NHL

4:25 PM ET Minnesota Wild defenseman Matt Dumba opened the NHL’s Western Conference postseason with a heartfelt speech against racial injustice, before taking a knee during the U.S. national anthem as members of the Edmonton Oilers and Chicago Blackhawks stood around him. The NHL officially restarted its season on Saturday with five games in Toronto

7:30 AM ET The NHL’s postseason is officially underway with the most unconventional Stanley Cup tournament in the trophy’s 127-year history. With five games staggered throughout Saturday between the hub cities of Toronto and Edmonton, Alberta, we have a March Madness-style buffet of hockey. Here’s a primer of what to look for in this edition

4:00 PM ET The box office at Capital One Arena in Washington is being transformed into a sportsbook, complete with betting windows and self-serve kiosks, and will begin taking cash bets Friday, a first for an American sports venue. Beginning at 4 p.m., Friday, bookmaker William Hill U.S. will operate seven betting windows and nine

7:00 AM ET NHL insiders The NHL restarts its season with a first-of-its-kind, 24-team postseason tournament Saturday. The field has expanded to 12 teams per conference, and the schedule includes games starting as early as noon ET most days, running through the 10:30 p.m. ET window. Yes, it’s hockey all day, and we’re just as

7:01 AM ET The NHL returns on Saturday, with a five-game slate beginning at noon ET with the New York Rangers against the Carolina Hurricanes, and lasting through the Winnipeg Jets–Calgary Flames tilt that begins at 10:30 p.m. ET. As a service to fans who have a general interest in NHL hockey but have no

7:00 AM ET NHL Insiders NHL hockey is coming back! After a nearly five-month pause due to the coronavirus pandemic, the postseason will get under way Saturday. First up is the qualification round and round-robin seeding component, and the schedule includes five to six games per day. With games staggered throughout the day, this event

6:59 AM ET ESPN.com staff It’s almost time to hit the ice again. With NHL qualification-round series beginning Saturday, it’s time to take a look at odds for those matchups as well as futures bets. Who will advance from the East? From the West? Who will skate the Stanley Cup? Here are the updated odds

12:10 AM ET Mike Babcock, fired as coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs earlier this season, has been named a volunteer adviser for the University of Vermont’s men’s hockey team. Catamounts coach Todd Woodcroft, who has worked on staffs with Babcock, had a unique opportunity to add the NHL’s eighth-winningest coach to his program. Babcock,

9:00 AM ET The Arizona Coyotes entered the Edmonton hub for the NHL’s restarted season over the weekend. Part of life in the “bubble” is seeing what it can keep out. Like, for example, outside distractions that could knock a team off course. “Yeah that’s been said. A bunch of times. Trust me,” head coach

7:00 AM ET NHL Insiders After months of a pandemic-induced pause, the NHL returns in earnest on Saturday. Players will hit the ice again as the NHL’s return-to-play plan hits Phase 4 and the postseason begins. Unlike the traditional playoff format, the league is running a 24-team tournament, with 12 teams from each conference playing

12:08 AM ET Forward Sidney Crosby highlighted a star-laden return to the ice Tuesday, as six teams played in exhibitions in both cities of the NHL’s restart bubble. It was the first action of any kind from the league that paused its regular season in March amid the coronavirus pandemic, and with the Stanley Cup

7:00 AM ET On March 12, the NHL hit the pause button on the 2019-20 season because of the coronavirus pandemic. On Saturday, players will hit the ice again as the NHL’s return-to-play plan hits Phase 4 and the postseason begins. Unlike the traditional playoff format, the league is running a 24-team tournament, with 12

6:59 AM ET On March 12, the NHL hit the pause button on the 2019-20 season because of the coronavirus pandemic. On Saturday, players will hit the ice again as the NHL’s return-to-play plan hits Phase 4 and the postseason begins. Unlike the traditional playoff format, the league is running a 24-team tournament, with 12

12:27 PM ET The NHL announced Monday that it has not received any positive coronavirus tests over the past week. The league administered 4,256 tests to more than 800 players during that span. It’s a positive sign as the NHL enters Phase 4 in its return-to-play plan. The 24 teams participating in this summer’s tournament

7:00 AM ET It has been 137 days since the NHL hit the pause button on the 2019-20 season because of the coronavirus pandemic … and we’re now five days away from the start of the 24-team postseason tournament to determine the 2020 Stanley Cup champion. As players, coaches, broadcasters and fans look ahead to

7:00 AM ET Steve Mayer was sitting in the best seat in Edmonton’s Rogers Place arena on Saturday: a luxury box located squarely at center ice. But now it’s an obstructed view seat, were fans allowed to watch a game from that vantage point. Mayer’s view of the ice was blocked by a JitaCam, a

4:20 PM ET John Chayka has resigned as general manager of the Arizona Coyotes on the eve of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the team announced on Sunday. “John Chayka has quit as the General Manager and President of Hockey Operations of the Arizona Coyotes. The Club is disappointed in his actions and his timing as