NHL

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.

7:00 AM ET We’re seven weeks into the 2021 NHL season, and less than six weeks away from the trade deadline. It’s about that time that trends start to solidify. For this week’s ESPN Power Rankings, we identified an encouraging or worrying trend for every team. How we rank: The ESPN hockey editorial staff submits

7:19 PM ET Associated Press The list of players in the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol dropped to a season-low three, despite the additions of Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby and Nashville‘s Ryan Johansen. San Jose‘s Tomas Hertl is the only other player on the list after entering his seventh day in the protocol. Arizona‘s John Hayden, Detroit‘s

7:00 AM ET In our monthly canvassing of NHL awards voters, one thing has become increasingly clear: We need a little FOMO, right this very minute. As we mentioned in the last NHL Awards Watch, the NHL’s temporary realignment — in which teams play only opponents within their divisions and no one else — has

3:47 PM ET ESPN News Services The NHL closed February with a season-low-matching four players on its COVID-19 list. Detroit’s Patrik Nemeth entered the protocol on Sunday, while Ottawa’s Ryan Dzingel and Philadelphia’s Travis Konecny were cleared after spending two weeks on the list. Konecny was the final Flyers player in the protocol after the

Feb 26, 2021 Collecting a ton of fantasy points by playing 20 to 25 minutes per night is one thing. But what about those players who have seen significantly less average ice time this season? Maybe it’s not more impressive to see them collecting a ton of fantasy points, but it’s impressive in a different

7:00 AM ET “Nobody knows what I’ve been doing since I left the game,” Theo Fleury says. “Everyone thinks I’m still this crazy person with problems and issues, but I’ve actually been trying to figure it out.” Fleury last played in the NHL in 2003; he was suspended by the league for violating its substance

6:15 PM ET The Vegas Golden Knights have terminated a brief partnership with UpickTrade, a company based in Mexico that sells sports betting picks, including on the NHL. “The Vegas Golden Knights have ended their sponsorship agreement with UpickTrade. The organization will not have additional comments on the matter at this time,” the team said

4:02 PM ET Associated Press EDMONTON, Alberta — Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews is out for Saturday’s game against the Edmonton Oilers because of a sore wrist. Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe announced the decision before the start of a three-game series between these teams. Matthews has 31 points (18 goals, 13 assists) in 20 games