NHL category, Page 53
Avs’ Nazem Kadri suspended 8 games for head shot
NEW YORK — Colorado Avalanche forward Nazem Kadri was suspended for eight games by the NHL on Friday night for a head shot on St. Louis Blues defenseman Justin Faulk in Game 2 of a first-round playoff series. The NHL announced the punishment during Game 3 in St. Louis. The...
Maple Leafs captain John Tavares leaves hospital; out indefinitely
TORONTO — Toronto Maple Leafs captain John Tavares was discharged from the hospital Friday, one day after leaving the ice on a stretcher following a knee to his head. The team said he will be out indefinitely. Tavares was kept overnight at St. Michael’s Hospital and is now resting at...
First Call: Early hype for young Steelers; Derek Shelton on run of no-hitters; another Penguins classic moment
Friday’s “First Call” gives us some praise for a pair of young Pittsburgh Steelers skill-position players. Pirates manager Derek Shelton wonders why we are seeing so many no-hitters this year in Major League Baseball. We have another reason why Friday is special in Penguins history. And Bruce Arians said he...
Avalanche’s Nazem Kadri suspended for hit vs. Blues pending hearingVideo
Nazem Kadri’s head shot on Justin Faulk could send shockwaves through the playoffs for the Colorado Avalanche and the rest of the Stanley Cup contenders. Kadri was suspended indefinitely Thursday pending a video hearing with the league’s department of player safety for his illegal check to the head of St....
Craig Smith scores in 2nd OT as Bruins take 2-1 series lead on Capitals
BOSTON — Craig Smith has a mantra that he pulled out after scoring the winning goal against Washington on Wednesday night: “I love winning, but I hate waiting.” The Bruins forward took care of the first part after he’d had plenty of the second, scoring 25:48 into overtime to give...
NHL clears Blues, Golden Knights after virus testing errorsVideo
DENVER — Game on for the St. Louis Blues and Colorado Avalanche after a coronavirus testing scare. The NHL said it had investigated multiple positive covid-19 test results from the Blues and Vegas Golden Knights from the same laboratory. The league said the results had “peculiarities and similarities” and found...
Red Wings stay with coach Jeff Blashill in long-term rebuild, lose Dan Bylsma
The Detroit Red Wings are sticking with coach Jeff Blashill for their rebuild. General manager Steve Yzerman made the announcement Tuesday, giving Blashill a contract extension despite a five-year postseason drought and a career record of 172-221-62. Two years ago, Yzerman returned to Detroit as a former Hall of Fame...
Brad Marchand scores in OT, Bruins beat Capitals to even series
WASHINGTON — Brad Marchand scored 39 seconds into overtime after teammate Taylor Hall tied the game late in regulation, and the Boston Bruins rallied to beat the Washington Capitals 4-3 Monday night, tying the East Division first-round playoff series at a game apiece. Marchand was Boston’s OT hero in a...
NHL playoff format could end Canada’s long Stanley Cup droughtVideo
Nick Foligno was 5 when his father made his longest playoff run with Toronto, and he remembers it like it was yesterday. The festive atmosphere in the streets after winning Game 7 to advance to the conference final. The questionable missed call against Wayne Gretzky and the searing pain of...
First Call: Free agent idea for Steelers; John Harbaugh praises Al Villanueva; Marc-Andre Fleury, McCutchen flash in defeat
Monday’s “First Call” has an idea for the Pittsburgh Steelers to investigate when it comes to bolstering its offensive line. The Ravens are excited about adding a former Steeler. Marc-Andre Fleury and Andrew McCutchen flash in defeat. OK with Okung? Free-agent tackle Russell Okung is still without an NFL team....
Nic Dowd scores in OT, Capitals beat Bruins in Game 1
WASHINGTON — T.J. Oshie’s goal song, John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads,” echoed through Capital One Arena and its 25% capacity crowd. It turned out the credit technically belonged elsewhere, but Capitals fans were in no mood to nitpick. Nic Dowd’s deflection of Oshie’ shot from the blue line...
‘No secrets’ and no certainty in one-of-a-kind NHL playoffsVideo
There will be no mysteries when Tampa Bay and Florida meet in the first round of the playoffs after facing off eight times this season and twice in the past week. Same deal for Montreal and Toronto, who have played 10 times since mid-January. “I don’t want to say it...
NHL postseason: Who’s hot as the playoffs arrive?
