NHL

5:07 PM ET The Columbus Blue Jackets confirmed that the errant fireworks mortar blast that killed goaltender Matiss Kivlenieks on July Fourth occurred at the house of goaltending coach Manny Legace — and followed the wedding of Legace’s daughter earlier that day. In a news conference on Wednesday, team president John Davidson said the team

7:02 AM ET The Stanley Cup will be in the building again on Wednesday night. Do the Tampa Bay Lightning get to raise it this evening, or is this series heading back to Montreal again? Check out the ESPN NHL Playoffs Daily to catch up every day of the postseason until the Stanley Cup is

9:28 PM ET Associated Press EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — Defenseman Christian Wolanin has agreed to a one-year, $750,000 contract extension to return to the Los Angeles Kings. Wolanin was eligible for unrestricted free agency. The Kings announced the deal on Tuesday. Wolanin, 26, appeared in three games with Los Angeles after the Kings acquired him

7:00 AM ET Stephen Johns sat out the 2021 NHL season, and he knew his career was over. It’s not that the 29-year-old didn’t want to play hockey anymore; he simply couldn’t. The Dallas Stars defenseman once spent 22 months sidelined dealing with post-concussion syndrome. Though he had been cleared to return to the ice,

12:43 AM ET The Montreal Canadiens were on the brink of elimination in the Stanley Cup Final on Monday against the Tampa Bay Lightning, blew two leads in Game 4 and burdened with a four-minute penalty kill as they headed into overtime. Daunting for most teams. Perfectly on brand for the Canadiens. “Nothing has been

12:10 AM ET The Montreal Canadiens stayed alive in the Stanley Cup Final with a 3-2 win in overtime in Game 4, avoiding a sweep and sending the series with the Tampa Bay Lightning back to Florida for Game 5 on Wednesday night. Miss any of the game? We’re here with the top takeaways. More:

9:01 AM ET Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Matiss Kivlenieks died Sunday at the age of 24. The team said Kivlenieks died as the result of a “tragic accident,” suffering an apparent head injury in a fall. “Medical personnel were called immediately, but he succumbed a short time later,” the team said in a statement. “We

7:00 AM ET The Stanley Cup will be at the Bell Centre. Will the Tampa Bay Lightning be celebrating on the ice tonight, or can the Montreal Canadiens extend the series and begin staging their comeback? Check out the ESPN NHL Playoffs Daily to catch up every day of the postseason until the Stanley Cup

1:34 PM ET The Tampa Bay Lightning can raise the Stanley Cup over Montreal ice after Game 4 on Monday as they lead the Canadiens 3-0 in their series. While seeing an opponent celebrating a championship in Bell Centre isn’t ideal, defenseman Jeff Petry kept the bigger picture in mind. “We don’t want to see

2:46 PM ET The Tampa Bay Lightning are one win away from sweeping the Stanley Cup Final, but if they clinch the series in Game 4 on Monday, families of players and staff will not be on the ice to celebrate. The Canadian government did not grant additional exemptions for family members to cross the

4:26 PM ET Veteran forward Mikhail Grigorenko, on the cusp of unrestricted free agency in the NHL, decided to return instead to the KHL on Saturday, agreeing to a three-year contract with CSKA Moscow, the league announced. Grigorenko, 27, a 2012 first-round selection of the Buffalo Sabres, had four goals and 12 points for the

12:58 AM ET The Tampa Bay Lightning are one win away from being the first team in 23 years to sweep the Stanley Cup Final, but good luck trying to catch them looking that far ahead. “We’ve put ourselves in good position, obviously, but the fourth one is the hardest to get,” defenseman Victor Hedman

11:06 PM ET Associated Press Thomas M. Reich, a pioneering baseball agent with an ebullient, oversized personality who helped players gain multimillion dollar salaries in the early years of free agency, died Friday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. He was 82. Reich had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in December 2019. “Tom Reich

11:43 PM ET The Tampa Bay Lightning moved within one victory of back-to-back Stanley Cup championships, with an emphatic 6-3 win at the Montreal Canadiens in Game 3 on Friday night. Miss any of the game? We’re here with the top takeaways. More: Cup Final schedule | Playoff Central Stanley Cup Final Game 3 in

6:37 PM ET Associated Press ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Minnesota Wild signed forward Joel Eriksson Ek to a $42 million, eight-year contract Friday that carries an annual salary cap hit of $5.25 million. Eriksson Ek had a career-high 30 points on 19 goals and 11 assists in 56 games last season. The 24-year-old Swede

11:06 AM ET Tampa Bay Lightning winger Alex Killorn will not suit up for Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final in Montreal on Friday night. Killorn missed Game 2 of the series against the Canadiens with a lower body injury, potentially the result of taking a puck to the skate in Game 1. The

6:59 AM ET The Tampa Bay Lightning are two wins away from winning their second Stanley Cup in nine months. But the series shifts back to Montreal, where the Canadiens will have the home crowd behind them to help claw back in. Check out the ESPN NHL Playoffs Daily to catch up every day of

9:00 AM ET TAMPA, Fla. — Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman said it would be an honor to represent his homeland of Sweden in the Olympics, calling the men’s ice hockey tournament “as good as it gets on the international level.” That was in 2013. He still hasn’t gone. He might never go. Hedman