Hurricanes_celebrate

The Carolina Hurricanes put on a show for the 18,783 fans who packed PNC Arena for their
first home playoff game in 10 years
by defeating the Washington Capitals 5-0 in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference First Round on Monday.

Warren Foegele scored Carolina's first two goals and assisted on the second of two scored by defenseman Dougie Hamilton to help the Hurricanes outshoot the Capitals 45-18 and cut Washington's lead in the best-of-7 series to 2-1.

WSH@CAR, Gm3: Hamilton hammers shot for second PPG

It was Carolina's first home playoff game since Game 4 of the 2009 Eastern Conference Final against the Penguins and their first postseason win at home since
Game 4 of the 2009 conference semifinals
, when current coach Rod Brind'Amour assisted on the winning goal in a 4-1 victory against the Boston Bruins.
Foegele and Hamilton are the fifth set of Hurricanes/Hartford Whalers teammates to each score multiple goals in a playoff game, but the first since Brind'Amour and Ray Whitney each scored twice against the Oilers in Game 1 of the 2006 Stanley Cup Final.
Carolina's plus-27 shot differential was the second-highest in Hurricanes/Whalers playoff history. The Hurricanes outshot the Montreal Canadiens 46-16 (plus-30) in a 4-1 loss in Game 2 of the 2002 Eastern Conference Semifinals.

Makar scores game-winner in NHL debut for Avalanche

Cale Makar wasted no time showing why the Colorado Avalanche were eager to get him into the lineup. Three days after winning the Hobey Baker Award, and two days after playing in the NCAA championship game before signing with the Avalanche, the 20-year-old defenseman scored against his hometown team in his NHL debut, helping Colorado defeat the Calgary Flames 6-2 in Game 3 of the Western Conference First Round at Pepsi Center.

CGY@COL, Gm3: Makar scores in NHL debut

The Calgary native's first-period goal stood as the game-winner that helped the Avalanche take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-7 series. Makar became the first defenseman and

to score a goal while making his NHL debut in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Nathan MacKinnon scored two goals and had an assist for Colorado, which outshot Calgary 56-29. Colorado's 56 shots on goal were one shy of the Avalanche/Quebec Nordiques playoff record set during Game 4 of the 1996 Western Conference Semifinals against the Chicago Blackhawks.
MacKinnon's points all came in the first 16:02 of Game 3, matching the Avalanche/Nordiques record for most points in a playoff period. Prior to MacKinnon, the last Avalanche player to have three points in a playoff period was Peter Forsberg in Game 5 of the 2004 Western Conference Quarterfinals against the Dallas Stars.

Maple Leafs outlast Bruins, take series lead

The Toronto Maple Leafs took a 2-1 series lead for the third time in the past 15 years by holding off the Bruins 3-2 at Scotiabank Arena in Game 3. The Maple Leafs also led 2-1 against the Ottawa Senators in the 2004 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, their last playoff series win, and against the Capitals in the 2017 first round, a series Washington won in six games.
Andreas Johnsson became the second Maple Leafs rookie in 32 years to score a winning goal in the playoffs. He joined Kasperi Kapanen, who scored the double-overtime winner in Game 2 against Washington in 2017. Toronto coach Mike Babcock earned the 89th playoff win of his NHL career, tying him with Glen Sather and Darryl Sutter for

in postseason history.

Rinne, Predators hold off Stars

Pekka Rinne made 40 saves and forward Mikael Granlund scored the winning goal with 8:19 remaining in the third period to give the Nashville Predators a 3-2 win against the Stars in Game 3 of at American Airlines Center. Nashville has won back-to-back games and leads the best-of-7 series 2-1.
Rinne (45-41) tied Tony Esposito for 24th place on the NHL
all-time playoff wins list
. He's third in postseason wins among goalies born outside North America, trailing Dominik Hasek (65) and Henrik Lundqvist (61).

Blue Jackets, Islanders go for sweeps

The Columbus Blue Jackets can become the

to sweep a best-of-7 series against the team with the best regular-season record at any point in the Stanley Cup Playoffs when they face the Tampa Bay Lightning at Nationwide Arena in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference First Round on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; CNBC, SN360, TVAS, FS-O, SUN). A win would also give the Blue Jackets their first playoff series victory since entering the NHL in 2000.
The New York Islanders also have a chance to complete a sweep when they play the Penguins at PPG Paints Arena in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference First Round (7:30 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, TVAS2, ATTSN-PT, MSG, MSG+). The Islanders have not swept a best-of-7 series since the 1983 Stanley Cup Final, when they eliminated the Oilers in four games.