Mark Madden: Stanley Cup playoffs should be a showcase, but this display is terrible
Let’s be blunt about the NHL playoffs. They’ve been awful so far. • Too many lopsided games. • Terrible goaltending. (Today’s NHL has so few good goalies.) • Two of the best teams got eliminated in the first round, namely regular-season champ Boston and defending Stanley Cup winner Colorado. As...
Flyers name Keith Jones team president, Danny Briere general manager
PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia Flyers have named long-time television analyst Keith Jones team president of hockey operations and have removed the interim tag from general manager Danny Briere’s title. Jones was a surprise choice Thursday after he spent the last 23 years as an analyst for Flyers telecasts on NBC...
U mad, bro?: Pirates fans already turn sour from May slump; Penguins fans grumble about missing playoffs
The honeymoon appears to be over for the Pittsburgh Pirates. And for Penguins coach Mike Sullivan. And for football owner Antonio Brown. Pittsburgh sports fans chime in on all those topics and more in this week’s “U mad, bro?” We begin with “Frogger33” on Twitter. I was on WPXI’s “The...
Why Ryan Reynolds, Snoop Dogg, other celebrities want to buy the Ottawa Senators
OTTAWA, Ontario — While some hockey fans may be surprised by multiple celebrities facing off for a minority ownership stake in the NHL’s Ottawa Senators, experts who study the business of sport say the prospect stands to lift the team’s profile to new heights. It is also seen as a...
NHL playoffs a showcase for savvy stickwork on offense, defenseVideo
Alec Martinez remembers a time in his career when teams kept track of a stat less celebrated than goals and assists but arguably just as valuable. “They called them ticks,” the veteran Vegas defenseman said. “How many plays you break up with your stick.” Keeping the puck out of the...
Inside NHL draft lottery Blackhawks won for Connor Bedard
SECAUCUS, N.J. — The Chicago Blackhawks won the NHL draft lottery and the chance to select Connor Bedard long before Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly revealed it on national television. The process to determine who got the No. 1 pick and Bedard, considered hockey’s top prospect since Connor McDavid, actually wrapped...
No place like road: Visiting teams thriving in NHL playoffs
When the Vegas Golden Knights went on the road to face the Winnipeg Jets in the first round of the NHL playoffs, they got a chilly welcome — and that was inside. “They had no hot water at the Fairmont Hotel last week in Winnipeg, which I really didn’t like...
Former Penguins forward Petr Klima dies at 58Video
PRAGUE — Czech forward Petr Klima, a Stanley Cup winner with the Edmonton Oilers in 1990 who played nine games for the Pittsburgh Penguins during the 1996-97 season, has died. He was 58. The news was announced by HC Litvinov, the Czech club where he started his career in the...
Joe Pavelski, Leon Draisaitl each score 4 goals in NHL playoff games
Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl and Dallas’ Joe Pavelski made some history in the NHL playoffs, even if they couldn’t really celebrate it. Draisaitl and Pavelski became just the second pair of players to each score four goals in a playoff game on back-to-back days and the first in 35 years. They’re...
Ryan Reynolds, Snoop Dogg in mix to buy Ottawa Senators?
OTTAWA, Ontario — There appears to be celebrity interest in buying the Ottawa Senators, the National Hockey League team for sale in Canada’s capital city. Rap impresario Snoop Dogg said in an Instagram post Monday that he was “looking forward” to being part of a bid by Los Angeles-based businessman...
The race to the Stanley Cup filled with 1st round chaos
Chaos is usually the name of the game in the first round of the NHL playoffs, with eight series rolling and plenty of upsets. This year was no different. The Presidents’ Trophy-winning Boston Bruins who set records for the best regular season in hockey history? Gone. The defending Stanley Cup...
Kraken beat Avalanche, eliminate defending Stanley Cup champs
DENVER — The Seattle Kraken converged from all points on the ice to the same spot — Philipp Grubauer’s net. A fitting gathering place to celebrate another first for this young franchise. Grubauer was stellar in stopping 33 shots, Oliver Bjorkstrand scored twice and the Kraken eliminated the defending Stanley...
Panthers oust record-setting Bruins in OT in Game 7Video
BOSTON — Brandon Montour tied it with 1 minute left in regulation, and Carter Verhaeghe scored the game-winner at 8:35 of overtime to lead the Florida Panthers to a 4-3 Game 7 victory on Sunday night and eliminate the record-setting Boston Bruins from the playoffs. Sergei Bobrovsky made 28 saves...
