CHICAGO—Pekka Rinne made 29 saves and scored an empty-net goal, and the Nashville Predators beat the sloppy Chicago Blackhawks 5-2 on Thursday night for John Hynes’ first win with the team. Hynes became the third coach in franchise history after Peter Laviolette was fired on Monday. Hynes dropped his debut when Nashville lost 6-2 to
Canada
Many rookies talk about adapting to the speed of the NHL game. For Kaapo Kakko, picked second overall by the New York Rangers in last spring’s draft, the biggest challenge has been adjusting to the NHL’s smaller ice surface compared to rinks in his native Finland. “Holding on to the puck has been my strength
SAN JOSE, CALIF.—The Sharks will reportedly be without injured captain Logan Couture for several weeks, delivering a potentially crippling blow to the team’s already fading playoff hopes for this season. Pierre LeBrun of TSN and the Athletic tweeted Wednesday afternoon that Couture may have a fractured left ankle and that he could be out “at
Blake Wheeler scored the winner in the shootout as the Winnipeg Jets edged the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-3 on Wednesday, overshadowing a milestone performance by Auston Matthews. Nikolaj Ehlers, Mason Appleton and Mark Scheifele scored in regulation time as the Jets (24-16-4) won their second straight game. Connor Hellebuyck made 25 saves for the win
LAS VEGAS—Max Pacioretty is putting on an offensive showcase for the Vegas Golden Knights this season. The 31-year-old forward leads the team in points (44) and goals scored (19); he ranks second with 25 assists. His career highs are 67 points, 34 assists and 39 goals. His offensive flow has also meshed with linemate Mark
It’s still no man’s land in front of NHL goaltenders, a forbidden place for offensive players who risk hard shoves, cross-checks — or worse — when they settle in. But it isn’t nearly as rough and tumble as it used to be. The league has cracked down on the over-the-top physical play in general and
It’s still no man’s land in front of NHL goaltenders, a forbidden place for offensive players who risk hard shoves, cross-checks — or worse — when they settle in. But it isn’t nearly as rough and tumble as it used to be. The league has cracked down on the over-the-top physical play in general and
After beating the Philadelphia Flyers in overtime, the Carolina Hurricanes announced a big addition to their roster. Dougie Hamilton scored 1:56 into overtime to give Carolina a 5-4 win over Philadelphia on Tuesday night, and the Hurricanes’ mood was further buoyed by the signing of forward Justin Williams. The team announced the 18-year veteran has
Canada captain Barrett Hayton had the honour of being the first to raise the world junior championship trophy before letting his teammates have their turn. After returning to home soil on Monday, Hayton got to hand off the trophy to one of the team’s biggest supporters. Akilah Thomas, whose son Akil scored the winning goal
John Hynes will behind the Nashville Predators bench for Tuesday night’s home game against Boston, one month after being fired as head coach of the New Jersey Devils. The Predators, who are out of playoff position in the NHL’s Western Conference, made the announcement a little more than 12 hours after dismissing bench boss Peter
NASHVILLE—The Nashville Predators have hired former New Jersey Devils coach John Hynes as the third coach in franchise history after firing Peter Laviolette. The Predators announced the hiring Tuesday before a morning skate. Nashville hosts Boston on Tuesday night. “John Hynes is a bright young coach and great leader who has a track record of
The way Kailer Yamamoto laughs and jokes around with his teammates in the Edmonton Oilers locker room, you’d think he was a seasoned NHL veteran. But the truth is the 21-year-old Yamamoto has only played in a few games for Edmonton this season and 26 over the previous two campaigns with the Oilers. He was
Andrew Copp scored the winning goal in the third period to lift the Winnipeg Jets to a 3-2 victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Monday night. Josh Morrissey and Nikolaj Ehlers also scored for the Jets (23-16-4) while captain Blake Wheeler had two assists. Goaltender Connor Hellebuyck made 29 saves. Hellebuyck was coming off a
MOSCOW—Some Russian hockey fans were celebrating victory despite losing at the world junior hockey championships because of a confusingly timed TV repeat. Two state TV channels showed Russia-Canada finals at the same time on Sunday. One was live, and the other was from 2011. While most fans, and Russia’s players, commiserated after a 4-3 loss
Six-year-old Jack Giordano cruises around the ice with his buddies in Timbits minor hockey, where the name of the game is chasing the puck around until someone whacks it in the net. “I’m trying to teach him that stopping the puck is just as important, if not more important, than putting the puck in,” says
Sitting at the end of the bench, Dillon Dube couldn’t hear his coach call out names, but he kept looking over wanting for his chance in the shootout. For someone who’d never been in that situation before, Dube came through. Dube scored in the seventh round of the tiebreaker to give the Calgary Flames a
Canadians fell in love with the world junior hockey championship for two reasons. First, it’s played during the holiday season, which helped it evolve into a national tradition over the past quarter-century. Second, Canada used to win the tournament most of the time. So it was an annual opportunity for Canadians to puff out our
OSTRAVA, CZECH REPUBLIC—Canada was looking for payback. The national team got it — and then some — in a dominant wire-to-wire performance Saturday at the world junior hockey championship. The Canadians scored three times before their semifinal with Finland was four minutes old and cruised to a 5-0 victory that sets up a mouth-watering gold-medal