Utah Mammoth (43-33-6, in the Central Division) vs. Vegas Golden Knights (39-26-17, in the Pacific Division)
Paradise, Nevada; Tuesday, 9:30 p.m. EDT
LINE: Golden Knights -161, Mammoth +135; over/under is 6
NHL PLAYOFFS FIRST ROUND: Golden Knights lead series 1-0
BOTTOM LINE: The Vegas Golden Knights host the Utah Mammoth in the first round of the NHL Playoffs with a 1-0 lead in the series. The teams meet Sunday for the fifth time this season. The Golden Knights won the previous matchup 4-2.
Vegas has a 39-26-17 record overall and a 21-12-9 record on its home ice. The Golden Knights have a 38-6-11 record when scoring three or more goals.
Utah is 43-33-6 overall and 21-18-3 on the road. The Mammoth have allowed 240 goals while scoring 268 for a +28 scoring differential.
TOP PERFORMERS: Mitchell Marner has 24 goals and 56 assists for the Golden Knights. Mark Stone has six goals and four assists over the last 10 games.
Nick Schmaltz has 33 goals and 40 assists for the Mammoth. Clayton Keller has four goals and 13 assists over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Golden Knights: 8-0-2, averaging 4.1 goals, 6.7 assists, 3.1 penalties and 6.5 penalty minutes while giving up 2.1 goals per game.
Mammoth: 6-4-0, averaging 4.1 goals, 7.1 assists, 3.4 penalties and 7.1 penalty minutes while giving up 3.1 goals per game.
INJURIES: Golden Knights: William Karlsson: out (lower body).
Mammoth: Barrett Hayton: out (upper-body), Sean Durzi: day to day (upper-body), Jack McBain: out (lower-body).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
Los Angeles Kings (35-27-20, in the Pacific Division) vs. Colorado Avalanche (55-16-11, in the Central Division)
Denver; Tuesday, 10 p.m. EDT
LINE: Avalanche -275, Kings +224; over/under is 5.5
NHL PLAYOFFS FIRST ROUND: Avalanche lead series 1-0
BOTTOM LINE: The Colorado Avalanche host the Los Angeles Kings in the first round of the NHL Playoffs with a 1-0 lead in the series. The teams meet Sunday for the fifth time this season. The Avalanche won the previous meeting 2-1.
Colorado has a 27-9-6 record at home and a 55-16-11 record overall. The Avalanche have a +101 scoring differential, with 298 total goals scored and 197 allowed.
Los Angeles has gone 20-11-11 on the road and 35-27-20 overall. The Kings have given up 238 goals while scoring 220 for a -18 scoring differential.
TOP PERFORMERS: Nathan MacKinnon has scored 53 goals with 74 assists for the Avalanche. Martin Necas has three goals and five assists over the past 10 games.
Artemi Panarin has 28 goals and 56 assists for the Kings. Adrian Kempe has scored nine goals and added two assists over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Avalanche: 7-2-1, averaging 2.6 goals, 4.3 assists, 3.2 penalties and 6.4 penalty minutes while giving up 1.8 goals per game.
Kings: 6-2-2, averaging three goals, 4.5 assists, 3.3 penalties and 7.5 penalty minutes while giving up 2.5 goals per game.
INJURIES: Avalanche: None listed.
Kings: Kevin Fiala: out for season (leg).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
Boston Bruins (45-27-10, in the Atlantic Division) vs. Buffalo Sabres (50-23-9, in the Atlantic Division)
Buffalo, New York; Tuesday, 7:30 p.m. EDT
LINE: Sabres -170, Bruins +142; over/under is 6
NHL PLAYOFFS FIRST ROUND: Sabres lead series 1-0
BOTTOM LINE: The Buffalo Sabres host the Boston Bruins in the first round of the NHL Playoffs with a 1-0 lead in the series. The teams meet Sunday for the sixth time this season. The Sabres won the last matchup 4-3. Tage Thompson scored two goals in the win.
Buffalo is 50-23-9 overall and 17-6-4 against the Atlantic Division. The Sabres are fifth in the league with 283 total goals (averaging 3.4 per game).
Boston has gone 45-27-10 overall with an 11-13-3 record in Atlantic Division play. The Bruins have a 38-10-7 record when scoring at least three goals.
TOP PERFORMERS: Rasmus Dahlin has 19 goals and 55 assists for the Sabres. Alex Tuch has five goals and four assists over the past 10 games.
Pavel Zacha has 30 goals and 35 assists for the Bruins. Morgan Geekie has six goals and three assists over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Sabres: 7-2-1, averaging 3.5 goals, 5.7 assists, 4.4 penalties and 11.3 penalty minutes while giving up 2.5 goals per game.
Bruins: 4-4-2, averaging 2.8 goals, five assists, 3.2 penalties and seven penalty minutes while giving up 2.5 goals per game.
INJURIES: Sabres: Jiri Kulich: out for season (ear), Sam Carrick: out (arm), Justin Danforth: day to day (lower body), Noah Ostlund: day to day (upper-body).
Bruins: None listed.
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
Montreal Canadiens (48-24-10, in the Atlantic Division) vs. Tampa Bay Lightning (50-26-6, in the Atlantic Division)
Tampa, Florida; Tuesday, 7 p.m. EDT
LINE: Lightning -191, Canadiens +158; over/under is 6
NHL PLAYOFFS FIRST ROUND: Canadiens lead series 1-0
BOTTOM LINE: The Montreal Canadiens visit the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round of the NHL Playoffs with a 1-0 lead in the series. The teams meet Sunday for the sixth time this season. The Canadiens won 4-3 in overtime in the last meeting. Juraj Slafkovsky led the Canadiens with three goals.
