Erik Karlsson and Chris Kelly scored on power plays in the second period as the Ottawa Senators surprised the Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins with a 5-4 victory in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference first-round series Wednesday. Evgeni Malkin scored twice following penalties on Peter Regin, the first barely 3 minutes into the game, but the Penguins looked mostly flat and uninspired. Sidney Crosby, who piled up 15 points in his final five regular-season games, had three assists but didn't get a shot until the third period and the Penguins - seemingly unprepared for Ottawa's defensive pressure - were held to a single shot during a stretch lasting 21 minutes, 53 seconds. Ottawa constantly matched shutdown defensemen Anton Volchenkov and Chris Phillips against the Crosby line. Kelly also had two assists, and Regin, Jarkko Ruutu and Chris Neil added goals for Ottawa. Craig Adams and Alex Goligoski also scored for Pittsburgh. Flyers 2, Devils 1: At Newark, New Jersey, Brian Boucher had 23 saves in his first playoff start in eight years as Philadelphia beat New Jersey in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference series. Chris Pronger and Mike Richards scored second-period goals, and the Flyers rode the momentum of claiming the NHL's last playoff berth on the final day of the regular season to yet another win over New Jersey. While the Flyers are the No. 7 seed in the conference, they won five of six games against the Devils in the regular season and second-seeded New Jersey had few answers in the postseason against a rock-solid Boucher. New Jersey gave its unhappy fans some hope when Travis Zajac scored on a somewhat flubbed slap shot that seemed to bounce in front of Boucher with 2:43 to play. Boucher, however, stopped Patrik Elias in close with about 10 seconds to go and the Flyers cleared the puck out of the zone on the ensuing faceoff. Avalanche 2, Sharks 1: At San Jose, California, Chris Stewart's shot deflected off San Jose defender Rob Blake's skate and into the net with 50 seconds left in regulation to lift Colorado past the Sharks in the opener of the Western Conference first-round series. The loss was just the latest playoff disappointment for the Sharks, who have made a bad habit of following up stellar regular seasons with early postseason exits. San Jose has lost Game 1 at home in its past four playoff series. With a second-period goal by John-Michael Liles, 25 saves from playoff novice Craig Anderson and a fortunate bounce off the skate of one of its former star players in Blake, the Avalanche are off to a roaring playoff start. Ryane Clowe scored for San Jose. Coyotes 3, Red Wings 2: At Glendale, Arizona, Derek Morris broke a tie early in the third period and assisted on two other power-play goals in Phoenix's victory over Detroit in Game 1 of the Western Conference series.
