Aug 12, 2020 2 min read

Josh Bailey scored a shorthanded goal 6:52 into the third period and the New York Islanders overcame a two-goal deficit to beat the Washington Capitals 4-2 on Wednesday in a hard-hitting opener to the first-round playoff series.

Jordan Eberle and Anders Lee scored 1:54 apart spanning the second intermission. Semyon Varlamov stopped 24 shots and Anthony Beauvillier sealed it by scoring with 8:05 remaining in a game the Islanders overcame their own lack of discipline in allowing the Capitals seven power-play opportunities.

T.J. Oshie scored on consecutive power-play opportunities five minutes apart in the second period for Washington.

Boston 4, Carolina 3, OT: After being told to come back the next morning because another game lasted five overtimes, the Boston Bruins didn’t want to repeat history so quickly.

“We talked about trying to end this before the fifth overtime,” Patrice Bergeron said.

Bergeron accomplished that by scoring early in double overtime, and the Bruins beat the Carolina Hurricanes 4-3 in Game 1 of their first-round series that was postponed 15 hours to a rare late-morning start.

The game scheduled for 8 p.m. Tuesday night began the next morning at 11 after the Columbus Blue Jackets-Tampa Bay Lightning series opener became the fourth-longest playoff game in NHL history. Playing all Eastern Conference games at Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena had this potential for games going long messing with the schedule.

Colorado 3, Arizona 0: Nazem Kadri and J.T. Compher scored 10 seconds apart in the third period, Philipp Grubauer stopped 14 shots and the Colorado Avalanche opened the playoffs with a 3-0 victory over the Arizona Coyotes.

Colorado dominated the Coyotes through the first two periods, outshooting them 29-7, yet couldn’t get anything past goalie Darcy Kuemper.