Hampus Lindholm, Nate Thompson and Jakob Silfverberg each had a goal and an assist, and the Anaheim Ducks opened the Western Conference finals with a 4-1 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday.
Frederik Andersen made 32 saves and Kyle Palmieri also scored for the Ducks. They opened their first conference finals in eight years with a strong all-around performance while improving to 9-1 in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Both teams’ top offensive stars were shut down in the opener, but the Ducks’ supporting cast contributed timely scoring, capped by Thompson’s goal with 7:55 to play and Silfverberg’s empty-net goal with 1:18 left.
Brad Richards scored late in the second period and Corey Crawford stopped 23 shots for Chicago, which hadn’t lost since April 23.
Game 2 is Tuesday night in Anaheim.
Andersen was stellar under a heavy barrage of high-quality shots from the Blackhawks, who had won five straight postseason games heading into their third straight conference finals.
The Ducks’ tall Danish goalie made a handful of spectacular saves in the third when Chicago pressed after Thompson made it 3-1 in a sequence created by speedy Andrew Cogliano.
Rangers 2, Lightning 1
NEW YORK (AP) — Dominic Moore scored with 2:25 to play and the New York Rangers defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-1 in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals on Saturday.
The game-winning goal came just 30 seconds after Moore stepped out of the penalty box, and it capped another nail-biter for the Rangers, who have played 15 consecutive one-goal games in the postseason.
Derek Stepan, who scored the Game 7 winner against Washington on Wednesday night, also scored and Henrik Lundqvist made 23 saves.
Ondrej Palat tied the game on a power-play goal early in the third period. Ben Bishop had 28 saves for the Lightning in losing to New York for the first time in nine games.
Game 2 will be played at Madison Square Garden tonight.
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