PITTSBURGH (AP) — Chris Kreider’s long slap shot bounced over Louis Domingue and into the net with 1:28 left and the New York Rangers beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-3 on Friday night to push their thrilling first-round series to a deciding Game 7.
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Chris Kreider doesn't believe in dwelling on the past. There is only the next play for the New York Rangers' star forward.
It's why Kreider threw linemate Mika Zibanejad's iPad to the ground out of frustration after Zibanejad stewed over a breakaway during the second period against Pittsburgh's Louie Domingue on Friday night that ended up with Zibanejad hitting the post.
WASHINGTON (AP) — On the wrong side of a comeback effort this time, the Florida Panthers rebounded in overtime and made sure they wouldn’t need to go home to finish their first-round series.
Carter Verhaeghe scored the OT winner to send the Panthers to the second round by beating the Washington Capitals 4-3 in Game 6 Friday night.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Bruce Boudreau will return as coach of the Vancouver Canucks next season after helping to turn the struggling NHL club around as a midyear replacement.
Speaking Friday afternoon after completing a “rough round” of golf, the 67-year-old Boudreau said “we have some unfinished business in Vancouver and I want to complete the task.”
While the Minnesota Wild were stacking up franchise records and securing the extra home game for the first round, general manager Bill Guerin carefully acknowledged a “great year” for the club during an interview session — with the caveat that it means little in the long run.
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby will not play in Game 6 Friday night against the New York Rangers.
Coach Mike Sullivan ruled out Crosby following the team’s morning skate.
ST. LOUIS (AP) — The St. Louis Blues eliminated the Minnesota Wild in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs with a mid-series goalie change and an unconventional lineup.
Now, the team heads to Colorado to face the top-seeded Avalanche in the second round.
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.
ST. LOUIS (AP) — It was a Jordan Binnington type of game.
The St. Louis Blues goalie has earned a reputation as a clutch performer when the team has a chance to close out a playoff series. And he proved it again Thursday night.
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Jordan Binnington made 25 saves and the St. Louis Blues beat the Minnesota Wild 5-1 on Thursday night in Game 6 of their series to advance to the second round of the Western Conference playoffs.
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — The Tampa Bay Lightning saved their season, keeping their bid for a three-peat alive.
The two-time defending Stanley Cup champions rallied to beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-3 in overtime on Thursday night, staving off elimination and forcing a winner-take-all Game 7 in the first round playoff series between the Atlantic Division rivals.
BOSTON (AP) — The Boston Bruins earned themselves a seventh game with another dominating performance at home.
The problem: The clincher will be at Carolina, where the Hurricanes have been just as unbeatable.
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Sidney Crosby made his way down the tunnel and out of sight. Any sense of security the Pittsburgh Penguins had in their first-round playoff series against the New York Rangers disappeared right along with their captain.
NEW YORK (AP) — Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews and Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid are two of the finalists for the Hart Memorial Trophy, the NHL’s most valuable player award.
New York Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin is also in contention for the prize awarded “to the player adjudged to be the most valuable to his team.”
Kori Cheverie reflects fondly on the conversations she had with her grandfather growing up in Nova Scotia, where he encouraged her to believe anything was attainable in sports.
SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Carter Verhaeghe set a Florida postseason record with a five-point night, and the Florida Panthers escaped a three-goal deficit to beat the Washington Capitals 5-3 and take a 3-2 lead in an Eastern Conference first-round series Wednesday night.
CALGARY, Alberta (AP) — Mikael Backlund, Andrew Mangiapane and Trevor Lewis all scored in the third period, leading the Calgary Flames to a 3-1 victory over the Dallas Stars on Wednesday night to take a 3-2 lead in their first-round playoff series.
NEW YORK (AP) — The Pittsburgh Penguins were leading 2-0 in Game 5 of their first-round series against the New York Rangers when star center Sidney Crosby headed to the dressing room with about seven minutes left in the second period Wednesday night.
NEW YORK (AP) — Unhappy with the way they played in two bad losses on the road that pushed them to the brink of elimination, the New York Rangers bounced back with a needed win to keep their season going.
SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Carter Verhaeghe was brought to the Florida Panthers for big postseason moments.
Like this one.
Verhaeghe set a Panthers franchise playoff record with a five-point night — two goals, three assists — and the Comeback Cats pulled off another rally, this one obviously the most important of their season.
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.
DENVER (AP) — There’s one area Cale Makar still has plenty of room for growth — his playoff beard.
Even with a little bit of a head start, the Colorado Avalanche defenseman's rosy cheeks still shine through.
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.
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Vladimir Tarasenko broke out for the St. Louis Blues with a well-timed natural hat trick, putting the Minnesota Wild in real trouble.
Afterward, Tarasenko tried to shrug off the significance of his feat — with the singular focus of a player who was a major part of the run to the Stanley Cup championship three years ago.
TORONTO (AP) — Jason Spezza stood up in the Toronto locker room in the wake of another disastrous start.
The veteran forward — potentially in the midst of a final Stanley Cup shot in his 19th NHL season — spoke about the margin for error getting smaller and smaller against two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay.
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Boston Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy made a surprise return to the playoff lineup in Tuesday night's loss to the Carolina Hurricanes after missing a game due to COVID-19 protocols.
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The Carolina Hurricanes swore they’d be fine after losing a two-game lead and momentum in their first-round playoff series. It was just a matter of cutting down on mistakes and staying out of the penalty box.
The Montreal Canadiens are not only hosting the NHL draft in July, they’ll have a chance to be the headliners after winning the draft lottery on Tuesday night.
Turns out a two-goal lead is the safest lead in the first round of the NHL playoffs.
A three-goal lead? Insurmountable. Fall behind at all in a game? Well, good luck.
The first week of the NHL playoffs has been a stark contrast to the regular season that was full of multigoal comebacks and furious finishes.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Nashville Predators can pat themselves on the back for overachieving and extending the franchise’s run of playoff berths to an eighth straight season.
Now, the offseason question is whether reaching the playoffs is enough or maybe Nashville is a team ready for a full rebuild.
Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins were stymied by Igor Shesterkin during the regular season. They have now chased the the New York Rangers' Vezina Trophy finalist the last two games and are one win from advancing to the second round of the playoffs for the first time in four years.
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — For 23 seasons, Patrick Marleau woke up each day preparing to play hockey and that helped him eventually break Gordie Howe's record for most games played in the NHL.
After a difficult year away from the game hoping another team would call and offer him a chance, Marleau announced his retirement Tuesday, ending a career that featured a record 1,779 games, 566 goals, two Olympic gold medals and nearly every significant San Jose Sharks record.