RALEIGH, N.C. — Barclay Goodrow beat Alex Nedeljkovic for the go-ahead goal at 12:39 of the third period to help the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Carolina Hurricanes 2-1 on Sunday night to open their second-round playoff series.
Goodrow put the reigning Stanley Cup champions ahead for good when he headed left against Carolina defenseman Brady Skjei, then shot from a sharp angle on the left side. The puck skid underneath Nedeljkovic’s right pad as it lifted slightly off the ice near the post to break a 1-1 tie.
The Lightning won a road series opener for the second straight round. They swept the first two games at Florida in a six-game first-round series.
Game 2 in the best-of-seven series is Tuesday night.
Brayden Point added a second-period goal on the power play for Tampa Bay, while Andrei Vasilevskiy was sharp all day with 37 saves – including 15 in the first period against the Hurricanes, who buzzed out of the gate, backed by a rowdy home crowd of more than 16,000.
Jake Bean scored on the power play to tie it early in the third period for Carolina, notching his first career playoff assist. The Hurricanes, who have home-ice advantage after winning the Central Division, also got another solid performance from Nedeljkovic with 28 saves.
AVALANCHE 7, GOLDEN KNIGHTS 1: Nathan MacKinnon and Gabriel Landeskog each scored twice and well-rested Colorado made quick work of Vegas with its speed, beating the visiting Golden Knights in a skirmish-filled Game 1 of their second-round playoff series.
What began as Colorado putting on a passing clinic – racing out to a 5-0 lead – spiraled into one fight after another. There were a total of 74 penalty minutes, including four 10-minute misconducts and a match penalty on Ryan Reaves of Vegas.
Young defenseman Cale Makar added a goal and three assists, while Brandon Saad and Mikko Rantanen also scored for the Avalanche, who had an extra burst after nearly a week off following a four-game sweep of St. Louis in the first round.
William Karlsson scored the lone goal for Vegas. Robin Lehner was a surprise starter in net and stopped 30 shots in his first appearance of the playoffs. He stepped in for Marc-Andre Fleury, who was in net for all seven games as the Golden Knights eliminated Minnesota.
Game 2 is Wednesday in Denver.
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