Jaroslav Halak made 29 saves in a surprise appearance, while Charlie Coyle and Brad Marchand each had a goal and an assist as the Boston Bruins overcame a roster change to win 3-1 in Game 3 against the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday afternoon in Toronto.
Sean Kuraly supplied Boston’s other goal as the Bruins took a 2-1 series lead. David Krejci posted two assists. Game 4 in the best-of-seven series is Monday night.
Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask opted out of the rest of the playoffs because of personal reasons, in an announcement that came about 90 minutes prior to the start of the game. Halak had played in only the opener of the first five games for Boston since the season resumed earlier this month.
Nino Niederreiter scored Carolina’s only goal on Halak’s error playing the puck. Goalie Petr Mrazek, back in action after sitting out Game 2, made 36 stops for the Hurricanes.
Coyotes 4, Avalanche 2
A dazzling Darcy Kuemper made 49 saves to lead Arizona past Colorado, avoiding a 3-0 hole and finding new life in the playoff series, which resumes with Game 4 on Monday.
Kuemper held strong despite an Avalanche onslaught for much of the afternoon. He recorded 20 saves in the first period alone, which set a franchise record for most saves in a postseason period. The Coyotes mustered just 23 shots total.
With 80 seconds left in the game and the Coyotes leading 2-1, Arizona’s Taylor Hall scored an empty-net goal, only to see Colorado’s Mikko Rantanen score with 56.8 seconds remaining to set up a frantic finish. The Coyotes’ Lawson Crouse sealed the deal with another empty-net goal with five seconds left in the game.
Lightning 3, Blue Jackets 2
Brayden Point scored the go-ahead goal in a decisive second period, and Tampa Bay killed off all four power plays, including a lengthy five-on-three, to defeat Columbus.
The victory gives the second-seeded Lightning a 2-1 lead over the No. 7 Blue Jackets in the best-of-seven series in the first round of the Eastern Conference. Game 4 is scheduled for Monday afternoon.
Tampa Bay’s Alex Killorn and Victor Hedman also scored, and goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 15 shots — facing just seven over the final two periods. Riley Nash and Eric Robinson netted goals, Nash added a helper and netminder Joonas Korpisalo made 31 saves for the Blue Jackets.
Golden Knights 2, Blackhawks 1
Marc-Andre Fleury made 26 saves in his first start of the Western Conference first round, leading Vegas past Chicago and into a commanding 3-0 lead in the series.
William Karlsson scored short-handed, and Patrick Brown scored in his first game of the series for the top-seeded Golden Knights, who can sweep the best-of-seven series with another win in Game 4 on Sunday afternoon.
Olli Maatta scored, and Corey Crawford made 24 saves for the 12th-seeded Blackhawks.
–Field Level Media