Tampa Bay is 16-9-2 against the Atlantic Division and 50-26-6 overall. The Lightning have scored 286 total goals (3.5 per game) to rank fourth in league play.
Montreal has gone 48-24-10 overall with a 17-9-1 record in Atlantic Division play. The Canadiens have a 44-8-9 record in games they score at least three goals.
TOP PERFORMERS: Jake Guentzel has 38 goals and 50 assists for the Lightning. Nikita Kucherov has four goals and seven assists over the past 10 games.
Cole Caufield has 51 goals and 37 assists for the Canadiens. Slafkovsky has five goals and seven assists over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Lightning: 4-5-1, averaging 2.6 goals, 4.5 assists, 6.8 penalties and 17.3 penalty minutes while giving up 2.8 goals per game.
Canadiens: 7-3-0, averaging 2.7 goals, 4.6 assists, 5.6 penalties and 14.6 penalty minutes while giving up 2.5 goals per game.
INJURIES: Lightning: Victor Hedman: out (personal), Pontus Holmberg: out (upper-body).
Canadiens: Patrik Laine: out (abdomen), Noah Dobson: out (thumb).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
The Utah Mammoth’s first taste of playoff hockey delivered everything it promised—speed, chaos, physicality—and then ended in a gut punch.
The Vegas Golden Knights rallied from multiple deficits to defeat Utah 4–2 on Sunday night in Game 1 of their first-round series, flipping what felt like a tightly controlled debut into a third-period collapse for the visitors.
Vegas, now unbeaten in regulation in its recent stretch under head coach John Tortorella (8-0-1), once again leaned on relentless pressure and depth scoring to overwhelm Utah late. Colton Sissons led the charge with a goal and an assist, while Mark Stone and Ivan Barbashev also found the back of the net. Carter Hart turned aside 32 shots, and Noah Hanifin chipped in two assists from the blue line.
For Utah, Logan Cooley and Kevin Stenlund provided the offense, and Karel Vejmelka stopped 27 shots in a game that featured momentum swings, heavy contact, and a simmering edge that boiled over several times—including a post-buzzer altercation.
A Playoff Introduction Built On Emotion And Momentum
Utah didn’t just show up—they struck first, and nearly carried that energy into intermission.
Former Golden Knight Nate Schmidt threaded a perfect cross-ice feed to Logan Cooley, who buried a one-timer from the right circle with just 11 seconds left in the opening period. It was the kind of moment that briefly quieted the building and hinted at a dream start for the league’s newest postseason entrant.
The second period, however, belonged to chaos.
Sissons tied the game at 3:44, jamming home a rebound off a Cole Smith feed. Utah responded quickly, reclaiming the lead when a strange sequence near the crease ended with the puck deflecting into the net off a Vegas miscue, officially credited to Kevin Stenlund.
But that edge was fragile.
Vegas Turns The Screw In The Third
The Golden Knights’ response came in waves—and with force.
Mark Stone evened things up on the power play, hammering home a rebound at 5:33 of the third period. From there, the tone of the game shifted entirely. Vegas tilted the ice, leaned on Utah’s defensive zone mistakes, and eventually broke through again when a turnover by MacKenzie Weegar led to a decisive go-ahead goal off a Noah Hanifin shot, finished by Sissons’ presence around the puck.
Ivan Barbashev sealed it with an empty-net goal, putting a punctuation mark on a night where Vegas simply refused to fade.
Utah, meanwhile, was left to absorb the reality of playoff margins—small mistakes, magnified instantly.
The series continues Tuesday night back in Las Vegas, where Utah will try to reset before the moment starts feeling even heavier.
LAS VEGAS -- Like it or not, Carter Hart is deservedly a playoff goaltender in the NHL for the Golden Knights.
The 27-year-old has been the league's best goaltender since the start of the month, and just turned in his first playoff win since Sept. 3, 2020, when he was with the Philadelphia Flyers, in Vegas' 4-2 win over the Utah Mammoth on Sunday.
"We found a way to win a game, and I thought Carter Hart really gave us a chance," Vegas coach John Tortorella said.
Carter Hart in his first NHL playoff game since the 2020 COVID-19 bubble:
After opening his tenure with the Knights by going 5-3-3 with a .871 save percentage and allowing 36 goals in 12 appearances, he returned to the net on April 2 after an injury, went 6-0-0 with a .930 save percentage, and allowed 10 goals in six games.
There was no better goaltender in the NHL during the same stretch.
Sunday, he was the better netminder, as the Golden Knights continued their winning ways under coach John Tortorella, who took over the team March 29, after Bruce Cassidy was fired.
Ironically, in Cassidy's first season with the Knights, he led them to a Stanley Cup after keeping once-starter goalie Logan Thompson in the press box as a healthy scratch during the playoffs and needed to turn to Adin Hill after Laurent Brossoit got injured.
Now, Tortorella has given Hill's net to Hart. And not because Vegas' $6 million goaltender is hurt, but because Hart has outplayed him - and deserves the starting role.
Tortorella was the coach of the Flyers when Hart was stopping pucks in Philly, so there is familiarity. Perhaps that's provided added confidence for both of them.
One, the incoming coach who took over a very talented team that needed a swift kick in the hockey pads with eight games in the regular season.
And two, the young netminder who's been through a lot off the ice, and simply needed to know there is someone who believes in him genuinely.
Aside from Vegas' offense coming around, there's no doubt the goaltending has been the biggest difference.
In Hill's lone start under Tortorella, he took the L in a 4-3 shootout loss at Seattle.
Tortorella has acknowledged he has two quality goaltenders in the locker room, but it's Hart's growth and maturity that have given him the pipes at this point.
