NHL

12:09 AM ET Associated Press DENVER — Tyson Jost scored two of Colorado’s five second-period goals as the Avalanche clinched the West Division and the top overall seed in the NHL playoffs with a 5-1 win over the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday night. Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, Joonas Donskoi and Andre Burakovsky also scored in the

7:00 AM ET After the NHL staged a 24-team, bubble-based tournament to determine the Stanley Cup winner in 2020, we’re back to a more traditional 16-team event in 2021 — with a significant twist. The first two rounds of the 2021 playoffs will be intradivisional. After a winner is crowned from the four divisions, the

7:00 AM ET Goaltenders are known as “the great equalizers” in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. They give every underdog a chance at an upset. They give every favorite the cold sweats, knowing one bad round from their goalie could be their ultimate undoing. As the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs arrive, which teams are in the

2:53 PM ET The Seattle Kraken have signed their first player. Luke Henman, a 21-year-old center, inked a three-year, entry-level contract with the NHL’s 32nd franchise on Wednesday. Henman, the team captain and leading scorer for Blainville-Boisbriand Armada (QMJHL), was a fourth-round draft pick of the Carolina Hurricanes in 2018. He went unsigned by the

7:00 AM ET The 2021 NHL season was — hopefully — the most unique campaign that any of us will witness. Arenas had reduced numbers of fans — or no fans — and as a result of the U.S.-Canada border being closed, the divisions had to be realigned to sequester the Canadian teams; that decision

6:53 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 reached the final three games to determine the winner of the West Division and the Presidents’ Trophy as the team with the best regular season record for the 2021 NHL season. The

11:44 PM ET ESPN News Services WASHINGTON — The Washington Capitals got Alex Ovechkin back on the ice feeling “100%” heading into the playoffs. Winning was just a bonus. Michael Raffl scored from a tight angle with 1.8 seconds remaining, Ovechkin saw his first extended action since April 22 and the Capitals beat the short-handed

7:00 AM ET If there’s anything we know about NHL hiring practices, it’s that they can be predictable. Since 2005-06, there have been 171 head coaching changes in the NHL — more than the NFL, NBA or MLB. However, 101 of the 171 new hires had previous head-coaching experience, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

6:55 AM ET Tim KavanaghESPN.com Close Tim Kavanagh is a senior NHL editor for ESPN. He’s a native of upstate New York. We had a good feeling about Monday’s NHL calendar providing quite a bit of clarity in the playoff races, and it delivered. The Montreal Canadiens clinched the final North Division playoff spot, and

8:49 PM ET Jeremy WillisESPN.com The Philadelphia Flyers will not be going to the Stanley Cup playoffs and their season ends Monday night. Gritty, the Flyers’ mascot, is using the occasion to reflect on the season “I got naked (a lot), played in a ball pit, rode a mechanical bull, vacationed in Tahoe, hired (and

1:22 PM ET Star center Jack Eichel said there’s a “disconnect” between himself and the Buffalo Sabres over how his neck injury was handled this season, leaving his future with the franchise very much unsettled. Eichel missed the Sabres’ final 33 games of the season due to a herniated disk in his neck, an injury

7:04 AM ET Tim KavanaghESPN.com Close Tim Kavanagh is a senior NHL editor for ESPN. He’s a native of upstate New York. The two games on Sunday didn’t do too much to solve our playoff and lottery mysteries. But there will be some significant fallout following the nine games on the schedule on Monday. The

2:47 PM ET Rick Tocchet will not return as head coach of the Arizona Coyotes, the team announced Sunday. Tocchet’s contract expires on June 30, and the Coyotes will begin their search for a new head coach immediately. “After meeting with Rick, we have agreed that a coaching change is in the best interest of

9:00 AM ET Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin is becoming an investor in the National Women’s Soccer League’s Washington Spirit. “I think it’s important to support women and women’s professional athletes — not just in the United States, but all over the world,” Ovechkin told ESPN. “It was also important for me to support the

7:25 AM ET Tim KavanaghESPN.com Close Tim Kavanagh is a senior NHL editor for ESPN. He’s a native of upstate New York. As expected, Saturday’s busy schedule produced a lot of progress in the standings. The Pittsburgh Penguins clinched the East Division crown, and the Toronto Maple Leafs did the same in the North Division.

11:38 PM ET John Tortorella will not return as coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets, a source told ESPN on Saturday night. There had been heavy speculation, in recent weeks, that Tortorella’s six-season tenure with the Blue Jackets would come to an end. He doesn’t have a contract for next season and Columbus finished in

11:43 AM ET The NHL is revising its COVID protocols for the playoffs once teams hit vaccination thresholds, according to a memo obtained by ESPN. The changes, for now, only affect United States-based teams, as Canada is much further behind in its vaccine rollout. The NHL informed teams Friday night that once 85% of a

7:51 AM ET Tim KavanaghESPN.com Close Tim Kavanagh is a senior NHL editor for ESPN. He’s a native of upstate New York. Another night, another playoff spot clinched as we officially welcome the St. Louis Blues to the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Blues earned one point for their overtime loss to the Vegas Golden