From their inception, the Vegas Golden Knights have been aggressive, pillaging the rest of the NHL during the expansion draft and making one big move after another to assemble the most talented roster money can buy in a salary-cap system.

The Carolina Hurricanes beat the Montreal Canadiens 6-1 on Friday night to clinch the Eastern Conference Final in five games and earn their first trip to the Stanley Cup Final since 2006.

Nikolaj Ehlers got loose up the center of the ice and popped the puck past Jakub Dobes at 3:29 of overtime to lift the Carolina Hurricanes past the Montreal Canadiens 3-2 on Saturday night to level the Eastern Conference Final at one game apiece.

The Montreal Canadiens pounced for four first-period goals on slow-starting Carolina — coming off the longest postseason break in more than a century — and handed the Hurricanes their first loss of the playoffs with a 6-2 victory in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final.

Matthew Schaefer of the New York Islanders has won the Calder Trophy as the NHL's rookie of the year.

William Carrier and Eric Robinson scored 4 1/2 minutes apart late in the second period, and the Carolina Hurricanes beat the San Jose Sharks 5-1.

Andrei Svechnikov pounced on a loose faceoff puck for his sixth postseason goal to help the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Washington Capitals 4-0 on Saturday night for a 2-1 lead in their second-round playoff series.

Alex Ovechkin scored his 20th goal of the season and the 750th of his NHL career to help the Washington Capitals beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-1 and snap a two-game skid.

Columbus Blue Jackets players celebrate their goal against the Tampa Bay Lightning during the first period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, Jan. 23, 2021, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)COLUMBUS, Ohio – Hours after trading disgruntled center Pierre-Luc Dubois, the Columbus Blue Jackets got three first-period goals and beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-2 Saturday. Nick Foligno, Mikhail Grigorenko, Vladislav Gavrikov, Zach Werenski and Eric Robinson scored, and Elvis Merzlikins had 30 saves as the Blue Jackets played their most explosive game of the season. The Blue Jackets tied it 17 seconds later when Foligno knocked in a rebound off Vasilevsky's stick. The Blue Jackets host the Florida Panthers on Tuesday and Thursday.