Montreal Canadiens' Saku Koivu (11) falls into the Boston Bruins bench as Bruins' Hal Gill (25) pushes him with his stick. Bruins' Don Sweeney, left, looks on. (AP photo) | ZOOM |

        After grim months in which both players missed most of the season, Donald Audette and Saku Koivu provided the inspiration for the Montreal Canadiens.

        Audette scored three goals and Koivu assisted on two of them Thursday night, powering the Canadiens past the top-seeded Boston Bruins 5-2 in the opener of their first-round playoff series.

        Audette, who broke a 2-2 tie with his second goal, played just 33 games this season because of a lacerated forearm.

        “This year has been terrible for me,” said Audette, obtained from Dallas last Nov. 21. “I always dreamed of playing in Montreal and I'm happy to turn the page and be a Canadien.”

        Koivu played only three games after a seven-month battle with cancer.

        “I had doubts in my mind about the physical part of the game,” Koivu said.

        Koivu was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma in September and underwent chemotherapy and rehabilitation. He was not expected to return this season.

        “He was a huge inspiration for us tonight and this was big for his confidence,” Montreal coach Michel Therrien said.

        In other playoff openers Thursday, Toronto defeated the New York Islanders 3-1; Chicago edged St. Louis 2-1; and Colorado beat Angeles 4-3.

        On Friday, the Detroit Red Wings play host to the Vancouver Canucks for Game 2 of their series, led by the Canucks. Also, the Carolina Hurricanes, up a game, are home against the New Jersey Devils.

        The Canadiens are pleased to have help from Audette and Koivu.

        “Those guys are skill players and it's great to have them back,” Montreal defenseman Stephane Quintal said.

        Audette returned to play March 30 and Koivu returned April 9. But by then, the Canadiens were already opening eyes with a late-season run. Montreal finished the season 7-1 to gain the final playoff spot and earn a date with Boston.

        “The team was playing well without us,” Koivu said. “We were playing playoff hockey over the last 15 games.”

        The Canadiens, whose 23 Stanley Cups are the most in NHL history, might be back to playing their brand of playoff hockey — against a familiar opponent.

        The 29 playoff matchups between Montreal and Boston are an NHL record, but the last meeting in the postseason was in 1994.

        “So many years have gone by since we played each other in the playoffs that it's not the same,” Boston goalie Byron Dafoe said. “By the end of the series, I'm sure the rivalry will be strong.”

        Game 2 is Sunday in Boston.

        Montreal, whose 23 Stanley Cups are the most in NHL history, missed the playoffs the last three seasons and Boston fell short the last two.

        Gino Odjick and Doug Gilmour also scored for the Canadiens.

        Joe Thornton and Bill Guerin had Boston's goals.

        Blackhawks 2, Blues 1

        At St. Louis, Alexander Karpovtsev scored with 3:10 to go as Chicago beat St. Louis in the opening game of their Western Conference playoff.

        The defenseman had only one goal in the regular season, Oct. 11 against the Coyotes, and missed the last seven games after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery April 3.

        Kyle Calder, who hadn't scored in 23 games, also scored for the Blackhawks.

        Pavol Demitra scored in the second period for the Blues.

        Jocelyn Thibault, who learned Wednesday he'd start ahead of Steve Passmore, had a strong game, making 34 saves.

        Game 2 is Saturday in St. Louis.

        Maple Leafs 3, Islanders 1

        At Toronto, Tie Domi scored the go-ahead goal in the third period as Toronto rallied to beat New York Islanders in Game 1.

        Domi, playing on Toronto's top line with Mats Sundin and Mikael Renberg, scored just his fourth career playoff goal.

        The Toronto enforcer played his first playoff game since being suspended for elbowing New Jersey's Scott Niedermayer in the second round of last year's playoffs.

        Darcy Tucker scored the tying goal, and Sundin added an empty-netter for the Maple Leafs, who outshot New York 31-14.

        Kenny Jonsson scored a power-play goal in the first period for the Islanders, who made the playoffs for the first time in eight years.

        Avalanche 4, Kings 3

        At Denver, Peter Forsberg didn't take long to have an impact for the Colorado Avalanche.

        Forsberg had two assists in his first game in nearly a year, and Greg de Vries scored the winner with 5:34 left as the Avalanche beat Los Angeles in Game 1 of the Western Conference quarterfinals.

        Zigmund Palffy had two goals for Los Angeles, which hasn't won on the road in seven games (0-6-1).

        Joe Sakic, Alex Tanguay and Steven Reinprecht also scored for Colorado. Bryan Smolinski had the Kings' other goal.

        Forsberg, playing against the team that knocked him out of the playoffs last season with a foot injury, played left wing on Colorado's second line with Chris Drury and Steven Reinprecht. He also teamed with Joe Sakic on Colorado's power play.

        Forsberg took a leave of absence for the first part of the season and then learned he needed foot surgery, delaying his comeback.

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