NHL

8:34 AM ET With the 2021 NHL season structured as it is, and being played when it is, hockey fans were preconditioned to expect the unexpected before it started. Oh, it’s already been a ride. Well over 100 players listed on the coronavirus-related absences list. Thirty-five games being postponed and rescheduled due to positive tests.

7:00 AM ET STATELINE, Nev. — Brianna and Austyn Rowland smiled for their wedding photographer moments after tying the knot at a Lake Tahoe resort on Sunday. Snow-capped mountains filled the horizon. The sun glistened on the water. And Gritty, the Philadelphia Flyers‘ ubiquitous orange mascot, gleefully held the bride’s veil. The couple had imagined

4:40 PM ET Even if Tuesday night’s controversial goalie interference call had resulted in a victory, Claude Julien still wasn’t long for the Montreal Canadiens. They squandered a hot start and tumbled down the standings in the pressure cooker North Division. General manager Marc Bergevin had seen enough. “It’s a hard thing to watch. Our

7:00 AM ET The 2021 NHL season looks to have turned a corner, with games running smoothly (and as scheduled) recently, following a number of additional protocols undertaken due to the continuing COVID-19 pandemic. In this week’s edition of ESPN’s power rankings, we identified a stat for each team that helps tell the story of

7:15 AM ET Eight hundred and seventeen goalies have appeared in a National Hockey League game since the 1917-18 season, from George Abbott to Rob Zepp. Many of them have tried to accomplish one of professional sports’ most exhilarating but rare feats. But to date, only seven of them have done it: a goaltender scoring

7:36 PM ET Associated Press RALEIGH, N.C. — Carolina Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour says winger Teuvo Teravainen is sidelined with a concussion. The 26-year-old Teravainen has two goals and seven assists in 12 games, though he took a hard hit from Chicago defenseman Nikita Zadorov in Friday’s win and missed the last two games. Brind’Amour

3:33 PM ET Associated Press The banged-up St. Louis Blues got more bad injury news Tuesday with word that defenseman Carl Gunnarsson won’t play again this season and forward Ivan Barbashev is out at least six weeks. Gunnarsson injured his right knee when he got tangled up with Kings forward Gabe Vilardi midway through a

7:04 PM ET Associated Press UNIONDALE, N.Y. — Buffalo Sabres defenseman Jake McCabe will miss the rest of the season after he injured his right knee during Saturday’s 3-2 victory at New Jersey. The 27-year-old McCabe was diagnosed Monday with ligament and meniscus damage, and the team said he will need six to eight months

2:20 PM ET Fans are coming back to New Jersey sporting events beginning March 1, according to governor Phil Murphy. It will be the first time since COVID-19 shut down much of the country last March that fans will be at professional and major collegiate games taking place in the state. The governor announced during

7:00 AM ET Seattle was awarded an NHL expansion team in December 2018. The Kraken won’t debut until October 2021 — giving the NHL’s 32nd team a nearly three-year ramp-up. Its hires have been calculated and gradual (in part to keep costs at bay). Tod Leiweke joined as CEO early on and formed a business

11:36 PM ET SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Nev. — The NHL didn’t allow fans in Lake Tahoe to attend their two outdoor hockey games this weekend. But that didn’t stop fans on Lake Tahoe from watching. A fleet of kayaks and boats gathered on Saturday to watch the Colorado Avalanche play the Vegas Golden Knights at

7:17 PM ET Associated Press ANAHEIM, Calif. — The Anaheim Ducks have recalled top prospect Trevor Zegras from their AHL affiliate in San Diego, setting the stage for the 19-year-old forward’s much-anticipated NHL debut. The Ducks made the move Sunday. They play at Arizona on Monday night, although Anaheim coach Dallas Eakins didn’t confirm Zegras

5:49 PM ET The NHL will finish its Lake Tahoe outdoor game between the Colorado Avalanche and Vegas Golden Knights at 9 p.m. local time (midnight ET), after the game was paused due to deteriorating ice conditions following the first period. Puck drop for the game was at 12:12 p.m. PST, under intense sunshine that

2:05 PM ET Associated Press The Columbus Blue Jackets received permission from state authorities to allow a limited number of fans at games starting next week. The city of Columbus and the Ohio Department of Health signed off on the plan to allow up to 1,953 fans — 10% of Nationwide Arena’s capacity — for

1:01 PM ET Associated Press NEWARK, N.J. — Nico Hischier has been named the New Jersey Devils‘ captain. The Devils made the announcement Saturday before Hischier faced the Buffalo Sabres in his first game of the season. The Swiss center, who was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2017 draft, missed the first 11

7:00 AM ET Brett Peterson first fell in love with hockey because of its entrances. He would sit in the stands before a college hockey game, watching the lights in the arena dim and listening to the music grow louder, as spotlights followed every player onto the ice when their name was announced for pregame

8:06 PM ET Associated Press STATELINE, Nevada. — The NHL has moved up the starting time of the outdoor game Sunday between Boston and Philadelphia at Lake Tahoe by one hour to avoid the bright sunshine forecast for later in the afternoon. The game at Edgewood Tahoe Resort will start at 11 a.m. PST instead

6:57 PM ET Associated Press The NHL’s COVID-19 list was down to 13 players Thursday, marking the second-lowest total since the league first began publishing it on Jan. 13. The 13 players are the fewest since there were 12 listed on Jan. 17, and continues a steady decline since a league-high 59 players were sidelined