Tom Wilson earned his wage in the Washington Capitals' playoff opener.

He ate a series of heavy punches from Wayne Simmonds late in the third, and in the process took the Philadelphia Flyers' 32-goal man out of what was a one-goal contest.

The brouhaha started when Wilson drove defenseman Andrew MacDonald face-first into the boards on the forecheck. Simmonds made the unsound decision to punish Wilson, evening up the infractions and erasing a power-play opportunity.

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DALLAS - All-Star centre Tyler Seguin is missing the playoff opener for the Dallas Stars. Seguin practiced this week with the Stars for the first time since missing the last 10 games of the regular season with a slight cut of his left Achille...

Welcome to the Stanley Cup playoffs, John Tavares.

The New York Islanders captain went end-to-end, drew a pair of Florida Panthers defenders, and dished to Frans Nielsen. who roofed the puck over Roberto Luongo to tie Game 1 of their first-round series at 2-2 late in the first period of Thursday's game.

The power-play goal came less than three minutes after Panthers forward Jussi Jokinen scored one of his own.

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Philadelphia Flyers two-way pivot Sean Couturier exited Game 1 of their first-round series versus the Washington Capitals after suffering an upper-body injury as a result of a hard hit from Alex Ovechkin.

On the chase in the neutral zone, Ovechkin caught Couturier in a dangerous position - just a few feet away from the boards - and drove him shoulder-first into the wall.

Couturier left at roughly the halfway point in the second period, favoring his left shoulder or arm. The Flyers later announced that he would not return to the game, and that he would be re-evaluated Friday.

An extended absence would be a massive loss for the Flyers, who were to lean on Couturier's defensive acumen in an effort to shut down one of the Caps' top two lines.

Philadelphia won just six of the 19 games he missed due to injury this season.

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Ah, to taste the Stanley Cup Playoffs once again.

Jaromir Jagr was quickly reminded that the opposition isn't as kind to ageless wonders come spring. The 44-year-old - 40 seconds into his 18th postseason appearance - was directed mouth-first into the endboards by New York Islanders defenseman Ryan Pulock.

Jagr may have had a little blood leak into that greying beard, but he did not miss a shift.

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Jiri Hudler and Teddy Purcell were acquired by the Florida Panthers prior to the trade deadline for this very reason.

The two connected on a 2-on-1 in the opening minutes of Game 1 to give the Panthers an early 1-0 lead as Purcell finished off the sweet feed from Hudler.

Hudler was acquired from the Calgary Flames, while Purcell was brought in from the Edmonton Oilers. The two combined for 22 points in the regular season after joining their new playoff-bound club.

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The Chicago Blackhawks will like their chances if they're slammed, knocked, and/or dropped to the ice an exorbitant amount of times in Game 2.

Blackhawks head coach Joel Quenneville met with the media one day after dropping the series opener to the St. Louis Blues, and explained that his side will welcome the absurd number of hits his counterpart, Ken Hitchcock, aims to have his team land.

"I hope he tries to get 70," Quenneville said, according to Sportsnet's Mark Spector. "(It) means we'll have the puck all game."

He added: "In the competitiveness of the game I don't think we get distracted by that. We get excited."

The Blues threw the body 41 times in three-and-a-half periods in Game 1, which is well above their regular-season average of 23.6 knocks.

Still, suffice it to say, the Blues have their work cut out for them if they're going to indulge their coach.

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Frank Vatrano of the Providence Bruins (Boston) and Mikko Rantanen of the San Antonio Rampage (Colorado) have been voted co-winners of the Dudley (Red) Garrett Memorial Award as the AHL's outstanding rookie for the 2015-16 season.

Rantanen, 19, was selected 10th overall by the Avalanche in 2015 and leads all AHL rookies in scoring and is tied for sixth overall with 60 points (24 goals, 36 assists). He also recorded at least one point in 42 of his 51 AHL games.

Vatrano, 22, has scored a league-high 34 goals in 34 games and is looking to become the fourth AHL player ever to average a goal a game in a 30-goal season. He added 17 assists and owns 51 total points, good for a league-best 1.50 points per contest.

He signed with the Bruins as an undrafted free agent last summer.

The award is shared as a result of a tie in the voting among AHL coaches, players, and media in each of the league's 30 cities.

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When it comes to the St. Louis Blues and Chicago Blackhawks, there's no love lost.

The Central Division rivals battled into overtime in Game 1 on Wednesday night, the Blues ultimately winning 1-0.

Friday's Game 2 marks the return of Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith from a six-game suspension for swinging his stick at Minnesota's Charlie Coyle.

The addition of Keith could pose a problem for St. Louis, and Blues defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk is well aware of that.

Shattenkirk, half-jokingly, on Keith: "If we can get him to react and get suspended another few games, I think it'll be better for us."

— Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) April 14, 2016

Shattenkirk may have a point, as the reigning Conn Smythe winner has played a prominent role in a playoff series against the Blues before.

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Pittsburgh's potent offense exploded for five goals in its Game 1 victory over the New York Rangers, and another weapon for the Penguins looms.

Superstar center Evgeni Malkin told reporters Thursday that he's aiming to return to practice Friday, and is hopeful he can join the team before the end of Round 1.

Evgeni Malkin says he hopes to skate with Pens tomorrow. Isn't sure on timeline but hopes to return before the end of series.

— Jonas Siegel (@jonassiegel) April 14, 2016

An upper-body injury has kept Malkin out of the lineup since March 11, but the Penguins went 13-1 in his absence.

Malkin scored 58 points in 57 games in the regular season.

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