After an incredibly exciting, breath holding, edge of seat watching Game 7 on Wednesday night, Round 2 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs started on Thursday night.
The first fixtures of Round 2 saw the Columbus Blue Jackets travel to Boston and the St. Louis Blues host the Dallas Stars.
A quick First Round recap:
➜ Columbus eliminated the Presidents’ Trophy winning Tampa Bay Lightning in a four game sweep
➜ The Bruins eliminated the Maple Leafs (again) in Game 7
➜ Dallas defeated the Nashville Predators in overtime of Game 6
➜ St. Louis knocked out the Winnipeg Jets in Game 6
To Thursday’s games:
Columbus Blue Jackets v Boston Bruins
2-3 (OT)
Charlie Coyle scored 5:15 into overtime to give the Boston Bruins a 3-2 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Coyle tied the game at 15:25 of the third period, sending the game to overtime.
Noel Acciari also scored with a shorthanded goal in the first period for Boston, who won their third straight playoff game, having eliminated the Toronto Maple Leafs in seven games in the first round.
Brandon Dubinsky and Pierre-Luc Dubois scored for the Blue Jackets, who were playing their first game in nine days and didn’t have a shot on goal until 6:52 of the first period, being outshot 14-4 in the period.
The defeat saw Columbus lose for the first time this postseason, they swept the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round.
Tuukka Rask made 20 saves for the Bruins, and Sergei Bobrovsky made 34 for the visitors.
Up Next:
Blue Jackets v Bruins – Saturday, April 27 (8pm – NBC)
Dallas Stars v St. Louis Blues
2-3
Vladimir Tarasenko scored twice as the St. Louis Blues held on for a 3-2 victory over the Dallas Stars in Game 1 of the Western Conference Second Round.
It was the Russian’s seventh multigoal game in the NHL playoffs, his first since April 28, 2017, tying Bernie Federko for second in Blues history, trailing only Brett Hull‘s 13 multigoal games.
Tarasenko‘s second goal came on the power play, up until that point Dallas’ penalty kill had gone 16-for-16, with a 15-for-15 record in their six game first round series against the Nashville Predators.
Robby Fabbri also scored, and Jordan Binnington made 16 saves on the 17 shots faced in the third period for St. Louis, who were outshot by Dallas 17-6 in the final period.
Fabbri‘s goal was his first since November 23, having missed 50 regular-season games. It was his fourth game in the playoffs.
Jason Spezza scored his first goal for Dallas since February 24, before Jamie Benn scored on the power play with 2:17 remaining to get Dallas within a goal.
The Stars nearly equalized at the final horn, but Benn fanned on a puck thrown into the crease.
Ben Bishop made 17 saves for the visitors.
Up Next:
Stars v Blues – Saturday, April 27 (3pm – NBC)
As things stand after Game 1:
➜ Boston lead the Blue Jackets 1-0
➜ Dallas trail the Blues 1-0
KEY
ALL TIMES U.S. EASTERN
Artistry of Sport 
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