The Carolina Hurricanes have their new man behind the bench, as the team will name former NHLer Rod Brind'Amour as their new head coach later in the week, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.

Brind'Amour's reported addition comes only weeks after former head coach Bill Peters exercised the opt-out clause in his contract to join the Calgary Flames as their new bench boss.

The 20-year NHL veteran will assume the head coaching role after serving as an assistant and player development coach. He joined Carolina's staff in 2011. Brind'Amour also captained the 'Canes to the franchise's only Stanley Cup in 2006.

Brind'Amour amassed 452 goals and 732 assists across 1484 career regular-season games to go along with two Selke Trophies and a Cup ring, so he obviously knows what it takes to get the job done at the NHL level.

His hiring continues a whirlwind spring in Carolina, as new owner Tom Dundon continues to shake things up within the organization. Former general manager Ron Francis was fired at the end of April after being reassigned to another front-office position in March.

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Winnipeg Jets captain Blake Wheeler didn't lose his sense of humor in defeat.

Following a Game 6 loss to the Nashville Predators on home ice, Wheeler was asked what he would have said if he had been told at the beginning of the season that his team would be facing a Game 7 with a chance to go to the Western Conference finals.

His response brought to mind a former teammate's recent actions.

"I'd have given you a big kiss," he said, adding "kiss, not a lick" after a brief pause.

Wheeler's disclaimer was in reference to Brad Marchand, with whom he played with for the Boston Bruins prior to being traded to the then-Atlanta Thrashers in 2011.

Game 7 is set for Thursday in Nashville.

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In the weeks leading up to the 2018 NHL Draft, theScore NHL prospect writer Hannah Stuart breaks down 10 of the most notable draft-eligible prospects. The fifth edition focuses on Adam Boqvist.

You’re an NHL general manager who isn’t drafting first overall. You can’t have Rasmus Dahlin, but you still want a high-flying, dynamic blue-liner. What do you do? While there is no shortage of talented defensemen in the top half of this year’s first round, Adam Boqvist stands out among his peers - and not just because he’s a right-handed shot.

With his August 2000 birthday, Boqvist is one of the youngest players in this year’s draft class - almost a full year younger than Quinn Hughes and Evan Bouchard. Considering the high-end skill Boqvist already displays, knowing he’s got almost a year of development potential on his fellow defensive prospects has to be tempting.

Year in review

Boqvist bounced around a bit this season, playing 25 games with Brynäs IF J20 in the SuperElit league and 15 games with Brynäs IF in the SHL. He was also loaned to Almtuna IS of the Allsvenskan for seven games. He didn’t put up high point totals in the latter two leagues, notching one and two points, respectively. This is not particularly concerning, however, given how young of a prospect he is.

In part, this is because Boqvist was dominant against players his own age this year. He was almost a point-per-game player in the SuperElit with 24 points, including 14 goals, and was phenomenal in both the Ivan Hlinka tournament and this year’s U18 World Championship, where he won a bronze medal and was named the tournament’s best defenseman.

Areas of strength

Boqvist is a phenomenal skater. His edgework and agility allow him to take chances as he can quickly transition from offense to defense. He’s dangerous offensively, able to both make plays and score goals. A key to his success? He thinks the game at an elite level, uses his hockey sense to find or create opportunities, and determines whether the right call is to shoot or pass.

On defense, Boqvist has good positioning and gap control. He knows how to use his stick to free up the puck from opponents, and his speedy and elusive skating allows him to carry the puck out of the zone. His aggressive approach can, on occasion, get him into trouble, but refining that will come with time - keep in mind he’s still only 17. His potential ceiling is sky-high and worth any risk that may come along with it.

Areas of improvement

Boqvist is another prospect whose size is noted as a detriment, though he is not afraid to take hits and can outskate opponents. The youngster will likely spend at least one more season in Sweden, giving him time to add muscle, ideally in a way that won’t affect his speed and agility. More development will also help him improve his play in his own end, where he has strengths, but could stand to get more playing time against tough competition.

