Alex Tuch and Mattias Samuelsson scored in the first period, Zach Benson added another early in the third and the Buffalo Sabres beat the Boston Bruins 4-1 on Friday night in Game 6 to advance to the second round of the NHL playoffs for the first time since 2007.

Closeout time has arrived in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, and the pressure to avoid a Game 7 is squarely on Montreal, Buffalo and Vegas.

David Pastrnak scored on a breakaway 9:14 into overtime, and the Boston Bruins avoided elimination with a 2-1 win over the Buffalo Sabres in Game 5 of their first-round playoff series.

Tage Thompson and the Buffalo Sabres entered their first-round series against Boston facing a myriad of questions over their lack of playoff experience.

Mattias Samuelson broke a tie with 3:24 left and Buffalo overcame a two-goal deficit in the final eight minutes to beat the Boston Bruins 4-3 on Sunday night in the Sabres’ first playoff game in 15 years.

The U.S. and Canada are moving on to the semifinals at the Olympics.

It’s finally here, the chance to see Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon and Sidney Crosby team up for Canada and Jack Eichel and Auston Matthews play on the same U.S. team at the Olympics.

The NHL has arrived at the Milan Cortina Olympics.

St. Louis Blues forward Alexey Toropchenko is the latest hockey player to miss time in the NHL because of a bizarre off-ice injury.

David Pastrnak had a goal and two assists and Jeremy Swayman made 34 saves to lift the Boston Bruins to a 3-1 win over Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals.

The Boston Bruins didn’t even bother teasing their fans with a spectacular regular season before heading home for the summer this time.

The NHL is getting the “Drive to Survive” treatment, with a hockey series from the makers of the popular Formula 1 show coming to Prime Video in the fall.

David Pastrnak and David Kampf scored as the Czech Republic shut out Switzerland 2-0 to win the ice hockey world championship.

Aleksander Barkov had two game-winning goals in Florida's series against Boston.

Aleksander Barkov slipped through three Bruins defenders to score the go-ahead goal and Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 16 shots to give the Florida Panthers a 3-2 victory over Boston and a 3-1 lead in their Eastern Conference semifinal series.

Aleksander Barkov had two goals and two assists, Sam Reinhart added four assists and the Florida Panthers beat the Boston Bruins 6-1 on Wednesday night to tie the second-round series at a game apiece.

Boston Bruins coach Jim Montgomery wanted to do something different with his team heading into a first-round Game 7 matchup with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

David Pastrnak scored on a feed from Hampus Lindholm 1:54 into overtime and the Boston Bruins beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 2-1 in Game 7 to clinch their first-round series and advance in the NHL playoffs.

Brandt Clarke scored on a breakaway with 27 seconds left in overtime for his first career goal and the Los Angeles Kings rallied to beat the slumping Boston Bruins 5-4.

Jimmy Vesey’s goal put the Rangers ahead late in the second period, Chris Kreider scored twice and Jonathan Quick made 27 saves as New York beat the Boston Bruins 7-4 in a matchup of the top teams in the Eastern Conference.

Matthew Tkachuk scored twice, Eetu Luostarinen put Florida ahead to stay with 5:38 left in what was a crazed third period, and the Panthers forced a Game 7 in their Eastern Conference first-round series by beating the Boston Bruins 7-5.

Brad Marchand scored his 50th career playoff goal, David Pastrnak and Jake DeBrusk also scored, and the NHL-best Boston Bruins opened the playoffs by beating the Florida Panthers 3-1.

The NHL playoffs are going on without Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin for the first time since their rookie year in 2006.

Brad Marchand and Tyler Bertuzzi had power play goals and the Boston Bruins broke the NHL points record with a 5-2 victory over the Washington Capitals on Tuesday night in their regular-season home finale.

David Pastrnak of the Boston Bruins has scored 60 goals in a season for the first time in his 9-year NHL career.

The Boston Bruins have broken the NHL record for wins in a season after beating the Philadelphia Flyers 5-3 behind David Pastrnak’s hat trick that got him to 60 goals for the first time in his career.

David Pastrnak scored his 53rd goal of the season 41 seconds into overtime and the Boston Bruins wrapped up the Presidents’ Trophy with their franchise-record 58th victory, 2-1 over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday night, The Presidents’ Trophy goes to the NHL regular-season points leader.

NHL scoring leader Connor McDavid limped off the ice late in the third period in the Oilers' game against the Boston Bruins.

Tyler Bertuzzi set up a goal in his Boston debut and Linus Ullmark made 24 saves, helping the NHL-leading Bruins beat Patrick Kane and the New York Rangers 4-2.

