The New York Rangers have carried the form that made them the NHL’s best regular-season team straight into the postseason.

Artemi Panarin redirected a pass between his legs at the crease to beat Pyotr Kochetkov just 1:43 into overtime and the New York Rangers beat the Carolina Hurricanes 3-2 on Thursday night to take a 3-0 lead in the second-round playoff series.

Vincent Trocheck and Mika Zibanejad each had a goal and an assist and the Presidents’ Trophy-winning New York Rangers held on to beat the Washington Capitals 4-3 Tuesday night for a 2-0 lead in their first-round playoff series.

Artemi Panarin scored 10 seconds into overtime and the New York Rangers rallied from three goals down to beat the rival Islanders 6-5 in a Stadium Series game at MetLife Stadium.

Sam Reinhart scored 3:02 into overtime and the Florida Panthers beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-2 to take a commanding 3-0 lead in their Eastern Conference semifinal series.

Carolina got better by acquiring winger Jesse Puljujarvi from Edmonton in one of two Oilers moves ahead of the NHL trade deadline.

Alex Ovechkin had a hat trick to lead the Washington Capitals to a 9-2 rout of the Montreal Canadiens.

Chicago Blackhawks star Patrick Kane likely will miss their game against Detroit because of the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol.

Anthony Mantha had a two points in his Washington debut, Alex Ovechkin scored the 728th goal of his NHL career and the Capitals beat the Philadelphia Flyers 6-1.

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

Philadelphia Flyers' James van Riemsdyk celebrates his goal with teammates during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2021, in Philadelphia. With Gritty thrusting his bulbous belly from his sofa, the Flyers turned Patrick and Lindblom's homecoming into a meaningful victory. Jankowski, who scored just five goals last season, scored the first one of this season 5:12 into the game. Farabee had assists on van Riemsdyk, Patrick and Hayes’ goals. UP NEXTThe Penguins and Flyers play again Friday in Philly as part of a packed, 56-game schedule necessitated by the pandemic.

PITTSBURGH, PA – Penguins star Sidney Crosby will be out at least six weeks after what the team said was a successful core muscle injury repair Thursday. General manager Jim Rutherford says the procedure was performed by Dr. William Meyers in Philadelphia. The 32-year-old Crosby leads the team in scoring with five goals and 12 assists in 17 games despite dealing with a sports hernia since training camp. The two-time MVP left a 3-2 shootout win over Chicago on Nov. 9 in the third period. He got tangled up with Blackhawks defenseman Erik Gustafsson and moments later took a shot from Gustafsson that smacked off his right foot.