Montreal moved into the driver’s seat of their Eastern Conference quarterfinal matchup Friday night, defeating Tampa Bay 3-2 in overtime at home to claim a 2-1 series advantage in the best-of-seven contest.
Lane Hutson found the back of the net just 2:09 into the extra session to deliver the victory for the Canadiens. Montreal’s depth proved crucial in the win, with their fourth line providing the spark needed to secure the triumph. Kirby Dach and Alexandre Texier each contributed one goal and one assist, while Zack Bolduc recorded two assists in the effort.
Goaltender Jakub Dobes turned away 15 shots for Montreal, marking the third consecutive game in this series that required overtime to determine a winner.
Tampa Bay received scoring from Brandon Hagel and Brayden Point, with Jake Guentzel and Nikita Kucherov each picking up assists. Andrei Vasilevskiy recorded 26 saves in the losing effort.
In other playoff action, Utah claimed a 4-2 victory over Vegas in Salt Lake City, taking a 2-1 series lead in their Western Conference quarterfinal. Lawson Crouse delivered two goals in the second period to power the Mammoth to victory. MacKenzie Weegar contributed a goal and assist, while Dylan Guenther also found the scoresheet. The win marked a historic moment for Utah, becoming the sixth franchise debuting since the 1990s to capture their first home Stanley Cup playoff victory.
Clayton Keller provided two assists for Utah, and Karel Vejmelka made 30 saves. Vegas received goals from Jack Eichel and Nic Dowd, with Carter Hart making eight stops.
Anaheim staged a dramatic comeback to defeat Edmonton 7-4, seizing a 2-1 series advantage in their Western Conference opening round. Beckett Sennecke and Leo Carlsson scored 42 seconds apart early in the third period to ignite the Ducks’ rally. Mikael Granlund recorded four points including one goal, while Mason McTavish, Alex Killorn, Jeffrey Viel and Jackson Lacombe each added goals. Lukas Dostal made 20 saves for the victory.
Edmonton’s Connor McDavid tallied one goal and one assist, with Vasily Podkolzin, Kasperi Kapanen and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins each scoring once. Leon Draisaitl and Evan Bouchard contributed two assists each, while Connor Ingram stopped 32 shots in the loss.
