CURTIS LAZAR

Brad Marchand scored one goal and assisted on another to lead the Boston Bruins past the Carolina Hurricanes 5-2 and send their first-round playoff series to a decisive seventh game.

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

Canadiens Bruins Hockey Boston Bruins left wing Brad Marchand (63) picks up a hat from the ice after scoring his third goal of the game during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Montreal Canadiens, Wednesday, Jan. 12, 2022, in Boston. (AP Photo/Mary Schwalm) (Mary Schwalm)BOSTON — (AP) — Brad Marchand skated around the ice, waiting for the cleanup crew to gather up the hats tossed over the glass to celebrate his fifth career hat trick. “The hat speaks for itself," Marchand said on Wednesday night after recording his fifth career hat trick in a 5-1 victory over the Montreal Canadiens. The Bruins home game was moved up, with the hope that capacity restrictions in Canada will be eased by March. It was still a three-goal lead seven minutes into the second when Marchand started the Bruins on a short-handed break and then finished it by crashing the net on the rebound for his fifth career hat trick.

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.

Brock Nelson scored twice in another big second period by New York, Semyon Varlamov stopped 23 shots and the Islanders beat the Boston Bruins 6-2 in Game 6 on Wednesday night to advance to the Stanley Cup semifinals for the second straight year.

Mathew Barzal broke a tie late in the third period and the New York Islanders beat the Boston Bruins 4-1 on Saturday night to even the second-round playoff series at two games apiece.

The Boston Bruins feel like they're playing themselves in a way against the New York Islanders in the second round.

The Boston Bruins beat the Washington Capitals 3-1 to close out their first-round series in five games and advance in the playoffs.

Nic Dowd deflected in T.

Bruins Capitals Hockey Boston Bruins right wing Chris Wagner (14) tumbles to the ice in front of Washington Capitals goaltender Vitek Vanecek (41) during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Tuesday, May 11, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass) (Nick Wass)WASHINGTON — (AP) — Michael Raffl scored from a tight angle with 1.8 seconds remaining and the Washington Capitals beat the short-handed Boston Bruins 2-1 on Tuesday night in the teams' regular season finale. The Capitals also welcomed right wing Alex Ovechkin and center Nicklas Backstrom back from lower-body injuries. Capitals RW T.J. Oshie (lower body) and D John Carlson (lower body) remained out. UP NEXTThe Bruins and Capitals begin their playoff series on Saturday night in Washington.

Michael Raffl scored from a tight angle with 1.8 seconds remaining and the Washington Capitals beat the short-handed Boston Bruins 2-1 in the teams’ regular season finale.

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

Quarantine requirements are making the trade deadline drastically different for teams around the NHL this year.

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.

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.