Saturday's hockey: Griffins win playoff opener on Berggren's OT goal; Leafs face elimination
The Grand Rapids Griffins rallied to win, 3-2, in overtime in Game 1 of the Central Division semifinal against the Rockford IceHogs on Saturday at the BMO Center in Rockford, Illinois.
Trailing 2-0 in the third period, Dominik Shine and Amadeus Lombardi scored goals and Jonatan Berggren had the winning goal at 4:14 of overtime.
Sebastian Cossa posted the win in goal, stopping 20-of-22 shots. He becomes just the fifth rookie goalie to start a playoff game for the Griffins, joining Jared Coreau (2015), Peter Mrazek (2013), Jimmy Howard (2006) and Mathieu Chouinard (2001).
Game 2 of the best-of-five series is Wednesday at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids.
Saturday's NHL playoffs
Boston 3, (at) Toronto 1: Brad Marchand broke the Boston playoff goals record with his 56th and the Bruins beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-1 in Game 4 on Saturday night to move within a victory of advancing to the second round.
Marchand also had an assist, James van Riemsdyk and David Pastrnak scored and Jeremy Swayman made 25 saves. Boston can wrap up the series Tuesday night at home.
Mitch Marner scored for Toronto. Auston Matthews, the NHL goals leader in the regular season with 69, sat out the third period. He missed practice Friday. Fellow forward William Nylander played after missing the first three games of the series because of an undisclosed injury.
Ilya Samsonov started in goal for the Maple Leafs, stopping 14 of 17 shots in the first two periods, and Joseph Woll made five saves in the third.
(At) N.Y. Islanders 3, Carolina 2 (2OT): Mathew Barzal scored his second goal of the game on a deflection 1:24 into the second overtime and the New York Islanders beat the Carolina Hurricanes 3-2 in Game 4 on Saturday to avoid a sweep in their first-round playoff series.
Jean-Gabriel Pageau also scored and Semyon Varlamov stopped 42 shots – including 18 in the overtimes – to help the Islanders stave off elimination.
Seth Jarvis and Stefan Noesen scored and Frederik Andersen finished with 33 saves for Carolina, which is seeking to advance to the second round for the fifth time in six years.
Game 5 is Tuesday night in Raleigh, North Carolina.
(At) Tampa 6, Florida 3: Steven Stamkos scored his fourth and fifth goals of the series and Tampa Bay avoided elimination with a victory over Florida in Game 4 of the first-round playoff matchup.
Game 5 is Monday night at Florida. Only four times in 206 tries has an NHL team rebounded from a 3-0 deficit to win a series.
Stamkos opened the scoring during the Lightning’s three-goal first period and helped ease Florida’s sustained pressure during the opening half of the third period with his goal at 9:34 that gave Tampa Bay a 5-3 lead. Nicholas Paul added a goal during a 5-on-3 power-play goal with 3:38 to go.
Brandon Hagel had two goals and an assist, and Brayden Point added a goal and two assists for the Lightning. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 22 saves, with Nikita Kucherov and Victor Hedman both getting three assists.
Islanders avoid series sweep beating Hurricanes 3-2 in 2OT
Dallas 3, (at) Vegas 2 (OT): Wyatt Johnston scored his second goal of the game in overtime to give Dallas a victory over Vegas, cutting the defending champion Golden Knights’ series lead to 2-1.
Johnston, who had a team-high eight shots, dragged the puck down the left side to the goal line, drawing goalie Logan Thompson into a low position, and beating him with a high shot 16:23 into the extra period.
Miro Heiskanen also scored for the Stars, and Jake Oettinger made 32 saves. The Stars had lost six straight against Vegas.
Brayden McNabb and Jack Eichel scored for Vegas, and Thompson stopped a career-high 43 shots. Dallas, which averaged 31.5 shots per game during the regular season, held a whopping advantage of high-danger shots, 27-4.
Game 4 is Monday night in Las Vegas.
Eastern Conference playoff matchups
Rangers vs. Capitals
(Rangers lead 3-0)
▶ Game 1: Rangers 4-1
▶ Game 2: Rangers 4-3
▶ Game 3: Rangers 3-1
▶ Game 4: Sunday @ Washington, 8 p.m.
