The Florida Panthers took a 2-0 series lead after defeating the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference First Round at Amalie Arena on Thursday with a score of 2-0. Nate Schmidt and Sam Bennett scored for the Panthers, while Sergei Bobrovsky made 19 saves for his fourth career postseason shutout. Game 3 will be in Sunrise, Florida, on Saturday.
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The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Ottawa Senators with a 3-2 overtime win in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference First Round on Thursday. Simon Benoit scored at 1:19 of overtime to help Toronto top the Senators, who also saw goals from Auston Matthews and Matthew Knies; while goalie Anthony Stolarz made 18 saves. The Leafs now hold a commanding 3-0 lead in the series, with Game 4 scheduled in Ottawa on Saturday.
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The Minnesota Wild defeated the Vegas Golden Knights 5-2 in Game 3 of the Western Conference First Round at Xcel Energy Center on Thursday. Kirill Kaprizov scored two goals for the second straight game, while Marco Rossi and Matt Boldy each had a goal and an assist for the Wild; Filip Gustavsson made 30 saves. Minnesota leads the best-of-7 series 2-1, with Game 4 in Minnesota on Saturday.
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The St. Louis Blues took a 7-2 victory over the Winnipeg Jets in Game 3 of the Western Conference First Round at Enterprise Center on Thursday. Pavel Buchnevich scored his first Stanley Cup Playoff hat trick and had an assist, while Cam Fowler had a goal and four assists, and Robert Thomas had four assists for the Blues, with Jordan Binnington making 16 saves. St. Louis trails the best-of-7 series 2-1. Game 4 will take place in St. Louis on Sunday.
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