NHL

6:58 AM ET The second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs is underway after a memorable — and frankly, wild — first two weeks. I’ve spent that time traversing the East Coast, spending hours at the rinks having conversations with players, coaches, front office executives and people around the game. Here’s some info I’ve gleaned:

12:52 AM ET ESPN News Services DALLAS — Joe Pavelski scored four goals for the Dallas Stars in Game 1 of their second-round playoff series against the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday night after missing the final five games of the opening round while in concussion protocol. His efforts weren’t enough to save the Stars from

7:51 PM ET As Round 2 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs began across the NHL on Tuesday, the league’s best team during the regular season cleaned out their lockers and headed for home. The Boston Bruins had their breakup day at TD Garden, meeting the media for the final time after exit interviews. As was

9:00 AM ET As the Stanley Cup playoffs reach their second round, it’s time to check in on the race for the Conn Smythe Trophy for playoff MVP. Keep in mind that in the NHL, the Conn Smythe is based on a player’s performance during the entire postseason, not just the championship round. The award

11:45 PM ET The New Jersey Devils have a very particular set of skills. After their 4-0 shellacking of the New York Rangers in Game 7 of their first-round Stanley Cup playoffs series, the Devils were in a trolling mood. They harkened back to the Rangers’ playoff hype video, which featured actor Liam Neeson reprising

3:23 PM ET Hip-hop artist and entrepreneur Snoop Dogg has joined businessman Neko Sparks’ bid to buy the Ottawa Senators. Snoop confirmed his involvement in an Instagram post Monday. “Amazing what [Neko Sparks] is trying to do in Ottawa,” Snoop wrote to his 80 million followers. “I’m looking forward to being apart [sic] of that

8:05 AM ET Days before King Charles III was to be formally crowned in England, there was another coronation underway in Boston. Or at least that was the unmistakable vibe during Game 1 of the Boston Bruins‘ series against the Florida Panthers. The 2022-23 Bruins were the most successful regular-season team in NHL history, setting

9:55 PM ET Brianna WilliamsESPN The Boston Bruins have cemented their place in the history books with one of the greatest regular seasons. With a 65-12-5 record, they became the fourth NHL team to win at least 60 games and set a new mark for single-season victories. And now they’re out of the playoffs. The

7:30 AM ET ESPN staff After a record-setting season, the Boston Bruins find themselves on the brink of a first-round upset loss against the Florida Panthers. Can the reigning Presidents’ Trophy winners avoid becoming the latest NHL team with the best regular-season record to flop in the postseason? Or will the Panthers pull off the

12:20 AM ET NEW YORK — New Jersey Devils coach Lindy Ruff blamed a parade of penalties for breaking his team’s early momentum in Game 6, as the New York Rangers pushed their Eastern Conference first-round series to a seventh game after a 5-2 win on Saturday night. “I thought the penalties took our best

1:11 AM ET ESPN News Services LOS ANGELES — Kailer Yamamoto scored his first playoff goal with 3:02 remaining, and the Edmonton Oilers defeated the Los Angeles Kings 5-4 on Saturday night to advance to the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Klim Kostin had two goals and an assist as the Oilers eliminated

12:03 AM ET NEWARK, N.J. — The last time the New York Rangers played in New Jersey, they established a 2-0 series lead and had many wondering if the upstart Devils weren’t ready for the Stanley Cup playoffs spotlight. But after Thursday night’s Game 5 at Prudential Center, the Devils had a 4-0 win and

3:09 AM ET SEATTLE — Needing answers to stave off elimination, the Colorado Avalanche found quite a few on Friday in a 4-1 series-tying win in Game 6 against the Seattle Kraken. Exactly how did the defending Stanley Cup champion Avalanche force a Game 7 on Sunday against the upstart Kraken at Ball Arena? They

12:26 AM ET The Boston Bruins aren’t ruling out a goalie change for Game 7 of their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series against the Florida Panthers. In fact, Boston coach Jim Montgomery thought about pulling starter Linus Ullmark during Game 6 on Friday night, a 7-5 loss for the Bruins in which Ullmark gave up

4:53 PM ET ESPN News Services SEATTLE — The Colorado Avalanche did not comment Friday on either the status of forward Valeri Nichushkin, who has been away from the team for a few days, or on a police report about an incident at the team hotel in Seattle last weekend. Colorado coach Jared Bednar again

7:00 AM ET Front offices throughout the NHL are willing to invest what amounts to a miniature fortune on travel so their amateur scouting staffs can find the players they believe can help them have a brighter future. And that’s not even including additional scouting costs such as salaries or the investment that comes with

1:06 AM ET For the second time in three years, the Vegas Golden Knights are back in the second round. The Golden Knights continued their offensive assault on the Winnipeg Jets with a commanding 4-1 clinching win in Game 5 of their first-round series Thursday at T-Mobile Arena. This will be the fourth time the

7:00 AM ET It started as a series of blowouts. It became a matchup defined by comebacks. What’s remained the same throughout is that the Toronto Maple Leafs and Tampa Bay Lightning haven’t lacked for drama in their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series. And the Leafs have got their foes on the ropes. Let’s recap: