The Chicago Blackhawks pulled out a shocker Wednesday night, getting a tying goal from Matthew Highmore with 5:47 to play before Jonathan Toews scored the winner with 1:16 left for a 4-3 victory over the Edmonton Oilers in Game 3 of their Stanley Cup qualifier series.

With the Hawks up 2-1 in the best-of-five series in Edmonton, the Oilers face...Read more

The Florida Panthers' season is alive for at least a few more days.

After blowing a second-period lead for the second day in a row, the Panthers rallied in the third to beat the New York Islanders, 3-2, and force a Game 4 in this best-of-5 series in the qualifying round of the expanded postseason.

Just seconds after the third period began, an ...Read more

EDMONTON, Alberta -- What once was a best-of-five series is now a best-of-three.

After the Minnesota Wild eked out an early advantage in a near-spotless performance in its return to play, the slate was wiped clean Tuesday night when the Vancouver Canucks responded with a 4-3 victory in Game 2 at Rogers Place to even the qualifying-round ...Read more

SEATTLE -- Onetime Seattle Breakers junior star and NHL captain Ryan Walter still isn't sure what to make of the pandemic-modified Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Now a British Columbia-based mental performance coach for athletes and business leaders, Walter admits it "freaks me out a little" to watch neutral-site games with no fans and piped-in crowd ...Read more

The New York Rangers were desperately determined to make something good happen Tuesday.

The Carolina Hurricanes wouldn't allow it. Not in this postseason series.

The Hurricanes took a 4-1 victory over the Rangers, ending the best-of-five qualifying series with a third straight victory at Toronto's Scotiabank Arena.

The Canes will advance to ...Read more

Like many of his similarly brilliant peers at Harvard, John Marino this time a year ago was facing huge decisions when it came to his future in his given field.

The defenseman was gearing up for his senior year at Harvard when the Penguins acquired his rights from the Edmonton Oilers. Marino had a couple of weeks to choose whether to finish ...Read more

TORONTO -- Sergei Bobrovsky leaned his left arm on his stick and exhaled as he watched a mob gather around Jordan Eberle. For nearly 35 minutes, Bobrovsky had played nearly flawless in goal to keep the Florida Panthers ahead deep into the second period of a Game 2 dubbed "do-or-die" by Mike Hoffman. Now the Panthers were staring down an ...Read more

The Chicago Blackhawks battled back from an early two-goal deficit to tie the score in the second period Monday night, but they couldn't overcome Connor McDavid's hat trick, dropping Game 2 of their Stanley Cup qualifier series 6-3 to the Edmonton Oilers.

The best-of-five series is tied at a game apiece going into Game 3 on Wednesday, the Hawks...Read more

As the seconds ticked away in the second period of the Florida Panthers' Game 1 loss to the New York Islanders, Sergei Bobrovsky stared at the possibility of a postseason game slipping away from the Panthers.

A giveaway set up a 2-on-1 for the Islanders as Anthony Beauvillier and Brock Nelson charged down the ice against Riley Stillman with ...Read more

TORONTO -- To the hat trick artist goes the glory, and rightfully so. This is the blossoming Andrei Svechnikov we saw during the regular season, still learning just how talented he really is, just how unstoppable he can be.

His third goal doesn't happen, though, without the diligent work of Sebastian Aho in the neutral zone, forcing the puck ...Read more

EDMONTON, Alberta -- The Minnesota Wild kept its goaltending decision under wraps in the lead-up to its qualifying matchup, but the answer was always Alex Stalock.

Not only was he the unequivocal starter when the coronavirus pandemic interrupted the season in March, but he was one of the reasons why the Wild was even in contention at that point...Read more

EDMONTON, Alberta – A microphone clutched in his right hand, Wild defenseman Matt Dumba walked to center ice Saturday afternoon inside Rogers Place in Edmonton and exhaled.

He had just been waiting in the wings with teammates Jonas Brodin and Alex Galchenyuk and, sensing Dumba was nervous, the two tried to divert his attention elsewhere. They...Read more

EDMONTON, Alberta -- Colorado dominated the first period outshooting the Blues 16-4, but it was the St. Louis that left the first period with a 1-0 lead in their round-robin opener at Rogers Place.

And even though both teams had two power plays in the second period, there was no scoring. So the Blues took a 1-0 lead into the third period in ...Read more

BOSTON -- If the Flyers are going to win their first playoff series since 2012, earning a high seed in the round-robin tournament would seem to make the path easier.

They took the first step on that journey Sunday at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, where they jolted best-in-the-NHL Boston, 4-1, in a round-robin opener.

Fourth-line forwards ...Read more

Mike Sullivan and the Penguins tried just about everything Saturday night.

Their punch-less power play was a cause for concern entering the playoffs after that unit struggled during their postseason camp, and the Penguins did not get much of anything going on three power plays in Tuesday's tune-up against the Flyers.

After that exhibition loss...Read more

EDMONTON, Alberta -- The hockey was still hockey.

Connor McDavid's lightning-fast speed, Patrick Kane's stealthy shot and the cacophony of sticks and pucks and bodies crunching into the boards -- all of that was on display at Rogers Place when the NHL returned Saturday with a 24-team postseason tournament after a 142-day hiatus.

The Blackhawks...Read more

Everything the Florida Panthers spent the last week worrying about -- the slow starts, the early deficits, the defensive mistakes -- was playing out in real time Saturday. The Panthers knew exactly what the New York Islanders were going to try to do in the first game of their qualifying series for the Stanley Cup playoffs in Toronto and, because...Read more

The Blackhawks looked like a team that turned back the clock to their Stanley Cup days of five years ago during Saturday's 6-4 win over the Oilers in Game 1 of their best-of-five play-in series in Edmonton.

The Oilers rallied with two goals in the third period, but the Hawks held on to take their postseason opener and the first Western ...Read more

Brady Skjei got in the first blow, a big one.

Jaccob Slavin scored the first goal on the first shot, also a big one.

And Justin Williams won the first fight of the postseason, dropping the gloves to throw some 38-year-old fists.

The Carolina Hurricanes came into Game 1 of their NHL qualifying series Saturday against the New York Rangers in a ...Read more