2 teams, 2 chances at titles: Heat, Panthers ready for their finals tests
DENVER — They were No. 8 seeds. They barely got into the playoffs after up-and-down regular seasons. They had to face the No. 1 overall seeds in Round 1 of the postseason. They had to win Games 7 in Boston just to keep their seasons alive. They are Eastern Conference...
Maple Leafs hire Brad Treliving as team’s new general manager
TORONTO — Brad Treliving has a new job. And the Maple Leafs have a new plan. Treliving was hired as Toronto’s general manager Wednesday, less than two weeks after firing Kyle Dubas. The 53-year-old Treliving left the Calgary Flames in April following nine seasons that included five playoff appearances and...
For the Florida Panthers, celebrations getting a bit hairy, just in time for the Stanley Cup Final
SUNRISE, Fla. — The tradition of hockey’s playoff beard goes back to at least the mid-1980s, with the Detroit Red Wings widely credited with beginning the facial hair phenomenon. The playoff beard rub might have started last month by accident. Go back to April 26, when the Florida Panthers staved...
The Stanley Cup Final between Vegas, Florida will end with 1st-time NHL champion
Jon Hamm is excited for this Stanley Cup Final between the Florida Panthers and Vegas Golden Knights. “Stoked, man,” the actor and noted hockey fan said. “I live in L.A., so that’s a half-hour flight away for me.” The NHL is pumped, too. Even though the ratings likely will sag...
Spencer Carbery hired as Capitals coach after 2 seasons as Maple Leafs assistantVideo
Spencer Carbery got his start in coaching in the minors with the Washington Capitals watching closely. They liked what they saw, and on Tuesday they brought him back to fill the job they envisioned he would get. The Capitals hired Carbery as their next coach, ending their search for Peter...
Golden Knights advance to 2nd Stanley Cup Final after Game 6 win over Stars
DALLAS — William Karlsson scored two goals and had an assist as the Vegas Golden Knights advanced to their second Stanley Cup Final with a 6-0 rout Monday night over the Dallas Stars, who had extended the Western Conference Final to six games after losing the first three. William Carrier,...
Ty Dellandrea scores twice in 3rd, Stars stay alive with Game 5 victory over Golden KnightsVideo
LAS VEGAS — Ty Dellandrea scored twice in a 1:27 span midway through the third period, and the Dallas Stars beat the Vegas Golden Knights, 4-2, on Saturday night to stay alive in the Western Conference Final. The Stars escaped elimination for the second game in a row and head...
Keith Tkachuk’s words came at just the right time for PanthersVideo
SUNRISE, Fla. — Keith Tkachuk never played a game for the Florida Panthers and hadn’t recorded an assist at the NHL level in nearly 13 years. That is, until March 29. That’s the day he might have had the biggest helper in Florida’s season — by calling the Panthers “soft,”...
Golden Knights aim for closeout win vs. Stars in Western Conference finalVideo
LAS VEGAS — Alec Martinez was part of the 2014 Los Angeles Kings team that erased a 3-0 first-round series deficit and beat Joe Pavelski and the San Jose Sharks in Game 7. Pavelski and coach Pete DeBoer were the centerpiece of a Sharks comeback from 3-1 down in the...
Joe Pavelski scores in OT, Stars beat Golden Knights to avoid sweep
DALLAS — Joe Pavelski scored on a power play at 3 minutes, 18 seconds of overtime, and the Dallas Stars avoided a sweep in the Western Conference final with a 3-2 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday night. Jason Robertson scored twice for his first career multigoal playoff...
Panthers throw knockout blows on way to Stanley Cup Final
SUNRISE, Fla. — They knocked out Boston. They knocked out Toronto. They knocked out Carolina. Jamie Kompon was not knocked out, despite Paul Maurice’s best efforts. Let’s explain: Kompon is an assistant coach for the Florida Panthers under Maurice, who is in his first year as head coach. Kompon made...
Matthew Tkachuk sends Panthers to Stanley Cup Final after topping Hurricanes for sweepVideo
SUNRISE, Fla. — Matthew Tkachuk delivered for Florida, again. Sergei Bobrovsky denied Carolina, again. The wait is over: After 27 years, the Florida Panthers — a hockey punchline no more — are again going to play for the game’s grandest prize. Tkachuk got his second goal of the game with...
