The race for the two wild-card playoff spots in the NHL’s Eastern Conference is full of surprises.

The Boston Bruins signed Jeremy Swayman to an eight-year contract that will pay him $66 million.

Among the first handful of players to be traded around in the NHL this summer, there were few stunners.

Boston Bruins general manager Don Sweeney is ready to go with a goaltender rotation again next season if the team can make the math work.

Aleksander Barkov had two goals and two assists, Sam Reinhart added four assists and the Florida Panthers beat the Boston Bruins 6-1 on Wednesday night to tie the second-round series at a game apiece.

The season for the Florida Panthers cannot end on Wednesday night.

Jeremy Swayman made 35 saves to lead the Boston Bruins to a 5-1 victory over the the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series.

The defending Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights acquired Tomas Hertl from San Jose in what so far stands as the biggest deal made on the final day of NHL trading.

Brandt Clarke scored on a breakaway with 27 seconds left in overtime for his first career goal and the Los Angeles Kings rallied to beat the slumping Boston Bruins 5-4.

Brad Marchand and Danton Heinen scored short-handed in the first period, and the Boston Bruins beat the Vancouver Canucks 4-0 in a matchup of the NHL’s top two teams.

Some early trends are showing in the NHL.

Connor McDavid has won his third Hart Trophy as NHL MVP after the highest-scoring season by a player in more than a quarter-century.

Matthew Tkachuk scored twice, Eetu Luostarinen put Florida ahead to stay with 5:38 left in what was a crazed third period, and the Panthers forced a Game 7 in their Eastern Conference first-round series by beating the Boston Bruins 7-5.

Matthew Tkachuk scored six minutes into overtime to help the Panthers beat the Boston Bruins 4-3 and force their first-round playoff series back to Florida for a sixth game.

Taylor Hall and Jake DeBrusk each scored twice, Linus Ullmark stopped 41 shots and the Boston Bruins beat the Florida Panthers 6-2 in an Eastern Conference first-round playoff game Sunday.

Boston captain Patrice Bergeron is not accompanying the Bruins on their trip to Florida for Games 3 and 4 of their Eastern Conference first-round series.

Brandon Montour scored twice and the Florida Panthers had four third-period goals to beat the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Bruins 6-3 on Wednesday night and send Boston to its first loss in 10 games.

Brad Marchand scored his 50th career playoff goal, David Pastrnak and Jake DeBrusk also scored, and the NHL-best Boston Bruins opened the playoffs by beating the Florida Panthers 3-1.

The Boston Bruins tied an NHL record with their 62nd win of the season.

David Pastrnak scored his 53rd goal of the season 41 seconds into overtime and the Boston Bruins wrapped up the Presidents’ Trophy with their franchise-record 58th victory, 2-1 over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday night, The Presidents’ Trophy goes to the NHL regular-season points leader.

Garnet Hathaway scored the tiebreaking goal late in the second period and the NHL-best Boston Bruins wrapped up first place in the Atlantic Division with their sixth straight victory, beating Tampa Bay 2-1.

Garnet Hathaway broke a third-period tie to lead Boston to a 3-2 victory over the Detroit Red Wings.

Tyler Bertuzzi set up a goal in his Boston debut and Linus Ullmark made 24 saves, helping the NHL-leading Bruins beat Patrick Kane and the New York Rangers 4-2.

David Pastrnak scored twice and Linus Ullmark stopped 30 shots to lead the Boston Bruins past the Ottawa Senators 3-1 and net their fourth straight victory.

Jake DeBrusk scored his second goal of the third period with just over two minutes remaining and the NHL-leading Boston Bruins rallied for a 2-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Winter Classic at Fenway Park.

The Boston Bruins set the NHL record for most home victories to start a season with their 12th straight, topping the Carolina Hurricanes 3-2 in overtime with a power-play goal from David Pastrnak.

Patrice Bergeron got his 1,000th career point with a second-period assist and the Boston Bruins beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-3 for their seventh straight win.

Linus Ullmark made 30 saves for his fifth career shutout, Charlie Coyle scored short-handed and the NHL-leading Boston Bruins beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-0 on Friday for their fifth straight victory.

David Pastrnak had a goal and three assists to help the Boston Bruins beat the Washington Capitals 5-2 in each team's season opener.

Drake Batherson scored on a power play 43 seconds into overtime to give Canada a 4-3 comeback victory over Sweden on Thursday night in the world hockey quarterfinals.

The NHL is wrapping up the first round of the playoffs with a rare treat.

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 physicality of the NHL playoffs is creeping into the crease.

Sebastian Aho and Nino Niederreiter each scored twice and the Carolina Hurricanes overcame the early loss of goalie Antti Raanta to beat the Boston Bruins 5-2 on Wednesday night for a 2-0 lead in the first-round series.

So much for the notion that goals are hard to come by in the playoffs.

Seth Jarvis and Nino Niederreiter scored second-period goals while Antti Raanta was strong in net to help the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Boston Bruins 5-1 in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series.

Lars Eller had a goal and an assist to help the Washington Capitals beat the Boston Bruins 4-2 for their third consecutive victory.

Gabriel Landeskog tied the game with 36.5 seconds left in regulation and Cale Makar scored a power-play goal 3:01 into overtime as the Colorado Avalanche rallied past the Boston Bruins 4-3 for their 17th straight home victory.

