10:41 PM ET Greg WyshynskiESPN Jeff Skinner, who would have been one of the most coveted free-agent wingers this summer, is officially off the market. Skinner, 27, signed an eight-year, $72-million contract extension with the Buffalo Sabres on Friday. Skinner had a career-high 40 goals in his first season in Buffalo, who acquired him last
NHL News
6:51 PM ET Emily KaplanESPN St. Louis Blues forward Ivan Barbashev has been suspended for one game for an illegal check to the head on Boston’s Marcus Johansson in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final, the league announced. Barbashev was not penalized on the play. Barbashev has three goals, three assists and is plus-1
7:05 AM ET Emily KaplanESPN With a 2-1 win in Game 5 — the lowest-scoring game of this series — the St. Louis Blues are on the cusp of their first-ever Stanley Cup, and have a chance to win it at home. The Boston Bruins? They’ll have to summon some composure (a la what the
11:47 AM ET Emily KaplanESPN BOSTON — Bruins captain Zdeno Chara was back on the ice — in a full shield — on Thursday morning ahead of Game 5, and will be a game-time decision, according to coach Bruce Cassidy. Defenseman Matt Grzelcyk, who has been out since Game 2 with a concussion, is also
6:59 AM ET Greg WyshynskiESPN Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final is scheduled for Thursday night between the Boston Bruins and the St. Louis Blues at TD Garden, with the series tied 2-2 after the Blues’ 4-2 home win against Boston on Monday night. What can we expect in this critical matchup in Boston?
5:45 PM ET Associated Press SAN JOSE, Calif. — San Jose Sharks defenseman Erik Karlsson has undergone groin surgery before becoming eligible for free agency this summer. The Sharks said Wednesday that Karlsson had the operation last week and has already started rehabilitation. The team says Karlsson is expected to recover fully in the offseason
7:00 AM ET Emily KaplanESPN The Stanley Cup Final between the Boston Bruins and St. Louis Blues has gone back and forth between games. Each offensive spurt has been met with a counterpunch. Each loss is followed by a necessary adjustment. No real fireworks (yet), though plenty of players trying to antagonize opponents (exactly how
6:35 PM ET Associated Press CHICAGO — The Chicago Blackhawks have hired Marc Crawford as an assistant coach on Jeremy Colliton‘s staff. The 58-year-old Crawford was the interim head coach for Ottawa at the end of last season. He also has served as the head coach for Colorado, Vancouver, Los Angeles and Dallas, leading the
6:48 AM ET Emily KaplanESPN Was there any doubt this series was going to be a long one? After laying an egg in Game 3, the St. Louis Blues bounced back with a 4-2 win in Game 4 that left the home crowd singing along to “Gloria,” and the Stanley Cup Final against the Boston
4:52 PM ET Greg WyshynskiESPN ST. LOUIS — After a 7-2 shellacking from the Boston Bruins in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final, the St. Louis Blues are making lineup changes for Monday night’s Game 4, trailing the series 2-1. Defenseman Vince Dunn, who has been out of the lineup after taking a puck
7:00 AM ET Greg WyshynskiESPN Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final is scheduled for Monday between the Boston Bruins and the St. Louis Blues at Enterprise Center in St. Louis, with the Bruins leading 2-1 after their 7-2 rout of the Blues on Saturday. What can we expect in this critical matchup in St.
1:54 PM ET Emily KaplanESPN ST. LOUIS — Blues coach Craig Berube doesn’t know why his team has been penalized so much in the Stanley Cup Final, but he’s not happy about it. “First of all, we were the least penalized team in the league in the first three rounds, now all of a sudden
10:32 PM ET Greg WyshynskiESPN ST. LOUIS — St. Louis Blues goalie Jordan Binnington was pulled from Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final after getting lit up by the Boston Bruins for five goals Saturday night, the first time all season the rookie sensation has failed to finish a game. Binnington gave up five
10:59 AM ET Greg WyshynskiESPN ST. LOUIS — Laila Anderson pointed the microphone at St. Louis Blues forward Alexander Steen. He had done plenty of interviews after winning the Western Conference championship on home ice that night, but this one was clearly the most meaningful. “So tell me, Alex, what emotions are going through your
8:49 AM ET Emily KaplanESPN ST. LOUIS — When Vladimir Tarasenko first came to St. Louis in 2012, the Blues assigned their prized Russian winger a translator to help him interact with the media. Tarasenko, who grew up in the Siberian plains, knew a little English from school, but by no means was conversational. He
© Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports Grzelcyk in concussion protocol Amalie Benjamin of NHL.com: Boston Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said that defenseman Matt Grzelcyk isn’t traveling with the team and is in concussion protocol. Sundqvist suspended NHL Player Safety: St. Louis Blues forward has been suspended Oskar Sundqvist for one game for his boarding of
11:25 AM ET Emily KaplanESPN The NHL cleared Washington Capitals star Evgeny Kuznetsov after a video surfaced Monday of him sitting next to a table on which there are two lines of white powder in what appears to be a hotel room. NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said in a statement Friday that the league
9:37 PM ET Associated Press ST. LOUIS — Blues forward Oskar Sundqvist has been suspended for Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final for delivering an elbow to the head of Boston Bruins defenseman Matt Grzelcyk. The NHL’s department of player safety announced the suspension Thursday after a hearing with Sundqvist, who was assessed only