Canadiens brace for biggest test: Defending champion Lightning
MONTREAL — Artturi Lehkonen is keeping his composure after becoming part of the Montreal Canadiens’ illustrious history by scoring the franchise’s most important goal in nearly three decades. If the upstart Canadiens’ remarkable playoff run has been fueled, in part, by a desire to earn respect, then their journey is...
Lightning vs. Canadiens in 1st all-East Cup final since 1980
After gutting out a tough series to get to the Stanley Cup Final, the Tampa Bay Lightning shouldn’t have to change their style of play to match up against the Montreal Canadiens. They won’t have to change time zones, either. While teams in the Eastern Time Zone have met in...
Andrei Vasilevskiy shines, Lightning eliminate Islanders in Game 7
TAMPA, Fla. — Andrei Vasilevskiy had 18 saves, and Yanni Gaurde scored a short-handed goal to help the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the New York Islanders, 1-0, in Game 7 of their NHL playoff semifinal series Friday night. The defending champions advanced to a Stanley Cup Final matchup against the...
Canadiens keep hands off Campbell trophy, focus on Stanley CupVideo
MONTREAL — Shea Weber and the Montreal Canadiens kept their hands off the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl after advancing to the Stanley Cup Final, and even rookie Cole Caufield had no interest in touching it. “Obviously, there’s a bigger one out there that we’re chasing, so I think that’s the...
Canadiens finish off Golden Knights in 6 games, reach Stanley Cup Final
MONTREAL — Artturi Lehkonen scored 1:39 into overtime, Carey Price stopped 37 shots, and the Montreal Canadiens advanced to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in 28 years following a 3-2 win over the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday night. Cole Caufield and captain Shea Weber also scored,...
Expansion Seattle Kraken hire Dave Hakstol as first coach
SEATTLE — The Seattle Kraken hired Dave Hakstol on Thursday as head coach of the expansion franchise that will begin play this fall. Hakstol will lead the first-year organization in his second head job in the NHL. He coached the Philadelphia Flyers for three-plus seasons from 2015-19 and spent the...
Islanders rally to beat Lightning in OT, force Game 7Video
UNIONDALE, N.Y. — Anthony Beauvillier scored 1 minutes, 8 seconds into overtime, and the New York Islanders rallied to beat the Tampa Bay Lightning, 3-2, on Wednesday night to force a deciding Game 7 in their Stanley Cup semifinal series. Jordan Eberle and Scott Mayfield scored for the Islanders, who...
With 3-2 series lead, Canadiens frustrating Golden Knights
MONTREAL — Montreal Canadiens defenseman Erik Gustafsson enjoys the notion of the Vegas Golden Knights showing signs of frustration in being pushed to the brink of elimination in their Stanley Cup semifinal playoff series. That’s what happens when most everyone discounted Montreal’s chances before the series began. “We were kind...
Report confirms hockey great Bob Plager died of ‘cardiac event’
ST. LOUIS — The final report on the cause of death of former St. Louis Blues defenseman Bob Plager has confirmed that he died of a “cardiac event” before crashing his SUV in March. St. Louis Medical Examiner Dr. Michael Graham revealed the final report on Tuesday, confirming his preliminary...
Carey Price, Montreal push Vegas to brink of elimination
LAS VEGAS — Carey Price made 26 saves to lead Montreal to 4-1 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday night, putting the Canadiens one win away from the Stanley Cup Final. The Canadiens lead Vegas 3-2 in the their best-of-seven series, with Game 6 scheduled for the Bell...
Sabres ‘French Connection’ winger, former Penguin Rene Robert dies at 72Video
Rene Robert, a member of the Buffalo Sabres’ famed “French Connection Line,” died Tuesday at a Florida hospital less than a week after suffering a heart attack. He was 72. The Sabres confirmed Robert’s death in a statement released by the team. Robert had been on life support since being...
Gerard Gallant confronts win-now challenge as Rangers coach
Gerard Gallant is taking over a young team with potential as coach of the New York Rangers, just like his three previous stops. Unlike Columbus, Florida and expansion Vegas, Gallant will be expected to win quickly, if not right away. The 57-year-old is embracing those high expectations in a big...
Tampa Bay blows out Islanders in Game 5, takes series lead
TAMPA, Fla. — Steven Stamkos had two goals and an assist and Andrei Vasilevskiy notched his fourth career playoff shutout, helping the Tampa Bay Lightning rout the New York Islanders 8-0 in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup semifinal series on Monday night. The defending NHL champions improved to 13-0...