David Pastrnak had a goal and two assists just a few hours after signing a new contract and the surging Boston Bruins became the fastest team in NHL history to reach 100 points by beating the Buffalo Sabres 7-1.

The Boston Bruins have signed forward David Pastrnak to an eight-year contract extension that will pay him $90 million — the sixth-largest deal in NHL history.

David Pastrnak scored twice and Linus Ullmark stopped 30 shots to lead the Boston Bruins past the Ottawa Senators 3-1 and net their fourth straight victory.

Alex Tuch scored his second goal of the game in overtime, and the Buffalo Sabres rallied for a 4-3 victory over the NHL-best Boston Bruins for their sixth straight win.

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.

Patrice Bergeron got his 1,000th career point with a second-period assist and the Boston Bruins beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-3 for their seventh straight win.

David Pastrnak scored two goals as the Boston Bruins tied the NHL record for most consecutive home wins to open a season with 11 by beating the Chicago Blackhawks 6-1.

Linus Ullmark made 30 saves for his fifth career shutout, Charlie Coyle scored short-handed and the NHL-leading Boston Bruins beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-0 on Friday for their fifth straight victory.

David Pastrnak had a goal and three assists to help the Boston Bruins beat the Washington Capitals 5-2 in each team's season opener.

The Boston Bruins are getting the gang back together.

Boston Bruins captain Patrice Bergeron has won the Selke Trophy as the NHL's best defensive forward for a record-breaking fifth time.

Max Domi scored twice in the second period while Antti Raanta had 27 saves to help the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Boston Bruins 3-2 to win the deciding Game 7 of their first-round playoff series.

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.

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 NHL playoffs are missing the close games and comebacks that seemingly comes annually with all the postseason intensity.

Colorado goaltender Darcy Kuemper yanked his mask off and fell to the ice holding his head after being struck by a stick Saturday.

Brad Marchand had a goal and two assists to help the Boston Bruins take their first lead against the Hurricanes all season and hold onto it for a 4-2 victory over Carolina in Game 3 of their first-round playoff series.

The physicality of the NHL playoffs is creeping into the crease.

Sebastian Aho and Nino Niederreiter each scored twice and the Carolina Hurricanes overcame the early loss of goalie Antti Raanta to beat the Boston Bruins 5-2 on Wednesday night for a 2-0 lead in the first-round series.

Carolina goalie Antti Raanta left the Hurricanes’ playoff game against the Boston Bruins in the first period Wednesday night after David Pastrnak struck him in the head with a gloved hand.

The eight playoff teams in the Eastern Conference have been set since before the All-Star break.

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

David Pastrnak scored a hat trick, Tuukka Rask made 24 saves in his return from hip surgery and the Boston Bruins beat the Philadelphia Flyers 3-2.

Charlie Coyle scored on a wrist shot from the slot 34 seconds into overtime and Boston completed a 4-3 comeback victory over the Buffalo Sabres in the Bruins’ first game in 16 days.

A look at Yuzuru Hanyu, Alexandra Trusova, David Pastrnak, Ireen Wuest and other star international athletes expected to compete at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games.

Brad Marchand scored twice and Jeremy Swayman made 27 saves and the Boston Bruins beat New Jersey 5-2, ending the Devils’ three-game winning streak.

Learn about what's happened in the sport of hockey since the 2018 Olympic Games.

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.

David Pastrnak scored his second career playoff hat trick, David Krejci had three assists and the Boston Bruins beat the New York Islanders 5-2.

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

Trade deadline acquisitions are already paying big dividends for teams that have advanced to the second round of the NHL playoffs.

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

David Pastrnak and Charlie Coyle scored 34 seconds apart to break the game open early in the third period and give Boston to a 4-1 victory over the Washington Capitals.

Craig Smith scored 5:48 into the second overtime to give the Boston Bruins a 3-2 victory over the Washington Capitals and a 2-1 lead in their East Division first-round playoff series.

Brad Marchand scored 39 seconds into overtime and the Boston Bruins rallied to beat the Washington Capitals 4-3 and even the East Division first-round series at a game apiece.

Nic Dowd deflected in T.

Brad Marchand had two of his three goals and set up another in Boston’s five-goal second period.

The postponement of the game was the 38th overall this season for coronavirus-related reasons, and first to involve the seven-team all-Canadian North Division. The 10 players listed matches the most since Feb. 21. A total of 157 NHL players have now spent at least one day in the COVID-19 protocol this season. The NHL on Friday postponed two Bruins games after four more Boston players entered the COVID protocol, for a total of five. Sweeney said the players were driven separately back to Boston from Buffalo after that game was postponed.

