NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE PLAYOFFS

Capitals 3, Bruins 1

WASHINGTON--A hush fell over the MCI Center when Peter Bondra limped off the ice midway through the second period. It seemed the Washington Capitals' perpetual run of injuries had hit a new low at exactly the wrong time.

"He said, "Coach, I broke my leg.'" coach Ron Wilson said. "I'm calloused to hearing things like that, because I've heard them far too often here. I kept my fingers crossed and hoped that it wasn't that bad."

It wasn't. Doctors said it was only a twisted ankle, and a roar rippled across the arena when the 52-goal scorer, the centerpiece of the Capitals' offensive threat, came back at the start of the third.

As it turned out, Bondra wasn't needed in that final period. Washington's tenacious defense and goaltender Olaf Kolzig held off Boston in a 3-1 victory in today's Game 1 of the first-round Eastern Conference series. But if he were lost for the series--and he's not sure he'll be back for Game 2--it would severely dampen the Capitals' hopes of breaking their run of playoff misery.

"If he's out for one game, it probably won't make much of a difference," defenseman Mark Tinordi said. "But over the series ..."

While Bondra's departure and return were very visible, it was the disappearance of the Bruins' leading scorer, Jason Allison, and the rest of the young Boston attack that made the difference in the game.

Allison, who had 83 points during the regular season, was held to just one shot by defenders Tinordi and Calle Johansson. Kolzig made 27 saves, and the only goal he allowed came off a teammate's skate as he outdueled his best friend Byron Dafoe, who had 24 saves.

Senators 2, Devils 1, OT

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J.--Bruce Gardiner scored on a rebound at 5:48 of overtime and the Senators stunned the Devils, 2-1, yesterday.

Even though the Senators split four games with the Devils, few expected the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference to come into New Jersey's building and take the opener in the best-of-7 series.

Alexei Yashin also scored, and Damian Rhodes made 28 saves for the Senators, who will try to take a 2-0 lead here Friday night.

Doug Gilmour had forced the overtime by scoring with 3:24 left in regulation for the Devils, who had the best record in the East.

Janne Laukkanen stopped a pass around the board by Doug Bodger, and Brodeur blocked his shot from the right point. Gardiner got the rebound and flipped it over a diving Brodeur, who was under tremendous pressure in the third period and overtime as referee Paul Devorski called three straight penalties against New Jersey.

Sabres 3, Flyers 2

PHILADELPHIA--Donald Audette's third-period goal, which came after Buffalo squandered a two-goal lead, gave the Sabres a 3-2 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers in the first game of their NHL playoff series last night.

Audette slapped in a rebound from the side of the net with 8:17 left to play.

Star goalie Dominik Hasek made 22 saves overall but had one rough spot when the Flyers rallied from a 2-0 deficit to tie the game with goals 19 seconds apart earlier in the period.

Michal Grosek and Wayne Primeau also scored for Buffalo, while Rod Brind' Amour and Chris Gratton got Philadelphia's goals.

Game 2 is Friday night in Philadelphia.

Audette got the winner after Flyers goalie Sean Burke flopped to stop a shot from the point. The rebound trickled to the side of the net, and Audette lifted the puck over the fallen goalie from a tough angle.

Hasek stopped the first 20 shots before the Flyers beat him on their next two shots to tie the game. But Philadelphia managed only six shots for the period.

Oilers 3, Avalanche 2

DENVER--Bill Guerin, Dean McAmmond and Boris Mironov scored in a span of 3:49 late in the game, rallying the Edmonton Oilers to a 3-2 victory over Colorado in the opening game last night of their first-round playoff series.

The seventh-seeded Oilers overcame a 2-0 deficit in the final nine minutes of the game.

The No. 2 Avalanche, playing without captain Joe Sakic following his one-game suspension for a knee-on-knee hit on Detroit's Kris Draper last Saturday, built their lead on two goals from Peter Forsberg.

Game 2 is set for Friday night in Denver, with the best-of-7 series shifting to Edmonton on Sunday.

The Oilers' Curtis Joseph had 25 saves, and Patrick Roy had 31.

Guerin made it 2-1 on a power-play goal at 11:02, scoring from the slot through a screen by Ryan Smyth.

Barely a minute later, Janne Niinimaa sent the puck the length of the ice and Todd Marchant chased it into the right corner, passing to McAmmond, who beat Roy on a shot from just inside the left circle at 12:22.

Red Wings 6, Coyotes 3

DETROIT--Revenge was sweet--to say nothing of timely--for the Detroit Red Wings.

Detroit opened defense of its Stanley Cup championship in high gear last night as Joe Kocur scored two goals in the Red Wings' 6-3 win over the Phoenix Coyotes.

The Red Wings also got some payback on an old antagonist: Nikolai Khabibulin.

"Khabibulin has a history of playing this club good," said Kocur, who broke a 41-game scoring drought extending to Dec. 31. "To get a couple of goals on him does me a world of good and maybe hurts his confidence, too."

Detroit, hoping to become the first NHL team in six years to repeat as Cup champion, scored three times in the first 13 minutes and blew it open with three more goals in the second period.

Nicklas Lidstrom, Kocur and Sergei Fedorov scored first-period goals for the Red Wings, who ended 42 years of frustration by capturing the Cup in 1997. Darren McCarty, Kocur and Kirk Maltby scored in the second as the Red Wings chased Khabibulin, the goalie who caused them so much anguish in a first-round series two years ago.

Stars 4, Sharks 1

DALLAS--Dallas lost top regular-season scorer Joe Nieuwendyk to a first-period knee injury, but the Stars recovered to take the opener of their Western Conference playoff series, 41, over the San Jose Sharks last night.

Game 2 is Friday night in Dallas, where San Jose had won four straight regular-season games before Wednesday's defeat.

Nieuwendyk got the Stars' first goal only 2:22 into the game as Dallas scored twice in the opening three minutes. Nieuwendyk took a lead pass from Darryl Sydor, got behind the Sharks' defense for a breakaway and beat Mike Vernon with a wrist shot.

But with 4:02 left in the period, Nieuwendyk was knocked out of the game by San Jose defenseman Bryan Marchment's check. Nieuwendyk's condition will be further evaluated by Stars medical personnel today.