Bubble crankiness ratchets up the nasty for Stars, Lightning in Stanley Cup FinalVideo
EDMONTON, Alberta — Pat Maroon shot a puck into the Dallas bench, nailing an opponent in the face. Victor Hedman tripped Corey Perry before a faceoff. Perry put Tampa Bay’s Cedric Paquette into a headlock before getting flipped over. The dislike is building quickly for the Stars and Lightning in...
Bubble watch: Nastiness between Stars, Lightning intensifies during Stanley Cup finalVideo
EDMONTON, Alberta — Pat Maroon shot a puck into the Dallas bench, nailing an opponent in the face. Victor Hedman tripped Corey Perry before a faceoff. Perry put Tampa Bay’s Cedric Paquette into a headlock before getting flipped over. The dislike quickly is building for the Stars and Lightning in...
Sharks confident Bob Boughner ready to lead team back to topVideo
The San Jose Sharks saw enough from Bob Boughner behind their bench last season to be confident he’s the coach to lead them back to the top. Sharks general manager Doug Wilson formally retained Boughner as San Jose’s coach Tuesday, removing the interim tag to make him the ninth full-time...
Lightning beat Stars 3-2 in Game 2, get even in Stanley CupVideo
EDMONTON, Alberta — Nikita Kucherov and the Tampa Bay Lightning got themselves up off the ice to get even in the Stanley Cup Final. Kucherov had the primary assists on power-play goals by Brayden Point and Ondrej Palat in the first period before Kevin Shattenkirk scored and the Lightning held...
Oilers’ Draisaitl is first German to win Hart as NHL MVPVideo
EDMONTON, Alberta — Edmonton Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl won the Hart Trophy as the NHL’s MVP on Monday after leading the league in scoring. Draisaitl is the first German player to win the Hart Trophy. The league announced its most prominent award winners before Game 2 of the Stanley Cup...
Slow-starting Lightning seek early spark vs Stars in Game 2
Blake Coleman and the Tampa Bay Lightning are going to have to focus on faster starts to games if they’re going to count on enjoying better finishes against the Dallas Stars in the Stanley Cup Final. A Lightning team that led the NHL in scoring for a third straight season...
Stars hammer Tampa to open Stanley Cup Final
EDMONTON, Alberta — The well-rested Stars took it to the banged-up Tampa Bay Lightning hard and early, and goaltender Anton Khudobin closed it out with 22 third-period saves as Dallas won Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final, 4-1, on Saturday night. Joel Hanley and Jamie Oleksiak continued the Stars’...
Gary Bettman: Next NHL season could start in December or January
EDMONTON, Alberta — NHL commissioner Gary Bettman raised the possibility of next season beginning after the tentatively planned Dec. 1 start date, even while the plan remains for each team to play 82 games and the league hold a full playoffs. Much like its plan to resume this season, the...
Stars, Lightning could turn Stanley Cup finals into defensive showdownVideo
This already was going to be an unusual Stanley Cup, and it now has a matchup for all of those who like their games to be a bit defensive. The Dallas Stars and Tampa Bay Lightning, two of the league’s southernmost teams playing for the title in a bubble in...
Anthony Cirelli scores in OT, Lighting beat Isles to reach Stanley Cup FinalVideo
EDMONTON, Alberta — Anthony Cirelli scored in overtime to send the Tampa Bay Lightning to the Stanley Cup Final with a 2-1 victory over the New York Islanders in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference final Thursday night. Cirelli returned in the third after injuring his right knee in the...
NHL playoffs showcase Russia’s goaltending renaissanceVideo
EDMONTON, Alberta — Nikolai Khabibulin wakes up in Yekaterinburg to watch NHL playoff highlights and beams with pride at the saves made by so many Russian goaltenders. For the first time, there are three Russian starting goaltenders in the conference finals, and two will face off in the final. Sixteen...
Jordan Eberle scores in double overtime as Islanders stay alive
EDMONTON, Alberta — Jordan Eberle scored on a two-on-one break 12:30 into the second overtime and the New York Islanders avoided elimination with a 2-1 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference final on Tuesday night. Semyon Varlamov stopped 36 shots and Ryan Pulock...
Stars overcome adversities, missteps to reach Stanley Cup FinalVideo
EDMONTON, Alberta — Inside a lounge at the JW Marriott usually reserved for their meals and meetings, the Dallas Stars enjoyed a moment. It wasn’t an all-out party because they still are four wins away from winning the Stanley Cup. It was a low-key celebration of reaching the final, a...
