One of the beautiful parts of the game of hockey is its unpredictability. Every year young guns spring up and take “the leap,” turning into stars seemingly out of nowhere. Previously underperforming players turn into key contributors. Or, conversely, an established veteran can put together a forgettable campaign. It keeps the game fresh. Teams often
CHICAGO – Mikael Grunland, Rocco Grimaldi and Ryan Johansen scored, and the Nashville Predators beat the Chicago Blackhawks 3-1 on Saturday night for their fourth consecutive win. Luke Kunin had two assists as Nashville (17-17-1) moved ahead of Columbus into fifth in the Central Division, two points behind the Blackhawks in the race for the
Lexie Laing and Taylor Wenczkowski scored power play goals and the Boston Pride became the first two-time winner of the Isobel Cup with a 4-3 win over the defending champion Minnesota Whitecaps on Saturday night. It was a NWHL championship the Pride, regular-season champions, had hoped to win a year earlier, before the COVID-19 pandemic
Throughout the course of an NHL season, or most professional sports in general, there are highs and lows that show a team’s range of potential. Luckily enough, the Penguins have found themselves at a high point at the right time this season. Winning eight of their previous 11 games with one of the easier remaining
2:19 PM ET Associated Press Buffalo Sabres interim coach Don Granato and assistant Matt Ellis are headed back to work after being cleared from the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol. The Sabres announced Granato and Ellis are traveling to join the team in Boston after spending a night in self-isolation in Pittsburgh. Both were placed in the
Sitting atop the North Division after 33 games, the Toronto Maple Leafs have had a relatively strong first half of the season. There have been some bumps along the way, of course – most notably in the form of goaltender Frederik Andersen and his well-documented struggles – but perhaps the team’s second-biggest worry has come
Anaheim Ducks (10-19-6, eighth in the West Division) vs. St. Louis Blues (16-13-5, fourth in the West Division) St. Louis; Sunday, 5 p.m. EDT BOTTOM LINE: St. Louis takes on Anaheim looking to stop its six-game home slide. The Blues are 16-13-5 against division opponents. St. Louis has given up 28 power-play goals, killing 74.3%
At least five of Canada’s NHL teams have talked with their provincial government about fans returning to their buildings before the current season ends, but one infectious disease expert thinks it makes more sense to wait until the fall. The Vancouver Canucks, Edmonton Oilers, Calgary Flames, Montreal Canadiens and Winnipeg Jets all say they have
The Wild followed up their embarrassing mini-series effort in Denver with three straight victories at home. During this most recent homestand, Minnesota racked up six out of six possible points, with two wins against the Ducks and one versus the Blues. They currently sit seventh in the NHL standings in terms of points percentage and
by Mark Newman | AHL On The Beat “Take nothing on looks; take everything on evidence. There’s no better rule.” — Charles Dickens in Great Expectations As a first-round draft pick of the Detroit Red Wings, defenseman Dennis Cholowski has learned what it means to live with expectations. Three years into his professional career, he
4:06 PM ET The Buffalo Sabres traded center Eric Staal to the Montreal Canadiens for two draft picks on Friday, ending a brief and disappointing run for the veteran star in Buffalo. The Canadiens sent 2021 third- and fifth-round draft picks to Buffalo for Staal. The Sabres retained 50% of Staal’s salary: $1.625 million of
The Tampa Bay Lightning offense is one of the best in the entire NHL statistically. They are ranked first in the league in goals with 117 and have many talents to thank on the roster in order to be this effective. Faces of scoring for the club consist of players who get usual attention such
OTTAWA – Vitaly Abramov set up the tying goal, then scored the winner at 17:20 of the third period as the Belleville Senators edged the Stockton Heat 2-1 on Friday in American Hockey League play. Logan Shaw scored at 10:20 of the third to make it 1-1, with the Senators (5-9-0) getting both goals by
The Boston Pride advanced to the NWHL’s Isobel Cup final with a 6-2 semifinal win Friday over the expansion Toronto Six. Boston faces the winner of Friday’s later semifinal between the Minnesota Whitecaps and Connecticut Whale in Saturday’s championship game at Warrior Ice Arena. Tereza Vanisova, Jillian Dempsey, Mary Parker and McKenna Brand each had
After a 10-game hiatus, Igor Shesterkin finally returned to the New York Rangers’ net, backstopping an 8-3 win over the Philadelphia Flyers. That score is massively deceiving, as the lopsided goal total does not indicate the 25 year old’s workload, as he stopped 41 of 44 Flyers’ shots. It was a solid return from injury
The smile that greeted Beck Warm when he went on the ice for the first time as a member of the Carolina Hurricanes was comfortingly familiar. Starting goalie James Reimer was there to greet him, smiling broadly, just as he had about six years earlier when he met Warm for the first time at an
8:50 AM ET The NHL trade deadline owes a debt of gratitude to the Canadian government. On Thursday, a league source confirmed to ESPN that the 14-day quarantine for NHL players traded from U.S. teams to Canadian teams would be reduced to seven days, with additional COVID-19 testing. This removes a roadblock for North Division
Have the Ottawa Senators finally found the end of their goalie troubles? Of course, it’s far too early to say anything definitively, but after two games, Filip Gustavsson has been brilliant in the crease and given the Senators some stability after months of inconsistent play. He’s the latest in a long line of youngsters who