Jimmy Vesey had a goal and an assist, Artemi Panarin also scored, and the Rangers beat the Capitals 4-1 in Game 1 of their NHL first-round playoff series.

Matt Rempe and Chris Kreider also scored, Barclay Goodrow had two assists and Igor Shesterkin finished with 20 saves to help the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Rangers get the postseason off to strong start.

The Rangers, seeking their first Stanley Cup in 30 years, won their third straight and 11th in the last 14 games. The Caps had won three straight.

Carter Verhaeghe tapped in a pass fromAleksander Barkov for the lead 58 seconds into the third, Matthew Tkachuk added a goal and an assist and the defending Eastern Conference champion Panthers beat the Lightning 3-2 in Game 1 of their opener. Barkov had two assists, Sam Reinhart also scored and Sergei Bobrovsky had 17 saves for the Panthers, who won a Game 1 on home ice for the first time since 1997.

Boxing: Ryan Garcia knocked Devin Haney down three times and handed the WBC super lightweight champ his first loss, winning the fight Saturday night in New York by majority decision but not the title because he was over three pounds over the 140-pound weight limit.

College basketball: Former Indiana State C Robbie Avila is following coach Josh Schertz and transferring to Saint Louis. Avila averaged 17.4 points, 6.6 rebounds and 4.1 assists while shooting 39.4% from 3-point range, earning first-team All-Missouri Valley honors this past season as a sophomore.

Tennis: Fourth-ranked Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan eased to her third WTA title of the season with a 6-2, 6-2 win over No. 27 Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine in the final of the Porsche Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Germany. It was a tour-leading 26th victory of the year for Rybakina, who had defeated top-ranked Iga Swiatek in the semifinals.