Hockey

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Kirill Kaprizov had two power-play goals and the Minnesota Wild beat the Vegas Golden Knights 5-2 on Thursday night to take a 2-1 lead in the first-round series.

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Nate Schmidt scored his third goal in two games, Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 19 shots and the Florida Panthers beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-0 on Thursday night to take a 2-0 lead in the first-round playoff series.

OTTAWA — The Ottawa Senators are staring down their biggest test of the season, but captain Brady Tkachuk is ready for the challenge ahead.

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Florida captain Aleksander Barkov missed the final 10:09 of the Panthers' win in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference first-round series at Tampa Bay on Thursday night, after taking a hit from the Lightning's Brandon Hagel.

MONTREAL (AP) — City buses in Montreal have dropped the expression “Go! Canadiens Go!” following a complaint to Quebec’s language watchdog.

The odds are stacked against the New Jersey Devils, Montreal Canadiens and Edmonton Oilers after falling behind 0-2 in their first-round series.

MONTREAL — City buses in Montreal have dropped the expression "Go! Canadiens Go!" following a complaint to Quebec's language watchdog.

WASHINGTON — Mike Matheson knows firsthand what playoff hockey in Montreal feels like, but even he can’t imagine how electric the Bell Centre’s atmosphere will be Friday night.

LOS ANGELES — For Leon Draisaitl, the answer is easy — the Edmonton Oilers simply need to find another gear. The Los Angeles Kings thumped the Oilers 6-2 on Wednesday to take a 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven first-round playoff series.

OTTAWA — Max Pacioretty politely declined to answer the question.