Andrei Svechnikov scored the go-ahead goal with just under two minutes left and the Hurricanes beat the top-seeded Capitals 3-1 in Game 5 on Thursday night in Washington, winning the second-round series and advancing to the Eastern Conference finals for a second time in three years.

Captain Jordan Staal got his first goal of the playoffs, and Frederik Andersen stopped 18 of the 19 shots he faced, including several on Alex Ovechkin.

The Hurricanes improved to 10-5 in potential close-out games in seven trips to the postseason with coach Rod Brind’Amour. They’re 35-7-2 through 82 games this season and then two playoff rounds when scoring first.

Kasperi Kapanen scored on a scramble in front of the net at 7:14 of OT, and the Oilers beat the Golden Knights 1-0 in Game 5 on Wednesday night in Las Vegas to advance to the Western Conference finals. Last season, the Oilers made it all the way to the Stanley Cup Final before losing in seven games to the Panthers. ... Sergei Bobrovsky made 31 saves, three Panthers defensemen scored and the defending Cup champs routed the host Maple Leafs 6-1 on Wednesday night in Toronto to take a 3-2 lead in the East semifinal series. The defending champion Panthers scored three times in a 7:53 span of the second period to pull away for their third straight victory.

Soccer: Argentina will have captain Lionel Messi back for its World Cup qualifiers against Chile and Colombia. The 37-year-old missed the March doubleheader because of an adductor injury but the team still clinched qualification for next year’s tournament by beating Uruguay and Brazil. Argentina will visit Chile on June 5 and then will host sixth-place Colombia on June 10. Messi will then return to the U.S. to play in the opening match of the FIFA Club World Cup when Inter Miami plays Egyptian team Al Ahly on June 14 in Miami.