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The Florida Panthers have matched the best 11-game start in NHL history.

Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos each had two goals and an assist, and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Carolina Hurricanes 6-4 to open a commanding lead in their second-round playoff series.

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.

Carolina Hurricanes' Martin Necas (88) shoots the puck past Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy (88) for an overtime goal in an NHL hockey game in Raleigh, N.C., Thursday, Jan. 28, 2021. (AP Photo/Karl B DeBlaker)RALEIGH, N.C. – Rod Brind’Amour got the tough and determined performance he wanted from his Carolina Hurricanes as they returned from a pause due to COVID-19 concerns. Martin Necas beat Andrei Vasilevskiy at 1:12 of overtime and Petr Mrazek had 32 saves to help the Hurricanes beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 1-0 on Thursday night after having four straight games postponed. “That was a goaltending duel tonight,” Tampa Bay forward Brayden Point said. Tampa Bay goaltender Curtis McElhinney remained the only Lightning player on Thursday's list.

(AP Photo/Doug McSchooler)The Latest on the effects of the coronavirus outbreak on sports around the world:___The Tennessee Tech men’s basketball team has its first schedule change of the season because of COVID-19 issues. Individuals who test positive for COVID-19 follow the protocol established by the league and the players' association. Club medical staff are in regular communication with individuals who test positive to monitor symptoms. Staal said he was “the first guy to test positive” and said he was “as surprised as anyone else – really in shock” after finding out. He said he was trying to be safe and follow health protocols before testing positive.

The 20-year-old scored three times for the first postseason hat trick in franchise history and the Hurricanes beat the New York Rangers 4-1 on Monday, securing a 2-0 lead in the Stanley Cup qualifier series. Thats I think why Im scoring goals.Svechnikov's first career hat trick is the first in the franchise's 144-game postseason history, including the Hartford Whalers. He became only the eighth player in NHL history age 20 or younger to tally a postseason hat trick, the last being Nashville's Filip Forsberg in April 2015. With no fans to throw hats onto the ice in Toronto for Svechnikov's hat trick, the Hurricanes tweeted a photo that they had put several in his locker at PNC Arena back in Raleigh, North Carolina. Weve got to reset our minds and get focused on winning one hockey game, Rangers defenseman Marc Staal said.