NHL

6:16 PM ET Associated Press CHICAGO — The Chicago Blackhawks have hired Rob Cookson as an assistant coach and promoted Marc Crawford to associate coach. The Blackhawks announced the moves before Wednesday night’s game at Seattle. The 60-year-old Cookson also has worked on NHL staffs with Ottawa, Calgary and Philadelphia. “Rob’s extensive NHL experience will

4:25 PM ET Associated Press SUNRISE, Fla. — Aleksander Barkov is hurt, and the Florida Panthers are relieved it’s not as bad as initially feared. Barkov will be week-to-week with a knee injury but will not need surgery, Panthers interim coach Andrew Brunette revealed Wednesday. “It’s the best-case scenario,” Brunette said. “Could have been worse.

7:00 AM ET With the one-month mark in the rearview mirror — with the requisite awards presented to their winners — teams are certainly beginning to show tendencies that are more than just early-season trends. For this week’s power rankings — which saw a new No. 1 — we identify that key tendency for all

2:05 AM ET ESPN News Services LOS ANGELES — Staples Center is getting a new name. Starting Christmas Day, it will be Crypto.com Arena. The downtown Los Angeles home of the NBA’s Lakers and Clippers, the NHL’s Kings, and the WNBA’s Sparks will change its name after 22 years of operation, arena owner AEG announced

11:29 PM ET ESPN News Services Florida Panthers center Aleksander Barkov left Tuesday night’s game against the New York Islanders with a lower-body injury, marring a 6-1 rout that kept the Panthers unbeaten at home. Barkov collided knee-on-knee with Islanders defenseman Scott Mayfield with 18 minutes, 13 seconds left in the second period. Barkov remained

7:00 AM ET His friends call him Bruno. For 1,110 regular-season games over 16 NHL seasons, many called Andrew Brunette their teammate. After he retired in 2012, the Minnesota Wild called him by many titles — coach, assistant general manager, special assistant to the general manager and director of player personnel. In July 2019, Joel

1:46 PM ET Associated Press PROVIDENCE, R.I. — A former minor league coach in the Pittsburgh Penguins system who also had a brief NHL playing career has been indicted on multiple sexual assault charges in Rhode Island, the state attorney general’s office announced Tuesday. Clark Donatelli, 55, of South Kingstown was indicted by a grand

8:00 AM ET The Hockey Hall of Fame welcomed its newest class on Monday night in Toronto, which means it’s time to start speculating on next year’s immortals. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, there wasn’t a 2021 class for the Hall. That means players like Henrik and Daniel Sedin carry over to the Class of

12:39 AM ET Associated Press TORONTO — The Hockey Hall of Fame’s pandemic class finally got its moment in the spotlight. Jarome Iginla headlined the five players and one executive enshrined Monday night — a year later than originally intended because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The former captain of the Calgary Flames was joined by

2:35 PM ET The NHL postponed the Ottawa Senators‘ next three games because of a COVID-19 outbreak, the first games this season that the league has had to postpone for COVID. The Senators were due to travel to New Jersey to face the Devils on Tuesday before returning home for games against the Nashville Predators

7:00 AM ET In the first month of the NHL’s 2021-22 season, the biggest news was clearly off the ice. The investigation into how the Chicago Blackhawks handled claims by Kyle Beach that video coach Brad Aldrich sexually assaulted him in 2010 led to resignations by Chicago GM Stan Bowman and by former coach Joel

5:52 PM ET ESPN News Services WASHINGTON — Penguins star Sidney Crosby was back for Pittsburgh’s game at Washington on Sunday night after he and three teammates were activated from the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol list. Coach Mike Sullivan, who also rejoined the Penguins on Sunday after exiting COVID-19 protocol, said all four of those players

6:27 PM ET Associated Press WASHINGTON — The Washington Capitals re-signed forward Nic Dowd to a three-year contract extension with an average annual value of $1.3 million. The Capitals announced the move Sunday before their game against Pittsburgh. The 31-year-old has one goal this season, but provided good depth in the 2020-21 season with a

2:56 PM ET Associated Press PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby, defenseman Brian Dumoulin and head coach Mike Sullivan are scheduled to rejoin the team in Washington D.C. on Sunday after exiting the COVID-19 protocol. Crosby and Dumoulin went into the protocol on Nov. 3. Sullivan joined them a day later as part of

5:21 PM ET Associated Press NEW YORK — Vancouver Canucks defenseman Tucker Poolman was suspended for two games without pay by the NHL on Friday for high sticking Colorado Avalanche forward Kiefer Sherwood. Poolman was assessed a match penalty midway through the third period in the Canucks’ 7-1 loss in Denver on Thursday night. The

7:00 AM ET Early in the 2021-22 NHL season, rookies aren’t just building their respective cases for the Calder Trophy. Many of them are helping to change the trajectory of their teams — in most cases for the better, in some cases for the worse. Here’s a look at which rookie forwards, defenseman and goaltenders

12:03 AM ET ESPN News Services DETROIT — Zach Fucale became the first goaltender in Capitals history to post a shutout in his NHL debut, stopping 21 shots as Washington beat the Detroit Red Wings 2-0 Thursday night. Dmitry Orlov and Lars Eller scored 10 seconds apart in the first period as the Capitals ended

11:33 AM ET Colby Cave left an indelible mark on the NHL community, which is continuing to honor his legacy. The Edmonton Oilers and Boston Bruins announced that Thursday’s game will be a celebration of Cave’s life, cut tragically short in April 2020 by a brain bleed. Cave was just 25 years old. Before the