Darcy Kuemper makes 49 saves in Coyotes win over Avalanche
EDMONTON, Alberta — Darcy Kuemper stopped 49 shots, and the Arizona Coyotes held on to beat the Colorado Avalanche, 4-2, on Saturday to close within 2-1 in their Stanley Cup playoff series. Arizona took the early lead on Derek Stepan’s first-period goal, then spent most of the day counterpunching against...
Islanders play Barry Trotz hockey, take 2-0 series lead on Caps
TORONTO — Brock Nelson scored the go-ahead goal on a second-period breakaway 15 seconds after Alex Ovechkin tied it, and the New York Islanders beat the Washington Capitals 5-2 on Friday night to take a 2-0 lead in the first-round series. Barry Trotz’s Islanders played his trademark structured, suffocating style...
Canadiens rout Flyers to strike 1-1 first-round series tieVideo
TORONTO — Tomas Tatar and Jesperi Kotkaniemi each scored twice, Carey Price stopped 30 shots and the Montreal Canadiens rebounded without coach Claude Julien to rout the Philadelphia Flyers, 5-0, on Friday and tie the series at a game apiece. Julien was home in Montreal a day after a stent...
Andre Burakovsky scores late, Avalanche beat Coyotes
EDMONTON, Alberta — Andre Burakovsky scored late in the third period, Philipp Grubauer stopped 30 shots and the Colorado Avalanche beat the Arizona Coyotes, 3-2, on Friday to take a 2-0 lead in their Stanley Cup playoff series. The Coyotes were far more aggressive after being tentative against Colorado’s offensive...
Stars get late goal for 5-4 win over Flames to even series
EDMONTON, Alberta — Miro Heiskanen set the tone early for the Stars when on the ice with their top line. Corey Perry and Jamie Oleksiak made sure Dallas got a series-evening win without needing overtime. Oleksiak scored with 40 seconds left in regulation on a nifty pass from Perry as...
Dougie Hamilton helps Carolina beat Boston, tie series
TORONTO — This is what Dougie Hamilton was hoping for while he waited out the pandemic shutdown that put the NHL season on hold, and then waited some more after injuring himself in practice when the Hurricanes returned to the ice. The Carolina defenseman scored the game-winner with 11:30 left...
Vegas stays unbeaten in bubble, goes up 2-0 on Chicago
EDMONTON, Alberta — Even though Reilly Smith called it a lucky bounce, a whole lot more than luck is working right now for the Vegas Golden Knights. Smith scored in overtime, Robin Lehner made 22 saves, and the Golden Knights beat the Chicago Blackhawks 4-3 on Thursday to take a...
Joonas Korpisalo helps Blue Jackets tie series with LightningVideo
TORONTO — Two days after making an NHL-record 85 saves in a five-overtime loss, Joonas Korpisalo stopped 36 more shots to help the Columbus Blue Jackets beat the Tampa Bay Lightning, 3-1, on Thursday to even the series at a game apiece. Ryan Murray and Oliver Bjorkstrand scored in the...
Flyers edge Montreal in series opener
TORONTO — Carter Hart made 27 saves, Joel Farabee scored 16 seconds after Montreal tied it, and the Philadelphia Flyers beat the Canadiens 2-1 on Wednesday night in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series. Ivan Provorov also scored for the Flyers. Shea Weber scored for the Canadiens, and Carey...
Anders Lee stakes Islanders to series lead over CapitalsVideo
TORONTO — New York Islanders coach Barry Trotz isn’t surprised the Washington Capitals, his former team, is unhappy with Anders Lee. Trotz didn’t see anything wrong with Lee’s play in a 4-2 first-round series playoff-opening victory in which the New York captain set the tone with a big hit on...
Bruins win opener against Hurricanes in double overtimeVideo
TORONTO — After being told to come back the next morning because another game lasted five overtimes, the Boston Bruins didn’t want to repeat history so quickly. “We talked about trying to end this before the fifth overtime,” Patrice Bergeron said. Bergeron accomplished that by scoring early in double overtime,...
Avalanche score 3 third-period goals to shut out CoyotesVideo
EDMONTON, Alberta — Nazem Kadri and J.T. Compher scored 10 seconds apart in the third period, Philipp Grubauer stopped 14 shots and the Colorado Avalanche opened the Stanley Cup playoffs with a 3-0 victory over the Arizona Coyotes on Wednesday. Colorado dominated the Coyotes through the first two periods, outshooting...
