JORDAN MARTINOOK

The NHL playoffs are missing the close games and comebacks that seemingly comes annually with all the postseason intensity.

Brad Marchand had a goal and two assists to help the Boston Bruins take their first lead against the Hurricanes all season and hold onto it for a 4-2 victory over Carolina in Game 3 of their first-round playoff series.

The Carolina Hurricanes gave the Washington Capitals something to think about if the division rivals meet in the playoffs.

Tony DeAngelo had a goal and two assists against his former team as the Carolina Hurricanes beat the New York Rangers 6-3.

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.

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

Carolina Hurricanes' Martin Necas (88) shoots the puck past Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy (88) for an overtime goal in an NHL hockey game in Raleigh, N.C., Thursday, Jan. 28, 2021. (AP Photo/Karl B DeBlaker)RALEIGH, N.C. – Rod Brind’Amour got the tough and determined performance he wanted from his Carolina Hurricanes as they returned from a pause due to COVID-19 concerns. Martin Necas beat Andrei Vasilevskiy at 1:12 of overtime and Petr Mrazek had 32 saves to help the Hurricanes beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 1-0 on Thursday night after having four straight games postponed. “That was a goaltending duel tonight,” Tampa Bay forward Brayden Point said. Tampa Bay goaltender Curtis McElhinney remained the only Lightning player on Thursday's list.

(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.

Five players from the Carolina Hurricanes also are on the list and that team’s games were called off by the league through “at least” Saturday. The postponements were announced Wednesday, a day before the Hurricanes were set to host the Florida Panthers in their home opener. This is the first instance this season of Capitals players appearing on the NHL’s COVID-19 list, which could include those who test positive, have a potential exposure or face quarantine requirements. The league didn’t specify which team prompted that night’s postponement, although four Hurricanes players — Warren Foegele, Jordan Martinook, Jaccob Slavin and Teuvo Teravainen — were added to the daily COVID-19 list later Tuesday afternoon. Their past five games have been postponed during a stretch in which six Wizards players tested positive for the illness caused by the coronavirus and three others were sidelined after contact tracing determined they might have been exposed.

In giving the format the green light, the NHLPA stressed several details still need to be negotiated before games can begin. The proposal will now go to the NHL board of governors, which is expected to approve the plan in the next few days. Though the approval is considered significant, the task of establishing a path to getting players back on the ice remains challenging. Its unclear how the league will address players concerns over spending potentially lengthy stretches of time in self-isolation away from their families. Overall, I think players will be fine during the summer months, the person said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because the return to play format has not been approved.