"I had him there for a couple of years in Philly, and I watched him grow from the first time I stepped into Philly, and then he had to step out of the league, but I watched how he was growing," Tortorella said. "The greatest compliment I can give to Carter is preparation. That goaltending position, the coaches stay out of it. He has a position coach in (Sean) Burkey, so we stay out of it.
"But I do watch how he prepares. He's one of the guys who leaves no stone unturned. He gets focused. And I think he's mature. I think he's matured mentally. Sometimes we always look at these young kids and you talk about their physical growth, it's more mental. And I think he's really matured that way, and has certainly ... after his injury, found his way to get some good minutes under his belt as we enter the series."
After turning in good minutes in Game 1, it's quite clear who deserves the net at this point.
Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Carter Hart (79) makes a save as Utah Mammoth right wing Dylan Guenther (11) falls in the crease during the second period of game one of the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at T-Mobile Arena.
The Stanley Cup Playoffs are a different animal. Players can go an entire 82-game regular season without throwing a single hit; in the postseason, that’s downright unthinkable. Playoff hockey is known for tight checking, high emotion, and intense physicality. The Vegas Golden Knights are no strangers to that atmosphere, and it showed in their 4-2 victory over the Utah Mammoth.
Despite having a roster with little playoff experience, the Mammoth got to their game quickly and outshot the Golden Knights 11-9 in the first period. However, the Golden Knights boasted the lion’s share of scoring chances, generating 11 while holding Utah to 5.
The Mammoth broke the ice with just 11 seconds remaining in the first. Nate Schmidt found Logan Cooley all alone at the left dot, and Cooley one-timed it home.
Pittsburgh’s own Logan Cooley with a ROCKET of a one-timer from the right circle. Old friend Nate Schmidt with the beautiful pass.
In the second period, the Mammoth continued their solid play. They outshot the Golden Knights 11-10 and generated four high-danger scoring chances while holding Vegas to three.
The Golden Knights found the equalizer at 3:44 in the second. Brayden McNabb’s shot didn’t reach the net, but Cole Smith ended up with the puck. He fed a backhand pass to Colton Sissons, who crashed the net and banged it in.
Nice little backhand feed from Cole Smith, and Colton Sissons crashes the net and stuffs it home.
The Mammoth regained the lead just 1:23 later. Carter Hart slid to the top of the crease to try to break up Kevin Stenlund’s pass for JJ Peterka in front. Instead, the puck took a hop into Kaedan Korczak, who mistakenly put it into his own net.
I’m not sure how to put into words what just happened there, but let’s give it a go:
Carter Hart gets aggressive and tries to break up a pass from Kevin Stenlund to JJ Peterka. Somehow, Kaedan Korczak put it into the net.
During the regular season, the Mammoth boasted a record of 29-2-2 when leading after two periods. But despite their regular-season record of 39-26-17, the Golden Knights were among the top teams in the league in time spent trailing, and tonight, that paid off. They played with composure and didn’t let the nature of Utah’s go-ahead goal rattle them.
“We didn't really pay attention to it,”said Ivan Barbashev postgame. “It's a tough bounce for our team and, of course, for our group. Our guys did a really good job of getting one back, on the power play, and especially the third goal by our fourth line. They've been outstanding today.”
Ivan Barbashev drew a penalty less than four minutes into the third period, and the Golden Knights scored on the ensuing power play.
Tomáš Hertl got a piece of Mitch Marner’s blast from the point, but Karel Vejmelka made the save. The puck kicked out to Mark Stone, who slammed the puck into the empty net.
Marner with the shot and Mark Stone scores the rebound.
The Golden Knights took their first lead of the night just 1:47 later. Nic Dowd picked off MacKenzie Weegar’s pass and played it to Colton Sissons, who cut around Nick Schmaltz and passed back to Noah Hanifin at the point. Dowd presented his stick as he cut down the middle of the ice, and Hanifin hit him with a shot-pass for the go-ahead goal.
Wardo! Nic Dowd presented his stick for the tip, and Noah Hanifin made it happen.
The Mammoth pushed back and outshot Vegas 10-6 in the remaining 12:40 of regulation. However, despite getting very little practice in the regular season, the Golden Knights knew how to play with a lead and limited them to just one high-danger chance.
The Mammoth tried to pull Karel Vejmelka for the extra attacker, but timed it poorly, and Ivan Barbashev hit the empty net with 1:39 remaining in regulation to give his team the 4-2 lead.
“I think our team is best when we play physical, and I think we showed that today,” said Ivan Barbashev following the 4-2 win. “It’s hard to play like that for 82 games. But when playoffs come, I think it matters, and I think it matters for our group.”
Three Takeaways of the Knight
1. Mark Stone’s franchise-leading 39th postseason goal changed everything for the Golden Knights. At the start of the third period, it looked like the Golden Knights were just trying to hold on for dear life. After Stone’s goal, however, it was all Vegas. They came in waves, and rode that momentum-high all the way to Nic Dowd’s game-winning goal.
2. Physicality ramps up in the playoffs, and very few players feed off of it quite like Ivan Barbashev. He was a wrecking ball tonight, recording eight hits and drawing the penalty that led to the game-tying goal.
“I think [Barbashev] is a good, honest player,” said Golden Knights head coach John Tortorella following the 4-2 win. “That’s what I like about him. He’ll run you over, he’ll take a hit, he’ll make a play, he’ll score a goal… I think he’s an incredible pro.”
3. It doesn’t matter how many games this series goes— it’s going to be physically taxing on whoever emerges victorious. The Golden Knights won that war tonight, recording 52 hits against Utah’s 30. There were post-whistle scrums all game, but it all culminated in one big extracurricular after Ivan Barbashev’s empty net goal, and again after the final horn.
