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.

Defensemen Brent Burns and Dmitry Orlov got Carolina off to a fast start and the Hurricanes held on to beat the New York Islanders 3-2 on Thursday night for a 3-0 lead in the first-round series.

Sebastian Aho and Jordan Martinook scored 9 seconds apart late in the third period to help the Carolina Hurricanes complete a comeback from three goals down to beat the New York Islanders 5-3.

Stefan Noesen grabbed a loose puck atop the crease and pushed it past Semyon Varlamov early in the third period to help the Carolina Hurricanes beat the New York Islanders 3-1 to open their NHL playoff series.

Days after being ousted from the playoffs by the Carolina Hurricanes, Anders Lee and the New York Islanders are still dealing with the stinging disappointment.

Alex Ovechkin scored his 767th goal to pass Jaromir Jagr for third on the NHL career list in the Washington Capitals’ 4-3 shootout victory against the New York Islanders.

Tom Wilson scored early, Alex Ovechkin added an empty-net goal late, and Vitek Vanecek made 23 saves to lead the Washington Capitals to a 2-0 victory over the New York Islanders.

Montreal Canadiens forward Joel Armia has been placed in the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol.

Andrei Vasilevskiy had 18 saves and Yanni Gourde scored a short-handed goal to help the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the New York Islanders 1-0 in Game 7 of their NHL playoff semifinal series.

Anthony Beauvillier scored 1:08 into overtime and the New York Islanders rallied to beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2 to force a deciding Game 7 in their Stanley Cup semifinal series.

Steven Stamkos had two goals and an assist and Andrei Vasilevskiy notched his fourth career playoff shutout, helping the Tampa Bay Lightning rout the New York Islanders 8-0 in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup semifinal series.

Matt Martin capped New York’s three-goal second period, Ryan Pulock made a diving stop in front of an open goal in the closing seconds and the Islanders held on to beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2 to even their Stanley Cup semifinal series at two games apiece.

The New York Islanders are facing a familiar scenario again, trailing 2-1 in a series after a narrow loss in Game 3 at home.

Brayden Point kept up his scoring touch with a tiebreaking goal late in the second period, Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 27 shots and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the New York Islanders 2-1 on Thursday night to take a 2-1 lead in the Stanley Cup semifinals.

Brayden Point and Ondrej Palat delivered early goals and NHL playoff scoring leader Nikita Kucherov had three more assists to help the Tampa Bay Lightning rebound from a series-opening loss and beat the New York Islanders 4-2 in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup semifinals.

Semyon Varlamov made 30 saves and the New York Islanders got goals from Mathew Barzal and Ryan Pulock to beat the defending champion Tampa Bay Lightning 2-1 on Sunday in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup semifinals.

Experience is an invaluable ally in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

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 scored one power-play goal and assisted on another, and Semyon Varlamov stopped 40 shots to give the New York Islanders a 5-4 victory over the Boston Bruins and a 3-2 lead in their second-round playoff series.

Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy knew it wasn't his team's night when David Pastrnak missed a wide open net with the potential go-ahead goal.

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.

Brad Marchand scored 3:36 into overtime and the Boston Bruins beat the New York Islanders 2-1 in Game 3 to take the lead in the second-round playoff series.

Casey Cizikas scored on a breakaway with 14:48 gone in overtime and Semyon Varlamov returned to the net to make 39 saves to lead the New York Islanders to a 4-3 victory over the Boston Bruins and knotting their second-round playoff series at one game apiece.

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

The New York Islanders have evened their series with Pittsburgh by keeping Penguins star Sidney Crosby in check.

Ilya Sorokin stopped 29 shots, Oliver Wahlstrom and Ryan Pulock each had a goal and an assist and the New York Islanders beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-1 in Game 4 Saturday to even the first-round series.

Brandon Tanev scored the tiebreaking goal with 3:36 left and the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the New York Islanders 5-4 in Game 3 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series.

The first-ever playoff game between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers could be tough to top.

Kyle Palmieri’s second goal of the game 16:30 into overtime lifted the New York Islanders to a 4-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 1 of their first-round series.

The Pittsburgh Penguins will face a familiar foe as they begin their pursuit of the Stanley Cup.

Anthony Beauvillier scored twice and Semyon Varlamov stopped 28 shots for his league-leading seventh shutout of the season as the New York Islanders beat the New York Rangers 3-0 to clinch a playoff spot for the third straight season.

Mathew Barzal had three goals and two assists, Jordan Eberle scored twice, and the New York Islanders beat the Washington Capitals 8-4.

UNIONDALE, N.Y. – Mathew Barzal and Scott Mayfield each had a goal and an assist and the New York Islanders beat the Buffalo Sabres 5-2 on Saturday for their fourth straight victory. New York beat Buffalo for the fifth straight time this season, outscoring the Islanders 19-7 in those five meetings. Cal Clutterbuck extended the lead at 8:45, sending a wrist shot past Hutton for his second goal this season. AdMayfield made it 4-1 with his second goal of the season at 15:29, firing another high shot past Hutton. IRON MENThe Islanders have three players with consecutive game streaks of last 250 games: Lee 292, Brock Nelson 269 and Barzal 256.

(AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)PITTSBURGH – It was one special day for Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby — from the beginning to the very end. Crosby had two assists in his 1,000th NHL game, and the Penguins beat the New York Islanders 3-2 on Saturday night. “Every win is good, but to get it for (Crosby) on his 1,000th game is special,” Letang said. Crosby entered his 1,000th game with the eighth-most points in NHL history through 1,000 games. 87 jersey to recognize their captain before his 1,000th NHL game.

San Jose's Erik Karlsson (65) handles the puck against Minnesota Wild's Nick Bjugstad (27) in the third period of an NHL hockey game Sunday, Jan. 24, 2021, in St. Paul, Minn. San Jose won 5-3. (AP Photo/Stacy Bengs)With an outbreak delaying the Dallas Stars' opener, Rick Bowness got to watch a lot of hockey in the first couple of nights of the NHL season. “It was entertaining hockey, but it was a little sloppy,” Bowness said. “We’re staying in 5-star hotels, get to play hockey, so I can’t complain,” defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic said. Ad___Follow AP Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno on Twitter at https://twitter.com/SWhyno___More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports