Staal, Niederreiter lift Hurricanes past Predators 5-2
Jordan Staal scored twice and Nino Niederreiter beat Juuse Saros for the go-ahead goal early in the third period, helping the Carolina Hurricanes to a 5-2 win over the Nashville Predators in the first game of the teams' first-round playoff series.
Hurricanes take over in 3rd period, beat Red Wings 5-2
(AP Photo/Chris Seward)RALEIGH, N.C. โ Jordan Staal and Jesper Fast scored a pair of goals early in the third period to help the Carolina Hurricanes take over and beat the Detroit Red Wings 5-2 on Thursday night. Filip Zadina scored twice for the Red Wings, first for a 1-0 lead in the first period and then a 2-1 lead midway through the second. Jonathan Bernier finished with 27 saves in the Red Wingsโ third straight loss. Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said he hopes Larkin is ready to return next week. UP NEXTDetroit: The Red Wings return home Tuesday to start a two-game set with reigning Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay.
Canes' season paused, while Caps play on without 4 regulars
For Peter Laviolette, his Washington Capitals will keep playing for the next week without four prominent players who broke the rules. There's no indication the Capitals are being shut down, though they will have to play the next four games without captain Alex Ovechkin, No. The NHL defers to local authorities, and the minimum four games for the Capitals players relates to the District of Columbia's quarantine regulations. The Hurricanes have so far had three games postponed because of their outbreak and won't play for at least a week. I think thatโs really what weโre going to find out.โ___AP Sports Writers Aaron Beard and Stephen Hawkins contributed.
Throwback 5-game series force players to 'embrace the grind'
In a unique situation like this, youre going from not playing to playing playoff-style hockey, so youve got to embrace the grind mentally, physically.This is a different kind of grind after four-plus months off the ice. Eddie Olczyk won and lost one best-of-five series early in his playing career with Chicago and remembers the nerves of being 18 and 19 years old in those moments. Carolina coach Rod Brind'Amour understands that urgency despite being drafted two years after the NHL moved to all best-of-seven series. His Hurricanes face the Rangers, whose president, John Davidson, won the only two best-of-five series he played in with New York. In a short series, Quenneville said, anything can happen.___AP Hockey Writer John Wawrow contributed to this report.
Bubble hockey begins: NHL playoff teams adjust to quarantine
When the Boston Bruins boarded their flight bound for Toronto, they thought of it as just another long road trip. NHL players from the 24 playoff teams woke up to their new reality Monday in the hub cities of Toronto and Edmonton, Alberta. Columbus coach John Tortorella won't name his starting goaltender for Game 1 against Toronto until the day before. It's just the start, and it'll take almost a week of daily testing to be sure the NHL can pull this off. But getting into the Toronto and Edmonton bubbles represented an important stride toward playing during a pandemic.