A Washington Capitals goal by Alex Ovechkin goes past New York Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist (30), from Sweden, in the overtime period of Game 1 of a first-round NHL hockey playoff series on Wednesday, April 13, 2011, in Washington. The Capitals won 2-1.

WASHINGTON — Alexander Semin scored at 18:24 of overtime and Washington rallied for a 2-1 win over the New York Rangers in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference playoff series.

Semin took a centering pass from Jason Arnott, after the Rangers failed to clear the puck out of their end, and scored with a one-timer past Henrik Lundqvist.

Red Wings 4, Coyotes 2Pavel Datsyuk and Johan Franzen scored midway through the second period to put Detroit ahead, and the Red Wings went on to beat Phoenix in Game 1 of the Western Conference first-round playoff series.Brian Rafalski and Jiri Hudler padded Detroit’s lead late in the second period and early in the third.

Predators 4, Ducks 1Mike Fisher had two goals and an assist, Pekka Rinne made 27 saves, and Nashville clamped down defensively on high-flying Anaheim in a playoff series opening victory.Steve Sullivan got his first goal since mid-December, and captain Shea Weber also scored for the fifth-seeded Predators.

Canucks 2, ‘Hawks 0Chris Higgins and Jannik Hansen scored in the first period, Roberto Luongo made 32 saves, and Vancouver beat Chicago in the playoff opener.