NHL

7:00 AM ET The moment Jack Hughes stepped off the ice in the New Jersey Devils‘ season opener — after he dangled through three Chicago Blackhawks, and scored on his backhand for an absurd overtime winner, then tossed his stick into the crowd in a moment of euphoric celebration — he turned to a team

8:53 PM ET Edmonton Oilers star forward Connor McDavid has tested positive for COVID-19, coach Dave Tippett announced after practice Tuesday. Forward Derek Ryan also tested positive, and neither participated in practice, with Tippett telling reporters that the two were scheduled for another test later Tuesday, and the struggling team will just have to “see

1:57 PM ET Associated Press CHICAGO — The Chicago Blackhawks acquired forward Sam Lafferty in a trade with the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday in exchange for forward Alex Nylander. Lafferty is slated to join the slumping Blackhawks in Arizona. The 26-year-old Lafferty, who is signed through this season with a $750,000 salary-cap hit, has no

7:00 AM ET As the NHL’s 32 teams all work their way back from the holiday break — and various postponements due to COVID-19 — it’s time for another round of the power rankings. And this week, we’re also laying out the most pivotal situations for every club by identifying one big question for 2022.

1:06 AM ET Associated Press CHICAGO — Cale Makar tried to downplay his game-winning goal Tuesday night, calling the sequence “a little bit lucky.” Colorado Avalanche teammate Erik Johnson offered a much different description. “Yeah, it was sick,” Johnson said. Makar scored on a slick move 2:38 into overtime, lifting the surging Avalanche to a

12:25 PM ET Since their inception, the Seattle Kraken pushed back on comparisons to the Vegas Golden Knights, who rewrote the rules for NHL expansion teams by making the Stanley Cup Final in their first season. “From day one, we’ve said we’re not Vegas,” Kraken general manager Ron Francis said on Monday. There’s no debating

2:48 PM ET Associated Press The NHL on Monday postponed the Seattle Kraken‘s home game scheduled for Thursday against Ottawa because of COVID-19 problems with the Senators. It’s the 92nd NHL game to be postponed for coronavirus-related reasons this season. Several of those are linked to attendance restrictions in Canada. The Senators have nine players,

7:00 AM ET The players’ association of the Premier Hockey Federation had high expectations for its next executive director. Fortunately for attorney Alex Sinatra, whom the PHF has tapped to fill that vacant post, its requirements didn’t include any actual hockey-related skills. “They assured me that not having played hockey and me not knowing how

8:45 PM ET ESPN News Services NEW YORK — Florida Panthers forward Sam Bennett was suspended three games without pay by the NHL on Sunday for an illegal check to the head of Montreal Canadiens forward Cedric Paquette during a game Saturday. Bennett, who scored twice during Florida’s 5-2 win, injured Paquette with his hit

5:44 PM ET ESPN News Services PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Penguins enjoyed a strong six-goal start after a lengthy layoff. A third-period lull allowed the San Jose Sharks back into the game, but Evan Rodrigues and Bryan Rust came through when Pittsburgh needed it most. Rodrigues and Rust both finished off hat tricks in the

12:47 PM ET Associated Press Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury was removed from the NHL’s COVID-19 protocols on Sunday. Fleury, 37, was added to the list on Monday. He is 9-10-1 with two shutouts, a .913 save percentage and 2.86 goals-against average in his first season with the Blackhawks. Chicago also moved forward Josiah Slavin

11:20 PM ET ESPN News Services MINNEAPOLIS — Jordan Kyrou had two goals and two assists in a five-goal second period for St. Louis, and the Blues cruised through the coldest outdoor game in NHL history to beat the host Minnesota Wild 6-4 in the Winter Classic on Saturday night. The official faceoff temperature at

4:45 PM ET ESPN News Services COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Carolina Hurricanes, one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference all season, have bigger plans for later in 2022, like perhaps competing for the franchise’s second Stanley Cup championship. For now, though, they’ll settle for any type of momentum builder they can get, and

8:25 PM ET The St. Louis Blues face the Minnesota Wild on Saturday night in the Winter Classic, the NHL’s annual New Year’s Day game played outdoors. Target Field, usually the home of the Minnesota Twins, is where the two teams will play. 1 Related Per the Weather Channel website, Saturday’s high in Minneapolis is

5:40 PM ET The St. Louis Blues face the Minnesota Wild on Saturday night in the Winter Classic, the NHL’s annual New Year’s Day game played outdoors. Target Field, usually the home of the Minnesota Twins, is where the two teams will play. 1 Related Per the Weather Channel website, Saturday’s high in Minneapolis is

12:37 PM ET Associated Press New Jersey coach Lindy Ruff tested positive for COVID-19 hours before the Devils’ game against the Edmonton Oilers on Friday and was isolated from the team. The Devils made the announcement roughly 45 minutes after Ruff did not show up for a pregame news conference. When the news conference started,

7:40 AM ET The concept of “can’t” hasn’t really applied to the NHL during the COVID-19 pandemic. When faced with adversity, it has shown undeniable and admirable ingenuity. This is a league that halted its 2019-20 season, restarted it in two Canadian “bubble” cities and rewrote its postseason rules to allow 24 teams to participate

4:49 PM ET Associated Press EDMONTON, Alberta — When Brigette Lacquette first heard from the Chicago Blackhawks, she didn’t think the message was real. It was, and it arrived at a perfect time. Lacquette became the first Indigenous woman to scout for an NHL team when she was hired by the Blackhawks this year. Making