TORONTO (AP) — Brad Marchand broke a tie midway through the third period and the Boston Bruins beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 on Wednesday night to take a 2-1 lead in the first-round playoff series.
After Todd Bertuzzi tied it for Toronto with 8:35 left, Marchard put the Bruins back in front 28 second later. He took a pass from Danton Heinen and ripped a shot past goalie Ilya Samsonov’s ear. Marchand capped the scoring with an empty-netter and also had an assist.
Jake DeBrusk and Trent Frederic also scored for Boston, and Jeremy Swayman made 28 saves. Swayman made 35 saves in Boston’s 5-1 victory in Game 1, then gave way to Linus Ullmark in Toronto’s 3-2 victory in Game 2.
GOLDEN KNIGHTS 3, STARS 1
DALLAS (AP) — Noah Hanifin broke a tie with an unassisted goal late in the second period and Stanley Cup champion Vegas beat top-seeded Dallas to take a 2-0 lead in the first-round series.
Hanifin was one of the three trade-deadline acquisitions for the Knights, the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference.
Jonathan Marchessault scored his second goal of the series, and his franchise-record 36th in the postseason while appearing in all 90 of Vegas’ playoff games.
Jack Eichel assisted on Marchessault’s goal and added an empty-netter. Logan Thompson had 20 saves in his second career playoff start.
Game 3 is Saturday night in Las Vegas.
KINGS 5, OILERS 4, OT
EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Anze Kopitar fired a wrist shot past Stuart Skinner’s glove and into the top corner on a breakaway to give Los Angeles a victory over Edmonton in Game 2 of the first-round playoff series.
Kopitar picked up the puck near the Edmonton blue line, moved in on Talbot and shot from the slot as Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse dove to try to block the shot.
Los Angeles rebounded from a 7-4 loss Monday night in the opener to send the series to Los Angeles tied 1-1. Game 3 is Friday night.