One area to keep an eye on - and one where his size might come into play - is Boqvist’s tendency to take the aforementioned risks. He likes to gamble. Most of the time it pays off for him, but when you lose the puck, it takes upper-body strength to get it back from opponents. Mentioning this feels a bit like nitpicking, but it is a valid observation.

Scouting reports

“A dynamic offensive defenceman that can carry plays with the puck on his stick. A highly mobile and nimble skater that moves with fluidity, balance, and confidence. Utilizes an active stick and creates turnovers frequently. Could be more proactive in his own end, but has shown progression in understanding lanes and reading unfolding plays; most of his best defensive work comes through the neutral zone, as there is a lot less time and space to work with, and it is in those moments that Boqvist shines. Offensively, Boqvist is electric; he has the toolbox of a top-line forward. Slick puckhandling ability paired with excellent vision and positional awareness makes him a dangerous threat every time he is on the ice. He also takes advantage of the attention and bodies he draws toward himself in creating space for teammates. All-in-all, Adam Boqvist is a complete offensive defenceman that knows how to get the puck from point A to the back of the net, and can make it happen all by himself.” — Curtis Joe, EliteProspects.com

“Boqvist is a confident, puck-moving blue-liner … skates well with quick agile feet that generate solid levels of speed … solid on his edges … very efficient skater … keeps the game simple, and cuts out the extra overly creative pass by finding open teammates in good position … moves the puck quickly and beautifully around the ice with crisp clean passes … can fire the puck accurately on the net with a quick release … adept at sneaking into open lanes for an opportunity … a steadying presence … plays the point well and has impressive ability to keep the puck in the offensive zone … very active stick at both ends, and uses it wisely to keep the pressure on the defense, helping hem them in their own zone or to disrupt the attack defending in his zone … very active feet, can contain his assignment with good agility and willing to get after the opposition with physical play … positions his body to box out opponents … his size is the obvious drawback … provides his team with a steady presence on the blue line, and thinks the game at a high level … a potential top-four, two-way defenseman.” — FutureConsiderations.ca

Did You Know?

• Boqvist is the younger brother of New Jersey Devils prospect Jesper Boqvist.

• He totaled eight points in five games at last September’s Ivan Hlinka tournament.

• He will likely play a key role on Team Sweden at the 2019 IIHF World Junior Championship.

Other entries in this series:

• Rasmus Dahlin
• Andrei Svechnikov
• Filip Zadina
• Quinn Hughes

(Photos courtesy: Getty Images)

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The most highly anticipated series of the playoffs is going the distance.

That it's going seven games might have been predictable, but that won't make it any less exciting Thursday night when the Nashville Predators host the Winnipeg Jets in Game 7 of their second-round series with a berth in the Western Conference Final on the line.

The teams split the first two games of the series at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, and the Jets then took Game 5 by a 6-2 margin on the road.

With that in mind, who will win Game 7?

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WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) Filip Forsberg had two goals and an assist, Pekka Rinne stopped 34 shots for his second shutout of the playoffs, and the Nashville Predators beat the Winnipeg Jets 4-0 on Monday to force a decisive Game 7 in their Western Conference semifinal series.

Viktor Arvidsson also scored twice, including a late empty-netter, and added an assist for the Predators. Roman Josi and Ryan Johansen each had two assists.

Connor Hellebuyck stopped 25 shots for the Jets.

Game 7 is Thursday at Nashville, Tennessee, with the winner advancing to face the expansion Vegas Golden Knights in the Western Conference final.

This back-and-forth series has yet to see a team win consecutive games.

With the Predators up 1-0 after one period, Forsberg doubled the lead at 8:44 of the second on a great solo rush for his sixth of the postseason. After breaking his stick in the defensive zone blocking a shot, the Swedish forward raced to the bench to get a new one as the puck almost simultaneously arrived at his feet. Forsberg stayed onside, fought off Jets defenseman Ben Chairot and beat Hellebuyck short-side before crashing into the net.

