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...
Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko will miss Game 2 against PredatorsVideo
VANCOUVER, British Columbia — The Vancouver Canucks will be without goalie Thatcher Demko when they face the Nashville Predators in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series Tuesday. Coach Rick Tocchet said the 28-year-old netminder is going to be evaluated later Tuesday and is “day to day.” “He skated yesterday....
Matthews scores as Maple Leafs beat Bruins 3-2 to tie series
BOSTON — Auston Matthews scored on a breakaway to snap a third-period tie with eight minutes left, and the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Boston Bruins 3-2 on Monday night to knot their first-round playoff series at one game apiece. Ilya Samsonov stopped 27 shots for Toronto, which snapped an...
Sabres bring back Lindy Ruff as coach in hopes of ending playoff drought
Lindy Ruff is returning to Buffalo for a second stint as coach of the Sabres. General manager Kevyn Adams announced the hiring Monday. Adams had strongly hinted at bringing Ruff back into the fold when talking about hiring a coach with significant NHL experience. Ruff coached the Sabres from 1997-2013...
Matt Rempe, Rangers’ 4th line comes through vs. Capitals
NEW YORK — Matt Rempe and the New York Rangers’ fourth line made their presence felt in the opener of their first-round series against the Washington Capitals on Sunday. Jimmy Vesey had a goal and an assist, home-crowd favorite Rempe also scored and Barclay Goodrow had two assists in the...
Big goaltender decisions await several teams in Stanley Cup playoffs
DENVER — Colorado goaltender Alexandar Georgiev went home after a recent shaky outing and immediately watched film — the car-racing thriller “The Fast and the Furious.” Anything to keep his own mind from racing. It’s playoff time, where teams march to the beat of their goaltenders. They want them laser-focused,...
NHL PLAYOFFS: West best Dallas vs. defending champion Vegas headlines 1st-round matchupsVideo
All eight first-round matchups in the NHL playoffs are set after the last day of the regular season flipped two of the biggest series in the West. The defending Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights will open against West top seed Dallas. Connor McDavid’s Edmonton Oilers will face the Los...
John Tortorella says he failed to get Flyers to ‘close the deal’ in wake of late-season collapseVideo
VOORHEES, N.J. — Put those playoff plans on hold, Flyers fans. And not just this season. Philadelphia is stuck on the outside of the postseason for the fourth straight year after its fate was decided in Game 82. The Flyers’ acceleration from expected painful rebuild to the cusp of the...
Utah’s new NHL team needs new name, as well
The NHL team moving from Arizona to Salt Lake City will be known as Utah, at least initially, until a long-term name is determined. “We’ll start with Utah on the jersey, and we’ll figure out the logo and everything else and what it is that we are,” new owner Ryan...
‘It’s wide open’ is theme as race to Stanley Cup begins
General manager Don Waddell likes how his Carolina Hurricanes finished the season, winning 16 of their final 21 games. He knows it means nothing now. “Your points get erased, and you all start with zeroes,” Waddell said. “Playoffs are a different time. That’s what’s great about the NHL. Once you...
