UNDATED (AP) — The Tampa Bay Lightning, Minnesota Wild and Edmonton Oilers got even on Wednesday, while the Carolina Hurricanes maintained control of their first-round series in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Victor Hedman and Nikita Kucherov led the Lightning to a 5-3 win over the Maple Leafs, tying the series at a game apiece.
Hedman put the Bolts ahead to stay with three seconds left in the first period. He also set up three scores.
Kucherov had a goal and two assists for Tampa Bay, which was coming off a 5-0 loss in the series opener. Hedman, Kucherov and Brayden Point each had power-play goals.
Andrei Vasilevskiy made 31 saves in the win.
Mitch Marner had a goal and an assist for the Leafs, who head to Tampa for Game 3 on Friday.
Kirill Kaprizov and Joel Eriksson Ek accounted for five goals as the Wild blasted the Blues, 6-2. Kaprizov registered a hat trick and Eriksson Ek scored twice to help Minnesota erase the stench of Monday’s shutout loss to St. Louis. Eriksson Ek thought he had a hat trick himself, but a Blues challenge for offside erased that goal.
Eriksson Ek, Frederick Gaudreau and Kaprizov scored in a 9:33 span of the first period to make it 3-0.
Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 32 shots for the Wild.
Jordan Kyrou and Vladimir Tarasenko had the St. Louis goals.
Game 3 is Friday in the Gateway City.
Mike Smith bounced back with a perfect 30-save performance in the Oilers’ 6-0 crowning of the Kings. Smith picked up his fifth career playoff shutout, two nights after his puck-handling miscue led to Edmonton’s 4-3 loss to Los Angeles.
Evander Kane had two goals and an assist and Ryan McLeod had one of each. Jesse Puljujarvi, Darnell Nurse and Leon Draisaitl also scored and Connor McDavid added two assists.
Jonathan Quick stopped 30 of 36 shots for the Kings, who host Game 3 on Friday.
The Hurricanes have a two-games-to-none lead following a very chippy 5-2 win over the Bruins.
Sebastian Aho and Nino Niederreiter each scored twice. Tony DeAngelo had three assists for the Metropolitan Division champs, who finished the game without Antti Raanta. The Canes netminder had to leave in the first period after receiving a shot to the head by David Pastrnak.
Pyotr Kochetkov made 29 saves in relief of Raanta, allowing a pair of goals by Patrice Bergeron.
Jesper Fast and Nino Niederreiter also scored for the Hurricanes, who travel to Boston for Game 3 on Friday.
