NHL playoffs roundup: Sabres score 4 goals in 1st period vs. Bruins, take 3-1 lead in series
BOSTON — Sabres coach Lindy Ruff shut down any talk of putting forwards Tyson Kozak and Jason Zucker back in after injuries sent them to the locker room late in Game 4 of Buffalo’s first-round playoff series against the Bruins. “I said ‘There’s no need to return at this time,’”...
NHL playoffs roundup: Logan Stankoven scores again as Hurricanes sweep Senators
OTTAWA, Ontario — Logan Stankoven scored the go-ahead goal in the third period as the Carolina Hurricanes defeated Ottawa, 4-2, on Saturday to sweep the first-round series. Taylor Hall added a goal and an assist before Sebastian Aho buried two pucks into the empty net. Frederik Andersen made 25 saves....
Canadiens beat Lightning in OT to take lead in all-extra-time series
MONTREAL — Lane Hutson scored on a slap shot at 2 minutes, 9 seconds of overtime, and the Montreal Canadiens beat the Tampa Bay Lightning, 3-2, on Friday night to take a 2-1 lead in the first-round series that has opened with three extra-time thrillers. Hutson fired a shot from...
NHL playoffs are already nearing record for penalty shots
No game in the NHL’s Stanley Cup Playoffs has ever ended with a goal on a penalty shot in overtime, and Carolina’s Jordan Martinook was not eager to make history. He and the Hurricanes thought they’d won Game 2 of their first-round series against Ottawa when teammate Mark Jankowski scored,...
Sabres rally to beat Bruins for series lead; Hurricanes go up 3-0
BOSTON — Bowen Byram scored a minute after Boston missed a penalty shot, and Alex Tuch broke a third-period tie to help Buffalo come from behind and beat the Bruins, 3-1, on Thursday night to take a 2-1 lead in the first-round playoff series. Alex Lyon stopped 24 shots in...
Oilers’ Connor McDavid downplays injury despite no points through 1st 2 playoff games
EDMONTON, Alberta — Connor McDavid downplayed getting banged up in Game 2 of the Edmonton Oilers’ first-round series against the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday night. McDavid’s lower right leg appeared to buckle when he collided early in the second period with teammate Mattias Ekholm, who was attempting to check Anaheim’s...
First Call: Mike McCarthy ‘would love to have 4′ QBs; another potential Steelers trade partner; Pens’ history down 0-2
Wednesday’s “First Call” has an interesting quote from Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike McCarthy about quarterbacks. The Steelers may have another trade partner in the first round of the NFL Draft on Thursday night. NHL television ratings look good. The Penguins have some history on their side when it comes to...
Moser scores in OT as Lightning beat Canadiens and tie 1st-round series
TAMPA, Fla. — J.J. Moser scored 12:48 into overtime to give the Tampa Bay Lightning a 3-2 victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday night, tying the first-round playoff series at 1-1. The series shifts to Montreal for two games, with Game 3 set for Friday night. Game 4 is...
Big hits are already piling up in the opening round of the Stanley Cup playoffs
DENVER — The big hits always roll out this time of year. It’s just part of playoff hockey, especially in the tone-setting first round. So keep that head on a swivel. Through seven contests, teams are averaging a combined 86.9 hits per game, with the Carolina Hurricanes leading the list...
NHL playoffs roundup: Sabres score 4 3rd-period goals to beat Bruins in Game 1
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Mattias Samuelson scored with 3 minutes, 24 seconds left, and Buffalo overcame a two-goal deficit in the final eight minutes to beat the Boston Bruins, 4-3, on Sunday night in the Sabres’ first playoff game in 15 years. Tage Thompson scored two goals 3:42 apart to tie...
Playoff drought over, Sabres seek to rekindle rivalry with 1st-round matchup against Bruins
BUFFALO, N.Y. — At 26, Sabres captain Rasmus Dahlin is too young to appreciate the intense playoff rivalries Buffalo once enjoyed with various opponents. A 14-season playoff drought has a way of thinning whatever bad blood once existed between the Sabres and former rivals such as Ottawa, Philadelphia, Montreal and...
Boldy has 2 goals, assist as Wild overwhelm Stars to open series
DALLAS — Matt Boldy had two goals with an assist, Joel Ericksson Ek scored two power-play goals and rookie goalie Jesper Wallstedt stopped 27 shots in his postseason debut to help the Minnesota Wild beat the Dallas Stars, 6-1, on Saturday in Game 1 of their Western Conference playoff series....