And just think— this was only Game 1. Typically, tempers grow as the series progresses. This is going to be a very nasty series.
LAS VEGAS -- The Golden Knights successfully carried their regular-season ending momentum into the postseason by overcoming a two-goal deficit with three third-period goals for a 4-2 win over the Utah Mammoth in Game 1 of their opening round series.
Captain Mark Stone scored the equalizer with a power-play goal 5:33 into the third period, Nic Dowd fired the even-strength game-winner in at the 7:20 mark, and Ivan Barbashev put the game away with an empty-net goal with 1:39 remaining.
— y - Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) April 20, 2026
Vegas, which closed the regular season 7-0-1 after coach John Tortorella took over for fired Bruce Cassidy, also got a goal from Colton Sissons in the second period.
Goaltender Carter Hart continued his own personal hot streak by stopping 31 shots, including the only two Utah could manage during its lone power-play opportunity.
🎥 Hear from Head Coach John Tortorella, Cole Smith, Ivan Barbashev, Nic Dowd, and Colton Sissons following Sunday’s Round 1 Game 1 win against the Mammoth.
— y - Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) April 20, 2026
KEY MOMENT
The Mammoth could've seized momentum early in the game when Dylan Guenther had time and space in the low slot, but was stymied by Hart, whose pad save kept the game scoreless. While he had a handful of key stops throughout the game, especially down the stretch, it was the early save that likely instilled confidence for Hart and kept Utah from taking control just four minutes into the game.
KEY STAT
52-30 ... The Golden Knights held a major advantage with hits, almost doubling up the Mammoth in what was an extremely physical game. Utah came in with a bully-like mentality, hoping to make the first punch count, but Vegas responded, led by Keegan Kolesar (9) and Ivan Barbashev (8).
WHAT A KNIGHT
In a game where Vegas' big guns of Stone, Jack Eichel and Mitch Marner turned in a combined goal and assist, a supporting cast that included Sissons (1 goal, 1 assist) and Noah Hanifin (2 assists) contributed on the stat sheet. Sissons' play stood out most, with his first multi-point game since Feb. 25, when he had a goal and an assist during a 6-4 win in Los Angeles. Fun fact with Sissons: the Knights were 8-2 when he registered at least one point during the regular season and are now 1-0 in the postseason when he hits the stat sheet.
— y - Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) April 20, 2026
UP NEXT
The Golden Knights continue their best-of-seven playoff series with the Mammoth in Game 2 on Tuesday.
PHOTO CAPTION
Vegas Golden Knights center Colton Sissons (10) awaits a face off against the Utah Mammoth during the second period of game one of the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at T-Mobile Arena.
There's a reason they say that Lord Stanley's Cup is the hardest trophy to win in all of sports.
And the Pittsburgh Penguins were given a bit of a harsh reminder about that on Saturday in their first-round series opener against the Philadelphia Flyers.
In their regular-season head-to-head matchups against Philadelphia, Pittsburgh went 2-0-2 and outscored the Flyers, 17-8. That's not to say that they were in cruise control against them prior to the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but they did not struggle much in terms of establishing their game and forcing the Flyers into mistakes.
Well, none of that happened on Saturday. Instead, the Flyers - a much different team from when the Penguins last faced them on Mar. 7 in a 4-3 shootout loss - controlled play throughout Game 1 and took it, 3-2, in a clinical defensive effort that frustrated the boys in black and gold.
Emotions were high within the game. Many Flyers' players were partaking in their first-ever postseason game, and while that was true for some on the Penguins' side, most of Pittsburgh's roster is comprised of players who have been here before. Nonetheless, it was the Penguins' first playoff game in four years, and tensions were high.
But, even after a high-emotion game like Saturday's - especially in a must-win setting - the Penguins understand that being able to manage and regulate emotion between games in a best of seven series is key to turning the page.
"We obviously have a really good leadership group that will, kind of, set the tempo and set the mood," said rookie Ben Kindel, who is playing in his first-ever NHL playoff series. "I don't think anybody's panicking here."
In fact, the Penguins were able to show that "turn the page" mindset during and after their practice at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex in Cranberry, Pa. on Sunday.
"Came to the rink, [and] it was a very good day today," Kindel said. "Looking to get the job done tomorrow and execute tomorrow, and that's about it. Tomorrow's a new day, new game. It's a long series."
And by "tomorrow," Kindel means Monday, when the Penguins and Flyers face off for Game 2 with Philly leading the series, 1-0. One of the things that worked against the Penguins in Game 1 is that they didn't come out of the gate with speed and forechecking pressure - a strength of theirs all season long - which allowed the Flyers to establish their game, especially once they took the lead midway through the second period.
Once that happened, they clogged up the neutral zone. Stacked the blue line. Made it difficult for the Penguins to generate much of anything offensively, which frustrated them. Pittsburgh knows the key is getting to Philadelphia early and establishing their game so that the Flyers aren't able to fully commit to that neutral zone trap and could be forced to try to cheat for offense.
Regardless of the mechanics of it all, however, the key is that they can't let a frustrating Game 1 carry over into Game 2. And, if the Flyers begin to execute their game again successfuly, the Penguins need to lock in and be prepared to counter that while keeping their emotions in check.
"It's been a big part of their game for a long stretch now," head coach Dan Muse said. "I mean, especially since the Olympic break, they've been a top defensive team in the league, so it didn't come as any surprise. I think there's some things that we could have done better in terms of just working through that.
“And we saw it there last night, we saw it with other teams throughout the league. When their numbers are back that much, too, sometimes, you've got to play a little bit more of a patient game. And, by ‘patient game,’ I don’t mean a slower game, it's just you just can’t frustrated or surprised that they have those numbers back. They've been doing this for a while now."
