Flyers, Penguins Win to Lead NHL Playoffs 2-1; Bruins Defeat Canadiens

The Philadelphia Flyers beat the Buffalo Sabres 4-2 on the road for their second straight win in the National Hockey League playoffs.

The Boston Bruins beat the Montreal Canadiens 4-2 and the Pittsburgh Penguins topped the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2 in today’s other Eastern Conference first-round playoff games.

Jeff Carter, Danny Briere, Nikolay Zherdev and Kimmo Timonen scored goals for the Flyers, who never trailed at HSBC Arena in Buffalo, New York.

Philadelphia, the second seed in the Eastern Conference, took a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven postseason series. The Flyers have totaled nine goals in the past two games after being shut out in the opener. Game 4 is scheduled for April 20.

David Krejci, Nathan Horton and Rich Peverley scored as the third-seeded Bruins opened a 3-0 lead and held off the Canadiens at Bell Centre in Montreal. Chris Kelly added an empty-net goal with 26 seconds left for Boston, which lost the first two games of the series at home and now trails 2-1.

Tyler Kennedy’s third-period goal snapped a 2-2 tie for the fourth-seeded Penguins at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, Florida. Pittsburgh rebounded from a 5-1 home loss in Game 2 to take a 2-1 lead in the series.

The Detroit Red Wings visit the Phoenix Coyotes in tonight’s final playoff game, seeking to take a 3-0 lead in their Western Conference series.

To contact the reporter on this story: Erik Matuszewski in New York at matuszewski@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Sillup at msillup@bloomberg.net