Stankoven, Hall, Andersen help Carolina top Senators to open NHL playoffs
RALEIGH, N.C. — Logan Stankoven and Taylor Hall scored, and Frederik Andersen came through with a big third-period performance in net to help the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Ottawa Senators, 2-0, on Saturday to open their first-round playoff series. Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour had gone with Andersen’s veteran experience as...
First Call: Possible partner if Steelers want to move up in draft; NFL GM predicts many trades; Sidney Crosby on Pat McAfee
Lots of trade talk is swirling around the NFL Draft. In Friday’s “First Call,” we try to determine if the Pittsburgh Steelers could be a part of that action Thursday night in Pittsburgh. Sidney Crosby made a pre-playoff appearance on the “Pat McAfee Show.” And we preview the upcoming Pirates-Rays...
Goalies are under siege as the NHL save percentage dips to its lowest point in 3 decades
When he was an NHL goaltender, Brian Boucher said he would look up at the shot counter and keep telling himself how many more pucks he would need to stop to make it a good game. “It was a way to kind of validate what you were doing and how...
Explaining rules old and new that are part of the NHL’s Stanley Cup playoffs
More than a decade into the return of a division-focused playoff format, the arguments persist about whether it is the best thing the NHL can do to determine a Stanley Cup champion. For three years in a row from 2016-18, Sidney Crosby’s Pittsburgh Penguins faced Alex Ovechkin’s Washington Capitals in...
2026 Stanley Cup playoffs: Get to know the favorites and what to watch for
The field for the Stanley Cup playoffs is set with the first series set to begin Saturday. Six of the 16 teams did not qualify a year ago, including Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Boston in the East. It’s the 10th time in 12 seasons under the divisional wild card format...
Rangers goaltender Jonathan Quick, 40, says he is retiring from the NHL
SUNRISE, Fla. — Jonathan Quick said he is retiring at age 40 after nearly two decades in the NHL, a stretch during which he was one of the best goaltenders of his generation. Quick said his start for the New York Rangers at the Florida Panthers on Monday night is...
Who’s got Hart? AP picks the NHL MVP and other top awards as the playoffs arrive
For a third consecutive year, there is no clear choice for the Hart Trophy as NHL MVP, and again the debate over the importance of “valuable” comes into play. Edmonton’s Connor McDavid is on track to win the scoring race for the most points and the Art Ross Trophy, and...
Ovechkin response to fans’ request for 1 more year: ‘I’ll think about it’
WASHINGTON — If this was indeed the final home game of Alex Ovechkin’s sensational NHL career, the Washington Capitals star collected enough memories to take him deep into retirement. From the opening faceoff to the celebratory post-game skate in which he waved gratefully to the adoring fans, Ovechkin enjoyed one...
The NHL playoffs have plenty of fresh blood, and a new Stanley Cup champion will be crowned
The Stanley Cup will have a new home this year after the back-to-back champion Florida Panthers had their season derailed by injuries. They’re not the only perennial contender to miss the playoffs, either, with the Buffalo Sabres among the roughly half dozen newcomers in the 16-team field. The Pittsburgh Penguins...
Couturier and Cates have 3-point games to lead the Flyers past the Jets 7-1
WINNIPEG, Manitoba — Sean Couturier had two goals and an assist, and Noah Cates added a short-handed goal and two assists to lead the Philadelphia Flyers to a 7-1 win over the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday night. Porter Martone, Matvei Michkov, Travis Sanheim and Nick Seeler also scored for the...
Mammoth rebuilding project puts Utah in playoffs in team’s 2nd season since moving from Arizona
Utah’s rebuilding process began in the Arizona desert, where the team was known as the Coyotes and progress was incremental. In the first year after a move to Salt Lake City, the team became the Utah Hockey Club and took a bigger step, winning eight more games than the previous...
Call it ‘Bowness Time.’ Lured out of retirement, Blue Jackets coach enjoying playoff-race pressure
Age has its privileges, something Rick Bowness is fondly enjoying in the overtime of his coaching career. At 71 and by his count twice retired, Bowness hasn’t lost the urgency to win in his latest interim job coaching the Columbus Blue Jackets. What he also has is freedom from the...
Alex Ovechkin says he’s waiting until after season to decide future
Alex Ovechkin says he is waiting until after the Washington Capitals’ season is over to decide whether he’s calling it a career or returning to play one more year. The NHL’s career goal-scoring leader announced his intentions in a clip of a pretaped interview with Capitals radio broadcaster John Walton...
