NHL MORNING SKATE: STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS EDITION – JUNE 3, 2021

THREE HARD LAPS

* Mikko Rantanen, with points in each of his last 16 playoff games dating to 2020, scored the overtime winner and handed Vegas its first-ever 2-0 series deficit.

* The Canadiens collected their fourth straight win and took a 1-0 lead in their Second Round series with the Jets.

* The Sabres and Kraken own the first and second overall drafting positions, respectively, for the First Round of the 2021 NHL Draft as a result of Wednesday’s 2021 NHL Draft Lottery Drawing.

RANTANEN SCORES OT WINNER AS AVALANCHE WIN SIXTH STRAIGHT GAME The Golden Knights scored two game-tying goals, but Mikko Rantanen found the back of the net 2:07 into overtime as the Avalanche extended their postseason-opening win streak to six games and handed Vegas its first-ever 2-0 series deficit.

* Rantanen has made a habit of finding the score sheet during the postseason, doing so in each of his last 16 contests dating to Game 3 of the 2020 First Round. Only five different players in NHL history have recorded a longer point streak that spanned multiple playoff years.

* Rantanen boosted his totals in the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs to 3-7—10 (6 GP) and joined teammates Nathan MacKinnon (8-5—13 in 6 GP) and Gabriel Landeskog (4-7—11 in 6 GP) with double-digit point totals. The Avalanche are the first team with at least three players with 10-plus points through six games of a playoff year since the Senators in 2006 (Martin Havlat, Dany Heatley & Jason Spezza).

* Colorado, just the third Presidents’ Trophy winners (since 1985-86) to record a postseason- opening win streak of six-plus games, became the eighth team in the last 30 years to begin a playoff year with six or more straight victories. Only two teams over that span extended their streak to seven contests: Pittsburgh (2008) and NY Rangers (1994).

* The Avalanche’s recent string of success includes a stretch of 11 straight wins dating back to the regular season (since May 7), 13 consecutive home wins since March 29 and 21 consecutive home games with at least a point since March 10.

CANADIENS YOUTH PROPELS CLUB TO SERIES-OPENING WIN AT BELL MTS PLACE Fresh off their club’s Game 7 win in Toronto, 20-year-old Jesperi Kotkaniemi opened the scoring and 21-year-old Nick Suzuki netted a highlight-reel goal as Montreal withstood Winnipeg’s third-period comeback attempt to take Game 1 of its Second Round series.

* Kotkaniemi, with three goals in his past four games, boosted his career totals in the postseason to 8-0—8 in 17 contests. Only one Canadiens player has scored more playoff goals before their 21st birthday than the third-overall pick in the 2018 NHL Draft.

* Wednesday’s contest marked the Canadiens’ first playoff win against the Jets/Thrashers. Montreal has now earned a postseason win against 23 different NHL franchises (active and defunct), a feat only four other franchises have also accomplished: NY Rangers (24), Chicago (24), Detroit (24) and Toronto (23).

* After it erased a 3-1 series deficit against Toronto, Montreal has strung together four straight wins in a single postseason for just the fourth time in 30 years. The others: 1993 (11 GP & 4 GP) and 2014 (5 GP). Their 11-game win streak during the 1993 Stanley Cup Playoffs also stands as the longest such run in franchise history.

* The Canadiens own an all-time series record of 63-11 when leading 1-0 in a best-of-seven (.851), including a 1-0 mark in 2021. It marks the third-highest such win percentage in NHL history behind the Oilers (.875; 21-3) and Ducks (.867; 13-2).

ICYMI: The Jets and Canadiens wore special helmet decals to pay tribute to the 215 children in Kamloops, B.C., and to show support for all Indigenous communities.

QUICK CLICKS

* Stanley Cup Playoffs coverage * #NHLStats Live Updates: Thursday, June 3 * Quest for the Stanley Cup returns June 4 * Sidney Crosby, Auston Matthews, Connor McDavid named Lindsay Award finalists * Sabres earn No. 1 Pick in NHL Draft Lottery * Willie O’Ree statue featured at National Museum of African American History

PIVOTAL GAME 3s HIGHLIGHT TONIGHT’S ACTION A pair of Game 3s will take center stage during the Stanley Cup Playoffs tonight with the Bruins and Islanders both looking for a series edge, while the defending Stanley Cup champion Lightning look to push the Discover Central’s top-seeded team to the brink of elimination.

* Andrei Vasilevskiy (39-24 in 66 GP) has allowed one or fewer goals in each of his last three games and stopped 31 shots in Game 2 to earn his 39th career playoff win. With a victory tonight, the 2020-21 Vezina Trophy finalist can require the eighth-fewest games in NHL history to reach 40 career playoff wins. The only active goaltender to do it in fewer: Marc-Andre Fleury (40-25 in 65 GP).

* Anthony Beauvillier (4-5—9 in 8 GP) has found the score sheet in seven of eight playoff games for the Islanders during the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs and sits tied with Jean-Gabriel Pageau (2-7—9 in 8 GP) for the team lead in points. Beauvillier can become the first Islanders player to record a playoff point streak of seven or more games since Mike Bossy (11-5—16 in 9 GP), Bryan Trottier (2-11—13 in 8 GP) and Denis Potvin (3-9—12 in 8 GP) all did so in 1982.