Carolina Hurricanes 4-1 New Jersey Devils
The Carolina Hurricanes skated to their way to a 4-1 win over the New Jersey Devils at home.
Despite entering the match on a three-game losing skid, the hosts got on the scoreboard 2:25 in through Jalen Chatfield. That was the only goal of the opening frame, which was dominated by the Hurricanes.
Carolina's lead doubled six and a half minutes after intermission as Logan Stankoven made the most of his opportunity. The third line forward added another with 6:52 left in the period. The Canadian's second goal came on a power play, putting his team in complete command of the match.
The Devils would get on the scoreboard via Nico Hischier, who reduced the deficit back to two with 70 seconds left before the end of the second. In the final period, New Jersey tried their hardest to close the gap further. Unfortunately for them, they could not convert any of their 20 shots. Andrei Svechnikov added an empty netter with two and a half minutes left as the Hurricanes take game one.
Game two of the series, which will also be in Carolina, will take place on Tuesday.
Toronto Maple Leafs 6-2 Ottawa Senators
The Toronto Maple Leafs commenced their playoffs in impressive fashion, topping the visiting Ottawa Senators 6-2 in an all-Canadian showdown.
Oliver Ekman-Larsson opened the scoring for the Leafs seven minutes in. He would be joined on the board by Mitchell Marner five minutes later, who quickly made it 2-0. The Sens would not be left scoreless in the opening frame though, as Drake Batherson nabbed one back.
Penalties killed Ottawa in the second period as they had five different players go to the penalty box. That proved costly, as John Tavares scored Toronto's third four minutes in. Then, William Nylander made the most of his power play, and just like that, the Leafs were up 4-1.
The Sens cut the lead to 4-2 with 16 minutes left as Ridly Greig finished his chance. However, the Maple Leafs were just too good. Morgan Reilly restored the three-goal advantage less than a minute later, before Matthew Knies added a sixth with 6:47 left in the game.
A brawl broke out just before the final horn, which resulted in 11 different players ending the match in the penalty box. Overall, the Senators were penalised 14 times throughout the contest, in comparison to the Leafs' eight. The sides will face off in game two on Tuesday.
Las Vegas Golden Knights - Minnesota Wild
The Las Vegas Golden Knights claimed a 4-2 victory over the Minnesota Wild on home turf.
The first period ended 1-1 Tomas Hertl's opener for the Knights was quickly cancelled out by a goal from Matthew Boldy.
The hosts then retook the lead 13 minutes into the second frame courtesy of a power-play from Pavel Dorofeyev, and wouldn't relinquish it again.
Brett Howden bagged a brace in the final period with his two goals coming either side of a second for Boldy.