BOSTON — While the Buffalo Sabres have been the standard of futility in the National Hockey League for over a decade now, the Bruins, in their current state, are now looking up at their lowly Atlantic Division rivals in terms of offensive talent.

That was clear for much of Monday night at TD Garden but it took an Alex Tuch deflection of an ...Read more

ST. PAUL, Minn. — The stingy Los Angeles Kings and their almost unbeatable goaltender didn’t fare as expected against an ice-cold Minnesota Wild offense.

After ending Darcy Kuemper’s shutout streak, the Wild rallied 3-1 past Los Angeles on Monday night at Xcel Energy Center for their second victory in their past six games.

Mats ...Read more

The Kraken forced overtime but fell to old friend Brandon Tanev and the visiting Winnipeg Jets on Sunday night.

Twenty-year-old Jani Nyman scored his second power-play goal in three NHL games. A second-round pick in 2022, Nyman is enjoying his first Kraken recall during a standout North American debut season.

His second goal strongly resembled...Read more

ST. LOUIS — Quick, name the last Blues goaltender to lose to the Anaheim Ducks.

Jordan Binnington? Joel Hofer? Thomas Greiss? Ville Husso? Charlie Lindgren?

Nope, it was Jon Gillies, and that should be an indication of just how long it’s been since the Ducks have beaten the Blues. With Sunday night’s 7-2 win over Anaheim, the Blues have ...Read more

DENVER — Cale Makar scored 34 seconds into overtime and the Colorado Avalanche held off the Dallas Stars, 4-3, on Sunday afternoon in the most anticipated game of the season at Ball Arena.

Makar finished with a goal and two assists. Scott Wedgewood made 20 saves, and the Avs are now 8-0-1 in their past nine games.

Mikko Rantanen, in his ...Read more

DETROIT — The Red Wings continue to hang around, clawing and nipping at the teams above them in the playoff race.

They aren't going quietly away.

Playing Pacific Division-leading Vegas on Sunday, the Wings shut out the Golden Knights, 3-0, in one of their best defensive performances of the season.

Goaltender Petr Mrazek only needed to stop ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — Well, at least they got one win on the homestand.

The Flyers capped off a season-long seven-game homestand on Saturday with a 5-0 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes. It is the sixth time they have been shut out this season.

The lone win, which prevented them from becoming the first Flyers team to get swept on a homestand of at ...Read more

ST. PAUL, Minn. — The net probably feels smaller with how much trouble the Wild are having scoring goals, but maybe it looks that way, too.

In their latest lull, they pelted the boards with pucks but rarely hit their target, sputtering 5-1 to the St. Louis Blues on Saturday night at Xcel Energy Center to continue their offensive and overall ...Read more

BOSTON — If the Bruins and their fans did not get a whiff of their current reality in the loss in Ottawa on Thursday, then the Tampa Bay Lightning came to town and bashed them over the head with it at TD Garden on Saturday.

In an almost comically dominant second period, the Lightning scored three straight goals and cruised to a 6-2 win. The B...Read more

SAN JOSE, Calif. – The San Jose Sharks have played dozens of close games this season, an example, it seems, of how much more competitive they’ve been compared to last year.

Every so often, though, the Sharks will receive a reminder of how much further they still have to go.

It happened Saturday, as the Sharks were dominated in the first ...Read more

PITTSBURGH — The Penguins made it four wins in a row Saturday by beating the New Jersey Devils, 7-3, at PPG Paints Arena. It was the fourth straight victory for Tristan Jarry, as well.

The Penguins got off to a good start but watched Cody Glass, whom they traded to New Jersey eight days earlier, score from the slot to give the Devils the ice-...Read more

The Golden Knights squandered a late third-period lead and lost 4-3 in a shootout to the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center on Saturday.

Center Jack Eichel gave the Knights a 3-2 lead with 2:33 remaining, but Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin tied it with 13 seconds left with the goaltender pulled to force overtime.

Former Knights forward Alex ...Read more

SEATTLE — The Seattle Kraken pulled ahead midway through a freewheeling third period and downed the Utah Hockey Club, 4-2, on Friday night at Climate Pledge Arena.

Kraken winger Eeli Tolvanen, 25, put back a rebound 51 seconds into the game and became a 20-goal scorer for the first time in his NHL career. This is only his fourth full season. ...Read more

This will sting for the Red Wings, who made a valiant effort in the third period Friday after a slow start.

But the Wings were chasing most of Friday's game in Raleigh and ultimately lost, 4-2, to the red-hot Carolina Hurricanes.

Michael Rasmussen's goal at 2:53 of the third period cut the Carolina lead to 3-2. Rasmussen drove to the net, and ...Read more

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Alex Ovechkin comes to town in pursuit of one of hockey’s most hallowed records, making a late run at Wayne Gretzky’s NHL mark of 894 goals scored when the Washington Capitals visit the Sharks Saturday afternoon.

Ovechkin, 38, has 886 career goals heading to the same site where Gretzky, then with the Los Angeles Kings, ...Read more

SAN JOSE, Calif. – There’s no escaping from the fact that the San Jose Sharks might finish with the NHL’s worst record for the second straight season.

If so, they can at least take solace in the production of some of their younger players.

Collin Graf had his first two-goal game in the NHL and Will Smith had another two-point game as the...Read more

ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Wild’s scoring slump is once again costing them.

They were stumped, 3-2 in overtime Thursday at Xcel Energy Center by a struggling Rangers team that had dropped four in a row.

In the Wild’s six losses over their past nine games, they’ve been held to one or two goals; their two defeats prior were both shutouts.

...Read more

The fight that the Bruins have shown since the trade deadline showed up 20 minutes late in Ottawa on Thursday.

The Senators got money goaltending when it mattered from the netminder the B’s traded last summer, Linus Ullmark, while the B’s did not get the same from Jeremy Swayman, yanked after a team-wide disaster of a first period. The ...Read more

Jack Eichel set the Golden Knights’ single-season scoring record in a 4-0 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena on Thursday.

Eichel’s assist in the first period was his 79th point of the season, surpassing center William Karlsson’s record set in the 2017-18 season.

Goaltender Adin Hill made 26 saves for his second ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — The Flyers showed some spunk on Thursday.

Taking on the Stanley Cup playoff-bound Tampa Bay Lightning during Pearl Jam night at the Wells Fargo Center, the game had an even flow and the Flyers battled back more than once to tie things up.

The result? The Flyers came alive with a 4-3 shootout win to snap a five-game losing ...Read more