Maple Leafs 5, Lightning 0

Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe predicted a “borderline violent” playoff series against Tampa Bay.

That turned out to be the case early and late in Monday's opening game of the teams' first-round playoff series.

In between, Toronto ran the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Lightning out of the rink with speed, tenacity and timely contributions up and down the lineup.

Auston Matthews had two goals and an assist and Jack Campbell made 23 saves in the second playoff shutout of his career as the Maple Leafs beat Tampa Bay 5-0.

“We just played fast,” said Matthews, who led the NHL with 60 regular-season goals. “We played through the contact.”

Mitch Marner had a goal and two assists. Jake Muzzin scored, and David Kampf added a goal on a short-handed breakaway for Toronto, which killed off five Lightning power plays, including an early five-minute major.

Marner, meanwhile, snapped a playoff slump in which he had gone 18 contests without scoring.

“Can’t do anything about the past,” Marner said. “I’m here to focus on the now. I’m here to focus on what I can do to help team our team win.

“Just like everyone else in that locker room.”

Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 28 shots for the Lightning.

“I’m not so sure the Maple Leafs had to play particularly well to beat us tonight,” Lightning head coach Jon Cooper said. “You’ve got to win four and you don’t want to give teams any freebies and we probably gave them a little bit of a freebie.

“It’s hard to judge either team tonight.”

The second game of the best-of-seven series is Wednesday in Toronto.

Teams that have won the series opener hold an all-time record of 499-228, including a 9-6 mark last season.

Seven minutes into the game, Toronto winger Kyle Clifford pasted Tampa’s Ross Colton from behind into the boards to earn a five-minute major and a game misconduct.

After having already killed off one minor penalty, Toronto had the better chances down a man as Alexander Kerfoot shot off the post on a 2-on-1.

“I heard somebody say on the bench try to use this as momentum,” Matthews added of surviving the major penalty. “That’s exactly what the guys did.”

The Maple Leafs failed to convert on two subsequent power plays but moved ahead with 1:41 left in the period when Muzzin’s point shot through a screen beat Vasilevskiy.

William Nylander nearly made it 2-0 late in the period on a breakaway after blocking a shot but failed to beat Vasilevskiy through the pads.

Toronto called a timeout ahead of a 5-on-3 power play in second and took just 11 seconds to score with five forwards on the ice. Marner fed Matthews, whose shot beat Vasilevskiy to the short side.

Tampa got its fourth man advantage later in the period, but Kampf beat Victor Hedman to a loose puck as Toronto once again showed its superior speed before beating Vasilevskiy to make it 3-0 at 9:27.

Campbell had to be sharp at the other end on another Lightning power play. He made a nice blocker stop on Brayden Point off a Nikita Kucherov feed. Steven Stamkos then heeled a one-timer.

“It’s a funky game,” Keefe said. “There’s so much special teams. I don’t even know how we’re gonna process this one.

“There’s so many things happening that are not necessarily normal, and we shouldn’t expect to be the norm going forward.”

The Leafs put the game out of reach at 16:39, when Marner snapped his long playoff goal drought. The winger took a slick pass from Morgan Rielly off the rush and beat Vasilevskiy for his first playoff goal since April 11, 2019, a stretch of 18 games.

Toronto kept pressing into the third period. Matthews made it 5-0 when Vasilevskiy misplayed the puck behind his net, and he scored his second at 8:16.

“The boys just played so hard,” Campbell said. “They’re an amazing team over there. They’re not going to be thrilled about the Game 1.”

The game took another violent turn midway through the period with multiple fights on one shift. Rielly cut Lightning defenseman Jan Rutta in one skirmish, and the Lightning's Pat Maroon and Corey Perry, and Toronto’s Wayne Simmonds and Ilya Lyubushkin were also sent to the locker rooms with misconducts.

Keefe said he didn’t like Clifford’s penalty early but was happy with his team’s response when the Lightning tried to mix things up with the outcome decided.

“We were physical when the game called for it,” Keefe said. “We handled their physicality well both in making plays and keeping the puck moving and not getting rattled by it.

“And then just standing our ground when the nonsense starts.”

The Leafs have lost seven straight post-season series and haven’t advanced to the second round since 2004. They absorbed a crushing seven-game loss last season when the Montreal Canadiens stormed back from a 3-1 deficit.

The Lightning have won eight straight series since a stunning sweep at the hands of the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2019, following a 128-point campaign and the franchise’s first Presidents’ Trophy.

