NHL

7:00 AM ET The lottery for the 2021 NHL draft was on Wednesday night, but the presumed No. 1 pick wasn’t watching. Instead, Owen Power was sleeping. “You nervous?” Power’s former GM with the Chicago Steel, Ryan Hardy, texted the defenseman on Wednesday. Power was in Latvia, playing with Canada at the IIHF Men’s World

8:30 PM ET Winnipeg Jets center Mark Scheifele has been suspended four games by the NHL Department of Player Safety for a hit that put Montreal Canadiens forward Jake Evans on a stretcher at the end of Game 1 on Wednesday night. The NHL announced the suspension Thursday night, calling Scheifele’s charge into Evans “a

9:00 AM ET The 2021 Stanley Cup playoffs have rolled into their second round. There have been some expected results and some shocking surprises — and the Toronto Maple Leafs losing in the first round, which probably fits into both categories, if we’re being honest. Here are 10 takeaways from the playoffs so far, from

6:55 AM ET The New York Islanders return to what should be a deafening Nassau Coliseum for Game 3 of the East Division final against the Boston Bruins, while the Carolina Hurricanes try to avoid an 0-3 deficit as their series heads to Florida against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Plus, we take a look at

3:39 AM ET Associated Press DENVER — Mikko Rantanen found himself in the middle of an on-ice swarm from teammates after scoring the winner. Wonderful and all, but he wanted to make sure the real star of the show received his fair share of the credit, too — goaltender Philipp Grubauer. Rantanen scored a power-play

6:45 AM ET The Montreal Canadiens just completed an unlikely and emotional upset, beating the heavily favored Toronto Maple Leafs in seven games. There’s not much time to celebrate, as they’re back at it for the start of the second round on Wednesday, against a well-rested Winnipeg Jets team. Meanwhile, the Vegas Golden Knights look

7:00 AM ET With their thrilling Game 7 victory over the heavily favored Toronto Maple Leafs, the Montreal Canadiens earned a spot in the North Division final. They’ll face the Winnipeg Jets, who had a significantly shorter experience in Round 1, but one that was no less impressive. They swept the Edmonton Oilers, while largely

5:07 PM ET Associated Press RIGA, Latvia — Kevin Labanc and Conor Garland scored two goals apiece and the United States won its sixth straight game with a 4-2 victory over Italy in its final preliminary game at the world hockey championship on Tuesday. With the victory, the U.S. clinched first in Group B and

12:01 PM ET Vegas Golden Knights goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, playing in his 17th NHL season, earned his first nomination for the Vezina Trophy, given to the NHL’s top goaltender. Fleury, Philipp Grubauer of the Colorado Avalanche and Andrei Vasilevskiy of the Tampa Bay Lightning were chosen by the league’s general managers as the award’s finalists.

6:45 AM ET Never doubt that the Toronto Maple Leafs can find new and exciting ways to disappoint their fans and fail in the postseason. Losing star John Tavares in Game 1 to injury, winning three straight games and then losing three straight games to an enormous underdog in the Montreal Canadiens, in their first

1:04 PM ET ESPN News Services Colorado Avalanche center Nazem Kadri‘s eight-game suspension was upheld Monday by NHL commissioner Gary Bettman. Bettman heard Kadri’s appeal of the suspension last Thursday. Kadri has the right under the collective bargaining agreement to now appeal to a neutral arbitrator if he chooses but would remain suspended during the

7:16 AM ET It doesn’t get much juicer than this: a Game 7 between two Original Six franchises, and the first such matchup between two Canadian teams in 17 years. The Toronto Maple Leafs are looking to exorcise past playoff demons. And to do it, they’ll have to get past a red-hot Carey Price and

7:22 AM ET NHL Insiders The 2021 Stanley Cup playoffs has produced another Game 7, and this one features two of hockey’s most iconic franchises. Monday night, the Toronto Maple Leafs host the Montreal Canadiens, after the Habs earned a thrilling overtime win in Game 6 in front of 2,500 fans at the Bell Centre.

11:46 PM ET Vegas Golden Knights coach Peter DeBoer isn’t second-guessing his decision to start goaltender Robin Lehner in Game 1 of the second round — despite Lehner being hung out to dry in a 7-1 loss to the Colorado Avalanche. Vegas started Marc-Andre Fleury throughout the entire first-round series against the Minnesota Wild, including

7:43 AM ET Two more second-round series get underway in the 2021 Stanley Cup playoffs on Sunday — including that epic Colorado Avalanche vs. Vegas Golden Knights tilt — while the remaining divisional first-round series was extended to seven games by the pesky Montreal Canadiens (and the collapsing Toronto Maple Leafs). Check out the ESPN

12:26 AM ET The Toronto Maple Leafs haven’t won a playoff series since 2004. That drought is in danger of being extended thanks to missed opportunities and mental mistakes against the Montreal Canadiens, who pushed their series with the Leafs to a Game 7 with an overtime win on Saturday night. “We had plenty of

8:00 AM ET The first round of the 2021 Stanley Cup playoffs was a wonderful appetizer to the remaining courses, the first of which begins on Saturday with the Boston Bruins hosting the New York Islanders at 8 p.m. ET. As a reminder, this season’s first and second rounds are intradivisional. Once the postseason division

8:20 AM ET NHL Insiders The second round of the 2021 Stanley Cup playoffs is set to begin on Saturday, with the Boston Bruins hosting the New York Islanders. On Sunday, the Carolina Hurricanes take on the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Colorado Avalanche begin their series against the Vegas Golden Knights. The North Division