RALEIGH, N.C — Barclay Goodrow beat Alex Nedeljkovic for the go-ahead goal with 7:21 left and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Carolina Hurricanes 2-1 on Sunday night to open the second-round playoff series.
Goodrow put the Stanley Cup champion Lightning ahead for good when he headed left against Carolina defenseman Brady Skjei, then shot from a sharp angle on the left side. The puck skid underneath Nedeljkovic’s right pad as it lifted slightly off the ice.
That lead held, with the Lightning holding off Carolina’s final minute with the empty net and extra attacker in a desperate tying attempt.
Instead, the Lightning won a road series opener for the second straight round. The Lightning swept the first two games at Florida in that six-game first-round series.
Game 2 is Tuesday night in Raleigh.
Brayden Point added a second-period goal on the power play for Tampa Bay, while Andrei Vasilevskiy was sharp with 37 saves.
Jake Bean scored on a power play early in the third period for Carolina.
AVALANCHE 7, GOLDEN KNIGHTS 1
DENVER — Nathan MacKinnon and Gabriel Landeskog each scored twice and well-rested Colorado beat Vegas in a skirmish-filled Game 1.
What began as Colorado putting on a passing clinic — racing out to a 5-0 lead — spiraled into one fight after another. There were a total of 74 penalty minutes, including four 10-minute misconduct calls and a match penalty on Vegas’ Ryan Reaves.
Young defenseman Cale Makar added a goal and three assists, and Brandon Saad and Mikko Rantanen also scored for the Avalanche, who had an extra burst after nearly a week off following a four-game sweep of St. Louis in round one.
Philipp Grubauer made 24 saves, allowing only William Karlsson’s goal.
Game 2 is Wednesday night in Denver.
