NHL

11:16 PM ET Associated Press MONTREAL — Marc-Andre Fleury made 27 saves and earned his 500th win of his hockey career as the Chicago Blackhawks beat the Montreal Canadiens 2-0 Thursday night. As the clock reached zero, Blackhawks teammates rushed over to Fleury in celebration. “It was really special,” Fleury said. “I really thought people

4:09 PM ET Associated Press TORONTO — The Chicago Blackhawks acquired forward Kurtis Gabriel from the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday for defenseman Chad Krys. The 28-year-old Gabriel has one goal and one assist in 13 games with the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League. He is slated to join the Blackhawks in Toronto

9:00 AM ET When the Vancouver Canucks fired Travis Green, few of us were surprised. His grasp on the gig was tenuous to begin with, and the Canucks had three wins in 13 games. When they replaced him with Bruce Boudreau … again, few of us were surprised. Boudreau is the NHL’s answer to The

9:52 PM ET The Arizona Coyotes appear to be running the risk of losing access to their arena even sooner than expected, sources confirmed to ESPN on Wednesday. The news was first reported by The Athletic, which says that the City of Glendale will lock the Coyotes out of Gila River Arena if the club

7:01 AM ET The NHL trade deadline is on March 21. But the moves we will see then are rooted in discussions that begin now. In fact, now that we’ve passed American Thanksgiving — the threshold many front offices use to assess whether their team will be a playoff team — trade chatter around the

7:00 AM ET With another week of the 2021-22 NHL season in the background, the Toronto Maple Leafs and New York Rangers are among the teams who have made a jump in the rankings this week. And while every team has had its fair share of surprises during the campaign, we set out to identify

10:34 PM ET Associated Press CHICAGO — Chicago Blackhawks forward Jujhar Khaira was stretchered off the ice after he was leveled by New York Rangers defenseman Jacob Trouba on Tuesday night. The Blackhawks said Khaira suffered an “upper-body blow” and was taken by ambulance to Northwestern Hospital for further testing. Khaira’s head was down as

7:00 AM ET Matt Duchene heard all the warnings. Everything will change after you hit 30, they said. Even elite athletes can’t outrun Father Time. Maybe not. But Duchene, at least, is making the man wait. With his 31st birthday looming in January, the Nashville Predators‘ star is enjoying a career revival. And it’s come

9:20 AM ET NHL goalies are some of the most powerful athletes in sports. They can be the reason a goal is or is not scored, the deciding force between victory and defeat. They can rescue a teammate from a defensive miscue, or paper over holes in the lineup. They can be the reason a

10:05 PM ET Associated Press VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Vancouver Canucks owner Francesco Aquilini says he may have been “too patient” in waiting for the struggling NHL team to turn its season around. His patience ran out Sunday as the team cleaned house, firing general manager Jim Benning, assistant manager Jim Weisbrod, coach Travis Green

11:00 AM ET When Washington Capitals winger Garnet Hathaway scored an empty-net goal on Saturday night, it clinched their win against the Columbus Blue Jackets. But it also extended one of the hottest betting trends in the NHL. Earlier in the period, the Jackets’ Eric Robinson scored, so Hathaway’s tally meant the total in the

7:00 AM ET ESPN staff The first game of the 2022 Winter Olympics men’s hockey tournament is scheduled for Feb. 9. It’s still not certain that NHL players will be competing in the Beijing Games. Here’s a look at the issues, concerns and challenges facing the NHL and the players just two months away from

2:00 AM ET Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Robin Lehner has told Sweden that he won’t accept their invitation to play in the 2022 Winter Olympics. Lehner is the first high-profile NHL player to announce he won’t participate in the Beijing Games, which will feature restrictive COVID-19 protocols and potentially lengthy quarantines for those who test

2:09 PM ET Associated Press Chicago Blackhawks forward Tyler Johnson on Friday became the second NHL player to undergo an unusual neck surgery. Johnson’s operation was the same artificial disk replacement surgery that Jack Eichel underwent last month, according to a person with knowledge of the situation. The person spoke to The Associated Press on

7:00 AM ET Here’s a bold prediction for the 2021-22 NHL Awards: an Edmonton Oilers player will be nominated for the Hart Trophy. Beyond that, the ultimate finalists for these awards are anyone’s guess. Here’s the NHL Awards Watch for December. This is informed speculation, taken from conversations around hockey and with voters, regarding the

3:41 PM ET Associated Press Justin Faulk was scratched minutes before the St. Louis Blues‘ game at the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday night, and the team confirmed the defenseman had entered the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol. Faulk’s absence came hours after goaltender Jordan Binnington went into protocol and put the Blues in a tough spot

5:02 PM ET Associated Press BUFFALO, N.Y. — The Sabres addressed their suddenly thin depth in goal by acquiring Malcolm Subban in a trade with the Blackhawks on Thursday. The move became necessary when goaltender Dustin Tokarski was placed in the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen was recalled from AHL Rochester to join the Sabres

8:30 AM ET The NHL’s 2021-22 season hit the quarter mark last weekend. While that means we have a long way to go, it also means we have some insight into which teams are thriving, which teams are spiraling and which teams have just left us baffled. Here are the Stanley Cup contender tiers —