BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Daniel Briere tipped in Jochen Hecht's
centering pass 7:31 into the second overtime to give the Buffalo
Sabres a 3-2 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers in Game 1 of
Eastern Conference playoff series Saturday night.
Tim Connolly and Jay McKee also scored for the Sabres, who won
after squandering a 2-0 lead in the postseason opener.
Philadelphia's Simon Gagne forced overtime with a power-play
goal with 1:51 left in regulation. Robert Esche was strong in
stopping 55 shots, and Mike Knuble had a goal and assist for the
Flyers.
With a delayed penalty being called against the Flyers, Hecht
got to a loose puck in the left circle of the Philadelphia zone.
Circling along the left boards, he sneaked a pass into the middle,
where the wide-open Briere stuck his stick out and directed the
puck past a helpless Esche.
Game 2 of the best-of-seven series is Monday night in Buffalo.<
^Devils 6, Rangers 1=
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Patrik Elias scored two of New
Jersey's team-record five power-play goals and the Devils earned
their 12th straight victory by beating the Rangers in the opener of
the Eastern Conference series.
Scott Gomez, Brian Rafalski and Jamie Langenbrunner also had
power-play goals.
New York, which lost its final five games of the regular season
to allow the Devils to win the Atlantic Division on the last day,
tied it at 1 on rookie Petr Prucha's first-period, power-play goal.
But the Rangers, playing their first postseason game since 1997,
were hurt by a slew of penalties in the second and third.
The Rangers took 13 penalties in all.
Elias gave New Jersey a 1-0 lead during New York's first
infraction, and Gomez and defenseman Ken Klee beat Rangers rookie
goalie Henrik Lundqvist in the second. Rafalski, Langenbrunner and
Elias made it a blowout in the third.
The final New Jersey goal, scored with 4:26 remaining, might
prove way more costly to New York than just on the scoreboard.
Right after Elias scored, Rangers scoring leader Jaromir Jagr was
helped to the dressing room with an apparent leg injury.
Game 2 is Monday night.<
^Canadiens 6, Hurricanes 1=
RALEIGH, N.C. -- Cristobal Huet made 43 saves, 12 players
recorded points and Montreal made up for four lopsided losses to
Carolina during the regular season with a blowout victory in Game 1
of the Eastern Conference series.
Alex Kovalev had two goals and Francis Bouillon, Radek Bonk,
Chris Higgins and Sheldon Souray each added one for seventh-seeded
Montreal, which ended the regular season with four losses in last
six games.
The Hurricanes earned the second seed in the conference with the
best season in franchise history, a run that included a 4-0 record
against Montreal. None were really close, with the combined margin
of the final three 20-6.
Matt Cullen scored Carolina's only goal 50 seconds into the
first period.
Game 2 is Monday night.<
^Avalanche 5, Stars 2=
DALLAS -- Rob Blake and John-Michael Liles scored power-play
goals 2:04 apart in the second period and seventh-seeded Colorado
overcame an early 2-0 deficit to win Game 1 of the Western
Conference series.
Colorado cut the 2-0 deficit in half before the end of the first
period, and had three goals in the second. Rookie winger Wojtek
Wolski tied it at 2 before Blake and Liles scored. Milan Hejduk and
Brett Clark also scored for the Avalanche.
Joe Sakic, the Avs' captain and leading scorer, had two assists,
and Jose Theodore stopped 16 shots. Bill Guerin and Brenden Morrow
scored for Dallas.
Game 2 is Monday night.