CALGARY, Alberta (AP) — Brett Kulak has a confession to make. While the veteran NHL defenseman might have grown up less than 200 miles away from Calgary, he never paid much attention to the Flames until they selected him in the 2012 draft.
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) — Todd McLellan's Los Angeles Kings gained valuable experience after making it to the playoffs for the first time since 2018.
That will mean nothing if the Kings are unable to make more progress next season.
EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Captain Connor McDavid has seen his team through to the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
McDavid a goal and an assist as the Edmonton Oilers got a nerve-racking 2-0 victory over the Los Angeles Kings in Game 7 on Saturday night.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — If a picture indeed tells a thousand words, Evander Kane holding seven fingers in the air after scoring an empty-net goal told plenty about the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday night.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Connor McDavid has stood on this precipice several times before, and he does not care for the view.
The Edmonton Oilers are one loss away from their third consecutive opening-round playoff exit after back-to-back losses to the upstart Kings.
NEW YORK (AP) — Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse will miss Game 6 of Edmonton’s first-round playoff series with Los Angeles after the NHL suspended him one game for head-butting Kings forward Phillip Danault.
EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Three-point games from Edmonton's stars wasn't enough to save the Oilers. Adrian Kempe's overtime goal moved the Los Angeles Kings within a victory of advancing in the playoffs.
TORONTO (AP) — Auston Matthews scored the tiebreaking goal with 6:06 left in the third period and the Toronto Maple Leafs rallied from an early two-goal deficit to beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-3 on Tuesday night and take a 3-2 lead in the first-round playoff series.
Kevin Fiala has often let his frustration show if he's not producing up to his star potential, and the Minnesota Wild left wing was in a tense mood after another flat performance in St. Louis.
Four games into the first round against the Blues, with the teams tied at two games, Fiala has not scored.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jonathan Quick lost his catching glove in the second period and still kept defending Los Angeles' net, his bare left hand grasping at an Edmonton shot that went off the crossbar.
The NHL playoffs are missing the close games and comebacks that seemingly come annually with all the postseason intensity.
Excluding games with empty-netters increasing the margin, 10 of the 20 first-round games through Friday night have been decided by three or more goals.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Evander Kane is happy to be making headlines for his on-ice play instead of off-ice controversies.
Edmonton’s enigmatic forward has an NHL-best five goals in the past two games of the Western Conference first-round series against Los Angeles.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Evander Kane picked up his first hat trick in a Stanley Cup playoff game, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Zach Hyman each had two goals, and the Edmonton Oilers dominated the Los Angeles Kings for the second straight game, posting a 8-2 victory in Game 3 of their first-round playoff series Friday night.
NHL teams are taking different approaches to crossing the U.S.-Canada border during the first round of the playoffs with the U.S. still requiring a negative COVID-19 test for all passengers arriving on international flights.
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) — The Los Angeles Kings raised the Stanley Cup for the second time in June 2014, punctuating a phenomenal three-year run in which the longtime NHL afterthoughts won 10 playoff series as one of the most tenacious teams in hockey.
EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Mike Smith bounced back with a perfect 30-save night and the Edmonton Oilers beat the Los Angeles Kings 6-0 Wednesday to even their first-round playoff series through two games.
So much for the notion that goals are hard to come by in the playoffs. If the opening night of the chase for the Stanley Cup is an indication of what’s to come, the NHL is in for another wildly unpredictable postseason.
EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Phillip Danault capitalized after a miscue by Edmonton goalie Mike Smith and scored the tiebreaking goal late in the third period, leading the Los Angeles Kings to a 4-3 win over the Oilers on Monday night in Game 1 of the opening-round playoff series.
TORONTO (AP) — Auston Matthews had two goals and an assist and Jack Campbell made 23 saves in the second playoff shutout of his career as the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning 5-0 Monday night in Game 1 of their first-round playoffs series.
In assessing the status of his Pacific Division champion Calgary Flames, coach Darryl Sutter may have at the same time aptly captured the unpredictable state of the entire Western Conference once the playoffs open on Monday.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Edmonton Oilers have had Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl together for seven seasons. They've won exactly one playoff round in that stretch — and that was five years ago.
The Los Angeles Kings haven't won a playoff series since they raised their second Stanley Cup in 2014, and they're back in the postseason Monday night for the first time in four years.
It took until the final game on the final night of the NHL regular season to set the matchups for the first round of the playoffs.
Naturally, the battle for the Stanley Cup starts in less than 72 hours.
EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Devin Shore scored the lone shootout goal and the Edmonton Oilers beat the Vancouver Canucks 3-2 on Friday night while resting star forwards Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl in the regular-season finale.
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) — Dustin Brown didn't want a distracting farewell tour, so he waited until just before the final game of the Los Angeles Kings' regular season to announce his impending retirement.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Brock Boeser scored his second goal of the game with 29.7 seconds left in overtime, giving the Vancouver Canucks a 3-2 win over the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday night.
OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Carter Verhaeghe scored twice and Spencer Knight stopped 27 shots for his second career shutout as the Florida Panthers beat the Ottawa Senators 4-0 on Thursday night.
With the victory and Nashville’s 5-4 shootout win over Western Conference-leading Colorado (56-18-7), the Panthers (58-17-6) clinched their first Presidents' Trophy for the best record in the regular season and home ice advantage throughout the Stanley Cup playoffs.
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) — Los Angeles Kings forward Dustin Brown will retire after this season, his 18th with the club.
The 37-year-old made the announcement Thursday ahead of the Kings' regular-season finale.
SEATTLE (AP) — Lias Andersson’s first goal of the season for Los Angeles snapped a tie early in the third period and the Kings beat the Seattle Kraken 5-3 Wednesday night.
Gabriel Vilardi, Phillip Danault, Trevor Moore and Andreas Athanasioiu also scored for playoff-bound Los Angeles.
NEW YORK (AP) — Jeff Petry scored his second goal of the game in the final minute of the third period and Sam Montembeault made 24 saves as the Montreal Canadiens beat the playoff-bound New York Rangers 4-3 Wednesday night to snap a nine-game losing streak.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Quinn Hughes had a goal and two assists to set a franchise record for points by a Vancouver defenseman, and the Canucks beat the Seattle Kraken 5-2 on Tuesday night, but were eliminated from playoff contention.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Alexander Edler scored the tiebreaking goal early in the third period, and the Los Angeles Kings closed in on their first playoff berth in four years with a 4-2 victory over the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday night.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Phillip Danault scored for the fifth straight game and the Los Angeles Kings moved closer to wrapping up a playoff spot with a 4-1 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday night.
SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Aleksander Barkov scored his 38th goal of the season and the Florida Panthers tied a franchise record with their 12th straight win, beating the Detroit Red Wings 5-2 on Thursday night and claiming first in the Atlantic Division and the top spot in the Eastern Conference.
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Phillip Danault scored the tiebreaking goal early in the third period, and the Los Angeles Kings solidified their grasp on a playoff spot with a 2-1 victory over the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday night.
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Nathan Bastian had a goal and an assist, and the New Jersey Devils beat the Vegas Golden Knights 3-2 on Monday night.
The Golden Knights blew their chance to gain ground on the Los Angeles Kings in the Pacific Division, and their playoff hopes lessened severely with just five games left to play.