NHL

9:30 AM ET Have we ever discussed how the Conn Smythe Trophy might be the NHL’s weirdest award? Let’s start with the hardware itself. In 1964, the trophy was donated to the NHL by Maple Leaf Gardens, to be awarded to the Stanley Cup playoffs MVP and as a bauble to honor Hockey Hall of

7:58 PM ET Carolina goaltender Antti Raanta left Game 2 of the Hurricanes’ first-round Stanley Cup playoff series against Boston on Wednesday following a collision with Bruins’ forward David Pastrnak. Raanta was playing the puck midway through the game’s opening frame when Pastrnak charged in and, while trying to avoid Raanta’s clearing attempt, collided with

1:35 PM ET Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson will be a game-time decision for Game 2 of the first-round Stanley Cup playoff series against the Florida Panthers after suffering a lower-body injury in Game 1 on Tuesday. Capitals coach Peter Laviolette said Wilson is getting treatment Wednesday. Wilson’s goal in the first period opened the

8:00 AM ET The 2022 Stanley Cup playoffs are off to a wild start, including a triple-overtime thriller, two fights in one game, multiple upsets … and also multiple blowouts. After seeing the postseason version of all 16 playoff teams once, what are the key takeaways? And how does it all help us predict what

12:01 AM ET NEW YORK — Evgeni Malkin scored on a deflection in the third overtime and the Pittsburgh Penguins outlasted the New York Rangers, 4-3, in Game 1 of an Eastern Conference quarterfinal series that captivated the league in just the second day of the postseason. Malkin deflected a wristshot from defenseman John Marino,

4:47 PM ET Toronto Maple Leafs forward Kyle Clifford has been suspended one game by the NHL’s Department of Player Safety for boarding Tampa Bay Lightning forward Ross Colton. The decision makes Clifford unavailable for Game 2 of the Leafs and Lightning first-round playoff series on Wednesday. This is the first time in his 12-year

7:00 AM ET ESPN staff The Stanley Cup playoffs are when the spotlight shines the brightest on the NHL. Not coincidentally, they’re also when hockey’s star players shine the brightest, too. Every preseason, we publish the ESPN NHL Rank, which rates the top 100 players based on how good they’re expected to be in the

11:37 PM ET The Boston Bruins were routed in Game 1 of their first-round series against the Carolina Hurricanes, 5-1, but coach Bruce Cassidy wasn’t about to pin that on Linus Ullmark. “I am not faulting our goaltender for this,” Cassidy said Monday night. “We had some opportunities we needed to finish. Like they did.”

11:05 AM ET ESPN staff The NHL’s 32 teams have completed their 82-game schedules, and now 16 of them have a chance to take home the most glorious trophy in all of sports. Yes, the 2022 Stanley Cup playoffs are upon us. And this year, they’re back on the networks of ESPN and ABC, including

7:00 AM ET As a service to fans who have a general interest in the National Hockey League but have no idea what’s happened since the Tampa Bay Lightning raised the Cup for the second straight postseason, we’re happy to provide this FAQ as a guide to the 2022 Stanley Cup playoffs. And for you

6:26 PM ET ESPN News Services NEW YORK — Leading scorer Artemi Panarin was back at practice on Sunday and will return to the New York Rangers lineup on Tuesday, when they open up their first-round series with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Panarin left the Rangers’ 4-3 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes last Tuesday at Madison

7:00 AM ET ESPN staff The matchups and storylines are set as the 2022 Stanley Cup playoffs get underway this week, with the last team standing hoisting the cherished chalice sometime in late June. Will that be the Tampa Bay Lightning, who are looking to become the first team to win the Cup in three

7:10 AM ET Before I reveal every series winner in the 2022 Stanley Cup playoffs and the exact number of games in which the series will be won, I’d like to just offer a small reminder to establish a baseline for your expectations: I picked the New York Islanders to win the Cup before the

12:31 PM ET ESPN News Services The Detroit Red Wings celebrated the return of Steve Yzerman three years ago, expecting one of their all-time greats to turn around the franchise as general manager. It hasn’t happened yet. Detroit was 32-40-10 and won 39% of its games, barely faring better than last year’s rate after bottoming

2:26 PM ET The Detroit Red Wings will not renew the contract of Jeff Blashill, who just completed his seventh season as head coach. Detroit finished with a 32-40-10 record (.451 points percentage) and were 26 points out of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, missing the playoffs for the sixth straight season. The

1:20 AM ET ESPN staff The 2022 Stanley Cup playoffs represent a return to normalcy, after a bubble-encased postseason in 2020 and a 2021 tournament that featured realigned intradivisional play, followed by a rebracketing for the final two rounds. Sixteen teams have qualified for a shot, but only one will get to skate the sacred

10:11 PM ET The NHL Players’ Association announced on Friday night that it has formed a search committee to find the successor to executive director Don Fehr. The NHLPA executive board held a conference call on Monday, and the players voted through the week on whether to begin the process of replacing Fehr. The 73-year-old

8:45 AM ET Tim KavanaghESPN.com Close Tim Kavanagh is a senior NHL editor for ESPN. He’s a native of upstate New York. We’ve made it to the final day of the regular season — save for a makeup game between the lottery-bound Winnipeg Jets and Seattle Kraken on Sunday — with a number of questions