On a night when the No. 2-seeded Bruins fended off the surging Washington Capitals in overtime to keep their Stanley Cup repeat hopes alive, the Pittsburgh Penguins became the first high seed to fall victim to a gritty playoff challenger.
The Philadelphia Flyers punched out the Penguins 5-1 to reserve a spot in the second round.
Hours later, the Vancouver Canucks met the same fate, falling to the Los Angeles Kings in overtime.
Here are the recaps from the games that took place Sunday, April 22. Be sure to check out more of our in-depth Associated Press recaps and previews.
Philadelphia 5, Pittsburgh 1
PHILADELPHIA — Claude Giroux had his coach call him the best player in the world. Giroux needed one shift to prove that claim is more than hometown hype.
He flattened Sidney Crosby only 5 seconds into the game, buried his sixth goal of the series past Marc-Andre Fleury 27 seconds later, and led a Philadelphia Flyers charge into the second round.
Giroux wrapped up a dominant series with a goal and two assists, Ilya Bryzgalov had his first outstanding effort in net, and the Flyers beat the 108-point Pittsburgh Penguins 5-1 on Sunday to win their Eastern Conference opening-round series in six games. Read the complete story here.
Boston Bruins 4, Washington Capitals 3 (OT)
WASHINGTON — Because Tyler Seguin and Tim Thomas returned to form, the Bruins are heading back to Boston for another game against the Washington Capitals.
Seguin scored at 3:17 of overtime, Thomas made 36 saves, and the Bruins beat Washington 4-3 on Sunday to tie the first-round Eastern Conference playoff series at three games apiece. Read the complete story here.
Los Angeles Kings 2, Vancouver Canucks 1 (OT)
VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Jarret Stoll beat Cory Schneider with a wrist shot at 4:27 of overtime to give the Los Angeles Kings a 2-1 victory over Vancouver on Sunday night, knocking out the top-seeded Canucks in five games in the Western Conference first-round series. Read the complete story here.