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
NHL
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
12:19 AM ET The Florida Panthers are Presidents’ Trophy winners for the first time in franchise history, finishing the regular season with 122 points. Florida claimed the NHL’s top spot in the standings on Thursday after defeating Ottawa 4-0 and seeing Colorado lose to Nashville 5-4 in a shootout. This was just the second season
8:30 AM ET Tim KavanaghESPN.com Close Tim Kavanagh is a senior NHL editor for ESPN. He’s a native of upstate New York. After the Vegas Golden Knights‘ elimination from playoff contention last night, the 16-team field for the 2022 Stanley Cup playoffs is set — we just have to wait to see which teams fit
8:00 AM ET As the Tampa Bay Lightning celebrated their second straight Stanley Cup championship last summer, my eyes were drawn to one player: defenseman David Savard. He had played 597 NHL regular-season games and 37 more in the playoffs before the Columbus Blue Jackets traded him to the Lightning at the deadline. He walked
11:40 PM ET It’s official: Vegas will miss the NHL postseason for the first time in franchise history. The Golden Knights’ second-half collapse to this season left them with wafer-thin playoff hopes, and those were snuffed out entirely on Wednesday in a 4-3 shootout loss to host Chicago. To stay alive, Vegas would have had
8:24 PM ET ESPN News Services PITTSBURGH — Penguins CEO David Morehouse stepped down Wednesday, ending a 16-year run with the franchise that included three Stanley Cup titles. Morehouse did not provide an explanation for his decision in a release. The Penguins changed ownership last fall when Fenway Sports Group bought the club from Hall
8:40 AM ET The Northern Lights appear in the sky over Hay River, Northwest Territories, during the 2022 Polar Pond Hockey tournament. Amber Bracken for ESPN HAY RIVER, Northwest Territories — It is a frigid Saturday afternoon in mid-March, cold enough that the breath coming from the small faces pressed up against the panoramic window in
7:00 AM ET Tim KavanaghESPN.com Close Tim Kavanagh is a senior NHL editor for ESPN. He’s a native of upstate New York. Tuesday night was of tremendous importance as the races for the 2022 Stanley Cup playoffs wind down. The Dallas Stars‘ shootout win over the Vegas Golden Knights pushed the latter to the precipice
10:28 PM ET ESPN News Services TORONTO — Auston Matthews scored his NHL-leading 59th and 60th goals of the season as the Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Detroit Red Wings 3-0 on Tuesday night to clinch home-ice advantage in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. The 24-year-old American, who snapped a five-game goal
7:00 AM ET ESPN staff There are 13 games on the NHL schedule tonight, including five being waged between teams that are currently in playoff position. But perhaps the most consequential matchup of the bunch features the Dallas Stars hosting the Vegas Golden Knights (8:30 ET, streaming live on ESPN+ for out-of-market customers). The Knights
7:00 AM ET NEWARK, N.J. — While the Buffalo Sabres were playing the New Jersey Devils, their digital avatars were mimicking each move in virtual reality. Strap on the VR goggles. Touch a button, and you’re watching the game through the eyes of a skater heading in for a shot. Touch it again, and your
7:00 AM ET ESPN staff We interrupt your regularly scheduled NHL playoff watch today on the occasion of the final week of the 2021-22 regular season to bring you a roundtable discussion on what our panel will be watching most closely these final few days. We’re highlighting the most critical games this week and potential
7:05 AM ET The 2021-22 NHL season included a great deal of highlights, from the dominance of the Colorado Avalanche and Florida Panthers, to the goal-scoring prowess of Auston Matthews and Chris Kreider, to spectacular goaltending from Igor Shesterkin, Frederik Andersen and Jacob Markstrom. But there can be only one team that gets to raise
9:35 PM ET ESPN News Services MONTREAL — Canadiens fans chanted the late Guy Lafleur’s name Sunday night before the team took the ice to play the Boston Bruins. The Canadiens played tribute to the Hall of Famer, who died Friday at age 70, with a ceremony. Guy Lafleur, the Hall of Famer who played
9:31 PM ET Associated Press WASHINGTON — Alex Ovechkin left the Washington Capitals‘ game against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday night after crashing hard into the boards and was ruled out with what the team called an upper-body injury. Ovechkin tripped over goaltender Erik Kallgren‘s stick on a breakaway and went left shoulder first
7:31 AM ET Tim KavanaghESPN.com Close Tim Kavanagh is a senior NHL editor for ESPN. He’s a native of upstate New York. Some rivalries in the NHL have existed for decades; think Boston Bruins–Montreal Canadiens, Chicago Blackhawks–Detroit Red Wings, New York Rangers–New York Islanders, etc. But some of the most heated grudge matches have materialized