Alex Ovechkin scored the first playoff overtime goal of his NHL career to give the Washington Capitals a 3-2 victory over the Montreal Canadiens in Game 1 of their first-round Eastern Conference playoff series on Monday.

Fresh off breaking Wayne Gretzky’s record for the most goals in NHL history 15 days earlier, Ovechkin’s second of the game 3:26 into OT allowed the top-seeded Capitals to escape after blowing a two-goal third-period lead.

Before letting it slip away, they spent much of the night bullying the smaller, less experienced Canadiens with one big hit after another.

But it was not easy as Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki scored for Montreal, finally tying the score with 4:15 left in regulation.

Jets 2, Blues 1: Kyle Connor snapped a 1-1 tie at 1:43 of the third period and Winnipeg held on to take a 2-0 lead over St. Louis in the Western Conference first-round series.

Mark Scheifele also scored for the Jets, and Jimmy Snuggerud got the Blues’ lone goal.

Winnipeg’s Connor Hellebuyck won the goaltending battle against Jordan Binnington, making 21 saves.

Golden Knights 4, Wild 2: Brett Howden scored two goals and Vegas opened its first-round Western Conference series with a victory over Minnesota late Sunday.

Matt Boldy scored both Wild goals,

Kraken fire coach: The Seattle Kraken fired coach Dan Bylsma on Monday, ending his tenure after one season that concluded far out of playoff contention.

The Kraken regressed after Bylsma took over for Dave Hakstol, who coached them for their first four seasons of existence and got them to the playoffs in 2023. They finished 35-41-6 for 76 points — 20 back of the second and final wild-card spot in the Western Conference — after 81 the previous season.

Bylsma is the third coach fired in as many days after Anaheim moved on from Greg Cronin and the New York Rangers dismissed Peter Laviolette.

Panthers star possible for Game 1: Matthew Tkachuk will skate this morning. Whether he’ll play for the Florida Panthers in their playoff opener later in the day is anyone’s guess.

Tkachuk — who hasn’t played for the Panthers since Feb. 8 and hasn’t played any games since the 4 Nations Face-Off two months ago because of a lower-body injury — went through practice Monday with the reigning Stanley Cup champions, his second on-ice workout in a three-day span.

But the Panthers want to see how he gets through morning skate today before deciding whether he plays in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference first-round series at Tampa Bay.