2018 NHL PLAYOFF-FIRST ROUND SCHEDULE & RECAPS

TV Networks -in USA- NBC Sports Network, CNBC, NBC , USA Network & The NHL Network , in Canada - CBC & Sportsnet

PICK A SERIES   
New Jersey at Tampa Bay Toronto at Boston Columbus at Washington  Philadelphia  at Pittsburgh
Colorado at Nashville Minnesota at Winnipeg Los Angeles at Vegas San Jose at Anaheim
 
 
     
New Jersey at Tampa Bay DATE-TIME HOME TEAM
Game 1- (Sportsnet ) &  NHL Network Thur-April 12- 7 PM Ondrej Palat, Tyler Johnson and Yanni Gourde scored, helping the Lightning build a 3-0 lead - before holding off the New Jersey Devils for a 5-2 victory Thursday night in Game 1 of the first-round series.
Game 2- (Sportsnet) &  NHL Network Sat- April 14 - 7 PM Alex Killorn scored twice during a four-goal second period on Saturday in a 5-3 Lightning victory over Devils in Game 2 of the first-round matchup.
Game 3- (Sportsnet) &  CNBC Mon-April 16 - 7 PM Taylor Hall had a goal and two assists, setting up Stefan Noesen's game-winner with 7:05 play, and Cory Schneider made 34 saves in shoring up the goaltending and leading the Devils to a 5-2 victory over the penalty-prone Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday night in Game 3 of their best-of-7 first-round series.
Game 4-(Sportsnet) &   Golf Channel Wed -April 18- 7:30 PM Nikita Kucherov scored two goals, set up another as Lightning defeat New Jersey 3-1 on Wednesday to move within a game of making the Devils' first trip to the playoffs in six years a short one
Game 5-  Sat-April 21 -3 PM Nikita Kucherov scored his 27th career postseason goal and Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 26 shots for the Lightning on Saturday as the top seed in the Eastern Conference beat the New Jersey Devils 3-1, ending their first-round series in five games.

    
 
Toronto at Boston DATE-TIME HOME TEAM
Game 1- (CBC) & NBCSN Thur--April 12 - 7 PM Brad Marchand, David Backes and David Krejci each scored a power-play goal, and Tuukka Rask stopped 26 shots on Thursday night to help the Bruins beat Toronto 5-1 in the opener of their first-round Eastern Conference playoff series.
Game 2- (CBC) &  NBC Sat.-April 14-- 8 PM David Pastrnak had a hat trick and Six points on Saturday night as Bruins beat the Toronto Maple Leafs7-3 to take a 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven, first-round series.  Pastrnak shattered his previous career high of four points, scoring his third goal with 1:36 left to bring two trash cans full of caps and winter hats fluttering down to the ice. Only Wayne Gretzky (three times), Mario Lemieux and Patrick Sundstrom have recorded more than six points in an NHL playoff game.
Game 3- (CBC) &    NBCSN Mon-April 16- 7 PM Auston Matthews scored the go-ahead goal in the second period to lead the Maple Leafs picked in a 4-2 victory Monday night, cutting the Bruins' lead in their Eastern Conference first-round series to 2-1.
Game 4-(CBC) &   NBCSN Thur--April 19- 7 PM Brad Marchand scored the go-ahead goal and Tuukka Rask made 31 saves as the Bruins defeated the Leafs 3-1 to grab a commanding 3-1 lead in their first-round series. 
Game 5-  - (CBC) &  NBC Sat-April 21 - 8 PM Connor Brown and Andreas Johnsson each scored his first career playoff goal in the first period, and the Maple Leafs took a 4-1 lead to chase Tuukka Rask in the second.
Game 6-  (CBC) &   NBCSN Mon- April 23- 7 PM Frederik Andersen stopped 32 shots to lead the Maple Leafs to a 3-1 win over the Boston Bruins on Monday night, forcing a decisive Game 7 in the first-round series.
Game 7-   Wed-April 25 Jake DeBrusk scored twice to help Boston beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 7-4 on Wednesday night and advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals.
 

