NHL

12:21 AM ET Associated Press TORONTO — Tampa Bay Lightning star defenseman Victor Hedman left the team’s round-robin finale Saturday night, after it appeared he twisted his right ankle midway through the first period against the Philadelphia Flyers. Following the 4-1 loss that secured the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference for the Lightning,

6:34 PM ET ESPN News Services With a shootout looming to determine the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference and time ticking away, Alex Tuch scored 4:44 into overtime as the Vegas Golden Knights outlasted the Colorado Avalanche 4-3 to win the round-robin tournament in Edmonton Saturday. The Golden Knights, who made a coaching

7:56 AM ET The NHL postseason bubble is officially bonkers. Friday featured three series upsets being completed, and a stunning late-game rally by the Toronto Maple Leafs against the Columbus Blue Jackets that pushed their series to a fifth and final game. On Saturday, we’ll find out who the Montreal Canadiens and Chicago Blackhawks will

11:11 PM ET The third time Jonathan Toews lifted the Stanley Cup for the Chicago Blackhawks was in 2015, which also marked the last time they advanced in the NHL postseason. That was until Friday night, when they shocked the Edmonton Oilers and won their qualifying-round series in four games. No. 12-seeded Chicago eliminated the

9:00 AM ET Kevin Fiala was frustrated. The Minnesota Wild were trailing the Vancouver Canucks by two goals in Game 3 of their qualification-round series. The winger’s shot had missed its target, one of 10 wayward attempts for the game. As the whistle sounded to stop play, he buzzed Vancouver goalie Jacob Markstrom‘s crease, stuck

7:00 AM ET Under the NHL’s CBA, players are required to wear a suit, dress shirt and tie to the arena on game days “unless otherwise specified by the head coach or manager.” It’s the only major professional sports league in North America with such a strict dress code. “Once you get onto the plane,

8:40 AM ET Alarm. Breakfast. Hockey. Dinner. Sleep. Repeat. This is the life cycle in the NHL’s restarted season, for the 24 teams involved in the two hub cities and the bleary-eyed fans watching from home. It’s like a housebound hockey Coachella — a “Couch-ella,” if you will — as the made-for-TV tournament runs all

7:18 AM ET The Winnipeg Jets face elimination, while the Toronto Maple Leafs hope to roll on despite the loss of key defenseman Jake Muzzin. And oh yeah, the NHL’s two No. 12 seeds have the No. 5 seeds on the brink as well. We told you this was going to be like March Madness!

Aug 2, 2020 After months of a pandemic-induced pause, the NHL returned in earnest on Saturday, Aug. 1. Players hit the ice again as the NHL’s return-to-play plan hit Phase 4. Unlike the traditional playoff format, the league is running a 24-team tournament, with 12 teams from each conference playing in fan-less arenas in Toronto

7:00 AM ET When it became clear that Kirby Dach, the No. 3 pick of the 2019 NHL draft, was going to make the Chicago Blackhawks‘ roster this season, the 19-year-old wanted to make the most of the opportunity. Sure, Dach was viewed as the long-term heir apparent to Jonathan Toews at center, but he

9:15 AM ET And on the fourth day of bubble hockey, we got a very pretty pass, a fake punch … and a sweep. Send some congrats to the Carolina Hurricanes, the first team to qualify for the next round. The Canes also get up to a week’s rest before the next round begins. What

7:10 AM ET Like other players in the NHL’s “bubble,” Ryan Hartman of the Minnesota Wild watched a lot of postseason hockey during the first few days of the restarted 2019-20 season. He couldn’t help but notice an obvious trend during his viewing binge. “A lot — a lot — of penalties were being called,”

11:25 PM ET Sebastian Aho had two goals, and James Reimer won in his restart debut as the Carolina Hurricanes defeated the New York Rangers 4-1 in Game 3 of their qualifier series in Toronto to become the first team to advance out of this round. Teuvo Teravainen and Warren Foegele also scored for the

10:35 AM ET Bryant McBride watched the messages multiply. Blake Wheeler of the Winnipeg Jets on social media, calling for people to “stand with the black community and fundamentally change how the leadership in this country has dealt with racism.” Jonathan Toews of the Chicago Blackhawks and Claude Giroux of the Philadelphia Flyers tweeting “Black

7:15 AM ET The New York Rangers face elimination on Tuesday, and others could be in the same spot after today’s slate of games. Keep this in mind: Teams with a 2-0 lead are 55-1 (98.2 percent) in winning a best-of-5 NHL series in the NHL, which the league had held most recently from 1980-86.

11:44 PM ET Four members of the Dallas Stars and Vegas Golden Knights took a knee during the U.S. and Canadian national anthems on Monday. Vegas forward Ryan Reaves, one of the NHL’s few Black players, and goaltender Robin Lehner knelt with Dallas forward Tyler Seguin and Jason Dickinson before their round-robin postseason game in

9:00 AM ET The NHL returned this weekend to restart its season with a 24-team postseason tournament, featuring both a round-robin series for the top seeds and a best-of-five qualification round for the others. The league adopted an “All Day Hockey” approach, with puck drop of the first game on Saturday at noon ET, and

7:30 AM ET Day 2 of the NHL restart was just as exciting as the opener, as hockey fans were treated to fantastic goaltending performances, more upsets and a buzzer-beater. As we head to Game 2s of the qualification round, let it be known that teams that win Game 1 in a best-of-5 series typically