Number 1 in the NHL regular season, the Florida Panthers had missed their entry into the play-offs, losing (4-2) at home to the Washington Capitals on Tuesday. But the Miami franchise recovered on Thursday and clearly beat the team from the capital of the United States (5-1), still at home, in game 2 of its first round series.
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Ekblad, Barkov, Marchment, Lundell and Verhaeghe scored for the Panthers. Nicklas Backstrom scored the only goal for the Capitals, with the help of Alex Ovechkin, credited with an assist. Game 3 between the two teams will take place on Saturday, in Washington this time.
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Dallas surprend Calgary
Also beaten when they entered the play-offs, the New York Rangers reacted against the Pittsburgh Penguins (5-2). The two teams are tied, one win all. The Dallas Stars signed a good performance, beating the Calgary Flames (2-0), winners of the Pacific Division, and equalizing in their series, with a victory for each side.
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Finally the Colorado Avalanche widened the gap against the Nashville Predators (2-1 ap), thanks to a goal from Cale Makar. The Denver franchise leads by two sets to nil. In the other series of the first round of the play-offs, Tampa Bay, the double defending champion, and Toronto are tied (1-1), as are Minnesota and St Louis and Edmonton and Los Angeles. Carolina, for its part, broke away from Boston (2-0).
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