Blues 4, Wild 0

David Perron had a hat trick and an assist to lead St. Louis past Minnesota night in Game 1 of their first-round series, one year after he missed the playoffs with COVID-19.

Ryan O'Reilly scored, Torey Krug added three assists and Ville Husso made 37 saves for the shutout in his postseason debut for the Blues, who seized home-ice advantage from a Wild team they've had their way with in recent years.

By blocking 17 shots, clogging the passing lanes and dominating on both special teams, the confident Blues quieted Xcel Energy Center quickly with a 2-0 first-period lead and never let the crowd — that the Wild pushed so hard to play in front of to start the postseason — become a factor.

Perron scored on each of the first two power plays for St. Louis. The Blues went 6 for 6 on the penalty kill for the greatest source of frustration for the Wild on a night marked by up-close misfires and clanged posts. They had a 55-28 edge on the Blues in shots attempted over the first two periods, but 14 of them went wide of the net.

Game 2 is here Wednesday night, before the series shifts south to St. Louis.

Marc-Andre Fleury got the nod in goal for the Wild over All-Star Cam Talbot, who went 13-0-3 in his last 16 starts. Fleury, the reigning Vezina Trophy winner and three-time Stanley Cup champion, was acquired in a trade with Chicago on March 21.

The Wild were insistent there was no bad decision to make and that both goalies would be needed throughout the postseason, but if they don't get their special teams on track this might be a short run. The Wild set franchise records for wins (53) and points (113) to nudge past the Blues for second place in the Central Division, despite a power play that ranked 18th in the NHL and a penalty kill that was 25th in the league.

Fleury started strong with a pad save on a penalty shot by Ivan Barbashev, but Perron put the Blues on the board less than 3 minutes later. After Brayden Schenn checked Wild defenseman Matt Dumba to the head and knocked him over, Jordan Greenway was called for roughing to give the Blues their first power play. Perron scored on a rebound just before the extra-skater time expired.

Fleury stopped 27 shots.

Kings 4, Oilers 3

Phillip Danault scored at 14:46 of the third period, leading Los Angeles to a win over Edmonton in Game 1 of the teams' first-round playoff series.

Trevor Moore and Alex Iafallo each had a goal and assist for the Kings. Brandon Lemieux also scored.

Connor McDavid and Kailier Yamamoto each had a goal and assist for Edmonton. Leon Draisaitl rounded out the scoring with a power-play goal.

Kings goalie Jonathan Quick made 35 saves. Mike Smith stopped 31 of 35 shots for Edmonton.

Game 2 is Wednesday in Edmonton. The series shifts to Los Angeles for Game 3 on Friday.

Edmonton is in the playoffs for the third straight season, but last year’s run was brief, with the Winnipeg Jets ousting the Oilers in the first round with a four-game sweep.

Moore opened the scoring 11 minutes into Monday’s game, ripping a shot from inside the circle over Smith’s outstretched glove.

He then set Iafallo up to give the Kings a 2-0 lead 16:52 into the first. Stationed below the goal line, Moore sent Iafallo a behind-the-back pass, and Iafallo wasted no time putting it into the Oilers’ net.

Edmonton cut the deficit before the end of the opening period with another highlight-reel worthy goal from McDavid.

The Oilers’ captain sprinted the length of the ice, holding off several Kings defenders, and fired a shot past Quick to make it 2-1 with 42 seconds left in the first.

Chants of “M-V-P! M-V-P!” followed from the boisterous crowd. McDavid won his fourth Art Ross Trophy this season after posting a league-best 123 points.

The Oilers evened the score early in the second with a power-play goal after Iafallo was called for tripping.

Duncan Keith fired a long-range shot and Yamamoto tipped it in 2:39 into the period.

Lemieux sent a shot sailing from the top of the faceoff circle off a rush 3:50 into the second to restore the Kings’ lead.

Edmonton tied the game again midway through the period on another power-play goal after Iafallo was called for cross-checking.

McDavid sent a pass ricocheting off a broken stick in the slot before Draisaitl settled it and sent a quick shot past Quick 9:56 into the second.

Edmonton went 2 for 4 with the man advantage. The Kings were 0 for 4.

The Kings took the lead for a final time 14:46 into the third after Danault found space between Smith and the post.

Moments earlier, Smith tried to clear the puck from behind the net and instead put it on the stick of a Kings player in front. Smith made a diving save but couldn’t corral the puck. Seconds later, a long bomb went over his shoulder.