Hockey is a game of adjustments, and adjustments have been a strength of this team all season long. They've excelled at letting less-than-ideal efforts such as Saturday's simply roll off their back, and they've done well to respond in ensuing games with great efforts.
They did it with a 7-3 stomping of the Chicago Blackhawks after the holiday break, which followed a measly 6-3 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs right before the holidays and began a six-game win streak. They did it after a stretch of four losses in five games in mid-January by responding with a perfect four-game Western road swing and another six-game win streak. They did it after a tough 6-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Apr. 2 by beating the Florida Panthers back-to-back and clinching the playoffs with a 5-2 win over the New Jersey Devils right after.
This team knows how to respond to adversity. They've done it all season long, making sure to not let themselves get too high or too low on emotion between games. Even if the playoffs are a different animal, that approach has to be the same game-to-game.
"Obviously, we would have liked a different outcome in last night's game," forward Rickard Rakell said. "But, at the same time, we've got to move on. We've got to learn from that game and make sure that we put a better game on the ice tomorrow."
Apr 19, 2026; Buffalo, New York, USA; Buffalo Sabres right wing Alex Tuch (89) celebrates his goal with teammates during the third period against the Boston Bruins in game one of the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at KeyBank Center. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images
Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Mattias Samuelson scored with 3:24 left and Buffalo overcame a two-goal deficit in the final eight minutes to beat the Boston Bruins 4-3 on Sunday night in the Sabres’ first playoff game in 15 years.
Tage Thompson scored goals 3:42 apart to tie it, and Alex Tuch sealed the victory by scoring into an empty net with 1:12 left in nearly blowing the roof off the arena.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen stopped 17 shots.
Buffalo hosts Game 2 of the first-round series Tuesday night.
The playoff win was Buffalo’s first at home — and first overall — since a 1-0 victory over Philadelphia in Game 4 of a first-round series April 20, 2011. The Sabres proceeded to lose the series in seven games. The Sabres won their first Atlantic Division this season and snapped an NHL-record 14-season playoff drought.
David Pastrnak scored with seven seconds remaining, and had two assists for Boston. Morgan Geekie and Elias Lindholm also scored for the Bruins. who finished the regular season 33-2-4 when leading after two periods.
Jeremy Swayman made 34 saves.
After going 5,473 days between playoff games the Sabres delivered a stunning victory.
Trailing 2-0 after Lindholm scored 1:08 into the third period, Buffalo finally caught a spark from Thompson, who led the team with 40 goals this season.
Thompson’s first goal came on a wrap-around backhander with 7:58 remaining. He then tied it by getting to a loose puck to the left of the Boston net, and firing a low shot inside the far post with 4:16 remaining.
With the crowd still buzzing, Samuelsson scored 52 seconds later. Teammate Jack Quinn got to the puck deep in the Bruins zone and fed Samuelsson, who snapped a high shot in from the left circle.
This marked just the second time Buffalo overcame a two-goal third-period deficit. The other time also happened against Boston in a Game 4 first-round series-clinching first-round 6-5 overtime win in 1993. It’s best remembered in Buffalo as the “May Day!” game with Brad May scoring the decisive goal to secure the Sabres’ first playoff series victory in a decade.
The Bruins, the Eastern Conference’s seventh-seeded team, unraveled in making their return to the playoffs following a one-year hiatus.
Pastrnak’s three-point outing upped his career playoff total to 909 points, and moved him ahead of Cam Neely and Wayne Cashman for ninth on the team list, and two back of Bobby Orr.
BUFFALO, NEW YORK - APRIL 19: Mattias Samuelsson #23 of the Buffalo Sabres celebrates with teammates after scoring during the third period in Game One of the First Round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Boston Bruins at KeyBank Center on April 19, 2026 in Buffalo, New York. Buffalo won, 4-3. (Photo by Joe Hrycych/Getty Images) | Getty Images
For a while, things were looking pretty good for the Bruins in Game 1.
Weather the storm early? Check. Get the first goal? Check. Hold on for dear life but eventually extend the lead? Check.
Then it all fell apart in a span of just under five minutes in the third period, as the B’s saw a 2-0 lead turn into a 4-2 deficit in what would end up being a 4-3 Buffalo win in Game 1.
Tage Thompson scored twice in 3:42 to make it a 2-2 game, then Mattias Samuelsson scored less than a minute after Thompson’s second goal to give Buffalo the lead.
An empty-netter from Alex Tuch would seal it, though the Bruins added a consolation goal with eight seconds left.
Ultimately, it was a stunning, if not surprising, collapse from a Bruins team who has seen this script play out one (or five) times too many this season.
Morgan Geekie, Elias Lindholm, and David Pastrnak scored the goals for the Bruins, while Jeremy Swayman made 34 saves in defeat.
Geekie got the scoring started midway through the first period, collecting a blocked Pastrnak shot and beating Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen clean to make it 1-0 Bruins.
Tuch’s empty-net goal would come with 1:12 left in the third, salting this one away for Buffalo.
Pastrnak scored a PPG with eight seconds left, but…yeah. Not enough time to do much with that.
Bruins LOSE, 4-3 final.
Game notes
Given that the Bruins are the underdog in this series, you’d probably find that most Bruins fans wouldn’t have been surprised by a Game 1 loss. Juiced building, Sabres feeding off of the home crowd, etc. However, to lose in this fashion is a real kick in the teeth. It’s one thing to lose a series opener on the road, but it’s another to turn a 2-0 third period lead into a 3-2 deficit in a matter of minutes.
It’s easy to say in hindsight, but it seems like the coaching staff should have done something to attempt to slow the game down at 2-2. Calling a timeout would have been the clearest option, but given how these games went for the Bruins during the regular season, it wasn’t hard to imagine that 2-2 wasn’t going to last long.
