NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Rangers got off to a strong start and didn't need a comeback to win another elimination game.
One more like this — but on the road — and they'll be heading to the Eastern Conference finals.
PARIS (AP) — It's been so long since No. 1-ranked Iga Swiatek lost — 31 matches now — and even since she ceded so much as a set — that last happened more than a month ago — that she could be forgiven if she couldn't recall how to react when in trouble on a tennis court.
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Colorado forward Gabriel Landeskog finally gets a chance to play in the Western Conference Finals.
The Avalanche have advanced to the Stanley Cup semifinal for the first time since the 2001-02 season.
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Colorado coach Jared Bednar had been looking for a little extra aggressiveness from veteran center Darren Helm.
Bednar got his wish on Friday night.
Helm scored with 5.6 seconds left and Darcy Kuemper stopped 18 shots as the Avalanche finished off their second-round series with a 3-2 win over the St.
If you're looking for some excitement, forget about the NBA playoffs.
They've been a total snooze, filled with blowouts and only a handful of must-see moments.
The lack of drama has been especially striking when compared to the NHL postseason, which has produced one thrill after another.
The New York Rangers return home knowing they need a win at home to keep their postseason going. The Carolina Hurricanes are still looking for their first road victory in these playoffs.
After Carolina won 3-1 on Thursday night to take a 3-2 series lead, the Rangers will be looking to force a deciding game in the second-round series when they host the Hurricanes in Game 6 on Saturday night (8 p.m.
BOSTON (AP) — Boston Bruins leading scorer Brad Marchand had surgery on both hips on Friday and is expected to be out six months, meaning he would miss the start of next season.
The team said Marchand had arthroscopic surgery to repair the cartilage in his hips.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Should he win one of auto racing’s crown jewel races, Conor Daly would gladly take the seven-figure payout awarded to the Indianapolis 500 champion and deposit traditional American cash straight in his bank.
WEST BLOOMFIELD, Mich. (AP) — Vladimir Konstantinov has traded hockey sticks for an Uno deck. Many, in fact. The onetime Soviet and Detroit Red Wings star plays so often that he goes through a pack per week, wearing out cards with the hands that once made him one of the world's best defensemen.
EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — The Edmonton Oilers have a rich history. Connor McDavid and Co. are eager to add another memorable chapter.
McDavid’s overtime goal Thursday night in Calgary clinched the first playoff Battle of Alberta in 31 years as the Oilers defeated the rival Flames 5-4 to move onto the Western Conference final.
Igor Shesterkin pulls the mask up on top of his head, takes a sip of water and looks around. Instead of squirting the bottle through the cage and shuffling back into position, he takes a few seconds to soak in the atmosphere.
CALGARY, Alberta (AP) — Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl dominated the first playoff Battle of Alberta in 31 years.
It was fitting Edmonton’s dynamic duo combined to end it.
McDavid scored at 5:03 of overtime and the Oilers defeated the Calgary Flames 5-4 on Thursday night in Game 5 of the second-round playoff series and advanced to the Western Conference finals.
CALGARY, Alberta (AP) — Connor McDavid scored at 5:03 of overtime and the Edmonton Oilers defeated the Calgary Flames 5-4 on Thursday to win the second-round playoff series in five games and advance to the Western Conference finals.
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The Carolina Hurricanes controlled long stretches of play, stayed aggressive and even got a breakthrough in a two-month struggle on the power play.
It was enough to secure another home playoff victory.
Cale Makar boarded a plane bound for St. Louis, leaving behind one thing he doesn't fully believe travels from game to game or city to city — momentum.
The Colorado Avalanche hope the young defenseman is right after squandering a three-goal lead in an overtime loss.
DENVER (AP) — Tyler Bozak and the St. Louis Blues experienced just about every emotion imaginable over the course of a win-or-season-ends game in which they fell behind by three goals.
Ultimately, they landed on this improbable one — elation.
The Carolina Hurricanes have been perfect at home in the Stanley Cup playoffs. They've had to be.