Brad Marchand scored two goals 15 seconds apart in the first period and completed the hat trick with a short-handed goal in the second, leading the Boston Bruins to a 5-1 victory over the Montreal Canadiens.

Goalkeeper Tuukka Rask is getting closer to returning to the Boston Bruins after signing a professional tryout agreement with Providence of the American Hockey League.

Charlie Coyle scored on a wrist shot from the slot 34 seconds into overtime and Boston completed a 4-3 comeback victory over the Buffalo Sabres in the Bruins’ first game in 16 days.

Charlie Coyle had the only score in the shootout and the Boston Bruins beat Florida 3-2 Saturday night, ending the Panthers’ season-opening winning streak at eight games.

The Vegas Golden Knights have traded reigning Vezina Trophy-winning goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury to the Chicago Blackhawks.

Tristan Jarry stopped 27 shots and the Pittsburgh Penguins jumped into second place in the East Division standings with a 3-2 win over Buffalo, eliminating the Sabres from playoff contention.

The Washington Capitals have made a blockbuster deal to acquire Anthony Mantha from the Detroit Red Wings at the NHL's trade deadline.

Buffalo Sabres celebrate a goal by center Curtis Lazar (27) during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Philadelphia Flyers in Buffalo, N.Y., Wednesday, March 31, 2021. (AP Photo/Adrian Kraus)BUFFALO, N.Y. – Embarrassment for Brandon Montour and the Buffalo Sabres turned into relief on Wednesday night. The Sabres ended their 18-game skid — the NHL’s longest in 17 years — with a resounding 6-1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers. AdThe Sabres also snapped a 0-9-2 home skid, one short of matching a franchise record set during the 1990-91 season. After Philadelphia’s Ivan Provorov scored 3:50 into the second period, Buffalo responded by closing the period with goals from Fogarty and Casey Mittelstadt.

The Flyers were spurred by a replenished lineup in which four players returned after spending two weeks in the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol. They included Scott Laughton, who scored a breakaway goal to make it 3-0 late in the second period. Elliott improved to 5-1 this season and upped his career record to 15-2-2 with four shutouts against the Sabres, including a 40-save outing in a 3-0 win on Jan. 19. Elliott chalked up his dominance to opening his career with Ottawa, Buffalo’s traditional Atlantic Division rival. The Sabres dropped to 2-6-1 in their past nine and played their second game without captain Jack Eichel, listed as day to day with a lower body injury.

Buffalo coach Ralph Krueger still wasnt ready to say whether high-priced forward Jeff Skinner will resume playing after a three-game benching. Except to say it's not a disciplinary issue, Krueger has declined to detail the reasons behind his decision regarding Skinner. (AP Photo/Nick Wass, File)BUFFALO, N.Y. – The Buffalo Sabres enter the weekend dealing with injuries to two key players and uncertainty as to whether coach Ralph Krueger is going to end the benching of high-priced forward Jeff Skinner. Krueger would only say Skinner would be available to play Saturday. As for Ullmark, Krueger said the goalie is still being evaluated to determine the severity of the injury he sustained in the first period against the Devils.

Buffalo Sabres forward Jack Eichel (9) carries the puck past New Jersey Devils forward Yegor Sharangovich (17) during the second period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, Jan. 30, 2021, in Buffalo, N.Y. (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes)BUFFALO, N.Y. – Jack Eichel scored in a shootout, Linus Ullmark made 31 saves and the Buffalo Sabres beat the New Jersey Devils 4-3 on Saturday. Victor Olofsson, Tobias Rieder and Eric Staal also scored to help the Sabres improve to 3-0-2 in their past five games. AdJanne Kuokkanen, Ty Smith and Andreas Johnsson scored for New Jersey in former Sabres coach Lindy Ruff’s first trip to Buffalo since taking over the Devils this offseason. Buffalo’s top free-agent acquisition assisted on two goals, tying Eichel for the team lead with nine points in eight games. RUFF’S RETURNRuff served as a Rangers assistant and Stars head coach since being fired by the Sabres in 2013.

(AP Photo/Nick Wass)WASHINGTON – Jakub Vrana had a goal and an assist, Vitek Vanecek made 24 saves through overtime and the short-handed Washington Capitals beat the Buffalo Sabres 4-3 in a shootout Friday night in their home opener. Vanecek was perfect in the shootout to pick up his second victory of the season as defenseman John Carlson scored the shootout winner. Buffalo rookie Dylan Cozens scored his first NHL goal on a top-shelf snipe past Vanecek in the second period. Eric Staal and Riley Sheahan each scored his first goal since joining the Sabres. Linus Ullmark made 29 saves and was spotless in the shootout until Carlson beat him.

It was the first day of training camp for Laviolette and the Washington Capitals and most of the NHL. Camps are now open for the league's 31 teams and they will last just 10 days. “You get a fresh start,” said Jeff Skinner of the Buffalo Sabres, who haven't played a game since March. “Most players would argue that camps are a little bit long anyway," Winnipeg Jets captain Blake Wheeler said. “I’ve been told from our team and from the league, when a player is not on the ice during training camp, we’re supposed to say he’s not available today,” Philadelphia coach Alain Vigneault said.