International Arena, where Tampa Bay has lost eight of its last nine home games in the postseason.
Josh Anderson also had a goal for Montreal and rookie goalie Jakub Dobes made 20 saves.
Brandon Hagel scored two goals and Darren Raddysh also scored for Tampa Bay.
SABRES 4, BRUINS 3
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Mattias Samuelson scored with 3:24 left and Buffalo overcame a two-goal deficit in the final eight minutes to beat Boston in the Sabres’ first playoff game in 15 years.
Tage Thompson scored goals 3:42 apart to tie it, and Alex Tuch sealed the victory by scoring into an empty net with 1:12 left in nearly blowing the roof off the arena.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen stopped 17 shots.
Buffalo hosts Game 2 of the first-round series Tuesday night.
The playoff win was Buffalo’s first at home — and first overall — since a 1-0 victory over Philadelphia in Game 4 of a first-round series April 20, 2011. The Sabres proceeded to lose the series in seven games. The Sabres won their first Atlantic Division this season and snapped an NHL-record 14-season playoff drought.
Colorado Avalanche goaltender Scott Wedgewood (41) makes a save against Los Angeles Kings right wing Alex Laferriere (14) during the second period of Game 1 in the first round of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoffs, Sunday, April 19, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo Jack Dempsey)
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Mattias Samuelson scored with 3:24 left and Buffalo overcame a two-goal deficit in the final eight minutes to beat the Boston Bruins 4-3 on Sunday night in the Sabres’ first playoff game in 15 years.
Tage Thompson scored goals 3:42 apart to tie it, and Alex Tuch sealed the victory by scoring into an empty net with 1:12 left in nearly blowing the roof off the arena.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen stopped 17 shots.
Buffalo hosts Game 2 of the first-round series Tuesday night.
The playoff win was Buffalo’s first at home — and first overall — since a 1-0 victory over Philadelphia in Game 4 of a first-round series April 20, 2011. The Sabres proceeded to lose the series in seven games. The Sabres won their first Atlantic Division this season and snapped an NHL-record 14-season playoff drought.
David Pastrnak scored with seven seconds remaining, and had two assists for Boston. Morgan Geekie and Elias Lindholm also scored for the Bruins. who finished the regular season 33-2-4 when leading after two periods.
Jeremy Swayman made 34 saves.
After going 5,473 days between playoff games the Sabres delivered a stunning victory.
Trailing 2-0 after Lindholm scored 1:08 into the third period, Buffalo finally caught a spark from Thompson, who led the team with 40 goals this season.
Thompson’s first goal came on a wrap-around backhander with 7:58 remaining. He then tied it by getting to a loose puck to the left of the Boston net, and firing a low shot inside the far post with 4:16 remaining.
With the crowd still buzzing, Samuelsson scored 52 seconds later. Teammate Jack Quinn got to the puck deep in the Bruins zone and fed Samuelsson, who snapped a high shot in from the left circle.
This marked just the second time Buffalo overcame a two-goal third-period deficit. The other time also happened against Boston in a Game 4 first-round series-clinching first-round 6-5 overtime win in 1993. It’s best remembered in Buffalo as the “May Day!” game with Brad May scoring the decisive goal to secure the Sabres' first playoff series victory in a decade.
The Bruins, the Eastern Conference’s seventh-seeded team, unraveled in making their return to the playoffs following a one-year hiatus.
Pastrnak’s three-point outing upped his career playoff total to 909 points, and moved him ahead of Cam Neely and Wayne Cashman for ninth on the team list, and two back of Bobby Orr.
AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
Boston Bruins center Marat Khusnutdinov (92) and Buffalo Sabres center Peyton Krebs (19) battle after a whistle during the first period in Game 1 of a first-round NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series Sunday, April 19, 2026, in Buffalo, N.Y. (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes)
Buffalo Sabres right wing Josh Doan (91) carries the puck past Boston Bruins defenseman Andrew Peeke (26) during the first period in Game 1 of a first-round NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series Sunday, April 19, 2026, in Buffalo, N.Y. (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes)
Buffalo Sabres goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (1) stops Boston Bruins right wing David Pastrnak (88) during the second period in Game 1 of a first-round NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series Sunday, April 19, 2026, in Buffalo, N.Y. (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes)
Buffalo Sabres goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, right, watches the puck go wide during the second period in Game 1 against the Boston Bruins in a first-round NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series Sunday, April 19, 2026, in Buffalo, N.Y. (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes)