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Goalie Juuse Saros is the biggest reason the Nashville Predators went from a potential NHL draft lottery team to their seventh straight playoff appearance. How long they stick around will depend on how well Saros keeps playing in net. “You want to just play better for him...
U mad, bro?: Some Steelers fans still prickly about draft, catering to Ben Roethlisberger; hockey fans hated Caps-Rangers fiasco
Touchy members of Steelers nation. Disgusted hockey fans. And irate Iron Maiden enthusiasts. Yup. It’s quite a collection in this week’s “U mad, bro?” A variety of venom. A prickly potpourri. A bundle of bile! So let’s get to it. “LR” took me to task for my column on T.J....
Kraken make first signing, ink Luke Henman to 3-year deal
SEATTLE — Whether he develops into a star or never plays a game at the highest level, Luke Henman will forever have a place in the history of the Seattle Kraken. The 21-year-old center became the first player ever signed by the Kraken on Wednesday when he inked a three-year...
Analysis: Connor McDavid NHL’s MVP front-runner in condensed season
Using any metric, Connor McDavid’s 100-plus point season makes the Edmonton Oilers captain the clear frontrunner for the NHL MVP award. Other than teammate Leon Draisaitl’s 81 points entering play Tuesday, no one else was within 30 points of McDavid in his bid to win a second Hart Trophy. Determining...
New York Rangers fire coach Dave Quinn, 3 assistants
NEW YORK — The New York Rangers fired coach David Quinn and three assistant coaches Wednesday after missing the playoffs with one of the NHL’s up-and-coming young teams. The move is the first major one from new general manager Chris Drury, who took over last week after the team fired...
Avalanche seeking to overtake Golden Knights for West Division titleVideo
DENVER — Gabriel Landeskog recently caught a teammate staring at him over breakfast. More specifically, the Colorado Avalanche captain’s bent nose, which also featured a fresh-looking scratch. “He’s like, ‘Your nose is super-crooked lately,’ ” Landeskog recounted of Andre Burakovsky’s quizzical glance. “I’m all right. … I’m able to breathe...
Rangers’ Mika Zibanejad acknowledges virus affected slow startVideo
Mika Zibanejad didn’t want to use covid-19 as an excuse for his slow start this season. With just three goals in the New York Rangers’ first 27 games, there were questions about his struggles. “It was hard, it wasn’t easy and everyone reacts to it differently,” Zibanejad said on a...
Isles fall to Bruins in OT, will face Penguins in first round of Stanley Cup playoffs
BOSTON — Taylor Hall scored his second goal of the game 2:53 into overtime and the Boston Bruins beat the New York Islanders in their home finale on Monday night to clinch third place in the East Division. Brad Marchand also scored for Boston, which will face second-place Washington in...
Jack Eichel refers to `disconnect’ with Sabres on treating injury
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Sabres captain Jack Eichel questioned his future in Buffalo on Monday by saying there’s a “a disconnect” with the team on whether to have surgery to repair his herniated disk. “I think the most important thing is just trying to get healthy and figure out a way...
Rick Tocchet, Coyotes agree to part ways after 4 seasons
GLENDALE, Ariz. — Coach Rick Tocchet won’t return for a fifth season with the Arizona Coyotes, the team announced Sunday, saying the sides “mutually agreed to part ways.” The move comes after the Coyotes missed the playoffs for the seventh time in eight seasons. “After meeting with Rick, we have...
John Tortorella out after 6 years as Blue Jackets coach
COLUMBUS, Ohio — John Tortorella is out as coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets after six seasons. General manager Jarmo Kekalainen said in a statement Sunday that parting ways with the winningest coach in franchise history was a mutual decision. The 62-year-old Tortorella was in the last year of his...
NHL relaxing virus protocols for vaccinated playoff teamsVideo
The NHL is relaxing virus protocols for teams that reach a threshold for vaccination, just in time for the playoffs. The changes are outlined in a memo viewed by the Associated Press that the league sent to teams and players Friday night. The new protocols take hold once 85% or...
Capitals’ Tom Wilson good to go after injury, eager to move on from dustup
ARLINGTON, Va. — Tom Wilson reached out to Artemi Panarin in the aftermath of the most talked about incident in hockey this week, and now he’s ready to move on from his latest controversy. In his first interview since a scrum against New York that left Panarin injured, led to...