Most goals you allow are going to be self-inflicted to a degree, but it’s hard to look past the individual mistakes on all three of Buffalo’s non-ENGs. Charlie McAvoy whiffed on a puck, Andrew Peeke lost a board battle, Hampus Lindholm flubbed a puck…they’re the kind of mistakes that will cost you against a good team, and they buried the Bruins tonight.
Buffalo’s comeback was one for the record books, as it marked the first playoff regulation win for a team trailing 2-0 within the last eight minutes of regulation. An oddly specific stat, but a stat nonetheless.
While the B’s did have a 2-0 lead and played well for decent stretches, this wasn’t a game that ever really felt like the Bruins controlled. It’s probably not fair to say they were hanging on for dear life for most of the night, but the second period, in particular, felt like a “batten down the hatches and survive” approach. Buffalo outshot the Bruins 13-4 in the second, but failed to beat Swayman.
Pastrnak finished the night with 1G-2A-3PTS, but he’ll likely be fixating on two missed breakaway (or breakaway-adjacent) opportunities in the second period. One was a bit flubbed due to the pass, but the second was pretty clean, only for Luukkonen to stand tall.
The B’s second line had themselves a rough night at the office, as Casey Mittelstadt, Pavel Zacha, and Viktor Arvidsson were each minus-three on the evening. They landed four shots on goal as a unit.
The good news for the Bruins is that painful losses still only count as a single loss, so they’ve got that going for them…which is nice.
DENVER (AP) — Logan O’Connor scored for the first time in more than a year, Scott Wedgewood stopped 24 shots in his first Stanley Cup playoffs start and the top-seeded Colorado Avalanche beat the Los Angeles Kings 2-1 in Game 1 on Sunday.
O’Connor’s third-period tally was his first since Game 4 of a playoff series against Dallas on April 26. He missed most of this season with a hip injury. Artturi Lehkonen had a second-period goal for the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Avalanche.
Wedgewood got the nod in net over Mackenzie Blackwood after leading the league in goals-against average and save percentage. Wedgewood made four career playoff appearances in relief before Sunday’s start.
Game 2 is Tuesday night in Denver.
Artemi Panarin scored a power-play goal with 2:22 left to make it 2-1. Shortly after, forward Joel Armia was called for high-sticking and the Kings were unable to tie it up.
Anton Forsberg stopped 28 shots in his NHL postseason debut.
CANADIENS 4, LIGHTNING 3, OT
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Juraj Slafkovsky scored his third power-play goal 1:22 into overtime and Montreal beat Tampa Bay in Game 1 of their first-round series.
Slafkovsky fired a slap shot from the left circle that beat Andrei Vasilevskiy to the far side for the hat trick.
Game 2 is Tuesday night at Benchmark International Arena, where Tampa Bay has lost eight of its last nine home games in the postseason.
Josh Anderson also had a goal for Montreal and rookie goalie Jakub Dobes made 20 saves.
Brandon Hagel scored two goals and Darren Raddysh also scored for Tampa Bay.
SABRES 4, BRUINS 3
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Mattias Samuelson scored with 3:24 left and Buffalo overcame a two-goal deficit in the final eight minutes to beat Boston in the Sabres’ first playoff game in 15 years.
Tage Thompson scored goals 3:42 apart to tie it, and Alex Tuch sealed the victory by scoring into an empty net with 1:12 left in nearly blowing the roof off the arena.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen stopped 17 shots.
Buffalo hosts Game 2 of the first-round series Tuesday night.
The playoff win was Buffalo’s first at home — and first overall — since a 1-0 victory over Philadelphia in Game 4 of a first-round series April 20, 2011. The Sabres proceeded to lose the series in seven games. The Sabres won their first Atlantic Division this season and snapped an NHL-record 14-season playoff drought.
GOLDEN KNIGHTS 4, MAMMOTH 2
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Nic Dowd redirected Noah Hanifin’s shot from the point to put Vegas ahead at 7:20 of the third period and the Golden Knights beat Utah in Game 1 of their first-round series.
Game 2 is Tuesday night in Las Vegas.
The Golden Knights, who twice trailed before scoring three third-period goals, have not lost in regulation since John Tortorella (8-0-1) took over as coach.
The Mammoth lost in the franchise’s first playoff game since 2020. They are in their second season in Utah after leaving Arizona.
Colton Sissons had a goal and assist for the Golden Knights and Mark Stone and Ivan Barbashev also scored. Carter Hart stopped 32 shots. Hanifin had two assists.
Logan Cooley and Kevin Stenlund scored for the Mammoth. Karel Vejmelka, playing in his first playoff game after five years in the Utah/Arizona organization, made 27 saves. Captain Clayton Keller, who closed the regular season with 16 assists over a 10-game streak, failed to record one in this game.
They only scored two goals in the 3-2 loss and weren't close to their best. They had a lot of trouble breaking through the Flyers' trap and couldn't exit their zone cleanly.
Sidney Crosby was especially quiet, which is rare for him against the Flyers. He has tormented them throughout his career, but the Flyers did a great job defending against him and his line.
Speaking of his line with Egor Chinakhov and Bryan Rust, it appears to be staying together heading into Game 2 on Monday. In fact, it looks like Muse is keeping all of his lines and pairings together for Monday's game.
Here were the lines at practice:
Forwards
Chinakhov-Crosby-Rust
Novak-Rakell-Malkin
Soderblom-Kindel-Mantha
Dewar-Lizotte-Acciari
Defensive pairs
Wotherspoon-Karlsson
Girard-Letang
Shea-Clifton
- If the Penguins find themselves down in this game or if they lose it, then I think you'd see head coach Dan Muse change some of the lines. I'd still like to see Chinakhov back with Evgeni Malkin at some point since those two had such great chemistry during the regular season.