 
                     

 
Columbus at Washington  DATE-TIME  
Game 1- Sportsnet 360 &  USA Network Thur-April 12- 7:30 PM Artemi Panarin scored a beautiful goal 6:02 into overtime to give the Blue Jackets a 4-3 victory over the Washington Capitals on Thursday night in the first-round playoff series.
Game 2- CBC, &   NBCSN Sun.- April 15 -- 7:30 PM  Sergei  Bobrovsky made 54 saves as the Columbus Blue Jackets beat the Washington Capitals 5-4 on Sunday night on Matt Calvert's overtime winner at 12:22 to take a 2-0 lead in the first-round playoff series.
Game 3- Sportsnet &  NBCSN Tue-April 17 - - 7:30 PM Lars Eller got the last stick on a puck that bounced off him and Columbus defenseman Zach Werenski before rolling past Sergei Bobrovsky, and Washington got the 3-2 victory nine minutes into the second overtime Tuesday night.
Game 4- SN  &  USA Network Thur--April 19- 7:30 PM Evgeny Kuznetsov had a goal and two assists for the Capitals  in a 4-1 win over Blue Jackets on Thursday night. 
Game 5-  - (Sportsnet) &  CNBC Sat-April 21  -3 PM Capitals were in a dominant overtime that  Nicklas Backstrom ended 11:53 in with his second goal of the game to give Washington a 4-3 victory and a 3-2 lead over the Blue Jackets in the first-round series.
Game 6-  - (Sportsnet) &  CNBC Mon- April 23 7:30 PM Alex Ovechkin scored twice, including his 50th playoff goal, and Braden Holtby had 35 saves as Capitals won four straight games over the Columbus Blue Jackets after fumbling the first two in overtime at home, capping their opening-round playoff series with a 6-3 victory Monday night in Game 6.

 

 
 
 Philadelphia  at Pittsburgh DATE-TIME HOME TEAM
Game 1- CBC &   NBCSN Wed-April 11- 7 PM Sidney Crosby had his third postseason hat trick as Penguins dismantled  Flyers 7-0 in the opening game of their first-round series Wednesday night.
Game 2- CBC, &  NBCSN Fri.-April 13-- 7 PM Sean Couturier had a goal and two assists, Brian Elliott stopped 34 shots and Flyers cooled off the Penguins 5-1 on Friday night to even the first-round series at a game apiece.
Game 3- CBC &  NBC Sun-April 15- 3 PM Sidney Crosby matched a postseason-best with four points on a goal and three assists to help the Pittsburgh Penguins silence the raucous crowd and beat Philadelphia 5-1 on Sunday for a 2-1 lead in the first-round series.
Game 4- CBC &  NBCSN Wed.-April 18- 7 PM Sidney Crosby scored his fifth goal of the series and became the Penguins' career postseason points leader in a 5-0 win over the Flyers on Wednesday night.
Game 5-   CBC &  NBCSN Fri.-April 20-  7 PM Barely 72 hours removed from a frightening collision with a teammate in practice threatened to end his season, Sean Couturier returned for Game 5 and threaded a shot through traffic that slipped past Matt Murray and into the net with 1:15 left to lift the Flyers to a 4-2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday night to send the series back to Philadelphia.
Game 6-  CBC &  NBC Sun-April 22  - 3 PM Jake Guentzel scored four straight goals and added an assist to help send the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins into the next round with an 8-5 win over the Philadelphia Flyers in Game 6 on Sunday.Sean Couturier had the 24th playoff hat trick and two assists for the Flyers

 
 
Colorado-Nashville DATE-TIME HOME TEAM
Game 1- Sportsnet &  NBCSN Thu-April 12 - 9:30 PM Filip Forsberg passed the puck to himself through his own legs and rookie defenseman Samuel Girard's legs on his way to his second goal of the third period, helping Nashville beat Colorado 5-2 on Thursday night in Game 1 of the first-round Western Conference series.
Game 2- Sportsnet &  CNBC Sat.-April 14 -3 PM  Ryan Hartman wound up with not only the first playoff goal of his career but the winner with 1:09 left as the Predators held off the Colorado Avalanche 5-4 Saturday for a 2-0 lead in their first-round Western Conference series.
Game 3- Sportsnet &  NBCSN Mon-April 16 -10 PM Nathan MacKinnon scored twice, including one as part of a three-goal first period and another to chase Nashville goaltender Pekka Rinne from the game, and the Avalanche beat the Predators 5-3 in Game 3 on Monday night to pull to 2-1 in the first-round series.
Game 4- Sportsnet &  NBCSN Wed.-April 18- 10 PM Filip Forsberg scored another creative goal, Pekka Rinne rebounded from a rocky performance with 31 saves, and the Predators withstood a furious rally by the Colorado Avalanche for a 3-2 win in Game 4 on Wednesday night to take a 3-1 lead in the first-round series.
Game 5-   Sportsnet &  NBCSN Fri.-April 20- 9:30 PM Andrew Hammond made a career-high 44 saves for his first postseason victory, and Colorado rallied to beat the Nashville Predators 2-1 on Friday night and sent the first-round series back to Denver for Game 6.
Game 6-   Sportsnet &  NBCSN Sun-April 22  - 7 PM Mattias Ekholm ignited the offense early with the first goal by a Nashville defenseman in the series, Pekka Rinne stopped 22 shots and the top-seeded Predators advanced to the second round with a 5-0 victory over the Avalanche in Game 6 on Sunday night.
 
