Carter Verhaeghe and Aaron Ekblad scored two tone-setting first-period goals while Sergei Bobrovsky remained strong in net as the reigning Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers beat the Carolina Hurricanes 5-2 in Tuesday night’s opener of their Eastern Conference final series.

The NHL’s playoff final four has a very familiar feel.

Andrei Svechnikov scored the go-ahead goal with just under two minutes left and the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Washington Capitals 3-1 in Game 5 on Thursday night, winning the second-round series and advancing to the Eastern Conference final for a second time in three years.

Sean Walker scored late and Andrei Svechnikov added an empty-net clincher to help the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Washington Capitals 5-2 on Monday night for a 3-1 lead in their second-round playoff series.

Jaccob Slavin scored in overtime, Frederik Andersen made 13 saves in his return from injury and the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Washington Capitals 2-1 in Game 1 of their second-round playoff series.

Sebastian Aho hammered a one-timer past Jacob Markstrom at 4:17 of the second overtime to help the Carolina Hurricanes beat the New Jersey Devils 5-4 on Tuesday night to clinch their first-round playoff series.

Goaltenders are in the spotlight for all four series resuming Sunday in the first round of the NHL playoffs.

Simon Nemec scored 2:36 into the second overtime and the New Jersey Devils beat the Carolina Hurricanes 3-2 on Friday night in Game 3 of the first-round playoff series.

Chris Kreider had a third-period hat trick to help the New York Rangers erase a two-goal deficit and beat the Carolina Hurricanes 5-3 to close out the second-round playoff series in six games and advance to the Eastern Conference Final.

The Carolina Hurricanes' depth proved key in pushing past the New York Islanders in the first round of the NHL playoffs.

Jack Drury scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period and Stefan Noesen cleaned up a fluky puck bounce off the boards for another 8 seconds later as the Carolina Hurricanes beat the New York Islanders 6-3.

Mathew Barzal scored his second goal of the game on a deflection 1:24 into the second overtime and the New York Islanders beat the Carolina Hurricanes 3-2 in Game 4 on Saturday to avoid a sweep in their first-round playoff series.

NHL players open their season this week.

Matthew Tkachuk beat Frederik Andersen in the final seconds of the fourth overtime to lift the Florida Panthers past the Carolina Hurricanes 3-2 early Friday to open their Eastern Conference final series.

The Carolina Hurricanes got goals from Brett Pesce and Seth Jarvis alongside a suffocating defensive performance in the opening period to jump quickly on the New Jersey Devils for a 5-1 win Wednesday night to open their second-round playoff series.

Seth Jarvis scored twice and the Carolina Hurricanes snapped an eight-game postseason road losing streak with a 5-2 victory over the New York Islanders on Sunday.

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.

Chris Kreider scored twice and the New York Rangers ended Carolina’s perfect postseason run at home by beating the Hurricanes 6-2 in the decisive Game 7 of their second-round playoff series.

The Carolina Hurricanes lost goaltender Antti Raanta and rookie forward Seth Jarvis to injuries in Game 7 of their second-round playoff series against the New York Rangers.

Vincent Trocheck buried a short-handed goal, Teuvo Teravainen had a rare power-play score for Carolina and the Hurricanes beat the New York Rangers 3-1 on Thursday night to take a 3-2 lead in the second-round playoff series.

Brendan Smith scored a short-handed goal late in the second period while Antti Raanta finished with 21 saves to help the Carolina Hurricanes beat the New York Rangers 2-0, taking a 2-0 lead in their second-round playoff series.

Ian Cole beat Igor Shesterkin at 3:12 of overtime to help the Carolina Hurricanes beat the New York Rangers 2-1 to take Game 1 of their second-round playoff series.

Rookie Seth Jarvis scored twice and Antti Raanta finished with 34 saves to help the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Boston Bruins 5-1 to take a 3-2 lead in the first-round playoff series.

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.

Seth Jarvis and Jordan Staal scored third-period goals and Frederik Andersen made 28 saves as the Carolina Hurricanes beat the New York Rangers 4-2 in a showdown for first place in the Metropolitan Division.

Defenseman Brett Pesce scored his first goal of the season with 2:27 left as the Carolina Hurricanes remained undefeated with a 2-1 victory over the winless Arizona Coyotes on Sunday.