The Hurricanes are back in Raleigh for Thursday night’s Game 5 against the New York Rangers, looking once again to climb into the lead of a playoff series with the support of a rowdy home crowd.
ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) — Washington Capitals right winger Tom Wilson is expected to miss six to eight months after undergoing surgery to reconstruct the torn ACL in his left knee.
The team announced Wednesday that Wilson had a successful ACL replacement procedure a day earlier — four weeks after injuring the knee while trying to avoid a hit in Washington's playoff opener.
SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Joe Thornton’s career may be over. Or not.
The veteran center, who just completed his 24th season in the NHL and first with the Florida Panthers, said Wednesday that he has not decided whether to retire or continue playing.
North America’s top women’s hockey players are teaming up with former tennis star Billie Jean King and Los Angeles Dodgers chairman Mark Walter to explore launching a pro league within the next year, a person with direct knowledge of the agreement told The Associated Press on Tuesday night.
EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has suffered through plenty of heartache in Edmonton.
The top pick at the 2011 draft missed the playoffs in seven of his first eight NHL seasons as the Oilers repeatedly fumbled and bumbled their way through what must have felt like a never-ending rebuild.
NEW YORK (AP) — Andrew Copp had a goal and two assists, and Frank Vatrano and Adam Fox each had a goal and an assist as the New York Rangers beat the Carolina Hurricanes 4-1 in Game 4 Tuesday night, evening the second-round series.
NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Rangers got the kind of strong, all-around effort from the start they needed and stormed past the Carolina Hurricanes.
Andrew Copp had a goal and two assists, and Frank Vatrano and Adam Fox each had a goal and an assist as the Rangers beat the Hurricanes 4-1 in Game 4 Tuesday night, evening the second-round series.
DENVER (AP) — Nazem Kadri held his hand near his ear to absorb the boos from St. Louis fans after one of his three goals.
SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — There will be a Presidents’ Trophy banner hanging over the Florida Panthers’ home ice next season. The team’s media relations department will spend its summer rewriting the record book because tons of pages need updating.
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Jon Cooper had every reason to be confident the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning could keep their bid for a three-peat alive.
“Our story is not finished being written,” the coach said earlier this month with his team on the brink of elimination in the first round against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Nazem Kadri had the last laugh.
Kadri scored three goals, including two during a four-goal second period barrage, and the Colorado Avalanche beat the St. Louis Blues 6-3 on Monday night to take a 3-1 lead in their Western Conference series.
Nazem Kadri had a powerful response to quiet all the haters.
Refusing to buckle in the face of death threats, racial slurs, a booing St. Louis crowd and a few post-whistle hits, the Avalanche forward scored three times — including the game-winner — in a 6-3 victory over the Blues on Monday night.
Andrei Vasilevskiy had 49 saves and the Tampa Bay Lightning completed a four-game sweep of the Florida Panthers with a 2-0 victory Monday night that sent the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions back to the Eastern Conference final for the sixth time in eight years.
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — The Tampa Bay Lightning are running out of superlatives to describe Andrei Vasilevskiy's dominance.
The reigning Conn Symthe Trophy winner delivered another stellar playoff performance for the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions on Monday night, stopping 49 shots to beat the Florida Panthers 2-0 and finish a four-game sweep that sends them to the Eastern Conference final for the sixth time in eight years.
New York Rangers coach Gerard Gallant was displeased with the skirmish at the end of his team's Game 3 win against the Carolina Hurricanes.
One day later, he was ready to put it behind them.
“Last night in the heat of the moment, you're (upset),” Gallant said Monday.
EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Evander Kane was without a team in January after having his contract terminated. He's now a crucial member of Edmonton’s playoff push.
Kane had three goals in a six-minute span in the second period, Leon Draisaitl set an NHL record with four assists in one playoff period and the Oilers defeated the Calgary Flames 4-1 on Sunday night to take a 2-1 lead in their second-round playoff series.