7:00 AM ET ESPN staff The matchups and storylines are set as the 2022 Stanley Cup playoffs get underway this week, with the last team standing hoisting the cherished chalice sometime in late June. Will that be the Tampa Bay Lightning, who are looking to become the first team to win the Cup in three
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2:26 PM ET The Detroit Red Wings will not renew the contract of Jeff Blashill, who just completed his seventh season as head coach. Detroit finished with a 32-40-10 record (.451 points percentage) and were 26 points out of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, missing the playoffs for the sixth straight season. The
12:43 AM ET Brianna Williams The box score doesn’t always tell the full story in professional sports, and such was the case in the regular-season finale between the Dallas Stars and Anaheim Ducks. Emergency backup goalie Tom Hodges, who played college hockey at SMU, stole the show in what ended up being a 4-2 Stars
1:20 AM ET ESPN staff The 2022 Stanley Cup playoffs represent a return to normalcy, after a bubble-encased postseason in 2020 and a 2021 tournament that featured realigned intradivisional play, followed by a rebracketing for the final two rounds. Sixteen teams have qualified for a shot, but only one will get to skate the sacred
8:45 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 made it to the final day of the regular season — save for a makeup game between the lottery-bound Winnipeg Jets and Seattle Kraken on Sunday — with a number of questions
8:30 AM ET Tim KavanaghESPN.com Close Tim Kavanagh is a senior NHL editor for ESPN. He’s a native of upstate New York. After the Vegas Golden Knights‘ elimination from playoff contention last night, the 16-team field for the 2022 Stanley Cup playoffs is set — we just have to wait to see which teams fit
8:00 AM ET As the Tampa Bay Lightning celebrated their second straight Stanley Cup championship last summer, my eyes were drawn to one player: defenseman David Savard. He had played 597 NHL regular-season games and 37 more in the playoffs before the Columbus Blue Jackets traded him to the Lightning at the deadline. He walked
8:40 AM ET The Northern Lights appear in the sky over Hay River, Northwest Territories, during the 2022 Polar Pond Hockey tournament. Amber Bracken for ESPN HAY RIVER, Northwest Territories — It is a frigid Saturday afternoon in mid-March, cold enough that the breath coming from the small faces pressed up against the panoramic window in
7:00 AM ET Tim KavanaghESPN.com Close Tim Kavanagh is a senior NHL editor for ESPN. He’s a native of upstate New York. Tuesday night was of tremendous importance as the races for the 2022 Stanley Cup playoffs wind down. The Dallas Stars‘ shootout win over the Vegas Golden Knights pushed the latter to the precipice
7:00 AM ET NEWARK, N.J. — While the Buffalo Sabres were playing the New Jersey Devils, their digital avatars were mimicking each move in virtual reality. Strap on the VR goggles. Touch a button, and you’re watching the game through the eyes of a skater heading in for a shot. Touch it again, and your
7:00 AM ET ESPN staff There are 13 games on the NHL schedule tonight, including five being waged between teams that are currently in playoff position. But perhaps the most consequential matchup of the bunch features the Dallas Stars hosting the Vegas Golden Knights (8:30 ET, streaming live on ESPN+ for out-of-market customers). The Knights
7:00 AM ET ESPN staff We interrupt your regularly scheduled NHL playoff watch today on the occasion of the final week of the 2021-22 regular season to bring you a roundtable discussion on what our panel will be watching most closely these final few days. We’re highlighting the most critical games this week and potential
7:05 AM ET The 2021-22 NHL season included a great deal of highlights, from the dominance of the Colorado Avalanche and Florida Panthers, to the goal-scoring prowess of Auston Matthews and Chris Kreider, to spectacular goaltending from Igor Shesterkin, Frederik Andersen and Jacob Markstrom. But there can be only one team that gets to raise
9:31 PM ET Associated Press WASHINGTON — Alex Ovechkin left the Washington Capitals‘ game against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday night after crashing hard into the boards and was ruled out with what the team called an upper-body injury. Ovechkin tripped over goaltender Erik Kallgren‘s stick on a breakaway and went left shoulder first
7:31 AM ET Tim KavanaghESPN.com Close Tim Kavanagh is a senior NHL editor for ESPN. He’s a native of upstate New York. Some rivalries in the NHL have existed for decades; think Boston Bruins–Montreal Canadiens, Chicago Blackhawks–Detroit Red Wings, New York Rangers–New York Islanders, etc. But some of the most heated grudge matches have materialized
8:00 AM ET Tim KavanaghESPN.com Close Tim Kavanagh is a senior NHL editor for ESPN. He’s a native of upstate New York. Although the game Saturday between the Florida Panthers and Toronto Maple Leafs won’t make much of an impact on the playoff races — the Panthers have clinched the division title as well as
8:05 AM ET ESPN staff The ABC Saturday afternoon hockey schedule continues this week with an Eastern Conference playoff contender clash, as the Boston Bruins host the New York Rangers, with coverage beginning at 3 p.m. ET and simulcast on ESPN+. To help get you ready for the game, we’ve put together a guide on
7:43 PM ET Associated Press SEATTLE — The Seattle Kraken signed defenseman Ryker Evans to a three-year entry level contract Friday, locking up the second draft pick in franchise history. Evans was picked No. 35 overall by the Kraken in last summer’s NHL entry draft. The 20-year-old just completed his fourth season of junior hockey