Canucks’ Carson Soucy suspended 1 game for cross-checking Oilers star Connor McDavid in the faceVideo
EDMONTON, Alberta — Vancouver Canucks defenseman Carson Soucy was suspended one game on Monday for a cross-check on Edmonton Oilers superstar Connor McDavid. A skirmish began after the final buzzer sounded in Vancouver’s 4-3 victory in Game 3 on Sunday night. Soucy shoved McDavid behind the Canucks’ net and McDavid...
From 1 goal to 3, no lead is safe in these NHL playoffs
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 Maple Leafs fire coach Sheldon Keefe after another early playoff exit
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...
What will Utah’s NHL team be called? Here are 20 options
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...
First Call: Steelers welcome RB on tryout; Patriots may want ex-Steeler as GM; Jake Guentzel scores twice for Hurricanes
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...
Senators hire Travis Green as coach to take over for Jacques Martin
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...
PWHL Playoffs: Women’s hockey takes center stage in Toronto while Hilary Knight, Marie-Philip Poulin renew rivalry
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...
St. Louis Blues remove interim tag, name Drew Bannister full-time coach
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...
After special teams play keyed Rangers’ series-opening win, Hurricanes focused on getting betterVideo
The Rangers and Hurricanes were among the top special teams units during the regular season. Carolina was second on the power play and first on the penalty kill, and New York was third in both. After special teams play keyed the Rangers’ 4-3 win in the series opener, the Hurricanes...
Winnipeg Jets coach Rick Bowness retiring after 38 NHL seasonsVideo
Rick Bowness walked off the ice following the Winnipeg Jets’ final loss of the season, which eliminated them from the playoffs, unhappy with his performance and how his team played, and it dawned on him that it should be the final NHL game he coaches. “Coaches have always told me...
How to watch and what to expect in the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs
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...
Stars win Game 7, oust defending Stanley Cup champ Golden Knights
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...
Panthers, Bruins set to meet again in playoff rematch, this time in Round 2
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...
Bruins avoid blowing another 3-1 series lead in Game 7. Now they get a shot at revenge vs. Panthers
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...
Sam Reinhart wants Stanley Cup more than place in Panthers history
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...
Hurricanes’ Rod Brind’Amour feels ‘really good’ about reaching new contract
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...
NHL players refining art of bank shots off goalie masks
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...
Pending free agent Steven Stamkos wants to stay with Lightning
TAMPA, Fla. — Steven Stamkos wants to hoist the Stanley Cup again with the Tampa Bay Lightning. The 34-year-old captain, who can become a free agent this summer, reiterated Wednesday that he’d like to remain with the only franchise he’s played for in a stellar 16-season career. And general manager...
Hurricanes’ depth proves critical to secure 2nd-round playoff matchup against the Rangers
RALEIGH, N.C. — The Carolina Hurricanes are getting production throughout their lineup to start the NHL playoffs. They’ll need it going forward if they’re going to take down the Presidents’ Trophy-winning New York Rangers. The Hurricanes closed out the New York Islanders in a first-round series on Tuesday night. The...
Capitals’ T.J. Oshie hopes to play next season. He’ll only do so if his back problems are fixed
ARLINGTON, Va. — T.J. Oshie lingered on the ice long after many of his Washington Capitals teammates departed for the locker room following the loss that eliminated them from the playoffs. His family was at all four games, including in New York, just in case. They could be the final...
Seattle Kraken fire coach Dave Hakstol after leading the franchise for its first 3 seasonsVideo
SEATTLE — The Seattle Kraken fired coach Dave Hakstol on Monday after the third-year franchise took a significant step back on the heels of a playoff appearance in their second season. Hakstol was a finalist for the Jack Adams Award as coach of the year last season as Seattle finished...
Analysis: The NHL playoffs are off to an odd start, from the net outVideo
The greatest goal-scorer of his generation was held without a point for the first time in a series in his nearly two-decade NHL career. The best goaltender in the league this season has given up a first round-high 19 goals. Vancouver has lost a Vezina Trophy finalist, used three different...
Rangers finish off sweep of the Capitals, move on to the 2nd round of the NHL playoffsVideo
WASHINGTON — Artemi Panarin scored the go-ahead goal on the power play early in the third period, Igor Shesterkin made 23 saves and the New York Rangers advanced to the second round of the playoffs by finishing off a sweep of the Washington Capitals with a 4-2 victory in Game...
Bob Cole, the voice of hockey in Canada for a half-century, dies at 90
TORONTO — Bob Cole, the voice of hockey in Canada for a half century who served as the soundtrack for some of the national sport’s biggest moments, has died. He was 90. Friend and fellow broadcaster John Shannon said Cole died Wednesday night in his hometown of St. John’s, the...
Goalie Ivan Fedotov signs 2-year, $6.5M deal with Flyers after long journey to NHL
PHILADELPHIA — Goaltender Ivan Fedotov signed a two-year, $6.5 million contract with the Flyers on Tuesday, landing a short-term commitment in the NHL less than a month after joining the team and nine years after his complicated and secretive journey to Philadelphia began. Fedotov made his long-awaited Flyers debut earlier...
