Nathan MacKinnon and Valeri Nichushkin scored power-play goals 2:28 apart early in a five-goal third period, and the Colorado Avalanche rallied to beat the Winnipeg Jets 6-2 in Game 3 of their first-round series in Denver on Friday night.
Colorado took a 2-1 lead in the Western Conference quarterfinal series, with Game 4 in Denver on Sunday afternoon.
Devon Toews and MacKinnon each had a goal and an assist, Ross Colton, Zach Parise and Artturi Lehkonen also scored, Casey Mittelstadt had three assists, Mikko Rantanen registered two assists and Alexandar Georgiev turned away 22 shots for the Avalanche.
Josh Morrissey and Tyler Toffoli scored and Connor Hellebuyck had 34 saves for the Jets.
Rangers 3, Capitals 1
Vincent Trocheck had a goal and an assist as New York beat host Washington to close in on a berth in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Chris Kreider and Barclay Goodrow added goals, Mika Zibanejad had two assists and Igor Shesterkin made 28 saves for the Rangers, who lead the best-of-seven first-round series 3-0.
John Carlson scored for the Capitals and Charlie Lindgren made 19 saves. Washington played with five defensemen for 2 1/2 periods after Trevor van Riemsdyk was injured at 12:08 of the first on a hit from New York forward Matt Rempe.
Oilers 6, Kings 1
Zach Hyman, Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid scored in the first period and visiting Edmonton finished with the three power-play goals in a victory over Los Angeles in Game 3 of a first-round Western Conference playoff series.
Hyman and Draisaitl each finished with two goals, and Draisaitl also had an assist as the Oilers took a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series while rebounding from a 5-4 defeat at home in Game 2. McDavid wound up with three points, Evander Kane contributed a goal and an assist, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins notched three assists and Stuart Skinner made 27 saves for Edmonton. Edmonton now has seven power-play goals in the series.
Drew Doughty scored a goal for the Kings, while Cam Talbot made 34 saves. The Kings get a chance to even the series in Game 4 at home on Sunday.
Canucks 2, Predators 1
Casey DeSmith made 29 saves for his first career playoff win as visiting Vancouver beat Nashville.
The Canucks grabbed a 2-1 lead in the Western Conference first-round playoff series. Game 4 of the best-of-seven set is set for Sunday in Nashville.
Luke Evangelista scored with 3:12 remaining in the third period to pull the Predators within a goal, but the hosts could not manage an equalizer.
–Field Level Media
