BRANDON MONTOUR

The New York Rangers will play the Carolina Hurricanes in the second round of the NHL playoffs.

Brandon Montour scored 2:26 into overtime and the NHL-leading Florida Panthers extended their winning streak to a franchise-record 13 games by beating the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-2 on Saturday night.

The Florida Panthers have matched the best 11-game start in NHL history.

The Panthers are rolling this season but coach Joel Quenneville being named in a report detailing how the Chicago Blackhawks mishandled sexual assault allegations that an assistant on his staff sexually assaulted a player during the team’s Stanley Cup run in 2010 could derail Florida's hopes.

“You just don’t throw experience on the ice and experience wins the game. You still have to play the game,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. “We’ve had 2-1 leads before in playoff series and know how to deal with that,” Cooper added. “I think Game 1 could have went either way, so we were close in all the games,” Florida’s Jonathan Huberdeau said. A look at other games on Saturday:PENGUINS at ISLANDERS, Penguins lead series 2-1 (3 p.m. EDT, NBC)The Penguins have been successful in stopping the Islanders from building much momentum.

Postseason experience can be a valuable asset in the NHL playoffs.

All divisional play through the first two rounds of the playoffs made a major impact at the NHL trade deadline.

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

The banged-up Boston Bruins are getting a boost for their late-season playoff push by acquiring forward Taylor Hall in a trade with the Buffalo Sabres.

Some of the NHL's top teams got a head start on the trade deadline by making moves.

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.

Ovechkin matched Phil Esposito for sixth on the NHL list with his 717th goal and the Washington Capitals beat the Buffalo Sabres 6-0 on Monday night. Vitek Vanecek stopped 23 shots for his first NHL shutout and improved to 4-0-1 against the Sabres. Backstrom’s 11th goal of the season came in his 984th game with the Capitals, passing Calle Johansson for second-most games in franchise history. Hutton made 24 saves for Buffalo, which is 0-9-2 in its past 11 games, the third-longest skid in team history. AdThe Sabres recalled center Rasmus Asplund from the taxi squad and sent defenseman Brandon Davidson to the taxi squad.

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.