NHL’s Gary Bettman basks in ‘newer markets’ making Stanley Cup runs
Hockey purists might be grumbling about the upcoming Stanley Cup Final because it will have nothing but Sun Belt teams involved. It suits Gary Bettman just fine. Bettman was honored by the Sports Business Journal on Wednesday with a lifetime achievement award for the NHL’s growth during his 30 years...
Stars follow familiar script of responding to Game 1 OT loss to Golden KnightsVideo
LAS VEGAS — Dallas coach Pete DeBoer said he doesn’t want his team to make a habit of being in this situation, but the Stars have shown an amazing ability during the NHL playoffs to respond to early adversity. Including Friday night’s 4-3 defeat to the Vegas Golden Knights, the...
West Mifflin native Logan Cooley to remain at Minnesota for sophomore season
Forward Logan Cooley, a native of West Mifflin, will return to the University of Minnesota for his sophomore season of 2022-23. The school announced Cooley’s decision on Friday. As a freshman in 2022-23, Cooley was dominant. Appearing in 39 games, he was third in the nation in scoring with 60...
Column: A city fights back against new arenas and what they representVideo
Congratulations are in order for the good people of Tempe, Ariz. They might’ve cost themselves an NHL team, but that was a small price to pay to hang on to their wallets. In a rare setback for billionaire owners and their endless scams to get the public to build them...
Kyle Dubas out as GM of Toronto Maple Leafs after 5 seasons
TORONTO — Brendan Shanahan started the week wanting to keep Kyle Dubas in the fold. A stunning, roller-coaster five days culminated with the Toronto Maple Leafs now looking for a new general manager ahead of what could be a defining summer for the success-starved Original Six franchise. Shanahan, the team’s...
Panthers outlast Hurricanes in 4th OT in 6th-longest game in NHL history
RALEIGH, N.C. — The Carolina Hurricanes and Florida Panthers seemed determined to keep playing. And playing. And playing. The teams opened their Eastern Conference final playoff series with Florida’s 3-2 victory in four overtimes early Friday, with the game ranking as the sixth-longest game in NHL history. Matthew Tkachuk’s goal...
Rise of the Kraken leaves GM Ron Francis pleased, not satisfied after playoff runVideo
SEATTLE — As the Seattle Kraken scattered after the end of their second season in existence, general manager Ron Francis and coach Dave Hakstol received an overwhelming message from their players. Getting to the playoffs and making a run was great and will go a long way in helping establish...
First Call: Antonio Brown plans to play for his arena team; praise for Steelers signing; interesting Pens nuggets in minorsVideo
Thursday’s “First Call” has high praise for a Pittsburgh Steelers free agent signing. There are some changes of interest in the Steelers scouting department. Pirates prospect Henry Davis won’t cool down. We have some interesting notes from the Penguins seeping out from the farm club. And then there’s the story...
Arizona Coyotes’ bid for new arena appears to be rejected by voters
The Arizona Coyotes’ bid for a new arena appears to be dead. In the first release of results from Tuesday’s referendum, voters in the Phoenix suburb of Tempe were strongly against three propositions to build a $2.3 billion entertainment district that would include a new arena for the Coyotes. Opposition...
Fate of Arizona Coyotes arena project in the hands of voters
The Arizona Coyotes are about to learn the fate of a proposed entertainment district that would include a new home for the team, which has crisscrossed the city searching for a permanent place to play. Residents in Tempe are voting Tuesday on a referendum that will determine whether plans for...
NHL suspends Pietrangelo, Nurse on eve of critical Game 5 between Golden Knights, OilersVideo
LAS VEGAS — The Vegas Golden Knights will be without their best defenseman in Game 5 with their second-round series against the Edmonton Oilers hanging in the balance. Alex Pietrangelo was suspended for one game Thursday by the NHL Department of Player Safety for his slash on Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl...
Flyers promote Danny Briere, hand rebuild to player-turned-broadcaster Keith Jones
PHILADELPHIA — The Flyers had been drubbed in yet another loss in April 2021 — a dreary preview for two more adrift seasons ahead — when analyst Keith Jones went on the televised postgame show and cut loose on the sorry state of the franchise. “This is a team that’s...
Oilers’ Leon Draisaitl on pace to break record for most goals in NHL playoff year
Leon Draisaitl is scoring goals in the NHL playoffs at a rate not seen in four decades. The big German has 13 goals through Edmonton’s first 10 games, the most since Mark Messier scored 14 in 1983 and the third-highest total through 10 games in more than a century. Newsy...