Winnipeg had made an earlier push coming out of the first intermission, with Paul Stastny's shot just wide being the best chance after Mathieu Perreault's dump in hit the linesman and caromed into the slot. Stastny also missed from a tight angle off the boards on the follow up on Rinne.

After Forsberg made it 2-0, Rinne was there to stop Adam Lowry with his pad before just getting a piece of Mark Scheifele's shot on an abbreviated 2-on-1 to keep Nashville up by two.

The Jets got their fourth power play of the night early in the third, but Scheifele fired wide on the best opportunity.

Forsberg then took a pass from behind the net, played it between his own legs and beat Hellebuyck for his second of the night and seventh of the playoffs at 5:55.

With Hellebuyck pulled for an extra skater, Arvidsson scored into the empty net with 4:02 left to seal Nashville's win.

While disappointed with the result, the Jets will travel to Music City knowing they've already won twice there in the series, including a 6-2 victory in Game 5 after the Predators ground out a 2-1 decision in Winnipeg in Game 4 to tie the series 2-2.

Nashville took the lead just 62 seconds into the first period to quiet the usual rowdy, white-clad crowd at Bell MTS Place on Arvidsson's fourth. The speedy winger crashed into the end boards after being taken down by Jets defenseman Dustin Byfuglien. Arvidsson briefly complained to the referee before getting back in the slot just in time to make a defensive deflection of a blast from Josi that looked destined to hit him directly in his head as he dropped to the ice.

Referee Wes McCauley initially waved off the goal that bounced past Hellebuyck for high-sticking, but it was determined after video review that Arvidsson's stick was below the crossbar on the tip.

After one toothless power play, the Jets got a couple of chances on their next man advantage, but Rinne was there to deny Stastny twice on the doorstep before also stopping Patrik Laine's one-timer.

Winnipeg then got its third power play of the period, but it looked a lot like its first as the Predators went to their locker room up 1-0.

Winnipeg had never seen one of its teams win even a single game in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs before this spring.

The old Jets claimed three WHA titles in the 1970s, but the franchise was swept aside by Edmonton in its only two NHL conference semifinal appearances - 1985 and 1987 - before leaving town to become the Phoenix Coyotes in 1996.

The NHL returned to Winnipeg in 2011 when the Atlanta Thrashers relocated to the Manitoba capital, but the new Jets' first foray into the playoffs in 2015 resulted in a four-game ouster in the first round at the hands of the Anaheim Ducks.

The Predators and Jets finished with the two best records during the regular season - Nashville had 117 points to win its first Presidents' Trophy, while Winnipeg was right behind with 114 points.

NOTES: The extra day before Game 7 is due to a Justin Timberlake concert at Nashville's Bridgestone Arena on Wednesday night. ... Teemu Selanne, a member of the original Jets from 1992-96, was in attendance. ... Predators forward Scott Hartnell returned to the lineup after sitting out Game 5 as a healthy scratch. Calle Jarnkrok also drew in for Nashville on the fourth line with Mike Fisher after sitting out the last three.

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Warning: Video and story contain coarse language

Alex Ovechkin couldn't hold back in the afterglow of a cathartic victory Monday night.

The Washington Capitals superstar dropped an F-bomb when asked what was going through his mind when he dished off to Evgeny Kuznetsov before his teammate potted the winner in overtime to eliminate the Pittsburgh Penguins and send the Capitals to the Eastern Conference Final.

Neither Ovechkin nor Kuznetsov are strangers to a little postgame profanity.

Ovi summed up his failure to score his 50th goal of the campaign in the regular-season finale last month by laughing and telling reporters that "shit happens," and he had the same response when asked about the Capitals' Game 1 loss to the Penguins last year.

Kuznetsov also playfully called teammate Nathan Walker "that little motherfucker" after Monday's series-clinching win, and when Ovechkin notched the 600th goal of his career in March, his Russian countryman famously quipped, "Holy fuck, that's a lot of goals."

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Alex Ovechkin is happy to be putting any previous vacation plans on hold.