Coyle becomes just the second Bruins’ player added to the protocol, and first since Karson Kuhlman spent the first two days of the season on the list in January. Each person attending the games will be required to comply with all state public health regulations and arena policies. ___The Atlantic Coast Conference announced Wednesday that Virginia Tech's men's basketball game at North Carolina State on Saturday has been canceled. The cancellation follows quarantining and a contract tracing review within the Virginia Tech men’s program. NC State says it would like to find another league game to replace it if they can.

(AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli))STATELINE, Nev. – After going through the handshake line following a lopsided win, the Boston Bruins all gathered at center ice for one last team photo. It truly was a picture-perfect day for the Bruins at Lake Tahoe. The Bruins' high level of play matched the picturesque setting with the lake and snow-covered mountains in the background. The Flyers responded with two goals and took the lead when Couturier came out of the penalty box and took advantage of McAvoy’s broken stick. “In the second period, a couple of shifts got away from us,” Flyers coach Alain Vigneault said.

Boston Bruins right wing David Pastrnak (88) celebrates his goal with the bench during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Washington Capitals, Monday, Feb. 1, 2021, in Washington. Buoyed by their top scorer's first two goals of the season and a big rookie's fight against one of the toughest players in hockey, the Bruins erased a three-goal deficit to beat the Washington Capitals 5-3 on Monday night. “In the box, I was like a little kid in there just jumping around when we scored,” Frederic said. The Capitals had front-row seats for Pastrnak's breakout performance in his second game after undergoing offseason hip surgery. Former Bruins captain Zdeno Chara scored in his second game against his old team.

Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8), of Russia, celebrates his game-winning goal in overtime of an NHL hockey game against the Boston Bruins, Saturday, Jan. 30, 2021, in Washington. In his first game since Jan. 19, Ovechkin scored in overtime to help the Washington Capitals beat the Boston Bruins 4-3 Saturday night in a showdown between the top teams in the NHL’s East Division. After Ovechkin missed the previous four games because of COVID-19 protocols, the high-scoring forward showed his career-long flair for the dramatic by beating Tuukka Rask with a perfect shot 28 seconds into overtime. “It was fun,” said Ovechkin, who also had an assist while being eased back in with 14 minutes of ice time. The Capitals beat the Bruins for the 17th time in 19 regular-season games dating to 2015.

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

Patrice Bergeron broke a tie with 3.5 seconds left in the second period, David Pastrnak returned with two assists and the Bruins beat the Carolina Hurricanes 2-1 on Wednesday to win the first-round playoff series in five games. David Krejci also scored one of two power-play goals in the second period for the Bruins, who trailed 1-0 entering the final 5 minutes before the second intermission. We found ways to win, probably different ways each game: different people in the lineup, different goaltenders playing. ... Carolina played without 20-year-old winger Andrei Svechnikov for the second straight game. The Hurricanes were without D Joel Edmundson for the fourth straight game.

TORONTO, ONT Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper took exception to the Columbus Blue Jackets being referred to as a blue-collar team. Is that a positive or a negative? Cooper said Monday, a day before his Eastern Conference second-seeded Lightning open the first round of the NHL playoffs against the seventh-seeded Blue Jackets. Thats in the history books forever, Cooper said, noting how both teams have made various changes to their lineups. Id call them a really good team.Familiarity is breeding respect among the East opponents entering the first round. The Islanders hold a 5-2 playoff series edge over Washington.

Washington's Alex Ovechkin and Boston's David Pastrnak share the Maurice Rocket Richard Trophy the league announced Thursday, May 28, 2020. (AP Photo/Winslow Townson, File)Since the NHL is planning to go straight to the playoffs, it's handing out a handful of trophies for the regular season cut short by the coronavirus pandemic. Not long after unveiling a 24-team right to the playoffs format, the league on Thursday announced the winners of its regular-season awards. Although Ovechkin was stopped short of a ninth 50-goal season, his ninth goal-scoring title extends his NHL record. The benefit and the curse of a bye, I suppose.___For more AP NHL coverage: https://apnews.com/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

The former Red Wing scored many of his 243 goals in front of the net, redirecting pucks past goaltenders. He played in the NHL from the 1996-97 season through the 2011-12 season. Net-front play is critical in every NHL game simply because goalies tend to stop shots they can see. They're going to dig their edges in and not going to move. Goalies, while the puck travels from stick to stick, stay on the move ever so slightly so that they can see what they're trying to stop.