NHL

9:00 AM ET For nearly all of March, the Buffalo Sabres were the punchline of the NHL. They slogged through an 18-game winless streak, the longest in the salary cap era. They fired yet another coach, Ralph Krueger, as captain Jack Eichel remained sidelined with an injury. In its weekly power rankings, the Buffalo News

9:33 PM ET Dallas Stars coach Rick Bowness was pulled from the bench after the second period of Sunday’s game against the Carolina Hurricanes due to COVID-19 protocols. Bowness, 66, is the oldest head coach in the league. He is fully vaccinated, the team said. Assistant coach John Stevens assumed head-coaching responsibilities for the rest

1:04 PM ET More than half of the players on the Vancouver Canucks have tested positive for COVID-19, a source confirmed to ESPN. Additional names are expected to be added to the team’s COVID-19 protocol list besides the 14 that appeared on Saturday. Some players are symptomatic, and according to several sources there are a

1:53 PM ET The Vancouver Canucks‘ season remains on pause as a COVID outbreak that has hit the team has gone from bad to worse. The team added seven players to league’s COVID protocol list on Saturday, bringing the total number of players to 14. Sources told ESPN that two coaches were also added to

7:20 AM ET The 2021 NHL trade deadline arrives on April 12 at 3 p.m. ET. There will be teams seeking to trade players that are no longer in their rebuilding plans. There will be teams seeking to add players to complete their championship plans. This all sounds normal, but this season’s trade season is

6:19 PM ET The Vancouver Canucks will not play for at least a week after three members of the team were placed in the NHL’s COVID protocols, the league announced Thursday. The NHL said in a statement that Canucks games have been postponed until April 8. Two players — Adam Gaudette and Travis Hamonic —

9:00 AM ET The NHL trade deadline on April 12 is the first of the COVID-19 era. Dealers, rebuilders, reloaders and those with legit Stanley Cup aspirations will all come to the virtual bargaining table to talk trades. But the subtext to these conversations is inherently different in 2021 than in previous editions. There are

2:03 AM ET Colorado Avalanche star Nathan MacKinnon hit Arizona Coyotes forward Conor Garland with his own helmet, earning a misconduct penalty in the Avs’ 9-3 win on Wednesday night. Late in the third period, MacKinnon and Garland battled into the corner of the Coyotes’ zone. MacKinnon threw Garland to the ice and in the

10:32 PM ET The nightmare is over for the Buffalo Sabres, who snapped their 18-game winless streak with a 6-1 victory at home over the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday night. Sam Reinhart and Curtis Lazar scored in the first period to give Buffalo a 2-0 lead. Steven Fogarty and Casey Mittelstadt added goals in the

8:06 PM ET ESPN News Services BUFFALO, N.Y. — Cam York is foregoing his final two years at Michigan after the defenseman signed a three-year entry level contract with the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday. The contract comes into effect this season, the team said in announcing the move shortly before the Flyers played at Buffalo.

9:32 PM ET Associated Press VANCOUVER, British Columbia — The Vancouver Canucks have signed goaltender Thatcher Demko to a five-year contract extension. Canucks owner Francesco Aquilini confirmed the deal on Twitter on Wednesday. No financial terms have been released. Demko took over as the No. 1 goaltender for the Canucks after Jacob Markstrom went to

2:55 PM ET Chicago Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman was named GM for the U.S. Olympic men’s ice hockey team for the 2022 Beijing Games. Minnesota Wild general manager Bill Guerin will serve as Bowman’s assistant GM. “The combination of a Stanley Cup-winning GM [Bowman] and a Hall of Fame player [Guerin] who has competed

7:00 AM ET The Buffalo Sabres are 0-15-3 since Feb. 25. They own the record for the longest winless streak of the shootout era (since 2005-06) and have tied the 2003-04 Pittsburgh Penguins for the most consecutive losses — including overtime and shootout losses — in the 21st century. How did they get here and

7:00 AM ET With the NHL trade deadline less than two weeks away, it’s a good time to take stock. We’ve hit on reasons for optimism for every team in the past. For this week’s power rankings, we identified a reason for concern for all 31 teams. How we rank: The ESPN hockey editorial staff

11:27 PM ET ESPN News Services MONTREAL — The wait was worth it for the Montreal Canadiens. Brendan Gallagher and Artturi Lehkonen each had a goal and an assist as Montreal returned from a lengthy break due to COVID-19 protocols and blanked the Edmonton Oilers 4-0 on Tuesday night. Montreal was playing for the first

1:22 PM ET Associated Press BUFFALO, N.Y. — The Flyers placed defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere on waivers Tuesday, a surprising move that comes as Philadelphia is attempting to stay in the playoff hunt. Gostisbehere has five goals and six assists for 11 points in 25 games, and he was benched for a three-game stretch two weeks

7:00 AM ET Evaluating the top 10 defensemen in ESPN’s 2021 NHL position-by-position rankings is a study in competing philosophies on how to properly evaluate the position. What metrics best define value for scoring defensemen or “defensive” defensemen? Do the elite have to do both well, or can one aspect compensate for the other? I

10:59 PM ET The Buffalo Sabres‘ misery continues. The franchise’s winless streak has now reached 18 games (0-15-3) which is the longest by an NHL team in 17 years. Wednesday’s 4-3 overtime loss to the Flyers was especially brutal, as Buffalo blew a 3-0 lead in the third period. “It’s embarrassing,” defenseman Brandon Montour said.