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After scoring three consecutive goals in the third period to pull out a 4-2 victory in Game 1 of their best-of-seven Western Conference first-round series with Utah on Sunday, the Vegas Golden Knights had good reason to feel positive. After all, the Pacific Division champions still have yet to lose in regulation in nine games (8-0-1) under head coach John Tortorella. And another win Tuesday in Las Vegas would put the Golden Knights in a strong position to move forward in the Stanley Cup playoffs. But despite the loss, there was still plenty of optimism in the Mammoth’s locker room, too. Utah, with seven players making their NHL playoff debut on the road against a veteran Vegas team that won

All eyes will be on the great Kevin Durant when his visiting Houston Rockets seek to square the ledger against the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 2 of their best-of-seven playoff series Tuesday. Durant was unable to play Saturday’s first-round series opener after accidentally bumping knees with a teammate at practice three days earlier. The 16-time All-Star attempted to warm up a few hours before tipoff, but he ultimately didn’t feel his right knee was good enough to play. Durant led Houston with an average of 26 points per game this season and is No. 5 on the NBA’s all-time leading scorers list. In his absence, the fifth-seeded Rockets struggled offensively in a 107-98 loss to the Lakers in Game

The Tampa Bay Lightning are under no false illusions after losing the opening clash of their Eastern Conference first-round series. The Lightning were not good enough and expect much better of themselves when they play host to the Montreal Canadiens for Game 2 of the best-of-seven series Tuesday. Montreal claimed the opener 4-3 in overtime thanks to a trio of power-play goals — all by Juraj Slafkovsky, including the winner — while the more experienced Lightning were guilty of too many ill-timed and unnecessary infractions. “I’m confident in this room,” Lightning forward Nick Paul said after Monday’s practice. “That’s one game.” Both teams staked and then surrendered leads due to special teams. Tampa Bay scored twice with the man advantage.

The Boston Celtics will strive to build on a dominant playoff-opening rout of Philadelphia when they host the 76ers for Game 2 on Tuesday. The Celtics, the Eastern Conference’s second seed, pounced on Philadelphia in Sunday’s Game 1 matchup behind the star tandem of Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum. Brown scored 26 points on 11-of-21 shooting from the floor, while Tatum — playing in just his 17th overall game since returning last month from a ruptured Achilles’ tendon — finished with 25 points on 9-of-17 shooting, grabbed 11 rebounds and dished seven assists. “Just the opportunity to play again here (in Boston) in the playoffs is special,” Tatum said. “It’s something I’ll never take for granted.” Tatum and his Celtics