NHL

7:15 AM ET Player X is having a hard time. “I never thought I would be doing an interview like this,” he says. “But yeah, this season hasn’t been easy.” Player X is still on his entry-level NHL contract. He plays for a United States-based team but is from another country and is unsure when

8:13 PM ET Associated Press CHICAGO — Kirby Dach joined the Chicago Blackhawks for an optional practice on Monday, taking a big step in his comeback from wrist surgery. Coach Jeremy Colliton said the 20-year-old forward will accompany the team on its six-game road trip. 2 Related “Whenever we can we’ll get him with the

10:35 AM ET Associated Press The National Women’s Hockey League will complete its abbreviated season with two nationally televised semifinals and a championship game some two months after the league suspended its playoffs following a COVID-19 breakout among numerous teams. The league on Monday announced play will resume outside of Boston with the semifinals on

7:15 AM ET This Friday marks the one-year anniversary of the NHL suspending its 2019-20 season amid COVID-19. The pandemic upended everyone’s daily lives and routines, and it put the NHL season on pause for four months before returning for a postseason — though some teams went 10 months without any game action. ESPN asked

11:18 AM ET Associated Press BOSTON — Bruins defenseman Brandon Carlo “is feeling better” but remains week-to-week from the head hit that earned Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson a seven-game suspension, coach Bruce Cassidy said Sunday. “He’s obviously going to be out for a while,” Cassidy said. The NHL suspended Wilson for the fifth time

11:59 AM ET Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson will have a hearing with the NHL Department of Player Safety for a hit that sent Boston Bruins defenseman Brandon Carlo to the hospital on Friday night. While there are no “in-person” hearings due to COVID, Wilson was technically offered one on Saturday. While phone hearings typically

10:14 PM ET Associated Press BRANTFORD, Ontario — Walter Gretzky’s family thought the end was coming quickly in the middle of February. The father of hockey’s greatest player had suffered a serious hip injury and, after battling Parkinson’s disease and other health issues in recent years, his time — something Walter was always willing to

4:17 PM ET ESPN News Services In the midst of a two-game set against the Sharks, the Vegas Golden Knights had to scramble and switch hotels in San Jose, because the league’s designated place of lodging suddenly fired for bankruptcy, according to multiple reports. Citing financial difficulties brought on by the COVD-19 pandemic, the Fairmont

3:03 PM ET Associated Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Nashville Predators placed Matt Duchene on injured reserve Saturday with a lower-body injury that is expected to sideline the veteran center for three to five weeks. Duchene becomes the fourth Nashville player placed on IR since Tuesday, when defenseman Ryan Ellis and forward Luke Kunin were

10:52 PM ET ESPN News Services Boston Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy ripped Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson for what he called “a predatory hit” on defenseman Brandon Carlo early in Friday night’s game in TD Garden. Carlos went down after Wilson went hands-high to his head in the corner behind the Boston net, smashing the

6:32 PM ET As the Buffalo Sabres struggle through another calamitous season, first-year GM Kevyn Adams said that coach Ralph Krueger’s status is being evaluated but that frustrated star center Jack Eichel has not requested a trade. The Sabres are in last place in the East Division with a 6-12-3 record. Their .357 points percentage

7:00 AM ET Jeff Carter doesn’t need to sugar coat it. The last two seasons were hard on the Los Angeles Kings, especially around the trade deadline. A team that won the Stanley Cup in 2012 and 2014 suddenly found itself in rebuild mode, and began moving players who were critical to those championships. “I

7:00 AM ET The Montreal Canadiens started the 2021 season with a 7-1-2 record. Their big-ticket offseason acquisitions meshed well with a returning core of talents. It appeared that coach Claude Julien had a North Division juggernaut on his hands. Three weeks later, Julien was handed his pink slip. In the pressure cooker of a

12:01 AM ET Walter Gretzky, the father of hockey legend Wayne Gretzky, died at age 82. Wayne Gretzky announced the news on Twitter on Thursday, saying his father “bravely battled Parkinson’s and other health issues over these last few years, but he never let it get him down.” “For me, he was the reason I

9:00 AM ET Logan Couture loves the new schedule format the NHL is using for the 2021 season. “I’m a fan. I think there are going to be a lot of guys that are fans of it,” he said. “Certain players have been pulling for this for years.” This season’s schedule was created out of

7:00 AM ET The San Jose Barracuda began their season with an unforgettable road trip — the team got stuck in Texas for a week as the state was ravaged by a devastating winter storm and power crisis. It’s a classic minor league tale, featuring bus hijinks, close calls and 50 frozen DiGiorno pizzas. Combine

6:58 PM ET Associated Press Boston Bruins forward Charlie Coyle has entered the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol, upping the number of players on the list to four, pending test results from Anaheim and the Los Angeles Kings. Coyle becomes just the second Bruins player added to the protocol, and first since Karson Kuhlman spent the first

12:09 PM ET Associated Press NEW YORK — Carolina Hurricanes forward Nino Niederreiter was fined $5,000 by the NHL on Wednesday for interfering with Nashville goaltender Juuse Saros, the maximum allowable under the collective bargaining agreement. Niederreiter hit Saros up high in a collision behind the net five minutes into the Hurricanes-Predators game Tuesday night.