Wednesday night, Day 1 of the NHL Playoffs kicked off. It was wild and wacky. All three games were high scoring and decided by one goal. Two went to the home side while the other required overtime before the road team prevailed.

In the first game, the Canadiens edged the Lightning 5-4 in sudden death to steal home ice. It was a track meet that featured end to end rushes and little defense. Among the highlights was Steven Stamkos going end to end for the first of two. The teams took turns scoring throughout. Thomas Vanek redirected a David Desharnais pass to put Montreal ahead 4-3. But Alex Killorn forced a turnover and then did everything before setting up Stamkos for a tap in forcing OT. Each side could’ve ended it much earlier. There were enough turnovers to fill a bakery. Finally, Tampa’s awful coverage allowed Danny Briere to set up immortal Dale Weise in front sending everyone home at 18:08 of sudden death. Weise, who never scored in the postseason- now has one more playoff OT winner than Mark Messier. As for the goalies, Carey Price allowed four but made some key stops in extras. Subbing for the injured Ben Bishop, Anders Lindback was good despite facing 19 more shots (39 saves). Rookie Ondrej Palat left the game with an injury and his status is uncertain for Game 2. The Bolts better get that one.

The second game saw the Penguins overcome the Blue Jackets 4-3. Experience and special teams helped Pittsburgh rally back from a 3-1 deficit to pull it out in regulation. Columbus is the trendy pick to pull the upset. However, they don’t have a ton of experience and it showed last night. After Mark Letestu scored on the power play and Derek MacKenzie scored shorthanded to put them up 3-1, penalties proved costly. On the same power play, the Pens responded with Beau Bennett redirecting a Matt Niskanen shot past Sergei Bobrovsky. A bad Fedor Tyutin tripping minor kept them on the man-advantage allowing Niskanen to take a Evgeni Malkin feed and squeak one thru Bobrovsky’s five-hole to tie it. Boone Jenner’s neutral zone turnover allowed the Pens to come the other way with Brandon Sutter beating Bobrovsky for the winner with 11:42 left in regulation. Neither goalie was great including Marc-Andre Fleury, who got better as it went on. In order for the Jackets to win, Bobrovsky must perform better.

In the nightcap, the Ducks used a three-goal first period barrage to build a 4-0 lead before hanging on for a 4-3 win over the Stars. Ryan Getzlaf dominated throughout scoring and setting up two of the first three. After Kyle Palmieri put them up early, the Anaheim captain steered home a rebound off a rush, taking advantage of an Alex Goligoski turnover. Mathieu Perreault scored a power play goal with under 30 seconds left to extend the lead. He finished off a pretty passing play started by Getzlaf with Patrick Maroon making a sweet dish across to the former Cap. A Matt Beleskey power play goal halfway through the contest had Anaheim threatening to blow out Dallas. But consecutive penalties including a second bench minor allowed the Stars to get back in it thanks to goals from Jamie Benn and Colton Sceviour. Tyler Seguin snuck one past rookie Frederik Andersen with 6:07 left cutting it to 4-3. But the Ducks held on defensively. Andersen faced 35 shots in his playoff debut and made 32 stops while Kari Lehtonen turned aside 31 of 35.

The bigger story coming out of the game was Getzlaf diving to block a shot taking it right on the chin. He left with seconds left and was stitched up. It looks like he’ll play in Game 2. Great news for Anaheim. It was the kind of play you expect from one of the game’s best leaders.

Tonight, four more games are on tap. The Flyers and Rangers get going at 7 on MSG/CNBC. At 8, the Blackhawks and Blues face off on NBCSN. Minnesota visits Colorado at 9:30 on CNBC. And in the main event, the Battle Of California returns with the Kings at the Sharks with a 10:30 start on NBCSN.