Alex Killorn admitted "emotions were high" as the Tampa Bay Lightning thrashed the Colorado Avalanche 5-0 to get back to winning ways.
The Avalanche beat the Lightning in last year's Stanley Cup, taking the series 4-2 to deny Tampa Bay a hat-trick of trophy triumphs.
That made Thursday's game one that Killorn and team-mates had been looking forward to for a long time, and they made it a night to remember.
Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy achieved his first shutout of the season, while Brandon Hagel managed two goals and an assist, with Corey Perry, Brayden Point and Mikhail Sergachev also netting.
Tampa Bay had lost to the Florida Panthers and Los Angeles Kings since the All-Star Game, so there was an imperative to get back to winning ways, and they did so in grand style.
Forward Killorn said: "Tonight we played very well. It's obviously a matchup we circled at the beginning of the year with what happened last year."
The teams play again next Tuesday in Denver, the second of four road games coming up for the Lightning, who must also face the Dallas Stars, Arizona Coyotes and Vegas Golden Knights before getting back to home ice.
"For us now going on the road that was a huge game to kind of start and get momentum going the right way," Killorn said.
"We've been on the other side of that for the past couple of years. And we realised teams kind of circle us. This has been the first time where we get a chance to play the team who beat us [in the Stanley Cup], so emotions were high for sure in this game.
"They're a great team. Tonight we just had a complete game, we were very aggressive, so we look forward to seeing them later in the playoffs."
Killorn was pleased for Vasilevskiy to avoid conceding, saying: "It's a little bit of a weight off his shoulders. He's obviously one of the best goalies in the league. For him, it's going to be huge momentum going forward, and I know he's happy about it."
Head coach Jon Cooper offered a different slant, suggesting that to his mind the game was not about last year's disappointment, but about building for the rest of this campaign.
"To be honest it had nothing really to do with Colorado," Cooper said. "What it had to do with was our previous two games.
"We're going on a tough four-game trip against some of the best teams in the west, and we couldn't go out losing three in a row after the break.
"It was entirely about us and not who we were playing. We needed an effort and they gave it tonight."
NHL: Panthers win Game 6 to return to Stanley Cup Final
Sergei Bobrovsky had a shutout until the final minutes and the Florida Panthers held on for a 2-1 victory over the New York Rangers to reserve a spot in the Stanley Cup Final for the second straight season on Saturday.
Sam Bennett scored in the first period and Vladimir Tarasenko tallied in the third for the Panthers, who will face either Edmonton or Dallas for the Cup, with that series set to start on June 8.
Bobrovsky finished with 23 saves and turned away 69 of 74 shots over the final three games – all wins for Florida.
Florida will play for the Cup for the third time after it was swept by Colorado in 1996 and lost 4-1 to Vegas last season.
If Edmonton advances, Game 1 of the title round will be on Florida’s ice. If Dallas wins the West, the Stars will have home-ice advantage for the series.
The Rangers were held scoreless until Artemi Panarin scored with 1:40 remaining but were unable to find the equalizer.
New York had a 2-1 lead in the series before losing three straight games, meaning for the 11th consecutive year the team that finished with the NHL’s best regular season record won’t go on to win the Stanley Cup.
NHL: Oilers beat Stars for 3-2 lead in Western final
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored twice on the power play and Stuart Skinner took a shutout late into the third period as the Edmonton Oilers defeated the top-seeded Dallas Stars, 3-1 to take a 3-2 lead in the Western Conference final on Friday night.
Philip Broberg had the other goal and Evan Bouchard had a pair of assists for the Oilers, who can advance to their first Stanley Cup Final since 2005-06 with a win at home in Game 6 on Sunday night.
Skinner was perfect until Wyatt Johnson’s goal with 5:51 remaining. He held the Stars scoreless the rest of the way to finish with 19 saves in his second straight win after losses in Games 2 and 3.
There hadn’t been a power-play goal by either team in this series until Nugent-Hopkins scored on a rebound 18 seconds after a penalty in the first period. He struck again just 16 seconds after the Stars took a penalty early in the second period for a 2-0 advantage.
Dallas was limited to six shots on goal halfway through the game and dropped to 4-6 at home this postseason. The Stars are 0 for 11 on the power play in this series.
NHL: Panthers hold off Rangers for 3-2 lead in East final
Anton Lundell snapped a tie midway through the third period and Sam Bennett had a goal and an assist to give the Florida Panthers a 3-2 win over the New York Rangers and a 3-2 lead in the Eastern Conference final on Thursday night.
Gustav Forsling also scored for the Panthers, who can book a return trip to the Stanley Cup Final with a win at home in Game 6 on Saturday.
If a seventh game is necessary, it will be at Madison Square Garden on Monday.
The Panthers, who got 25 saves from Sergei Bobrovsky, lost to Vegas last year in the championship series.
Chris Kreider scored a short-handed goal and Alexis Lafreniere tallied in the final minute, but the Rangers couldn’t find the equaliser and lost their second straight.
New York is 3-5 in its last eight playoff games after opening with seven consecutive wins.
The go-ahead goal came after the Rangers lost the puck in the Florida end. Eetu Luostarien got the puck, found Lundell at the New York blue line. His shot from the right circle beat Igor Shesterkin, although it may have hit off the stick of Rangers defenseman Braden Schneider.
Bennett’s empty-net goal proved necessary when Lafreniere made it a one-goal game with 50 seconds left.
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