NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — With the New Jersey Devils’ first playoff appearance since 2012 starting to look like an early exit, Taylor Hall came up big — just like he has done all season.
Hall had a goal and two assists, setting up Stefan Noesen’s game-winner with 7:05 play, and Cory Schneider made 34 saves in shoring up the goaltending and leading the Devils to a 5-2 victory over the penalty-prone Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday night in Game 3 of their best-of-7 first-round series.
The Devils scored four third-period goals in cutting Tampa Bay’s series lead to 2-1. Game 4 will also be played at the Prudential Center on Wednesday.
Hall, appearing in the playoffs for the first time since being the No. 1 overall pick in 2010, downplayed his role.
“It’s not my first playoff win, it’s ours as a group,” said Hall, who had a career year in goals, assists and points. “We had some confidence coming back on home ice with how we played to finish the regular season. It’s a great feeling. We’re still down 2-1. We still have a lot of room to go but it’s a nice start.”
The Devils had a lot of contributors.
Rookie Will Butcher had a power-play goal earlier in the third to tie the score 2-all. Blake Coleman and Ben Lovejoy added empty net goals late. Schneider only gave up two power-play goals in taking over for Keith Kinkaid and giving the Devils a chance in this series.
“It’s huge. You could see there at the end it getting a little nasty similar to the last game,” Schneider said of the win. “We’ve got the emotional involvement now. We’re on each other’s nerves. It’s going to a series.”
Alex Killorn and Steven Stamkos each had a power-play goal and an assist for the Lightning, who allowed the Devils to go on seven power plays.
Nikita Kucherov added two assists, and Andrei Vasilevskiy made 36 saves in the game that had a major scrum with 23 seconds to go.
“At the end of the day you give them that many power play chances and then you give them a 5-on-3, it’s a good chance they are eventually going to get one,” Stamkos said. “They got one and then they got momentum.”
Hall was the Devils’ MVP during their stunning run from the worst team in the Eastern Conference to the postseason in a year, and he didn’t disappoint in their biggest game of the season.
Hall skated down the right boards, avoided a check by Tyler Johnson in center ice and found Noesen in the left circle with a cross-ice pass that the forward one-timed past Vasilevskiy.
“He’s a good player and good players are going to make plays,” Lightning center Brayden Point said. “He had a good night tonight. He is a guy we have to watch, know when he is out there and take away his space.”
Maple Leafs 4, Bruins 2
TORONTO — Auston Matthews got the go-ahead goal in the second period, Patrick Marleau scored twice, and the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Boston Bruins in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference first-round series.
James van Riemsdyk also scored and Mitch Marner and Morgan Rielly added two assists each ti help Toronto pull to 2-1 in the best-of-seven set. Frederik Andersen stopped 40 shots.
Adam McQuaid and Zdeno Chara had the goals for Boston, Sean Kuraly had two assists, and Tuukka Rask finished with 26 saves.
The Maple Leafs will look to even the series at home in Game 4 on Thursday night.
Sharks 8, Ducks 1
SAN JOSE, Calif. — Joonas Donskoi scored one goal and set up another to start a four-goal barrage in the second period and San Jose raced past Anaheim for the third straight game to take a 3-0 series lead.
Donskoi scored and then set up Marcus Sorensen in the opening four minutes of the second period to seize control of the game and series.
Eric Fehr and Tomas Hertl added goals later in the second to turn this all-California series into a rout. Logan Couture had a goal and two assists, Joe Pavelski, Evander Kane and Timo Meier scored power-play goals in the third period, for the Sharks, who have outscored the Ducks 14-3 through the first three games of the first-round series.
Martin Jones made 45 saves, the most for a Sharks goalie in a regulation playoff game.
San Jose will look to complete the sweep in Game 4 at home Wednesday night.
Rickard Rakell scored a power-play goal for Anaheim, which has scored three goals all series — including just one at even strength.
Avalanche 5, Predators 3
DENVER — Nathan MacKinnon scored twice, including one as part of a three-goal first period and another to chase Nashville goalie Pekka Rinne from the game, and Colorado pulled to 2-1 in the first-round series.
Blake Comeau and Gabriel Bourque also scored in a furious opening period that revved up a pom-pom waving capacity crowd. Gabriel Landeskog was credited with an empty-net goal for the Avalanche, who snapped a 12-game skid against the Predators.
Game 4 is Wednesday in Denver.
MacKinnon’s goal at 4:25 of the second period gave Colorado a 4-0 lead and prompted the Predators to pull Rinne in favor of backup Juuse Saros. Rinne allowed four goals on 15 shots.
Jonathan Bernier stopped 29 shots on a night when the Avalanche finished 0 for 5 on the power play. Ryan Johansen had a second-period goal and Colton Sissons scored another in the third to make it 4-2.