NHLPA’s Donald Fehr buoyed by zero positive tests; ‘So far so good’
TORONTO — Zero players testing positive for covid-19 in the two weeks since NHL teams arrived at their two respective playoff hub cities. And a powerful opening night statement on social and racial justice issues made by the league and its players. Given the uncertainty professional hockey faced in placing...
Robin Lehner, Golden Knights shut down Blackhawks in opener
EDMONTON, Alberta — Robin Lehner had more trouble with one of his skates than he did with his former team. Reilly Smith, Shea Theodore and the Vegas Golden Knights took good care of their goaltender Tuesday night. Theodore and William Carrier scored 2:17 apart midway through the second period, Lehner...
Dillon Dube scores twice as Flames beat Stars in Game 1Video
EDMONTON, Alberta — Rasmus Andersson snapped a tie after Dillon Dube scored twice in the first period for the confident Calgary Flames, who beat the Dallas Stars, 3-2, in Game 1 of their best-of-seven Western Conference playoff series Tuesday. “It feels good. You can feel the chemistry in the room...
Lightning outlast Blue Jackets in 5-OT series openerVideo
TORONTO — Brayden Point scored 10 minutes, 27 seconds into the fifth overtime, and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Columbus Blue Jackets, 3-2, on Tuesday in the fourth-longest game in Stanley Cup playoff history. Point scored from just above the left circle, beating Joonas Korpisalo after the goaltender made...
Familiarity breeds respect among NHL East playoff teamsVideo
TORONTO — Tampa Bay Lightning coach Jon Cooper took exception to the Columbus Blue Jackets being referred to as “a blue-collar” team. “Is that a positive or a negative?” Cooper said Monday, a day before his Eastern Conference second-seeded Lightning open the first round of the NHL playoffs against the...
‘Heavy lifting:’ NHL’s West is big, tough, deep and wide openVideo
The top of the Western Conference features the defending Stanley Cup champion, a 2018 finalist with even more talent and an MVP front-runner. Good luck picking a favorite. The Vegas Golden Knights earned the top seed in the West by winning all three of their games in a round-robin tournament...
First Call: Steelers facing 2021 cap trauma. Will Flyers win the Stanley Cup? MLB brawl.
Monday’s “First Call” profiles an ugly situation for the Steelers salary cap. We also get some fantasy football insight on JuJu Smith-Schuster and James Conner. Plus, we’ll show you a baseball brawl. The Flyers are in prime position to end a 45-year Stanley Cup drought. And questions remain about Marc-Andre...
‘Wild’ NHL playoffs move into next stage with final 16 teamsVideo
Derek Stepan gave some words of advice to his Arizona Coyotes teammates not used to the bright lights of playoff hockey. “It’s the best time of the year to be playing,” he said. The time of year is different than usual, but the NHL’s Stanley Cup playoffs haven’t lost any...
Stars beat Blues to draw Flames; St. Louis to face CanucksVideo
EDMONTON, Alberta — Joe Pavelski tied it with 31.4 seconds left in the third period, Anton Khudobin stopped all three shots he faced in the shootout and the Dallas Stars beat the St. Louis Blues, 2-1, in round-robin play Sunday to clinch the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference....
Capitals beat Bruins to earn 3rd seed in East, face Islanders nextVideo
TORONTO — T.J. Oshie and Tom Wilson scored, Braden Holtby made 30 saves and the Washington Capitals beat the Boston Bruins, 2-1, in round-robin play Sunday to clinch the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference and set up a first-round matchup against former coach Barry Trotz’s New York Islanders....
Flyers clinch top seed in East with 4-1 win over Lightning
TORONTO — Rookie Nicolas Aube-Kubel scored twice, and the Philadelphia Flyers defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-1 on Saturday night to clinch the Eastern Conference’s top seed through the playoffs. The Lightning not only dropped the game in completing preliminary round-robin play with a 2-1 record, Tampa Bay’s star defenseman...
Tuch scores in OT; Knights beat Avs for top seed in WestVideo
EDMONTON, Alberta — Alex Tuch scored 4 minutes, 44 seconds into overtime, Jonathan Marchessault had two goals and the Vegas Golden Knights beat the Colorado Avalanche, 4-3, on Saturday to earn the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference. The Golden Knights will face Chicago in the first round of...
Fighting significantly up during unique NHL playoffsVideo
The Toronto Maple Leafs’ season was hanging by a thread from one of Jason Spezza’s gloves when he dropped them to the ice to fight Dean Kukan. “I just tried to spark the guys, just trying to show some desperation and have some push-back,” Spezza said after Toronto’s emotional comeback...
