Andrei Svechnikov scored three goals and the Carolina Hurricanes beat the New Jersey Devils 5-2 to take a 3-1 lead in their first-round playoff series.

Defenses around the NHL playoffs have been depleted by existing and new injuries, from Tampa Bay’s Mikhail Sergachev and Colorado’s Samuel Girard being out long term to Carolina’s Brett Pesce going down Monday night and Washington being down to minor leaguers to fill its many voids.

Jordan Martinook had a goal and two assists and the Carolina Hurricanes scored five times in the second period to beat the New Jersey Devils 6-1 on Tuesday night for a 3-1 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinal.

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.

Nashville goalie Juuse Saros made a franchise-record 64 saves and Mark Jankowski’s goal 5:06 into the third period gave the Predators their first lead in a 5-3 win over the Carolina Hurricanes.

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.

Andrew Copp had a goal and two assists, and Frank Vatrano and Adam Fox each had a goal and an assist as the New York Rangers beat the Carolina Hurricanes 4-1 in Game 4 to even their second-round series.

Brad Marchand had two goals and three assists to help the Boston Bruins beat the Carolina Hurricanes 5-2 and even their first-round playoff series a two games apiece.

The Carolina Hurricanes gave the Washington Capitals something to think about if the division rivals meet in the playoffs.

Jesper Fast scored 9 seconds into the third period to break a tie, Sebastian Aho followed with his 22nd goal of the season and the Carolina Hurricanes edged the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3 on Sunday to move into first place in the Metropolitan Division.

Kevin Fiala and Frederick Gaudreau each had a goal and an assist for the Minnesota Wild in a 3-2 victory over Carolina.

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.

Jordan Staal scored off a rebound at 1:44 of overtime to give the Carolina Hurricanes a 3-2 come-from-behind win over the Nashville Predators on Tuesday night.

Matt Duchene scored at 14:54 of the second overtime and the Nashville Predators beat the Carolina Hurricanes 5-4 on Friday night to cut their series deficit to 2-1.

Sebastian Aho scored twice and Alex Nedeljkovic was sharp in net to lead a perfect showing for Carolina’s penalty kill, helping the Hurricanes beat the Nashville Predators 3-0 on Wednesday night in Game 2 of the first-round playoff series.

The Carolina Hurricanes and the Nashville Predators begin their Stanley Cup playoff series Monday.