While customers are watching the Super Bowl at Boston’s Common Ground Bar and Grill James White Jersey , waiters and bartenders will pause to see key moments as well. General Manager Jeff John understands his staff wants to see if the New England Patriots can win their third NFL title in four years.

”Your first focus has to be the guest,” John says. ”But we all get caught in the moment from time to time.”

Big sporting events are often a workplace distraction. But many small business owners and managers are cutting staffers a little slack as football fans find it hard to resist chatting about Sunday’s game. The Winter Olympics, the NCAA basketball tournament and other big events are coming up, and staffers may want to tune in.

Some owners realize that trying to eliminate sports talk or forbidding staffers to watch games is demoralizing and also difficult to achieve. So as long as there isn’t too much Monday morning quarterbacking or time spent in front of the office TV, bosses will go easy on fans. Some companies are even more understanding; it’s OK there for staffers to watch games in break rooms, and some owners even run office pools without cash prizes.

John has noticed that when the games are most exciting, customers want to watch, not order. So if waiters want to pause and see the play, he doesn’t stop them. Besides, when a waiter high-fives a customer after great play, it increases the bond between Common Ground and its diners.

A flexible attitude is a good management practice for company owners, says Phillippe Weiss, an attorney with expertise in employment law at the firm Seyfarth Shaw in Chicago.

”They’re not going to be able to stop people’s excitement,” Weiss says. ”Trying to do so in an unyielding or draconian way is going to backfire.”

If the boss sees productivity slowing, or employees not tending to work that needs to be done, Weiss suggests a firm but friendly approach. For example, if there’s too much watching of NCAA games, tell staffers T.J. Ward Jersey , ”It’s time to do a fast break back to work.”

David Niu doesn’t worry about productivity at TINYpulse, his company that makes software to measure worker satisfaction and morale at other businesses. There’s a TV that will show NCAA games in March and employees will be able to watch. But they’ll also be held accountable for getting their work done.

”Instead of fighting it, I’m going to treat you as an adult,” says Niu, whose Seattle-based company has 100 employees. He expects staffers to cluster in front of the TV during the last few minutes of some of the games – and he’ll be there with them.

Watching TV during at work was once verboten. But many employers have come to realize a more employee-friendly work atmosphere benefits everyone; when staffers feel relaxed and are allowed to share a little fun, they’re more productive and do better work.

Actualize Consulting used to have a policy about watching and discussing games that managing director Kerry Wekelo now calls rigid. The bosses would end conversations, and ”that would burst people’s bubbles when they were excited,” Wekelo says.

The financial consulting firm with offices in New York and Reston, Virginia, has since changed its policy. If employees want to take a couple of hours to watch a game, they can, as long as they make up the time. The bosses also run an NCAA pool in which the winnings can be used for wellness purchases like gym memberships or treadmills.

Owners shouldn’t run pools with pure cash prizes, which are illegal even though employees at many workplaces have them, Weiss says. If a boss runs a pool and staffers feel pressure to take part, it could be raised in a potential lawsuit against the company. Or workers who don’t want to take part may resent the boss.

It’s not so easy for people who work in a factory to watch games or spend time away from their work to chat. At Ratchet Straps USA, which makes straps to tie down items like tents or farm equipment, the headsets staffers use to communicate with one another in the warehouse have private channels, and owner Michael Russell is fine with them talking about the game or anything else while they work. He understands sports are important for many at his Belleville Warren Sapp Jersey , Ohio, company, and they’ll want to gather around the TV in the last 10 minutes of NCAA games.

”Watching the last couple of minutes is something that we definitely even encourage,” Russell says.

Richard Lee is really the only big fan at his Los Angeles law firm, and is likely to be alone watching NCAA games on the conference room TV. He still runs a cashless pool for staffers. After the tournament, there’s an awards luncheon and even non-participants are eligible for a last-place medal.

”This is a fun morale booster and break from what is often the dead-serious practice of law,” Lee says.

Since it’s pointless to try to ban sports fans from watching or talking, Ross Sapir, owner of Roadway Moving based in the New York City borough of the Bronx, doesn’t even try.

”They don’t have to do it on the sly, on their cellphones or watching it in the background of their computers,” says Sapir, whose moving business has 40 staffers in its office, including many who want to watch the games on company TVs.

The big sporting event at his company is the World Cup soccer tournament, which runs from mid-June to mid-July. The games will be in Russia and many will be broadcast during working hours.

”I actually almost give them complete freedom to watch,” Sapir says. ”It’s such a festive environmen

WASHINGTON — The streaking Washington Capitals go for their sixth straight victory when they host the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday night at Capital One Arena.

The Capitals (46-24-7) hold a five-point lead over the Pittsburgh Penguins, who they visit Sunday.

Washington extended its streak in style Wednesday night with 3-2 overtime win against the visiting New York Rangers. Lars Eller tied the game with 1:05 remaining and Evgeny Kuznetsov beat Henrik Lundqvist 38 seconds into overtime as Washington won for the ninth time in 10 games.

It marked the third time this season the Capitals tied a game with less than two minutes remaining in regulation.

“We’re confident in any situation of a game,” goaltender Braden Holtby told NHL.com. “We play better when it’s close; one goal either way or whatever. I think with our skill O. J. Simpson Jersey , it forces us to turn things on late in the game and guys take that as a challenge.”

Kuznetsov, who assisted on Eller’s goal, notched his sixth straight game with two or more points (five goals, 13 assists). His 25th goal increased his season high, and his 77th point tied his single-season best set in the 2015-16 season.

Holtby, making only his third start in the past 11 games, was solid, stopping 35 shots to gain his third straight win.

“I felt comfortable,” he told the team’s website. “Obviously it’s something I’m not used to, not playing much. Stamina and such was a little different than I’m used to, but it felt good to go out there and just get to work, and to play in a high intensity game.”

Philipp Grubauer, who started four of the past five games, was scratched because of a lower-body injury, but returned to practice Thursday.

“I have two goalies,” Capitals coach Barry Trotz said told NHL.com. “If that’s an indication of where (Holtby’s) game is going, I know where Grubauer’s is at, then we’re in good shape with two goaltenders that have played valuable minutes for us. … We’ve still got some games left and we’ll see where we are.”

The Hurricanes (34-32-11) saw their three-game winning streak end Tuesday night in a 4-3 loss at New Jersey. Stefan Noesen scored with 1:33 left in the third period to give the Devils the victory.

Noah Hanifin Connor Cook Jersey , Phillip Di Giuseppe and Warren Foegele scored for the Hurricanes, and Scott Darling made 41 saves.

Carolina went 0-for-3 on the power play while New Jersey was 2-for-4.

“It’s tough when you play games that are fast, that hard fought, and it comes down to just a few plays,” Hanifin told NHL.com. “Unfortunately, our power-play time was not good enough. We had a few chances and we didn’t do anything with them. We gave up power-play goals and they beat us in that department. We have to be better.”

The Hurricanes, still alive despite being 10 points behind New Jersey for the second Eastern Conference wild card spot with five games remaining, lost leads of 2-1 and 3-2.

“I thought it was back and forth all night,” Di Giuseppe told NHL.com. “No matter what, you want to win. We’re just trying to win for each other and obviously it was disappointing tonight, but there are a few more games.”

Foegele, 21, who scored goals in his first two NHL games this week, was reassigned to the Charlotte Checkers of the AHL on Wednesday.

Hurricanes defenseman Justin Falk missed the last three games with an upper-body injury.

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