The Montreal Canadiens pounced for four first-period goals on slow-starting Carolina — coming off the longest postseason break in more than a century — and handed the Hurricanes their first loss of the playoffs with a 6-2 victory in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final.

Alex Newhook scored his second Game 7-winning goal of the postseason, this time 11:22 into overtime in the Montreal Canadiens 3-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Monday night.

Phillip Danault scored his second goal with 42 seconds to play, and the Los Angeles Kings blew a four-goal lead before rallying for a 6-5 victory over the Edmonton Oilers in the opener of the clubs’ fourth consecutive first-round playoff series.

Saturday night crystallized how two trades made over the previous summers benefitted three teams in a way they usually don’t in the NHL.

Drew Doughty scored 33 seconds into overtime and the Los Angeles Kings rallied from a three-goal deficit in the third period, beating the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-3 for their NHL record-tying 10th straight road win.

Zach Hyman scored at 10:39 of overtime as the Edmonton Oilers rallied from three goals down late in the first period to beat the Los Angeles Kings 5-4 to even their first-round series at two games apiece.

The Los Angeles Kings rebounded from back-to-back blowout losses to even their first-round playoff series with a 4-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers in Game 4.

The NHL playoffs are missing the close games and comebacks that seemingly comes annually with all the postseason intensity.

Evander Kane picked up his first hat trick in a Stanley Cup playoff game, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Zach Hyman each had two goals, and the Edmonton Oilers dominated the Los Angeles Kings for the second straight game, posting a 8-2 victory in Game 3 of their first-round playoff series.

The Los Angeles Kings raised the Stanley Cup for the second time in June 2014.

So much for the notion that goals are hard to come by in the playoffs.

Nathan MacKinnon had three goals and two assists, Nicolas Aube-Kubel scored twice in a dominant first period and the Colorado Avalanche set a franchise record with their 53rd win by routing the Los Angeles Kings 9-3.

Scott Laughton scored 2:22 into overtime, Cam Atkinson had a pair of goals in regulation and assisted on the winner, and the Philadelphia Flyers snapped a franchise-record 13-game losing streak with a 4-3 victory over the Los Angeles Kings.

The Montreal Canadiens need more from their best offensive line in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Tampa Bay Lightning.