NHL

10:28 PM ET ESPN News Services TORONTO — Auston Matthews scored his NHL-leading 59th and 60th goals of the season as the Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Detroit Red Wings 3-0 on Tuesday night to clinch home-ice advantage in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. The 24-year-old American, who snapped a five-game goal

7:00 AM ET ESPN staff There are 13 games on the NHL schedule tonight, including five being waged between teams that are currently in playoff position. But perhaps the most consequential matchup of the bunch features the Dallas Stars hosting the Vegas Golden Knights (8:30 ET, streaming live on ESPN+ for out-of-market customers). The Knights

7:00 AM ET NEWARK, N.J. — While the Buffalo Sabres were playing the New Jersey Devils, their digital avatars were mimicking each move in virtual reality. Strap on the VR goggles. Touch a button, and you’re watching the game through the eyes of a skater heading in for a shot. Touch it again, and your

7:00 AM ET ESPN staff We interrupt your regularly scheduled NHL playoff watch today on the occasion of the final week of the 2021-22 regular season to bring you a roundtable discussion on what our panel will be watching most closely these final few days. We’re highlighting the most critical games this week and potential

7:05 AM ET The 2021-22 NHL season included a great deal of highlights, from the dominance of the Colorado Avalanche and Florida Panthers, to the goal-scoring prowess of Auston Matthews and Chris Kreider, to spectacular goaltending from Igor Shesterkin, Frederik Andersen and Jacob Markstrom. But there can be only one team that gets to raise

9:35 PM ET ESPN News Services MONTREAL — Canadiens fans chanted the late Guy Lafleur’s name Sunday night before the team took the ice to play the Boston Bruins. The Canadiens played tribute to the Hall of Famer, who died Friday at age 70, with a ceremony. Guy Lafleur, the Hall of Famer who played

9:31 PM ET Associated Press WASHINGTON — Alex Ovechkin left the Washington Capitals‘ game against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday night after crashing hard into the boards and was ruled out with what the team called an upper-body injury. Ovechkin tripped over goaltender Erik Kallgren‘s stick on a breakaway and went left shoulder first

7:31 AM ET Tim KavanaghESPN.com Close Tim Kavanagh is a senior NHL editor for ESPN. He’s a native of upstate New York. Some rivalries in the NHL have existed for decades; think Boston Bruins–Montreal Canadiens, Chicago Blackhawks–Detroit Red Wings, New York Rangers–New York Islanders, etc. But some of the most heated grudge matches have materialized

8:58 PM ET ESPN News Services DALLAS — That winless three-game trip to Canada for the Dallas Stars got even more miserable on the way home, when their charter plane had to slam on the brakes just before takeoff, and they had to wait six hours for a different aircraft. Coach Rick Bowness, who has

8:05 AM ET ESPN staff The ABC Saturday afternoon hockey schedule continues this week with an Eastern Conference playoff contender clash, as the Boston Bruins host the New York Rangers, with coverage beginning at 3 p.m. ET and simulcast on ESPN+. To help get you ready for the game, we’ve put together a guide on

8:00 AM ET Tim KavanaghESPN.com Close Tim Kavanagh is a senior NHL editor for ESPN. He’s a native of upstate New York. Although the game Saturday between the Florida Panthers and Toronto Maple Leafs won’t make much of an impact on the playoff races — the Panthers have clinched the division title as well as

7:43 PM ET Associated Press SEATTLE — The Seattle Kraken signed defenseman Ryker Evans to a three-year entry level contract Friday, locking up the second draft pick in franchise history. Evans was picked No. 35 overall by the Kraken in last summer’s NHL entry draft. The 20-year-old just completed his fourth season of junior hockey

2:31 PM ET Vegas Golden Knights goalie Robin Lehner is undergoing season-ending surgery for a lower-body injury, sources told ESPN on Friday. Lehner suffered the injury in a March 8 loss to the Flyers in Philadelphia. He left the team’s road trip to receive more testing after the initial injury and missed Vegas’ next several

7:00 AM ET Tim KavanaghESPN.com Close Tim Kavanagh is a senior NHL editor for ESPN. He’s a native of upstate New York. Connor McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon are two of the best hockey players in the world. Neither has come close to winning the Stanley Cup yet, but if things break a certain way this

1:57 AM ET ESPN News Services CALGARY, Alberta — Matthew Tkachuk scored his 40th goal, Christopher Tanev scored the tiebreaking goal in the third period, and the Calgary Flames beat the Dallas Stars 4-2 on Thursday night to win the Pacific Division title. The Flames won their division for the eighth time in franchise history

8:55 AM ET The last few weeks of the 2021-22 NHL season have had all the drama of a foregone conclusion. The Eastern Conference playoff field has been set since, oh I don’t know, Halloween 2021. The eight playoff teams aren’t jockeying for position as much as they’re letting the chips fall where they may

7:00 AM ET Tim KavanaghESPN.com Close Tim Kavanagh is a senior NHL editor for ESPN. He’s a native of upstate New York. We know the identity of the NHL’s eight Eastern Conference playoff teams — and have for some time, albeit unofficially until recently. But in what order will they finish? Tonight’s games will give

1:25 AM ET ESPN News Services Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin scored his 49th and 50th goals of the season in a 4-3 overtime loss to the Vegas Golden Knights in Las Vegas on Wednesday night, hitting a milestone that he’s seemingly made look easy year after year. Vegas coach Peter DeBoer pulled starting goalie