The Washington Capitals advanced to their first Eastern Conference Final since 1998 with an overtime win over the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 6 on Monday. For Ovechkin, the win was a long time coming and he explained what it's like to finally beat the Penguins in the playoffs.

"Finally, you know? It's been too long," Ovechkin said postgame to Sportsnet's Chris Simpson, according to Sportsnet's Chris Johnston. "Finally we beat Pittsburgh and finally we move to the next round. We didn't go home, we're not going to vacation, we're still battling and it's fun."

The Washington victory snapped a streak of seven consecutive series wins by the Penguins against the Capitals, dating back to the 1995 conference finals. It was also Ovechkin's first time defeating the Penguins in the playoffs in four career series.

Ovechkin and Co. will now meet the Tampa Bay Lightning and will look to earn a spot in their first Stanley Cup Final in 20 years.

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PITTSBURGH (AP) Evgeny Kuznetsov's breakway goal 5:27 into overtime gave the Washington Capitals a 2-1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 6 on Monday night, and a berth in the Eastern Conference finals for the first time in 20 years.

Kuznetsov took a lead pass from Alexander Ovechkin and tucked the puck by Matt Murray to end Pittsburgh's two-year reign as Stanley Cup champions and propel the Capitals into the NHL's final four for just the third time in franchise history.

Braden Holtby stopped 21 shots for the Capitals, who will face Tampa Bay in the Eastern Conference finals. Alex Chiasson scored his first playoff goal in four years during a taut, tight contest through regulation.

Kris Letang scored for the Penguins and Murray finished with 28 saves but couldn't close his legs fast enough to stop Kuznetsov's forehand flick from in close as Pittsburgh's bid at becoming the first team in 35 years to win three consecutive Cups came to an abrupt end.

The Capitals played without center Nicklas Backstrom, who was scratched due to a right hand injury suffered in the third period of Washington's Game 5 victory. Forward Tom Wilson also sat for a third straight game while serving a suspension for an illegal hit on Pittsburgh's Zach Aston-Reese in Game 2.

Washington spent the series saying its forgettable playoff history littered with squandered leads and blown opportunities - particularly against the Penguins - is not a factor. That this time is different. That this team is different. Twice the Capitals rallied in the third period to stun Pittsburgh, including a four-goal outburst in Game 5 that pushed them to the brink of their first Eastern Conference finals appearance in 20 years.

That last step, however, has always been tricky. Four times previously during the Ovechkin Era the Capitals won three games in the second round only to come up short in Game 7.

The Penguins, by contrast, have been impossible to finish off since head coach Mike Sullivan took over in December 2015. Pittsburgh came in 4-0 in elimination games under Sullivan, including a 2-0 victory in Game 7 in Washington last spring on its way to a second straight title.

The stakes led to an unusually slow start for both before the Capitals broke through 2:13 into the second when Walker held off Pittsburgh's Derick Brassard behind the Pittsburgh net and fed Chiasson in the right circle. Chiasson's shot slipped under Murray's left arm for his second career playoff goal and first in more than four years when he played for Dallas.

The deficit, however, hardly appeared to stoke the Penguins. Instead they continued to plod along, staying only one goal behind thanks in large part to the play of Murray. He stuffed Jakub Vrana on a breakaway to keep Pittsburgh's hole from getting any larger and at about the game's midway point, Sullivan had seen enough. He reshuffled the lines - putting Patric Hornqvist alongside Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin alongside Phil Kessel - and the energy shifted immediately.

The score soon followed.

Crosby won a faceoff in the offensive zone and fed it to Letang, whose shot from the point Washington's Chandler Stephenson and slipped by Holtby 11:52 into the second to tie it and set the stage for more drama in a series and a rivalry that continues to one-up itself spring after spring.

NOTES: Washington forward Andre Burakovsky missed his 10th straight game with an upper-body injury. ... Crosby's assist pushed his career playoff total to 185, tied with Hall of Famer Steve Yzerman for 10th most all-time. ... Walker's assist was the first ever in the playoffs by an Australian.

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