Mark Madden: Bad headlines detract from NHL’s good stories during Stanley Cup playoffs
There’s been some dissatisfaction with the refereeing in the Stanley Cup playoffs. As ex-player Scottie Upshall advised the refs via Twitter: “Put the whistles away. Let games be decided five-on-five. Tougher/bloodier teams win.” Upshall, a winger, got drafted sixth overall in 2003. He cracked 20 goals just once in his...
Rangers suddenly looking for answers after 2 close losses to DevilsVideo
NEW YORK — After a pair of easy wins in their first two games across the Hudson River in New Jersey, the New York Rangers appeared to be cruising along to another postseason series win. Not so fast. Two tight losses at home later, the Rangers’ stagnant offense can’t seem...
Been there, done that: Cup winners bolster NHL playoff teamsVideo
Before the Seattle Kraken played the first NHL playoff game in franchise history, players heard from those on the roster who already have won the Stanley Cup. “(They) told us guys that haven’t been there before just what to expect,” young defenseman Will Borgen said. The Kraken not only have...
Colorado’s Cale Makar suspended for Game 5 after hit on Seattle’s Jared McCannVideo
Colorado Avalanche star defenseman Cale Makar was suspended one game by the NHL on Tuesday for his hit on Seattle’s Jared McCann early in a Game 4 loss to the Kraken. Makar, last year’s Conn Smythe Trophy winner as playoff MVP, will be a spectator for Game 5 on Wednesday...
Injuries force teams to adapt, push through in NHL playoffs
RALEIGH, N.C. — Mackenzie MacEachern went from joining the Carolina Hurricanes as a call-up from the minors to skating on the team’s top line in a road playoff game for a team struggling with injuries. “Obviously it’s a playoff game,” MacEachern said, “but it’s just trying to approach it like...
First Call: ESPN reports Allen Robinson passes physical with Steelers; Pirates look to stay hot; ex-Pens score in playoffs
Thursday’s “First Call” has an update on the Steelers trade for Allen Robinson. The Pirates hope to kick another opponent while they are down. A pair of WPIAL baseball stars faced off in Oakland. And a pair of ex-Penguins scored for their team in the NHL playoffs, while another struggled...
Winnipeg’s Morgan Barron receives 75-plus stitches after skate to face
LAS VEGAS — Winnipeg Jets forward Morgan Barron took a skate to his face Tuesday night, requiring more than 75 stitches, but he returned to the ice less than a period later. Barron was injured in the first period during a big scramble in front of the Vegas Golden Knights’...
NHL playoffs: Vegas’ Jack Eichel, New Jersey’s Jack Hughes among top players to watch
The NHL playoffs are going on without Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin for the first time since their rookie year in 2006, but that doesn’t mean the chase for the Stanley Cup isn’t packed with star power. Nathan MacKinnon and the Colorado Avalanche are trying to go back to back....
NHL playoffs: Devils-Rangers, Bolts-Leafs highlight openers
After six weeks of hopeful excitement that his New Jersey Devils would face the New York Rangers in the opening round of the playoffs, Erik Haula had a simple, sarcastic take: “Here we are.” And the playoffs are finally here, too. Devils vs. Rangers in another chapter of their bitter...
Capitals, coach Peter Laviolette part ways after missing playoffsVideo
Peter Laviolette won’t be back as coach of the Washington Capitals, who now have a big decision to make after missing the playoffs for the first time in nearly a decade. The Capitals parted ways with Laviolette on Friday, less than 24 hours after their season ended, a decision general...
Former Robert Morris University goalie suits up for 1st NHL game
Reid Cooper was just a play away from making some local hockey history Thursday night. The former Robert Morris Colonial signed an amateur tryout contract with the Washington Capitals to be their backup goaltender during the franchise’s regular-season finale against the New Jersey Devils. If Cooper had gotten on the...
Wild plan to ride ‘Gus Bus’ and Marc-Andre Fleury in true goalie tandem
ST. PAUL, Minn. — When the Minnesota Wild brought back Marc-Andre Fleury and traded Cam Talbot for Filip Gustavsson last summer, their outlook in the net seemed obvious. Fleury was the three-time Stanley Cup winner with 19 seasons in the NHL who would be the primary goalie. Gustavsson was the...
