NHL MORNING SKATE: PLAYOFFS EDITION – MAY 18, 2021

THREE HARD LAPS

* Brad Marchand scored 39 seconds into overtime to even the First Round for the Bruins, who haven’t fallen behind 2-0 in a postseason series since the 2011 Stanley Cup Final.

* Nathan MacKinnon picked up right where he left off following his 25-point postseason last year as the Avalanche earned a Game 1 win.

* Thrilling games have highlighted the first three days of the 2021 , which have featured 15 tying goals as well as five contests decided by a one- margin (including four that have required overtime). The score has been either tied or within one goal for nearly 95% of total game time (94.7%; 421:40 of 445:10) – the Hurricanes and Avalanche are the only teams that have held a multi-goal lead.

MARCHAND SCORES 0:39 INTO OVERTIME TO SET BRUINS RECORD, EVEN SERIES Brad Marchand scored 39 seconds into extra time to establish a franchise record for fastest goal from the start of an overtime during the postseason and pull the Bruins even in their First Round series.

* Marchand scored his second career overtime goal in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, following his winner on in Game 1 of the 2013 Conference Semifinals. Marchand (38-58— 96 in 123 GP), who inched closer to reaching 100 career playoff points, moved into a tie with Peter McNab for seventh place on the franchise’s all-time postseason goals list.

* Taylor Hall tied Game 2 with 2:49 remaining in regulation to record his first playoff goal with Boston. The Bruins won a postseason contest in which they scored a tying goal within the final three minutes of regulation for the first time since Game 7 of the 2013 Conference Quarterfinals.

* Each of the last 11 playoff contests between Boston and Washington have been decided by a one-goal margin, extending the longest such run by a set of franchises in NHL history. Four of the last five head-to-head playoff games between the clubs have required overtime.

TOP LINE LIFTS AVALANCHE TO 1-0 SERIES LEAD Nathan MacKinnon (2-1—3), (1-2—3) and Mikko Rantanen (0-2—2) each had multiple points as Colorado defeated St. Louis in its 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs opener.

* MacKinnon has found the score sheet in all but one postseason game since the start of the 2020 Stanley Cup Qualifiers (11-17—28 in 16 GP). He boosted his career playoff points per game to 1.39 (22-35—57 in 41 GP), the fourth highest in NHL history (min. 10 GP) behind Wayne Gretzky (1.84 P/GP), (1.61 P/GP) and Barry Pederson (1.53 P/GP).

* MacKinnon recorded his 17th multi-point game in the playoffs, which trails only three franchise cornerstones for the most in Avalanche/Nordiques history.

CUP WINNERS, NEDELJKOVIC GUIDE HURRICANES PAST PREDATORS IN GAME 1 Past Stanley Cup winners Jordan Staal (2-0—2) and Teuvo Teravainen (1-0—1) accounted for three of the Hurricanes’ five goals and made 22 saves in his postseason debut as Carolina took a 1-0 lead in its First Round series.

* Staal recorded his fourth career multi-goal outing in the Stanley Cup Playoffs and first since Game 4 of the 2012 Conference Quarterfinals (w/ PIT). He now has 29 career postseason goals (29-19—48 in 97 GP), eight more than his brother (21-30—51 in 62 GP) who is set to contest Game 1 of the Canadiens’ First Round series on Thursday.

* Nedeljkovic became the first rookie to earn a playoff win with the Hurricanes since in Game 7 of the 2006 Stanley Cup Final.

QUICK CLICKS

* Stanley Cup Playoffs coverage * #NHLStats Live Updates: Tuesday, May 18 * BIA teams up with NHL for new anthem for Stanley Cup Playoffs * Sportsnet shares NHL ratings from 2020-21 season * Sam Bennett suspended, out for Panthers in Game 2 against Lightning

LIGHTNING, ISLANDERS AND WILD LOOK TO RETURN HOME WITH 2-0 SERIES LEADS The Lightning, Islanders and Wild will look to return home with a 2-0 lead in their First Round series after each club recorded a road win by a one-goal margin to take Game 1. Teams that go up 2-0 when starting as the road team in a best-of-seven Stanley Cup Playoffs series hold an all-time series record of 80-20 (.800).

* Brayden Point pulled Tampa Bay even and potted the late winner on Sunday – he has now scored 70.8% of his career postseason goals in either game-tying or go-ahead fashion (17 of 24). That’s the second highest such percentage among active players with at least 20 playoff goals, behind Nicklas Backstrom (72.2%; 26 of 36).

* Kyle Palmieri, who opened the scoring and recorded the overtime goal in Game 1, can become the first player with three or more markers through his first two postseason games with the Islanders. The last player to do so with any team (NHL debut or otherwise) was Colorado’s Gabriel Landeskog during the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs (3-0—3 in 2 GP).

* Cam Talbot played 63:20 of perfect hockey during his Wild postseason debut. The longest sequence in franchise history at any point in a playoff year is 124:35, a mark set by Darcy Kuemper during the 2014 First Round.