      
 
Minnesota-Winnipeg DATE-TIME HOME TEAM
Game 1- (Sportsnet) &   CNBC Wed-April 11- 7 PM Patrick Laine tied it at 4:51 of the third period off the turnover, defenseman Joe Morrow scored with 6:13 left and the Winnipeg Jets beat the Wild 3-2 on Wednesday night for the first playoff victory in franchise history.
Game 2- (Sportsnet) &    USA Network Fri.-April 13-- 7 PM Paul Stastny, Andrew Copp and Patrik Laine scored in the third period as Jets beat Wild 4-1 on Friday night to take a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference first-round series.
Game 3- (Sportsnet) &    USA Network Sun-April 15- 3 PM Mikael Granlund and Zach Parise had power-play goals in the first period for the spark that was missing on the road, and the Wild scored four times in the second to beat the Jets 6-2 on Sunday night.
Game 4-(Sportsnet ) &     CNBC Tue-April 17 - - 7:30 PM Mark Scheifele scored both goals for Winnipeg and Connor Hellebuyck made 30 saves for his seventh shutout this season, as the Jets beat the Wild 2-0 on Tuesday night to take a 3-1 lead in the first-round playoff series.
Game 5- CBC  &    USA Network Fri.-April 20-  Jacob Trouba, Bryan Little, Brandon Tanev and Joel Armia scored in the first 11:59 to chase Minnesota goalie Devan Dubynk and the Winnipeg Jetsbeat the Wild 5-0 on Friday night to win a playoff series for the first time in franchise history.
 
 
Los Angeles-Vegas DATE-TIME  
Game 1- CBC &   NBCSN Wed-April 11- 10 PM Marc-Andre Fleury made 30 saves for his 11th career playoff shutout, Shea Theodore scored in the first period and the Vegas Golden Knights beat theLos Angeles Kings 1-0 on Wednesday night to win the franchise's first playoff game.
Game 2- CBC, &  NBCSN Fri.-April 13-- 10 PM Erik Haula's goal at15:23 of double overtime gave Vegas a 2-1 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Friday night for a 2-0 lead in their first-round playoff series.
Game 3- CBC &  NBCSN Sun-April 15-  10:30 PM James Neal scored the tiebreaking goal with 5:37 to play, and the Golden Knights rallied from a late deficit to move to the brink of their first playoff series victory with a 3-2 win over the Los Angeles Kings on Sunday night.
Game 4- CBC &  NBCSN Tue-April 17 - - 10:30 PM Marc-Andre Fleury  stopped 31 shots as the Knights finished off their fourth one-goal victory of the series and Vegas is on its way, beating the Los Angeles Kings 1-0 on Tuesday night and becoming the first expansion team in league history to sweep its first playoff series.
 
 
San Jose-Anaheim DATE-TIME  
Game 1- (Sportsnet) &   USA Network Thu-April 12 -10:30 PM Evander Kane scored two goals in his first career playoff game and Martin Jonesmade 25 saves as the San Jose Sharks beat the Anaheim Ducks 3-0 in their first-round series opener.
Game 2- (Sportsnet) &   (NBCSN) Sat.-April 14 -10:30 PM Logan Couture had a goal and an assist, Martin Jones made 28 saves and the Sharks thrived on the road again, beating the Ducks 3-2 Saturday night to take a 2-0 lead in their first-round playoff series.
Game 3- (Sportsnet) &   (NBCSN) Mon-April 16 -10:30 PM Joonas Donskoi scored one goal and set up another to start a four-goal barrage in the second period and the Sharks raced past Anaheim for the third straight game, beating the Ducks 8-1 on Monday night for a 3-0 series lead.
Game 4-(Sportsnet) &    (CNBC) Wed.-April 18- 10:30 PM Martin Jones frustrated the Ducks with stellar plays over the final two periods andTomas Hertl answered Anaheim's only goal midway through the third with a game-winner just over a minute later, sending the Sharks into the second round with a 2-1 victory in Game 4 on Wednesday night.