National Hockey

TORONTO — Jason Spezza stood up in the Maple Leafs locker room following another disastrous start.

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Vladimir Tarasenko broke out for the St. Louis Blues with a well-timed natural hat trick, putting the Minnesota Wild in real trouble.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Boston Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy made a surprise return to the playoff lineup in Tuesday night's loss to the Carolina Hurricanes after missing a game due to COVID-19 protocols.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The Carolina Hurricanes swore they’d be fine after losing a two-game lead and momentum in their first-round playoff series. It was just a matter of cutting down on mistakes and staying out of the penalty box.

Turns out a two-goal lead is the safest lead in the first round of the NHL playoffs. A three-goal lead? Insurmountable. Fall behind at all in a game? Well, good luck.

MONTREAL — All eyes will be on Montreal Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes on July 7. The GM will walk to the draft podium for the first time and will get to make the first-overall selection.

CALGARY — The Calgary Flames produced the keys to beating Dallas Stars in their playoff series. They'll try to improve on what they did to tie the series in Dallas and pull ahead Wednesday at home.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Nashville Predators can pat themselves on the back for overachieving and extending the franchise’s run of playoff berths to an eighth straight season.

Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins were stymied by Igor Shesterkin during the regular season.

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — For 23 seasons, Patrick Marleau woke up each day preparing to play hockey and that helped him eventually break Gordie Howe's record for most games played in the NHL.