NHL category, Page 16

The Florida Panthers are back in the Eastern Conference final one year after reaching the Stanley Cup Final. The Presidents’ Trophy-winning New York Rangers have made it there for the second time in three years. Now, the East’s division winners will meet in the playoffs for just the second time...

Ryan McDonagh is returning to Tampa Bay, hoping to help the Lightning win the Stanley Cup again after two seasons in Nashville. The Predators traded McDonagh back to the Lightning on Tuesday, giving the veteran defenseman a welcome homecoming with the organization he helped to two championships and clearing some...

RALEIGH, N.C. — The Carolina Hurricanes have locked up their biggest free agent in coach Rod Brind’Amour. The work ahead could prove more challenging for president and general manager Don Waddell. The Hurricanes have had six straight playoff trips, including at least one series win every time and two trips...

SUNRISE, Fla. — Here’s the list of Aleksander Barkov’s top highlights from the Florida-Boston series: the go-ahead goal that sparked a Game 2 victory, scoring a spectacular game-winning goal to cap a comeback in Game 4, then blocking a shot late in Game 6 to keep things tied about 90...

DALLAS — The Dallas Stars finally get a little bit of a breather after avoiding another Game 7 on the way to their second Western Conference Final in a row. They knocked out the last two Stanley Cup champions while playing 13 games in 26 nights. The last one stretched...

ST. LOUIS — Craig Berube has a new home. Berube was hired by the Maple Leafs on Friday afternoon, as the former Blues coach takes over perhaps the most high-profile job in the NHL. Berube coached the Blues for parts of six seasons before he was fired in December after...

DENVER — The nameplate above the locker for Valeri Nichushkin already has been removed at the Colorado Avalanche’s practice facility. It could be just for now — or possibly for good. For a second consecutive year, the Avalanche are on the brink of elimination from the playoffs with Nichushkin, one...

Paul Maurice is in his second season coaching the Florida Panthers, trying to guide them to a second consecutive appearance in the Stanley Cup Final. It was pointed out to him not long ago that, in his current profession, two years seems like an eternity. Such is the life he...

If you went to sleep midway through either of the Western Conference NHL playoff games the past two nights, there’s a good chance you woke up to a different winner than you thought. On Tuesday night, Dallas led Colorado, 3-0, after the first period and lost 4-3 in overtime. Roughly...

TORONTO — Sheldon Keefe is out as coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs, fired Thursday after another early exit from the NHL playoffs. The move had been expected after Toronto lost to rival Boston in Game 7 last weekend, the fourth time in five years under Keefe the team has...

Ownership of the NHL’s team in Utah has given fans 20 choices to vote on for the franchise’s new name, according to a survey sent out Wednesday by Smith Entertainment Group. Owner Ryan Smith has told The Associated Press the team will have a name starting with Utah. The inaugural...

Wednesday’s “First Call” features a former Pittsburgh Steeler up for an important post in New England. The Steelers are welcoming a new running back. A local product plays a big role in New York’s win over the Carolina Hurricanes in Stanley Cup playoff action. And a former WPIAL star looks...

OTTAWA, Ontario — The Ottawa Senators have hired Travis Green as coach, signing him to a four-year contract through the 2027-28 season. The team announced the move Tuesday, with Green taking over for interim coach Jacques Martin. Green most recently served as interim coach of the New Jersey Devils after...

Step aside, Auston Matthews. Women’s hockey is taking center stage in Toronto, where Natalie Spooner, Sarah Nurse & Co. open the PWHL playoffs against Minnesota on Wednesday. Meanwhile, the sport’s most prominent faces — Boston’s Hilary Knight and Montreal’s Marie-Philip Poulin — are adding a new wrinkle to their longstanding...

The St. Louis Blues have removed the interim tag from Drew Bannister’s title and named him their full-time coach. President of hockey operations and general manager Doug Armstrong announced the move Tuesday. Bannister, 50, signed a two-year contract to remain in the role after replacing Craig Berube when the 2019...

The chase for the Stanley Cup is down to eight teams left in the NHL playoffs, all among the best the league has to offer. The eight remaining in the second round were among the top nine in the regular-season standings. A new winner is also guaranteed after defending champion...

DALLAS — Radek Faksa broke a tie in his return to the Dallas lineup, 20-year-old Wyatt Johnston scored in another Game 7 and the Stars beat the defending Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights, 2-1, on Sunday night to wrap up the first-round series. After being out with an undisclosed...

SUNRISE, Fla. — There are no shortage of storylines for this Florida-Boston rematch. There’s the Panthers, trying to move another step closer toward a return to the Stanley Cup Final. There’s the Bruins, looking to avenge a shocking upset in a Round 1 series last season. The rested Panthers having...

BOSTON — Boston Bruins coach Jim Montgomery wanted to do something different with his team heading into a first-round Game 7 matchup with the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Bruins were facing the prospect of blowing back-to-back 3-1 leads in the opening round and a sense of impending doom hung over...

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — It has become a running joke with the Florida Panthers. Ask coach Paul Maurice about Sam Reinhart, and he will say something less than glowing about his team’s top goal scorer. These are actual examples: “He’s hard to deal with.” “He’s got a terrible attitude.” “He’s...

RALEIGH, N.C. — Carolina Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour said Thursday he feels “really good” that he will reach a new contract with the team, mirroring optimism from president and general manager Don Waddell a day earlier. Brind’Amour — considered by many the face of the franchise with his long-running ties...

Off the goaltender’s mask, off a defenseman’s back, nothing but net. Well, at least in the net. That is how Colorado’s Casey Mittelstadt got his first goal of the NHL playoffs this year, and it is not the only one. Several players have scored by ricocheting the puck in off...