NHL News

6:58 AM ET The start of the NHL’s Stanley Cup quarterfinals set the bar rather high. Like, five overtimes high. Before the next day of competition, please check out our staff picks for each series, including the uncomfortable number of us predicting that the best team in the NHL during the regular season will get

9:59 PM ET The first game of the first round of the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs began at 3 p.m. ET on Tuesday, between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Columbus Blue Jackets. It didn’t end until the fifth overtime, which was 6 hours, 24 minutes later in real time. Along the way, playoff records for

6:54 AM ET Playoffs? Yes, you can now actually say that these are the 2020 NHL playoffs. The tournament is now officially in the first round, with only 16 teams left. Day 1 brings us a slate of four games, though none before 3 p.m. ET. We miss morning/noon hockey already. Check out the ESPN

8:00 PM ET The New York Rangers won the second lottery for the 2020 NHL draft, which determined which team would have the opportunity to pick at No. 1 overall. That first selection is widely expected to be phenom Alexis Lafreniere of Rimouski Oceanic in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. In June, a ‘Placeholder’

7:05 AM ET There have been many extraordinary aspects to the National Hockey League’s return to the ice after it paused its season for the coronavirus pandemic in March. Hockey being played in August. Stanley Cup playoff games held in empty arenas echoing with artificial crowd noise. But perhaps most notable of all about the

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

7:08 AM ET The Round of 16 matchups in the 2020 NHL playoffs are coming into focus. After the No. 1 seeds were determined on Saturday — the Philadelphia Flyers in the East and the Vegas Golden Knights in the West — Sunday’s two round-robin games will give us the Nos. 3 and 4 seeds,

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,

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

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!

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

7:15 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.

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

7:30 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