J.J. Moser scored 12:48 into overtime, giving the host Tampa Bay Lightning a 3-2 comeback victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday and evening their first-round Eastern Conference playoff series at one win each.
Tampa Bay fully controlled the game in the extra period and was rewarded when Moser found the net. He gained the puck off a faceoff win in the offensive zone, worked his way to a shooting position at the top of the right circle and wired a top-corner shot for his first career playoff tally.
Montreal, which won Game 1 in overtime, was outshot 9-0 in overtime of Game 2. The series shifts to Montreal for Game 3 on Friday.
Tampa Bay’s Brandon Hagel collected a goal and an assist. Nikita Kucherov tallied once, Anthony Cirelli collected two assists and goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy made 25 saves for Tampa Bay, which snapped a collection of playoff swoons.
Avalanche 2, Kings 1 (OT)
Nicolas Roy scored at 7:44 of overtime to lift Colorado to a win against Los Angeles in Denver, giving the Avalanche a 2-0 lead in a Western Conference first-round playoff series.
Gabriel Landeskog scored the tying goal late in regulation and Scott Wedgewood made 24 saves for the Avalanche. During the regular season, Wedgewood led the NHL in goals-against average (2.02) and save percentage (.921).
Anton Forsberg made 34 saves for the Kings in his second career postseason start, both in the current series. He has allowed two goals or fewer in eight of his past nine starts.
Bruins 4, Sabres 2
Visiting Boston scored three second-period goals and held off a late Buffalo rally to even the teams’ Eastern Conference quarterfinal playoff series at one victory apiece.
Viktor Arvidsson scored in the last two periods, giving the Bruins 1-0 and 4-0 leads. Morgan Geekie and Pavel Zacha also lit the lamp for Boston, which heads home for Game 3 of the best-of-seven series on Thursday. Jeremy Swayman made 34 saves.
Bowen Byram and Peyton Krebs scored as Buffalo climbed within 4-2 in the closing minutes. Sabers goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen allowed four goals on 19 shots before Alex Lyon entered in relief following Arvidsson’s second marker, which came just 16 seconds into the third period.
Mammoth 3, Golden Knights 2
Logan Cooley scored the go-ahead goal on a rebound with six minutes remaining to give Utah its first playoff win in franchise history over Vegas in Game 2 of their best-of-seven Western Conference first-round series in Las Vegas.
Cooley buried a rebound of a Dylan Guenther shot, evening the best-of-seven series at one victory apiece. Guenther had a goal and an assist, Kailer Yamamoto had two assists and MacKenzie Weegar also scored. Karel Vejmelka made 19 saves, including a close-in shot by Mark Stone from the left side of the net with five seconds left to seal the win.
Stone and Ivan Barbashev each scored a goal and Jack Eichel had two assists for Vegas, which lost for the first time in regulation in 10 games (8-1-1) under coach John Tortorella. Carter Hart finished with 27 saves. Game 3 is Friday in Salt Lake City.
–Field Level Media
