8:36 PM ET The NHL and NHLPA announced several new protocols on Thursday after COVID-19 outbreaks on five teams caused nearly a dozen games to be postponed this week. The enhanced measures, endorsed by the league’s medical experts, will be in effect until at least Feb. 28 and could feature further restrictions. The Buffalo Sabres,
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9:00 AM ET The worst thing about the sports GOAT debate is that it’s redefined one of my favorite terms in sports, which is “the goat.” It used to indicate the counterpoint to the “hero.” It was the catalyst for defeat, the one who wears horns of shame and gnaws on cud while the champions
8:11 PM ET The Philadelphia Flyers‘ game against the New York Rangers on Sunday is postponed with three Flyers players — Justin Braun, Travis Sanheim and captain Claude Giroux — on the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol list. This is the second-straight postponed game for the Flyers, though the league says that Philadelphia will be able to
7:00 AM ET We have reached the quarter mark of the 2021 NHL season — at least for the teams which haven’t had their schedules disrupted by COVID-19 yet. But we’re also coming up on another big holiday. So in the spirit of Valentine’s Day, we identified something we love about every team in this
7:10 PM ET The last time the Pittsburgh Penguins announced a new general manager they shocked the hockey world by hiring Jim Rutherford, the long-tenured Carolina Hurricanes executive who introduced himself by saying he only expected to be in Pittsburgh for about three seasons. Three seasons later, Rutherford was raising his second Stanley Cup with
7:00 AM ET Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson‘s winning shootout goal in the 2018 Olympic women’s hockey gold-medal game — using the move she and her coach dubbed Oops, I Did It Again, a nod to Britney Spears — was one of the most iconic moments in U.S. women’s hockey history, helping the American women win their first
11:14 PM ET Columbus Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella benched newly acquired winger Patrik Laine during Monday night’s game against Carolina, acknowledging afterward that although sitting a player is “the last thing I want to do,” it was something he felt was needed. The Blue Jackets acquired Laine two weeks ago in a trade for
7:00 AM ET On Feb. 28, Maddie Rooney will play at Madison Square Garden as part of the Professional Women’s Hockey Players Association Dream Gap Tour. For the 23-year-old goalie, it’s “an incredible opportunity” to play in New York City at the world’s most famous arena. Unfortunately, her preparation for the game hasn’t exactly been
10:56 PM ET Associated Press WINDSOR, Colo. — Ralph Backstrom, a six-time Stanley Cup winner with the Montreal Canadiens, college coach and founder of a minor league team, died Sunday. He was 83. The Colorado Eagles announced the death of Backstrom, who founded the minor league franchise in northern Colorado in 2002. He served as
8:04 PM ET Associated Press COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Columbus Blue Jackets have lost one of their most valuable defensemen with Zach Werenski being placed on injured reserve Saturday. The 23-year-old All Star suffered an unspecified lower body injury in Thursday’s win over Dallas and is expected to miss at least a week. Werenski limped
1:52 AM ET Associated Press FRISCO, Texas — Dallas Stars goaltender Anton Khudobin will miss Sunday’s game against Chicago because of an undisclosed “internal issue.” After practice Saturday, Stars coach Rick Bowness refused to say specifically why the goaltender will not play. He said Khudobin will be listed as day to day. “I have very
4:37 PM ET Associated Press RALEIGH, N.C. — The Carolina Hurricanes have hired retired captain and three-time Stanley Cup winner Justin Williams as special adviser to the general manager. “The knowledge that he brings just getting off the ice a short time ago is going to be very valuable for us,” team president and general
9:54 PM ET Associated Press The NHL has postponed the Colorado Avalanche‘s games through Feb. 11. Colorado becomes the fifth team shut down, joining Vegas, New Jersey, Buffalo and Minnesota. Dallas and Carolina were put on pause in January because of outbreaks. The Avalanche currently have two players on the league’s COVID-19 list: captain Gabriel
2:15 PM ET Associated Press COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Blue Jackets placed goaltender Elvis Merzlikins on injured reserve after he was injured during practice. The move came hours before Merzlikins was scheduled to start Thursday night’s game against the Dallas Stars. Joonas Korpisalo likely will start in his place. The Blue Jackets said Merzlikins, who
8:00 AM ET If the offer is “all or nothing,” the Toronto Maple Leafs have inevitably settled for the latter. They haven’t won the Stanley Cup since 1967, which also was their most recent appearance in the Stanley Cup Final. Their seasons either end with the muted disappointment of air slowly seeping out of their
7:30 AM ET The most important word when it comes to young NHL players is one that long-suffering fan bases don’t want to hear: patience. Expectations have undoubtedly been skewed for highly drafted players of late in part because Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews destroyed the development curve for everyone else. Young talents just aren’t
9:00 AM ET When the NHL Awards are handed out each year, there are accusations of geographic bias. Sometimes it’s due to the size of a market. More often it’s complaints about how one division or conference is covered by a larger press corps than another — the storied “East Coast bias” that always seems
7:00 AM ET The 2021 NHL season has officially begun to take form, as the February schedule gets rolling. For this week’s power rankings, we identified the biggest disappointment so far for every team. How we rank: The ESPN hockey editorial staff submits selections ranking teams 1 to 31 — taking into account past results