NHL News

3:11 AM ET SEATTLE — Nathan MacKinnon made a statement about the Seattle Kraken that was just as profound as the one made by the Colorado Avalanche on a historic night in Seattle. That message? Nobody should be underestimating the Kraken. MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen each scored twice, with Cale Makar also scoring in the

7:00 AM ET ESPN staff Heading into the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs, one series that grabbed the attention of many fans was the No. 2 vs. No. 3 matchup in the Metropolitan Division, pitting the New Jersey Devils against the New York Rangers in the latest edition of the Battle of the Hudson. Thus far,

2:53 AM ET Associated Press LOS ANGELES — Trevor Moore scored a power-play goal at 3:24 of overtime to give the Los Angeles Kings a 3-2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers in Game 3 of their Western Conference first-round playoff series on Friday. After Ryan Nugent-Hopkins was called for high sticking at 1:44, Moore, who

10:15 AM ET ESPN staff Each series of the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs has made it through its first two games. Some are tied, some have seen the home team win both games, and one has seen the visitors return home with a 2-0 lead. There has been the usual mix of controversial calls, goaltending

11:34 PM ET Two games in, the New York Rangers have absolutely dominated the Battle of the Hudson. The Rangers took a 2-0 series lead against the New Jersey Devils with a 5-1 win in Game 2 on Thursday night, having now outscored their rivals 10-2 in their Eastern Conference first-round matchup. “Of course there’s

10:50 AM ET The Toronto Maple Leafs have ironic taste in goal songs. When a Leaf lights the lamp at home, it’s celebrated to the dulcet tones of 1980s duo Hall & Oates crooning their classic “You Make My Dreams (Come True).” Never mind that the tune was recorded before anyone on the roster was

12:22 AM ET BOSTON — The Boston Bruins fell to the Florida Panthers 6-3 in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference playoff series Wednesday night, the defeat the product of uncharacteristic sloppiness with the puck. “Players didn’t make the best decisions at moments,” said Bruins coach Jim Montgomery after Florida evened the best-of-seven series at

7:00 AM ET Mistakes. Goaltenders find them maddening. They also find them helpful. Notice how they act after giving up a goal. Sure, they react in the ways one would expect. But they also look up at the videoboard to assess what went wrong so they can learn from those miscues. This is the exact

1:18 AM ET Associated Press DENVER — Alex Wennberg had a goal and an assist, Philipp Grubauer stopped 34 shots and the Seattle Kraken made a successful playoff debut by beating the defending Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche 3-1 on Tuesday night. The second-year Kraken became the 13th expansion franchise to earn a win in

9:00 AM ET The Boston Bruins have given the NHL so much this season, from shattered records to David Pastrnak‘s wardrobe. As the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs arrive, they’ve given us something else: a time machine. Most of us weren’t around when the Montreal Canadiens made the Stanley Cup Final every year in the 1950s,

2:25 AM ET ESPN News Services EDMONTON, Alberta — Alex Iafallo scored the overtime winner as the visiting Los Angeles Kings erased a two-goal, third-period deficit en route to a 4-3 victory over the Edmonton Oilers to open their first-round playoff series Monday night. Iafallo scored a power-play goal at 9:19 of OT by converting

7:00 AM ET Jim Montgomery believes in “the process.” That’s what the Boston Bruins coach preaches to his team. A simple strategy to keep his players focused on the present. No looking back on what’s happened. No dwelling on an uncertain future. Commit to the now and results will come. Those principles have guided Montgomery

6:49 PM ET Associated Press BRAMPTON, Ontario — The Canadian government has restored funding to Hockey Canada. Hockey Canada made the announcement Sunday, adding that Canadian sport minister Pascale St-Onge made it official, before the Canada-U.S. gold-medal game at the world women’s hockey championship. Hockey Canada saw its funding shut off by the federal government

4:51 PM ET Associated Press BRAMPTON, Ontario — Russia and Belarus won’t be allowed to compete in International Ice Hockey Federation tournaments as long as the war in Ukraine continues, the group’s president said Sunday. With both nations already barred from competing in IIHF events through 2024, its president, Luc Tardif, said a decision on

3:10 PM ET Associated Press BRAMPTON, Ontario — With a familiar berth in the women’s world hockey championship gold medal game on the line, leave it to the United States’ so-called old guard of Hilary Knight and Amanda Kessel to set the tone in a 9-1 rout of Switzerland on Saturday. And the Americans will

7:45 AM ET As a service to fans who have a general interest in the National Hockey League but have no idea what’s happened since the Colorado Avalanche raised the Stanley Cup by preventing a Tampa Bay Lightning three-peat last year, we’re happy to provide this FAQ as a guide to the 2023 Stanley Cup

1:36 PM ET The Pittsburgh Penguins cleaned house on Friday, as the Fenway Sports Group fired president of hockey operations Brian Burke, general manager Ron Hextall and assistant general manager Chris Pryor after the team missed the playoffs for the first time in 17 seasons. Who might be hired to fill those positions? What comes

10:20 AM ET The Boston Bruins entered the Stanley Cup playoffs after the most successful regular season in NHL history. They set a new single-season record for wins and shattered the 1976-77 Montreal Canadiens‘ mark of 132 points. “When I think about how great those teams were, and how we surpassed that total, it’s significant.