Lightning 3-6 Panthers
The Florida Panthers march on to the second round of the postseason after they defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 6-3 away.
They fell behind two and a half minutes in. Gage Goncalves opened the scoring, giving the home fans something to cheer on. That joy lasted about three minutes, as Carter Verhaeghe levelled the score via a power play.
Anton Lundell then gave the Panthers the lead midway through the period, putting the pressure on the hosts.
It did not take long for the Lightning to find parity, as Nick Paul tied things up with 7:44 before intermission.
However, 52 seconds into the second, Florida went back in front via Aleksandar Barkov. Although Jake Guentzel tied things up again later in the frame, that was the closest Tampa would get.
Sam Bennett scored what would be the winning goal with less than five minutes to go in the period. In the third, Eetu Luostarinen and Sam Reinhart put the game, and the series, to bed.
The victory sends the Panthers to the second round, winning the series 4-1. They will meet the winner of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators next. The Leafs lead 3-2 heading to the Canadian capital on Thursday.
Capitals 4-1 Canadiens
The Washington Capitals dominated early on as they got the better of the Montreal Canadiens 4-1 at home to seal the series.
It took the hosts nine minutes and 12 seconds to open the scoring through captain Alex Ovechkin. Jakob Chychrun doubled the lead a couple of minutes later, putting the Habs under serious duress.
It seldom stopped there for the Canadiens, as Tom Wilson added a third towards the end of the middle frame. Taking advantage of a power play, the winger converted his chance, making it 3-0.
Emil Heineman reduced the deficit to 3-1 in the opening stages of the final period. Yet, they could not get any closer than that. The Caps restored their three-goal lead at the end through Brandon Duhaime, who scored an empty-netter to round out the goals.
The number one seed in the Eastern Conference advance with a 4-1 series victory, and will meet the Carolina Hurricanes next. The Hurricanes finished off their first-round series the night before, eliminating the New Jersey Devils in five games.
Jets 5-3 Blues
In the third match of the day, the Winnipeg Jets took a 3-2 series lead over the St. Louis Blues thanks to a 5-3 win on home ice in Canada.
The Jets opened the scoring early through Kyle Conner before the Blues responded with a goal from Nathan Walker.
The sides once again traded goals before the Jets put up three unanswered strikes courtesy of Dylan DeMelo, Vladislav Namestnikov and Adam Lowry across the second and third periods to go into a 5-2 lead.
Walker added a late third for the Blues, which was inconsequential. The series returns to St. Louis on Saturday with the trailing Blues looking to force Game 7.