Capitals hire Stanley Cup-winning coach Peter LavioletteVideo
Peter Laviolette was hired Tuesday as coach of the Washington Capitals, who hope to harness his ability to quickly take a team to the Stanley Cup Final in what could be the final few years of their championship window. Laviolette is the first Cup-winning coach hired in the franchise’s 46-year...
Stars on to Stanley Cup Final after OT win over Vegas
EDMONTON, Alberta — Denis Gurianov scored on a one-timer during a power play 3 minutes, 36 seconds into overtime, and the Dallas Stars beat the Vegas Golden Knights, 3-2, on Monday night to advance to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 2000. The Stars forced overtime in...
Quick-strike Lightning beat Islanders, take 3-1 lead in seriesVideo
EDMONTON, Alberta — Blake Coleman tied the score 15 seconds after the New York Islanders took the lead, Ondrej Palat scored the go-ahead goal 12 seconds later and the Tampa Bay Lightning moved within a victory of the Stanley Cup Final with a 4-1 victory Sunday in Game 4 of...
Anton Khudobin, Stars beat Knights to take 3-1 lead in West finalVideo
EDMONTON, Alberta — Anton Khudobin made three of his 32 saves on a crucial 5-on-3 penalty kill late, Joe Pavelski and Jamie Benn scored in the second period and the Dallas Stars are a victory away from the Stanley Cup Final after beating the Vegas Golden Knights, 2-1, on Saturday...
Brock Nelson helps Islanders beat Lightning in Game 3
EDMONTON, Alberta — Brock Nelson broke a tie with 3 minutes, 25 seconds left, Semyon Varlamov made 34 saves and the New York Islanders beat the Tampa Bay Lightning, 5-3, in Game 3 of the NHL’s Eastern Conference final Friday night. The Islanders rebounded from a stunning finish to Game...
Alexander Radulov scores in first minute of OT to lift Dallas past Vegas
EDMONTON, Alberta — Alexander Radulov scored 31 seconds into overtime on a wrister from the middle of the right circle and the Dallas Stars beat the Vegas Golden Knights 3-2 on Thursday night to take a 2-1 series lead in the Western Conference final. Radulov’s third career overtime goal was...
Nikita Kucherov scores buzzer-beating goal, gives Lightning 2-0 edge in series
EDMONTON, Alberta — Even though the Tampa Bay Lightning seem to possess some overtime magic in the playoffs, this was not the the time for more hockey. Losing leading scorer Brayden Point to injury and Alex Killorn to ejection after going into the game with just 11 forwards, the Lightning...
Vegas is back, evens series with DallasVideo
EDMONTON, Alberta — Paul Stastny scored to end a lengthy goal drought by Vegas forwards, Robin Lehner stopped all 24 shots he faced for his fourth shutout of the playoffs and the Golden Knights rediscovered their winning ways and beat the Dallas Stars, 3-0, Tuesday in Game 2 of the...
Lightning romp to 8-2 win over Isles to open East finals
EDMONTON, Alberta — Brayden Point scored twice and added three assists, and the well-rested Tampa Bay Lightning romped to a 8-2 win over the travel- and game-weary New York Islanders to open the Eastern Conference finals on Monday night. The Lightning showed no signs of rust following a near week-long...
Lightning romp to 8-2 win over Isles to open East finalsVideo
EDMONTON, Alberta — Brayden Point scored twice and added three assists, and the well-rested Tampa Bay Lightning romped to a 8-2 win over the travel- and game-weary New York Islanders to open the Eastern Conference finals on Monday night. The Lightning showed no signs of rust following a near week-long...
Evolution of top defensemen on display in NHL playoffsVideo
EDMONTON, Alberta — Victor Hedman put the Tampa Bay Lightning on his back and carried them to the Stanley Cup Final in 2015. Five years later, the 6-foot-6 monster of a man can shoulder even more of a load. Hedman is perhaps the best defenseman in the world and headlines...
Shutdown Stars: Dallas blanks Vegas in West final Game 1
EDMONTON, Alberta — Two days after they and the Vegas Golden Knights each won a hard-fought Game 7 to move on, the Dallas Stars figured there might be an emotional letdown at the start of the Western Conference final. They filled that void with hit after hit, got one early...
