JORDAN STAAL

Andrei Vasilevskiy closed another postseason series by turning away every shot.

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.

Captains are leading the way into the second round of the NHL playoffs.

Jordan Staal scored off a rebound at 1:44 of overtime to give the Carolina Hurricanes a 3-2 come-from-behind win over the Nashville Predators on Tuesday night.

Luke Kunin scored his second goal at 16:10 of the second overtime,and the Nashville Predators beat the Carolina Hurricanes 4-3 Sunday to tie the first-round series 2-2.

Matt Duchene scored at 14:54 of the second overtime and the Nashville Predators beat the Carolina Hurricanes 5-4 on Friday night to cut their series deficit to 2-1.

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 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.

That can mean a positive COVID-19 test, an inconclusive test or potential exposure to someone who tested positive. He was pulled at halftime of Memphis’ game against Brooklyn on Jan. 8 but played the Grizzlies’ next game Jan. 11 against Cleveland. ___The Atlantic Coast Conference announced that Saturday's Pittsburgh-Boston College men’s basketball game has been postponed. The conference also said Pittsburgh's men's game at Wake Forest scheduled for Sunday, Feb. 7, will move to this Saturday evening. ___Georgetown’s men’s basketball game at Xavier scheduled for next week has been postponed because of a coronavirus-related issue in the Hoyas’ program.

The NHL did not specify which team prompted the postponement, though four Hurricanes players were added to the COVID-19 list Tuesday. The NHL already postponed the start of the Dallas Stars' season after six players and two staff members tested positive for the virus. Hurricanes players Warren Foegele, Jordan Martinook, Jaccob Slavin and Teuvo Teravainen joined captain Jordan Staal on the unavailable list because of COVID-19 protocols. The teams aren’t scheduled to play again in Nashville until the end of the season with back-to-back games on May 7-8. Now the Predators, who gave players Tuesday off after the postponement, are scheduled to visit Dallas on Friday night for the Stars' season opener.

(Stu Forster/Pool via AP)The Latest on the effects of the coronavirus outbreak on sports around the world:___The Atlantic Coast Conference says this week’s women’s basketball games with No. The postponement of the Clemson-Boston College women’s basketball game followed coronavirus concerns within the Eagles program. The Atlantic Coast Conference has postponed two women’s basketball games due to COVID-19. ___The Kentucky women’s basketball game at Tennessee has been rescheduled for Sunday. The other Southeastern Conference women’s games Sunday include: Auburn at Alabama, South Carolina at LSU, Florida at Mississippi and Texas A&M at Missouri.