NHL

8:00 AM ET In the Stanley Cup playoffs, it doesn’t take long for narratives to form. One developed quickly after the New York Rangers defeated the rival New Jersey Devils in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference first-round series: That the experienced Rangers were poised and the playoff newbie Devils were panicky. But Rangers defenseman

6:50 PM ET Toronto Maple Leafs forward Michael Bunting has been suspended three games for an illegal check to the head/interference against Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Erik Cernak. The discipline was announced on Wednesday following a hearing for Bunting with the NHL’s Department of Player Safety earlier in the day. Bunting will sit out Games

8:05 AM ET A group of professional sports leagues and media outlets have formed a coalition that aims to ensure a responsible approach to sports betting advertising, which has increased dramatically over the past five years and caught the attention of politicians. The Coalition for Responsible Sports Betting Advertising, announced Wednesday, consists of the NFL,

7:00 AM ET Mistakes. Goaltenders find them maddening. They also find them helpful. Notice how they act after giving up a goal. Sure, they react in the ways one would expect. But they also look up at the videoboard to assess what went wrong so they can learn from those miscues. This is the exact

11:42 PM ET ESPN News Services LAS VEGAS — Winnipeg Jets forward Morgan Barron took a skate to his face Tuesday night, requiring more than 75 stitches, but he returned to the ice less than a period later. Barron was injured in the first period during a big scramble in front of the Vegas Golden

9:00 AM ET The Boston Bruins have given the NHL so much this season, from shattered records to David Pastrnak‘s wardrobe. As the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs arrive, they’ve given us something else: a time machine. Most of us weren’t around when the Montreal Canadiens made the Stanley Cup Final every year in the 1950s,

7:00 AM ET Madison Square Garden, home of the New York Rangers, is 11 miles away from Newark, New Jersey’s Prudential Center, home of the New Jersey Devils. They are separated by a river. They are bonded by an intense, decades-long enmity. The Battle of the Hudson is one of the NHL’s most storied rivalries.

3:01 PM ET The Ottawa Senators are not bringing back goaltender Cam Talbot next season. General manager Pierre Dorion told reporters Monday that the team will not re-sign the pending free agent. Talbot went 17-14-2 with a 2.93 goals-against average and .898 save percentage this season. Dorion said Talbot is seeking a two-year deal and

10:00 AM ET ESPN staff The six-month journey of the 2022-23 NHL regular season is complete. Sixteen of the league’s 32 teams have been eliminated, and 16 have made the postseason bracket. It’s time for ESPN’s hockey experts to serve up their picks on every first-round series, along with their calls on which team will

7:00 AM ET Jim Montgomery believes in “the process.” That’s what the Boston Bruins coach preaches to his team. A simple strategy to keep his players focused on the present. No looking back on what’s happened. No dwelling on an uncertain future. Commit to the now and results will come. Those principles have guided Montgomery

6:49 PM ET Associated Press BRAMPTON, Ontario — The Canadian government has restored funding to Hockey Canada. Hockey Canada made the announcement Sunday, adding that Canadian sport minister Pascale St-Onge made it official, before the Canada-U.S. gold-medal game at the world women’s hockey championship. Hockey Canada saw its funding shut off by the federal government

12:53 AM ET Associated Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Nathan MacKinnon had three goals and an assist as the Colorado Avalanche beat the Nashville Predators 4-3 on Friday night to win the Central Division title. Devon Toews also scored and had an assist and Alexandar Georgiev made 18 saves for Colorado, which finished a point ahead

3:10 PM ET Associated Press BRAMPTON, Ontario — With a familiar berth in the women’s world hockey championship gold medal game on the line, leave it to the United States’ so-called old guard of Hilary Knight and Amanda Kessel to set the tone in a 9-1 rout of Switzerland on Saturday. And the Americans will

9:14 AM ET The Columbus Blue Jackets have fired Brad Larsen after two seasons as coach, general manager Jarmo Kekalainen announced Saturday. The Blue Jackets finished with the second-worst record in the NHL this season, totaling 59 points during a 25-48-9 campaign. It was the second time in three seasons that Columbus failed to reach

7:45 AM ET As a service to fans who have a general interest in the National Hockey League but have no idea what’s happened since the Colorado Avalanche raised the Stanley Cup by preventing a Tampa Bay Lightning three-peat last year, we’re happy to provide this FAQ as a guide to the 2023 Stanley Cup

7:40 AM ET Tim KavanaghESPN.com Close Tim Kavanagh is a senior NHL editor for ESPN. He’s a native of upstate New York. After Thursday night’s 15-game festival, 1,310 games have been played in the 2022-23 NHL regular season. But two more remain on Friday: one to determine the Central Division title, and one to finalize

1:36 PM ET The Pittsburgh Penguins cleaned house on Friday, as the Fenway Sports Group fired president of hockey operations Brian Burke, general manager Ron Hextall and assistant general manager Chris Pryor after the team missed the playoffs for the first time in 17 seasons. Who might be hired to fill those positions? What comes

10:20 AM ET The Boston Bruins entered the Stanley Cup playoffs after the most successful regular season in NHL history. They set a new single-season record for wins and shattered the 1976-77 Montreal Canadiens‘ mark of 132 points. “When I think about how great those teams were, and how we surpassed that total, it’s significant.