Boldy has 2 goals, assist as Wild overwhelm Stars to open series
DALLAS — Matt Boldy had two goals with an assist, Joel Ericksson Ek scored two power-play goals and rookie goalie Jesper Wallstedt stopped 27 shots in his postseason debut to help the Minnesota Wild beat the Dallas Stars, 6-1, on Saturday in Game 1 of their Western Conference playoff series....
Stankoven, Hall, Andersen help Carolina top Senators to open NHL playoffs
RALEIGH, N.C. — Logan Stankoven and Taylor Hall scored, and Frederik Andersen came through with a big third-period performance in net to help the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Ottawa Senators, 2-0, on Saturday to open their first-round playoff series. Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour had gone with Andersen’s veteran experience as...
First Call: Possible partner if Steelers want to move up in draft; NFL GM predicts many trades; Sidney Crosby on Pat McAfee
Lots of trade talk is swirling around the NFL Draft. In Friday’s “First Call,” we try to determine if the Pittsburgh Steelers could be a part of that action Thursday night in Pittsburgh. Sidney Crosby made a pre-playoff appearance on the “Pat McAfee Show.” And we preview the upcoming Pirates-Rays...
Goalies are under siege as the NHL save percentage dips to its lowest point in 3 decades
When he was an NHL goaltender, Brian Boucher said he would look up at the shot counter and keep telling himself how many more pucks he would need to stop to make it a good game. “It was a way to kind of validate what you were doing and how...
Explaining rules old and new that are part of the NHL’s Stanley Cup playoffs
More than a decade into the return of a division-focused playoff format, the arguments persist about whether it is the best thing the NHL can do to determine a Stanley Cup champion. For three years in a row from 2016-18, Sidney Crosby’s Pittsburgh Penguins faced Alex Ovechkin’s Washington Capitals in...
2026 Stanley Cup playoffs: Get to know the favorites and what to watch for
The field for the Stanley Cup playoffs is set with the first series set to begin Saturday. Six of the 16 teams did not qualify a year ago, including Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Boston in the East. It’s the 10th time in 12 seasons under the divisional wild card format...
Rangers goaltender Jonathan Quick, 40, says he is retiring from the NHL
SUNRISE, Fla. — Jonathan Quick said he is retiring at age 40 after nearly two decades in the NHL, a stretch during which he was one of the best goaltenders of his generation. Quick said his start for the New York Rangers at the Florida Panthers on Monday night is...
Who’s got Hart? AP picks the NHL MVP and other top awards as the playoffs arrive
For a third consecutive year, there is no clear choice for the Hart Trophy as NHL MVP, and again the debate over the importance of “valuable” comes into play. Edmonton’s Connor McDavid is on track to win the scoring race for the most points and the Art Ross Trophy, and...
Ovechkin response to fans’ request for 1 more year: ‘I’ll think about it’
WASHINGTON — If this was indeed the final home game of Alex Ovechkin’s sensational NHL career, the Washington Capitals star collected enough memories to take him deep into retirement. From the opening faceoff to the celebratory post-game skate in which he waved gratefully to the adoring fans, Ovechkin enjoyed one...
The NHL playoffs have plenty of fresh blood, and a new Stanley Cup champion will be crowned
The Stanley Cup will have a new home this year after the back-to-back champion Florida Panthers had their season derailed by injuries. They’re not the only perennial contender to miss the playoffs, either, with the Buffalo Sabres among the roughly half dozen newcomers in the 16-team field. The Pittsburgh Penguins...
Couturier and Cates have 3-point games to lead the Flyers past the Jets 7-1
WINNIPEG, Manitoba — Sean Couturier had two goals and an assist, and Noah Cates added a short-handed goal and two assists to lead the Philadelphia Flyers to a 7-1 win over the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday night. Porter Martone, Matvei Michkov, Travis Sanheim and Nick Seeler also scored for the...
Mammoth rebuilding project puts Utah in playoffs in team’s 2nd season since moving from Arizona
Utah’s rebuilding process began in the Arizona desert, where the team was known as the Coyotes and progress was incremental. In the first year after a move to Salt Lake City, the team became the Utah Hockey Club and took a bigger step, winning eight more games than the previous...
