NHL playoffs: Auston Matthews helps push Maple Leafs to victory over Bruins

Auston Matthews scored his first goal of the playoffs and set up another as the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Boston Bruins 3-2 on Monday night to take a 2-1 lead in their best-of-seven Eastern Conference quarterfinal.

Andreas Johnsson, also with a goal and an assist, and Trevor Moore provided the rest of the offense for Toronto. Frederik Andersen made 34 saves.

David Krejci and Charlie Coyle scored for Boston. Tuukka Rask stopped 31 shots in front of a crowd of 19,611.

The Maple Leafs won the series opener 4-1 last Wednesday in Boston before losing by the same score Saturday. Game 4 is Wednesday night in Toronto.

Less than an hour before puck drop, the Maple Leafs learned center Nazem Kadri had been suspended for the rest of the series for his vicious cross-check to the head of Bruins winger Jake DeBrusk in the third period of Game 2.

Hurricanes 5, Capitals 0: Rookie forward Warren Foegele had two goals and an assist, Petr Mrazek earned his fourth career postseason shutout and the Carolina Hurricanes won their first home playoff game in a decade, routing the Washington Capitals.

Dougie Hamilton also scored two goals, Brock McGinn had a late goal and an assist and Jaccob Slavin had two assists as the rapid-fire Hurricanes outshot Washington 45-18 to cut the defending Stanley Cup champions’ lead to 2-1 in the best-of-seven series.

Playing with just 10 forwards after losing two to injuries in the first period, Carolina effectively rolled with three lines the rest of the way and fed off an amped-up crowd releasing 10 years of pent-up frustration with every hit.

Mrazek finished with 18 saves in his fifth career playoff victory — the last four have been shutouts.

Braden Holtby stopped 40 shots for Washington, which had its six-game postseason winning streak snapped. The Capitals were shut out in the playoffs for the first time since 2017.

They won all four regular-season meetings with their longtime division rivals — first in the old Southeast, now in the Metropolitan — before winning the first two games of this series on home ice.

Predators 3, Stars 2: Mikael Granlund scored on a wrist shot from just inside the blue line with 8:19 left and Nashville, after blowing a two-goal lead, beat Dallas to take a 2-1 lead in their best-of-seven Western Conference playoff series.

Granlund, acquired in a trade with Minnesota in late February, got the puck from Dante Fabbro after Kyle Turris won a faceoff against Stars captain Jamie Benn.

Rocco Grimaldi scored in his second game in a row for the Predators, and Filip Forsberg had a perfectly timed play for a goal.

Pekka Rinne made 40 saves for Nashville, including one with the goalie twisting to his left for a stop when Dallas had a 5-on-3 advantage about midway through the second period. That was one of seven shots the Stars had during their 2 1/2 consecutive minutes with an advantage, including 1:29 with two extra skaters.

After three consecutive one-goal games, Game 4 is Wednesday night in Dallas.

Tyler Seguin and Mats Zuccarello scored for the Stars, who played their first playoff home game in three years. American Airlines Center is less than 5 miles from the Cotton Bowl Stadium where they will play the Predators outside in the Winter Classic on New Year’s Day next season.