Horvat scores in OT, Canucks beat Blues for 2-0 series lead

EDMONTON, Alberta Bo Horvat scored on a breakaway at 5:55 of overtime Friday night to give the Vancouver Canucks a 4-3 victory over the defending champion St. Louis Blues and a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference series.

Horvat took a stretch pass from Quinn Hughes and chipped the puck through Jordan Binningtons legs.

Game 3 of the best-of seven series is Sunday.

St. Louis overcame a 3-1 deficit in the third period to tie it, with David Perron redirecting in the tying goal with eight seconds left.

With Binnington pulled for the extra attacker, Alex Pietrangelo shot from the point, and Perron redirected it past Jacob Markstrom. It was initially waved off as a high stick, but ruled a goal on review.

Horvat opened the scoring in the first with an end-to-end, short-handed rush. Wheeling and picking up speed in his own faceoff circle, Horvat hit high gear through the neutral zone, blew past Brayden Schenn, turned Jaden Schwartz inside out and fired a wrist shot low past Binningtons blocker.

Horvat also scored twice in the opener and has six goals in the postseason.

Elias Pettersson and Tanner Pearson also scored for Vancouver, and Markstrom made 34 stops. Ryan OReilly and Sammy Blais added goals for the Blues, and Binnington turned back 21 shots.

Pearson made it 2-0 on a power-play midway through the second, and OReilly countered on another power play late in the period. Pettersson connected in a power play early in the third, and Blais made it a one-goal game with 10:58 to go.

CANADIENS 5, FLYERS 0

TORONTO Tomas Tatar and Jesperi Kotkaniemi each scored twice, Carey Price stopped 30 shots and Montreal rebounded without coach Claude Julien to rout Philadelphia and tie the series at a game apiece.

Julien was home in Montreal a day after a stent was placed in a coronary artery. The team said doctors expect a full recovery.

Julien was rushed to St. Michaels Hospital in Toronto overnight Wednesday with chest pain. He had surgery Thursday. Because Julien left the NHL bubble in Toronto, he will have to follow quarantine protocol if he wishes to re-enter it. Kirk Muller will serve as interim head coach for the rest of the Eastern Conference quarterfinal series.

Game 3 is Sunday night.

The Canadiens roughed up Flyers goalie Carter Hart, who turned 22 on Thursday, and scored four goals through two periods to send him to the bench.

Joel Armia also scored for Montreal.

The Canadiens continued their sensational surge through Toronto hockey and bounced back fine after a 2-1 Game 1 loss. Montreal was the last team in the East to qualify for the expanded playoffs, and then needed four games to win its best-of-five series over Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins.

AVALANCHE 3, COYOTES 2

EDMONTON, Alberta Andre Burakovsky scored late in the third period, Philipp Grubauer stopped 30 shots and Colorado beat Arizona to take a 2-0 series lead.

Burakovsky scored with 2:53 left in regulation when a shot by Kazem Kadri hit Arizona defenseman Jakob Chychruns shin pad and left goalie Darcy Kuemper out of position.

The Avalanche scored early in the opening two periods on goals by Nathan MacKinnon and Tyson Jost. Arizona responded each time, tying it on a goal by Clayton Keller in the first and Michael Grabner in the second.

Game 3 is Saturday.

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