NHL

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. With the NHL playoff field solidifying over the final two weeks of the regular season, we can begin to get excited about dream Stanley Cup Final matchups. One type of matchup that is

7:05 AM ET Like most NHL seasons, the 2021-22 campaign started with offenses way ahead of defenses and goals being scored with great frequency. “Every year it starts with scoring up because teams haven’t locked things down yet,” said New York Islanders coach Barry Trotz, who is in his 23rd NHL season. Except they never

6:34 PM ET ESPN News Services NEW YORK — New York Islanders forward Mathew Barzal was fined $2,500 for unsportsmanlike conduct for making contact with a player on the ice while on the bench during Sunday night’s loss at Toronto. The NHL’s department of player safety announced the supplemental discipline Monday. While sitting on the

5:43 PM ET Dryden McKay, the Minnesota State goaltender who won this year’s Hobey Baker Award as the NCAA’s top player, has accepted a six-month ban from competition for an anti-doping rule violation, according to the United States Anti-Doping Agency. The period of ineligibility began on April 14, which was the date he accepted the

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. With 11 days left in the 2021-22 NHL regular season, one of the hottest remaining playoff races is the scramble for the two Western Conference wild cards. Heading into Monday night’s games, the

7:00 AM ET NHL Insiders With less than two weeks left in the regular season, teams are still jockeying for playoff spots, players are padding award résumés and the pressure is ratcheted up. We’ve gathered our panel of experts to break down all the big topics ahead of the upcoming week, including if the Los

11:11 AM ET NHL betting favorites dominated a busy Saturday on the ice, winning all 14 games straight up. In the past five seasons, there have been 21 instances with at least 14 games in one day. Saturday was the first time the favorites won every game, according to ESPN Stats & Information’s database, which

7:05 AM ET Tim KavanaghESPN.com Close Tim Kavanagh is a senior NHL editor for ESPN. He’s a native of upstate New York. Today’s matchup between the Nashville Predators and the St. Louis Blues (6 ET, NHL Network) is the final contest of the 2021-22 regular season between the two clubs, as they both prepare for

1:46 AM ET The loss on the scoreboard was bad enough for the Carolina Hurricanes. But after their 7-4 defeat at the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday night, their minds were centered on two potentially devastating losses to their lineup. Center Jordan Staal and goalie Frederik Andersen both left the game with injuries. Carolina coach Rod

4:15 PM ET ESPN News Services BOSTON — Jeremy Swayman rebounded from a rough stretch with 23 saves and the Boston Bruins clinched a playoff spot by holding off the Pittsburgh Penguins 2-1 on Saturday to halt a season-high three-game losing streak. Trent Frederic and Erik Haula scored first-period goals for Boston, which went on

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. We’re officially less than two weeks away from the final day of the 2021-22 NHL regular season, and while every day removes some of the mystery about the playoff field — with clinchings

10:42 PM ET Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price lost to the New York Islanders on Friday night, but nothing could dampen the positive vibes around Bell Centre as the franchise star played his first NHL game since July 7, 2021. Price made 17 saves in the 3-0 loss to the Islanders in a battle of

8:30 PM ET Associated Press VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Vancouver captain Bo Horvat is expected to be out at least two weeks after taking a shot off his right ankle in the Canucks’ 7-1 home victory over Arizona on Thursday night. Fighting for a playoff spot, the Canucks said Friday the center will be re-evaluated

12:21 PM ET Montreal Canadiens goalie Carey Price will start against the New York Islanders at Bell Centre on Friday night, making his first appearance with the team since the 2021 Stanley Cup Final. Canadiens interim coach Martin St. Louis made the announcement after a practice with Price preparing as if he were the starter.

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. Some nights there are a bounty of NHL games on the schedule, a large proportion of which have massive impacts on the playoff races. Then there are nights like Friday, with three of

10:15 PM ET ESPN News Services PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Penguins have been a model of consistency, yet they understand the difficulty of qualifying for the playoffs. It’s still certainly a yearly expectation for an organization that prides itself on trying to win the Stanley Cup each season. Jake Guentzel scored twice, Sidney Crosby also

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. Anytime the Dallas Stars and the Minnesota Wild face off, it’s a reminder of when the North Stars relocated from Minnesota to Texas, and all of the anger about that decision for years

9:00 AM ET Calling an NHL player “underrated” has always been a bit ridiculous. The moment a player is called “underrated” is the moment when his value is acknowledged for not having been acknowledged. Players like Loui Eriksson and Nicklas Backstrom were called “the most underrated player in hockey” for several seasons. How many years