- Muse danced around a starting goaltender question after Sunday's practice wrapped up, saying he'd announce who his starter is on Monday. I'd be stunned if it wasn't Stuart Skinner after how great he played on Saturday. He was the only reason why the Penguins had an outside chance of tying the game late in the third period, and he made several big saves on odd-man rushes and breakaways.
If he can keep giving the Penguins goaltending like that, they'll have a really good shot of winning this series.
- The Girard-Letang pair had a lot of momentum heading into the playoffs before falling flat in Game 1. The pair accounted for only 2.5% of the expected goals during the game, which is woeful.
Letang struggled to break the puck out of the defensive zone and generate offense, largely because of the Flyers' structured defense. After practice, he spoke about the way the Flyers made it difficult and how the Penguins can get past their trap.
"I think it's just to play with speed," Letang said. "Like I said, the transition game is really good, so if you play in front of them instead of behind them, you give them a chance to counter with speed, and they have really skilled forwards that can make you pay."
The Flyers' speed was on display throughout the game, and they generated several high-quality chances, despite scoring only three goals. It's on the Penguins to limit those chances against and to get more high-danger chances of their own.
Puck drop for Game 2 is set for 7 p.m. ET on SportsNet Pittsburgh and ESPN.
At long last, the puck dropped on the much-anticipated first-round series between the Montreal Canadiens and the Tampa Bay Lightning. While the Bolts captain Victor Hedman skated on Sunday morning, his first time back on the ice, the Lightning had to make do without him for the game, just like the Canadiens were without Noah Dobson, even though he made the trip with the team.
Unsurprisingly, the atmosphere in the building was absolutely electric when the puck dropped, and the intensity level was dialed all the way up. As expected, Jakub Dobes was in the net for the Habs, starting just his fourth playoff game, while Andrei Vasilevskiy, a fixture in the Bolts’ net for years now, was playing the 121st playoff game of his career.
Despite his inexperience, Dobes showed absolutely no sign of nerves. He came out strong, and while the Canadiens were outshot 9-4 in the first frame, they still had a 1-0 lead on the board thanks to some big saves.
The Czech netminder was aggressive at the right time, coming out of his net to cut the angles as a Tampa Bay player had a golden opportunity all alone in the slot. Furthermore, he proved he had nerves of steel when he came out of the net to handle the puck, near the empty net, under pressure; he kept his cool and made the right play.
Josh Anderson always brings a lot of energy to the table in the playoffs. He clearly loves the importance of the moment and the electricity in the air. It’s no surprise, really, that he got the first goal of the game.
For a few minutes in the second frame, it looked like he had a second goal when he tipped a high puck in front of Vasilevskiy, but it was waived off because he touched it too high. Immediately after that, he got a two-minute charging penalty. He came at Charle-Edouard D’Astous like a train while the Bolts’ player was readying himself for contact with Jake Evans on the other side. As a result, D’Astous was hit by two Habs at once and fell to the ice, clearly shaken up. If he hadn’t been bumped by Evans at the same time, there might not have been a call, but there was.
Unfortunately for Anderson, that penalty would result in a big momentum swing. The hosts scored their first goal on the man advantage, then a second 29 seconds later, as the Canadiens looked panicked in their own end, the puck went through Kaiden Guhle’s leg on its way to the front of the net, where Brandon Hagel collected it before flipping it over Dobes’ arm. In those 29 seconds, the game had been turned upside down, and Montreal went from thinking it led 2-0 to trailing 2-1.
At that stage, Martin St-Louis spoke with the referees. Perhaps it was about a call he felt was missed, but it also looked like a way to take a time-out without actually calling for one, giving his team time to settle their nerves. If that was the case, it was an excellent move by the bench boss who was coaching his sixth playoff game.
Slafkovsky’s Strength
If anyone still doubted just how strong Juraj Slafkovsky is, that game should have settled any doubt. In heavy traffic with hits flying left, right, and center, the power forward made his way through the Tampa defense relentlessly. With half the game gone, he was the only member of the first line to have tested Vasilevskiy; he even had two shots.
After the Bolts had taken a 2-1 lead, it was the big Slovak who brought everyone back to square one with a one-timer on the power play with less than a minute to go in the second frame. Then, on another power play, early in the third, it was he again who scored for the Habs with a perfect shot from the bumper.
It used to be that if you contained Cole Caufield, the Canadiens’ power play was neutralized, but not anymore with Demidov on the other side, who can unleash a one-timer or distribute the puck in an elite manner, and Slafkovsky in the bumper ready to fire at will. On his second goal, Vasilevskiy was in close to the post, covering the near side that Caufield likes so much, so when he passed it, the goalie was vulnerable in his push to follow the puck. That’s when the power forward beat him.
With a 3-3 tie in the dying seconds of the third frame, the Canadiens got another power play, but they couldn’t score in regulation. Slafkovsky scored the game-winner, on the power play, in overtime, 4-3, against the Canadiens. Full marks to St. Louis, who didn’t call for a timeout earlier in the game when his young team panicked, but used it in overtime to extend his first unit’s shifts.
The B’s led 2-0 with eight minutes on the clock. Jeremy Swayman was playing fantastic in net. Defensively, the Bruins were giving up a lot of shots, but not too many Grade A scoring chances. It was at that point in the game where the Sabres actually had a mere 5.8 percent chance of mounting a comeback and winning the game, per Evolving Hockey.
But then everything changed.
