NHL Roundup: Capitals Claw Back to Win Game 1

Washington — Toronto native Tom Wilson scored his first NHL playoff goal 5:15 into overtime and the Washington Capitals survived a scare to beat the Maple Leafs 3-2 on Thursday night in Game 1 of their first-round series.

The top-seeded Capitals came back from a two-goal deficit to take the early lead in the series and at least momentarily stop the panic about a slip-up. Justin Williams scored twice in regulation, and Washington showed it could handle the adversity of falling behind.

Braden Holtby was up to the task in goal, stopping 35 of the 37 shots he faced. Toronto counterpart Frederik Andersen was arguably the best player on the ice with 41 saves before being beaten by Wilson with an absurd shot on the winner.

Mitch Marner and Jake Gardiner scored in the first period for Toronto, back in the playoffs for the first time since 2013.

Game 2 is on Saturday night in Washington.

Predators 1, Blackhawks 0

Chicago — Pekka Rinne made 29 saves, Viktor Arvidsson scored in the first period and Nashville beat Chicago in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series.

Rinne’s second career postseason shutout sent Nashville to just its second playoff win in Chicago in seven tries. The Predators did not have a 1-0 victory during the regular season.

Game 2 is on Saturday night at the United Center.

Corey Crawford had 19 saves for Chicago, which got center Artem Anisimov back from a leg injury that sidelined him for the last part of the season, but struggled to find many good looks against a sound defensive performance by Nashville.

Golden Knights Hire First Coach

Las Vegas — Kicked off the bus by the Florida Panthers in November, Gerard Gallant has packed his bags for Las Vegas to take over as the first coach of the NHL expansion Golden Knights.

General manager George McPhee cited Gallant’s experience and past success in announcing the hiring following what he called an extensive search of candidates.

Gallant joins the Golden Knights some five months after being unceremoniously fired by the Panthers immediately following a 3-2 loss to the Hurricanes at Carolina. Gallant’s luggage was removed from the team bus outside the arena and he eventually had to take a taxi while the Panthers left him behind to continue their road trip to Chicago.

The abrupt firing came after the Panthers got off to an 11-10-1 start, and a year after Gallant was a coach-of-the-year finalist in just his second season in Florida. In 2015-16, the Panthers set a franchise record with 47 wins and 103 points to finish first in the Atlantic Division and secure their second playoff berth in 15 seasons.