Call it ‘Bowness Time.’ Lured out of retirement, Blue Jackets coach enjoying playoff-race pressure
Age has its privileges, something Rick Bowness is fondly enjoying in the overtime of his coaching career. At 71 and by his count twice retired, Bowness hasn’t lost the urgency to win in his latest interim job coaching the Columbus Blue Jackets. What he also has is freedom from the...
Alex Ovechkin says he’s waiting until after season to decide future
Alex Ovechkin says he is waiting until after the Washington Capitals’ season is over to decide whether he’s calling it a career or returning to play one more year. The NHL’s career goal-scoring leader announced his intentions in a clip of a pretaped interview with Capitals radio broadcaster John Walton...
Dallas Stars ban person who bought tickets for group of 4 seen celebrating a goal with Nazi salute
DALLAS — The Dallas Stars have banned a person from attending games at American Airlines Center after they bought tickets for a group of spectators seen celebrating a goal with a Nazi salute. “Any type of discriminatory or hateful behavior will not be tolerated and has no place in our...
New Jersey Devils part ways with longtime general manager Tom Fitzgerald
Tom Fitzgerald is out as general manager of the New Jersey Devils, the latest NHL team to make an abrupt late-season change in the front office or behind the bench. Co-owner David Blitzer announced Monday that a decision had been made for Fitzgerald to leave the organization. Fitzgerald had been...
Islanders fire Patrick Roy after 4 straight losses, name Peter DeBoer as replacement
NEW YORK — Patrick Roy was fired as coach of the New York Islanders on Sunday, another late-season change in the NHL that comes with the team in the middle of a spring tailspin that has put its playoff chances in jeopardy. First-year general manager Mathieu Darche announced the abrupt...
Sabres clinch a playoff spot to end the longest drought in NHL history
Bring on postseason hockey in Buffalo. The Sabres’ playoff drought is finally over. Following an NHL-record 14 seasons of futility, during which the team finished no better than 19th in the league, the Sabres clinched a berth Saturday when the New York Rangers defeated the Detroit Red Wings in regulation....
A playoff salary cap is coming to the NHL. GMs get a calculator to help them navigate it
NEW YORK — Gone are the days of NHL teams stashing players on long-term injured reserve through the end of the regular season and dressing them at the start of the playoffs. Starting this spring, the lineup for each game must fit under the salary cap, which until now did...
First Call: If Steelers pass on Kirk Cousins, at least 1 team wants him; latest on George Pickens; Penguins’ next huge gameVideo
Tuesday’s “First Call” has a possible destination for Kirk Cousins — if it isn’t Pittsburgh. The Dallas Cowboys are dealing with George Pickens’ contract uncertainty. The Penguins are looking to build off of Monday’s exhilarating win over the New York Islanders. Some big-name Pittsburgh figures are involved in the NFL’s...
Golden Knights fire Bruce Cassidy, replace him with John Tortorella
LAS VEGAS — Bruce Cassidy is out as coach of the Vegas Golden Knights, who fired him Sunday in an abrupt late-season change and replaced him with John Tortorella. General manager Kelly McCrimmon announced the move a day after the team lost for the third time in a row and...
First Call: Ex-NFL QB recalls odd draft interview with former Steelers staff; Pens get mixed results in playoff chaseVideo
Friday’s “First Call” has an odd story about an old pre-draft interview involving the Pittsburgh Steelers. A former Steeler has landed a new gig in an NFC secondary. The Penguins got some good — and some bad — results from Metropolitan Division outcomes Thursday night. And there were lots of...
Down to 4 defensemen, Senators hold the Rangers to the fewest shots by an NHL team since 2003
NEW YORK — James Reimer kept expecting the New York Rangers to put shots on net. They rarely did. And by the end of the game Monday night, the Ottawa Senators had allowed just nine shots on goal in a 2-1 victory at Madison Square Garden. It was the fewest...
U mad, bro?: Steelers’ offseason moves, Radko Gudas’ suspension make readers mad before March MadnessVideo
By the time many of you read this, you’ll already be mad at your own brackets in March Madness. Specifically, you’ll be angry at the advice Mike DeCourcy and I gave you for your Final Four picks. I take responsibility in advance of our inevitable failures. Between now and then,...
Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews out for season with torn MCL after kneeing by Radko Gudas
TORONTO — Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews has a torn medial collateral ligament in his left knee and will miss the rest of the NHL season. The team provided an injury update Friday night, a little less than 24 hours after Matthews was knocked out of a game against...