The Sabres scored four unanswered goals in a 6:46 span and won the series opener 4-3. It’s the Sabres’ first playoff victory in 15 years, and it required a feat never seen in the history of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The @BuffaloSabres became the first team in NHL postseason history to win in regulation time after trailing by two or more goals to zero with eight minutes or fewer remaining in regulation. pic.twitter.com/P0Hss3ROyo
“I thought we were in the perfect spot,” Bruins coach Marco Sturm told reporters in his postgame press conference. “We were exactly where we wanted to play, being in that position, 5-6 minutes left in the game. You could tell they got a little bit frustrated. We made pretty much two mistakes to let them tie up the game. With the crowd behind them, all of a sudden, they’ve got some life. All of a sudden, the game is done.”
There were a few positives for the Bruins, but this was a gut-wrenching loss and a huge blown opportunity. Instead of handing a tough defeat to a young and inexperienced Sabres team, now that group has a ton of confidence and belief entering Game 2,
What led to the Bruins’ collapse, and what needs to happen for them to bounce back in the next game Tuesday night?
Check out our five key takeaways from the Bruins’ Game 1 meltdown.
Bruins played not to lose in third period
The B’s did not play with enough of a killer instinct in the third period. They seemed content to play it safe with a 2-0 lead. They had very little offensive zone time and had absolutely no answer for the Sabres’ forecheck.
Boston’s defensemen wilted under the pressure of that forecheck, and it allowed the Sabres to control possession and fire a ton of shots at Swayman. It was only a matter of time before the dam broke, and it finally happened with 7:58 remaining in the third period when Tage Thompson scored Buffalo’s first goal. Charlie McAvoy turned the puck over trying to exit the zone right before this goal.
Thompson scored again just 3:42 later, and then Mattias Samuelsson tallied the go-ahead goal 56 seconds after that. Hampus Lindholm couldn’t clear the puck in the build up to Samuelsson’s goal.
Turnovers, lost puck battles — it all added up to an avalanche of Sabres goals. Buffalo had 24 shots, 24 scoring chances and nine high-danger chances over the final two periods.
The Bruins generated just seven shots and four scoring chances in the third period. A two-goal lead is not safe against a relentless group of Sabres forwards. Getting a third goal would have been pivotal. Sabres fans were actually booing their team halfway through the third period. But the B’s could barely get possession of the puck in the final 20 minutes of regulation.
Sabres were the more physical team
Bruins head coach Marco Sturm made some interesting comments earlier this week when he said the B’s were the “bigger,” “stronger,” and “more physical team.” Did the Sabres try to prove Sturm wrong with the way they played in Game 1? It looked like it.
The Sabres outhit the B’s 53-38, and a lot of those hits were the result of the ferocious forecheck mentioned in the section above.
Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff made a point postgame to mention his team won the physical battle.
“We made them pay for those couple of mistakes down low,” Ruff told reporters. “They weren’t getting beat early. I think maybe some of our physicality wore them down.”
The Sabres got a huge boost from a raucous crowd that was watching their team play in the playoffs for the first time in 15 years. That boost of energy allowed the Sabres to set the tone physically from the start. The Bruins have to reverse that early in Game 2.
Jeremy Swayman was the Bruins’ best player
Swayman was under constant pressure all night and stopped the first 32 shots he faced. He made seven saves on one Sabres power play in the second period and he made eight saves on nine high-danger chances overall. He ended up with 34 saves on 37 shots (.919 save percentage).
The Bruins did him no favors in the third period with a bunch of defensive mistakes. The only goal that Swayman was mostly at fault for was Thompson’s second tally. Swayman’s left pad came up off the ice and the puck slid under it.
If Swayman continues to play like he did in Game 1, the Bruins will have a good chance to win this series.
Bruins need more scoring depth
In our series preview, I wrote the Bruins will win the series if the second, third and fourth lines generate enough offense. It’s very hard to beat the Sabres with just your first line. The B’s came close in Game 1, though. The top line of Morgan Geekie, Elias Lindholm and David Pastrnak played great offensively.
Geekie got the B’s on the board in the first period. Lindholm buried a rebound to double Boston’s lead in the second period. Pastrnak assisted on both of those goals, and then he scored a late power-play tally in the third period. Pastrnak also had two breakaways he didn’t score on, and Geekie passed the puck with a wide open net during a late first period power play.
The second line of Viktor Arvidsson, Casey Mittelstadt and Pavel Zacha was one of the league’s top trios post-Olympic break. But this line was on the ice for two goals against in Game 1, and the Sabres had a 13-8 edge in shot attempts during this trio’s 9:09 of 5-on-5 ice time. The Arvidsson-Mittelstadt-Zacha line had an expected goals scored of 0.27 at 5-on-5, per MoneyPuck, with four shots overall. The Bruins need much more from them in Game 2.
The “Kid Line” of rookie James Hagens, Fraser Minten and Marat Khusnutdinov played OK. They had a few good offensive shifts and played with speed. They had a minus-2 shot attempt differential at 5-on-5, which wasn’t horrible by any means given how dominant the Sabres were in the final two periods.
Despite not getting much from the second, third and fourth lines, there’s no pressing need to make huge changes to this group entering Game 2. The Bruins just need to play with more pace and not sit back as much with the lead. And, honestly, there’s no player who didn’t play in Game 1 who would make a substantial impact Tuesday night. Alex Steeves and Mikey Eyssimont are not going to turn the tide for the B’s.
A more balanced scoring output and Hagens getting some power-play time in Game 2 would be a step in the right direction.
Henri Jokiharju should replace Andrew Peeke on blue line
It was a rough night for Andrew Peeke.
The veteran defenseman did not have a great game and struggled against the Sabres forecheck. Jokiharju is a better puck-mover than Peeke and he is a little more reliable getting the puck out of the defensive zone.
Swapping him in for Peeke is one minor change Sturm could potentially make for Game 2.