Vegas leans on goalie combo to even Stanley Cup playoff semifinal vs. CanadiensVideo
MONTREAL — Vegas coach Peter DeBoer can’t think of a more challenging position for a player to be in than goalie Robin Lehner having to bide his time backing up Marc-Andre Fleury during a playoff run. Lehner might not have as accomplished a resume as Fleury, a three-time Stanley Cup...
Nicolas Roy scores 1:18 into OT, Vegas-Montreal series tied 2-2
MONTREAL — Nicolas Roy converted his own rebound 1:18 into overtime and the Vegas Golden Knights rallied to a 2-1 win over the Montreal Canadiens on Sunday night, tying the Stanley Cup semifinal playoff series at 2-all. Robin Lehner got the start in place of Marc-Andre Fleury and stopped 27...
Resilient Lightning expect to bounce back against IslandersVideo
TAMPA, Fla. — No team has been more resilient in the NHL playoffs than the Tampa Bay Lightning. The reigning Stanley Cup champions are 12-0 in games after a postseason loss since the start of their title run last year. That ability to bounce back is about to be tested...
Matt Martin, Ryan Pulock help Isles top Lightning to tie series
UNIONDALE, N.Y. — With goalie Semyon Varlamov out of position in the closing seconds, New York defenseman Ryan Pulock knew he needed to get in the way of Ryan McDonagh’s shot at the open net. It was the biggest play in the Islanders’ latest series-tying Game 4 win. Matt Martin...
Marc-Andre Fleury laughs off costly mistake; Vegas looks forward to Game 4Video
MONTREAL — Marc-Andre Fleury was so upbeat, the Vegas goalie laughed off a question about his costly late-game flub. The Golden Knights might be well-served to do the same after finding themselves in the all-too-familiar position of facing adversity during a postseason run in which they’ve now trailed in all...
Gaffe by Vegas goalie Marc-Andre Fleury lets Montreal take lead in series
MONTREAL — Josh Anderson scored his second goal of the night at 12:53 of overtime, Carey Price made 43 saves, and the Montreal Canadiens beat the Vegas Golden Knights 3-2 on Friday night to a take a 2-1 lead in the Stanley Cup semifinal series. Anderson scored after he knocked...
Panthers’ Aleksander Barkov wins Selke Trophy as best defensive forwardVideo
NEW YORK — Florida Panthers center Aleksander Barkov won the Selke Trophy as the NHL’s best defensive forward for the first time in his eight-year career. Barkov was announced as the winner of the award Friday night before Vegas faced Montreal in Game 3 of one semifinal series. He was...
Canadiens coach Ducharme isolating after covid-19 testing
MONTREAL — Montreal Canadiens interim coach Dominique Ducharme has been sent home and is isolating following irregularities in covid-19 testing. The Canadiens canceled Ducharme’s pregame news conference Friday. The club says it will provide another update before Game 3 of the NHL semifinal against the Vegas Golden Knights on Friday...
Brayden Point scores again as Lightning beat Islanders in Game 3
UNIONDALE, N.Y. — Brayden Point kept up his scoring touch with a tiebreaking goal late in the second period, Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 27 shots and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the New York Islanders 2-1 on Thursday night to take a 2-1 lead in the Stanley Cup semifinals. Yanni Gourde...
Hurricanes, Brind’Amour reach extension after 3 playoff bids
Rod Brind’Amour never worried much about being able to reach a deal to remain coach of the Carolina Hurricanes. “It was just a matter of time really,” Brind’Amour said Thursday as the team announced a three-year contract extension. The extension comes after Brind’Amour guided the Hurricanes to three straight playoff...
Carey Price makes 29 saves, Canadiens beat Golden Knights
LAS VEGAS — The Montreal Canadiens vowed to adapt after looking out of sync in the first game of their Stanley Cup semifinal series with the Vegas Golden Knights. It’s exactly what they did Wednesday night. Carey Price made 29 saves and the Canadiens beat Vegas, 3-2, to tie the...
Nikita Kucherov shines, Lightning beat Islanders in Game 2
TAMPA, Fla. — Brayden Point and Ondrej Palat delivered early goals and NHL playoff scoring leader Nikita Kucherov had three more assists to help the Tampa Bay Lightning rebound from a series-opening loss and beat the New York Islanders, 4-2, in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup semifinals Tuesday night....
