JACCOB SLAVIN

Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid ran away in the voting to win his second Hart Trophy as NHL MVP after leading the league in points.

Brayden Point and Ross Colton scored and Andrei Vasilevskiy controlled the crease, helping the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Carolina Hurricanes 2-0 on Tuesday night to win the second-round playoff series in five games.

Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos each had two goals and an assist, and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Carolina Hurricanes 6-4 to open a commanding lead in their second-round playoff series.

Alex Killorn and Anthony Cirelli scored while Andrei Vasilevskiy was strong in net once again, helping the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Carolina Hurricanes 2-1 for a 2-0 lead in their second-round playoff series.

The Carolina Hurricanes and Tampa Bay Lightning open their second-round playoff series Sunday.

Sebastian Aho scored his second goal of the game 1:06 into overtime to send the Carolina Hurricanes to the second round with a 4-3 comeback victory over the Nashville Predators on Thursday night in Game 6.

Sebastian Aho scored twice and Alex Nedeljkovic was sharp in net to lead a perfect showing for Carolina’s penalty kill, helping the Hurricanes beat the Nashville Predators 3-0 on Monday night in Game 2 of the first-round playoff series.

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.

The Carolina Hurricanes and the Nashville Predators begin their Stanley Cup playoff series Monday.

The Carolina Hurricanes take the opening faceoff against the Tampa Bay Lightning in an NHL hockey game in Raleigh, N.C., Thursday, Jan. 28, 2021. (AP Photo/Karl B DeBlaker)RALEIGH, N.C. – Martin Necas beat Andrei Vasilevskiy at 1:12 of overtime and Carolina beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 1-0 on Thursday night in the Hurricanes' return from a pause due to COVID-19 concerns. Necas scored off a perfect feed from Jordan Staal on the left side, charging in to put the puck past Vasilevskiy's attempted save. Tampa Bay goaltender Curtis McElhinney remained the only Lightning player on Thursday's list. UP NEXTLightning: Tampa Bay visits Nashville on Saturday to start a two-game set.

(AP Photo/Doug McSchooler)The Latest on the effects of the coronavirus outbreak on sports around the world:___The Colgate men’s basketball games this weekend at Army have been postponed due to a positive COVID-19 test result within Army’s Tier 1 personnel. ___The Tennessee Tech men’s basketball team has its first schedule change of the season because of COVID-19 issues. ___Michigan State is planning to resume competing later this week after postponing three straight games due to a COVID-19 outbreak within the men’s basketball program. Staal said he was “the first guy to test positive” and said he was “as surprised as anyone else – really in shock” after finding out. He said he was trying to be safe and follow health protocols before testing positive.

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 that’s really what we’re going to find out.”___AP Sports Writers Aaron Beard and Stephen Hawkins contributed.

TORONTO, ONT Players watching the opening minutes of the first NHL game in several months marveled at the familiar feeling from half a continent away. The most unusual playoffs in league history got underway Saturday with games in the Canadian cities of Toronto and Edmonton, Alberta. The dynamics are far different than usual: Its the middle of summer and all games are being played in empty arenas. But the big hits and fight from Game 1 provided ample evidence the Stanley Cup is still on the line. I hope this inspires a new generation of hockey players and hockey fans because Black lives matter, Breonna Taylors life matters.