Bruins vs. Maple Leafs
(Bruins lead 3-1)
▶ Game 1: Bruins 5-1
▶ Game 2: Leafs 3-2
▶ Game 3: Bruins 4-2
▶ Game 4: Bruins 3-1
Panthers vs. Lightning
(Panthers lead 3-1)
▶ Game 1: Panthers 3-2
▶ Game 2: Panthers 3-2 (OT)
▶ Game 3: Panthers 5-3
▶ Game 4: Lightning 6-3
Hurricanes vs. Islanders
(Hurricanes lead 3-1)
▶ Game 1: Hurricanes 3-1
▶ Game 2: Hurricanes 5-3
▶ Game 3: Hurricanes 3-2
▶ Game 4: Islanders 3-2 (2OT)
Western Conference playoff matchups
Dallas vs. Vegas
(Golden Knights lead 2-1)
▶ Game 1: Vegas 4-3
▶ Game 2: Vegas 3-1
▶ Game 3: Dallas 3-2 (OT)
▶ Game 4: Monday @ Vegas, TBD
Winnipeg vs. Colorado
(Series tied 1-1)
▶ Game 1: Jets 7-6
▶ Game 2: Avalanche 5-2
▶ Game 3: Friday @ Colorado, 10 p.m.
▶ Game 4: Sunday @ Colorado, 2:30 p.m.
Vancouver vs. Nashville
(Canucks lead 2-1)
▶ Game 1: Canucks 4-2
▶ Game 2: Predators 4-1
▶ Game 3: Canucks 2-1
▶ Game 4: Sunday @ Nashville, 5 p.m.
Edmonton vs. Los Angeles
(Series tied 1-1)
▶ Game 1: Oilers 7-4
▶ Game 2: Kings 5-4 (OT)
▶ Game 3: Friday @ Los Angeles, 10:30 p.m.
▶ Game 4: Sunday @ Los Angeles, 10:30 p.m.
Michigan-area hockey
Tuesday
▶ Saginaw 3, Sault Ste. Marie 1
Wednesday
▶ Toledo 6, Kalamazoo 2
Thursday
▶ NTDP U18s 9, Slovakia 0
Friday
▶ Toledo 4, Kalamazoo 2
▶ London 3, Saginaw 1
Saturday
▶ Grand Rapids 3, Rockford 2 (OT)
▶ NTDP U18s 8, Norway 2
Sunday
▶ NTDP U18s vs. Latvia, 11 a.m. (Hockey Network)
American Hockey League playoffs
Central Division semifinal
(Best-of-five series)
▶ Game 1: Grand Rapids 3-2 (OT)
▶ Game 2: Wednesday @ Rockford, 7
▶ Game 3: Friday @ Rockford, 7
▶ Game 4: Sunday, May 5 @ Grand Rapids, 4
▶ Game 5: Friday, May 10 @ Rockford, 7
Central Division semifinal
(Best-of-five series)
▶ Milwaukee vs. winner of Texas-Manitoba
ECHL
Central Division Semifinal
(Best-of-seven series)
▶ Game 1: Toledo 3-2 (OT)
▶ Game 2: Toledo 5-2
▶ Game 3: Toledo 6-2
▶ Game 4: Toledo 4-2
Road to the Memorial Cup in Saginaw
(Saginaw hosts May 24-June 2)
▶ Friday, May 24: WHL vs. Saginaw, 7:30
▶ Saturday, May 25: OHL vs. QMJHL, 4
▶ Sunday, May 26: Saginaw vs. QMJHL, 7:30
▶ Monday, May 27: OHL vs. WHL, 7:30
▶ Tuesday, May 28: QMJHL vs. WHL, 7:30
▶ Wednesday, May 29: Saginaw vs. OHL, 7:30
▶ Thursday, May 30: Tie breaker (if necessary)
▶ Friday, May 31: Semifinal, 7:30
▶ Sunday, June 2: Final, 7:30
CHL playoffs in WHL, OHL, QMJHL
Western Hockey League
▶ Saskatoon Blades vs. Moose Jaw Warriors
▶ Prince George Cougars vs. Portland Winterhawks
Ontario Hockey League
▶ Oshawa Generals vs. North Bay Battalion
▶ London Knights vs. Saginaw
Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
▶ Baie-Comeau Drakkar vs. Cape Breton Eagles
▶ Drummondville Voltigeurs vs. Victoriaville Tigres