NHL

6:42 AM ET The New York Islanders split two games in Tampa Bay, giving them a golden opportunity to take control of the series with back-to-back games at the Nassau Coliseum. There’s only one obstacle: the Lightning started to look like their dominant selves again in Game 2. Meanwhile, the Montreal Canadiens continue to surprise,

12:43 PM ET NHL players said they’d like to see the “homestand” scheduling from this season continue but are against the concept of geographically aligned divisions going forward, according to an NHLPA poll released Thursday. Around 68% of the 447 players polled said they do not want to see regional divisions carried forward beyond this

6:49 AM ET Once Cole Caufield saw the tweet, he immediately texted it to his brother, Brock. Caufield, the rookie Canadiens winger, had been a healthy scratch for Game 1 of Montreal’s first-round series against the Toronto Maple Leafs. That didn’t sit well with some fans, including one with 5.6 million Twitter followers: this Canadiens-Leafs

1:31 AM ET LAS VEGAS — Montreal Canadiens defenseman Jeff Petry returned to the lineup on Wednesday — and it was quite a sight. The defenseman, who missed the previous two games with an “upper body injury” took the ice with extremely bloodshot eyes. The condition was later revealed to be subconjunctival hemorrhage, which is

5:12 PM ET Associated Press TORONTO — Jason Spezza re-signed with the Maple Leafs on Wednesday, agreeing to the NHL-minimum $750,000 for next season. The 38-year-old Spezza had 10 goals and 20 assists in 54 regular-season games for his hometown team and added three goals and two assists in seven playoff games. Spezza has 351

6:52 AM ET The Montreal Canadiens discovered they’re not in the North Division playoffs anymore, getting handled by the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 1 on the road. But a Game 2 win, and a split in Vegas, could change the trajectory of that series. Meanwhile, the Tampa Bay Lightning evened their series up with

Jun 14, 2021 ESPN Daily kicks off your morning with the best sports story you’ll hear all day. Monday through Friday, host Pablo Torre brings you an inside look at the most interesting stories at ESPN, as told by the top reporters and insiders on the planet. It’s where the breaking news of SportsCenter meets

6:47 AM ET Can the New York Islanders take a 2-0 lead on the Lightning, or will Tampa Bay find its game to even up the series? Meanwhile, a Canadian NHL team played in the United States for the first time in 15 months. The Montreal Canadiens came out with a strong first period, before

7:00 AM ET The 2021 Stanley Cup playoffs are down to their final four teams, which means the conversation about Conn Smythe Trophy candidates is about to heat up. Members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association vote to elect the most valuable player of the playoffs at the end of the Stanley Cup Final. Since

9:55 PM ET NEW YORK — Nashville Predators goaltender Pekka Rinne has won the King Clancy Memorial Trophy that annually honors an NHL player for leading on the ice and off it with humanitarian work. The league announced Monday night that the National Hockey League Foundation is giving Rinne $25,000 to donate to a charity

8:48 AM ET The underdog had its day in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup semifinals between the New York Islanders and the Tampa Bay Lightning. Can the Montreal Canadiens continue shocking the hockey world against the Vegas Golden Knights? Check out the ESPN NHL Playoffs Daily to catch up every day of the postseason

7:00 AM ET If the 2011 Stanley Cup Final were pitched as a movie script, it would have been rejected for being too outlandish. One player biting his opponent. A series-long suspension after a star player was stretchered off the ice after a hit. Goalie trash talk in the media. The heavy underdog upsetting the

7:24 PM ET TAMPA, Fla. — The New York Islanders were mentally prepared for Game 1 of their Stanley Cup semifinal series. The Tampa Bay Lightning were not. “Our work ethic was there. Our compete [level] was there. Our minds weren’t there,” said Lightning coach Jon Cooper, whose team lost 2-1 at home on Sunday

5:49 PM ET Associated Press MONTREAL — Montreal forward Jake Evans, who has not played since sustaining a concussion on a hit by Winnipeg’s Mark Scheifele on June 2, will accompany the Canadiens to Las Vegas for their Stanley Cup semifinal series against the Golden Knights. Interim Canadiens coach Dominque Ducharme said Saturday that Evans,

8:10 AM ET NHL Insiders We’re down to the final four teams in contention for the Stanley Cup. Our No. 1 vs. No. 4 matchup pits the Vegas Golden Knights against the Montreal Canadiens. Vegas was one of the top Cup favorites at the start of the postseason, while Montreal was not. But the Habs

8:00 AM ET The Vegas Golden Knights were a juggernaut during the 2021 NHL regular season, and in the West Division finals, they made the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Colorado Avalanche look like pretenders. Meanwhile, the Montreal Canadiens seemed to make the North Division bracket by default as the No. 4 seed. And yet, they shocked the

8:00 AM ET The altered format of the 2021 Stanley Cup playoffs — where the final four teams were reseeded based on regular-season record — meant that we could have gotten some wild matchups in the Stanley Cup semifinals. Or, as is the case with this series, we’ll get to see a rematch of the

8:14 PM ET Associated Press BOSTON — Boston Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask will have surgery to repair a previously undisclosed torn labrum in his hip, he said Friday, two days after the team was eliminated from the playoffs by the New York Islanders. Rask, who is eligible to become a free agent, said he hopes