SAN JOSE, Calif. -- It might have been the poorest game the San Jose Sharks had played in its opening-round playoff series against the Anaheim Ducks. Gone was the discipline, some of their attention to detail, most of their odd-man rushes.

The one constant was the play of goalie Martin Jones, who almost single-handedly helped the Sharks finish ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA -- With apologies to Harold Hill from "The Music Man" fame, the Flyers are in trouble, trouble, trouble ... TROUBLE.

That starts with T, that rhymes with P, that stands for Penguins.

Make that the relentless Penguins.

The two-time defending Stanley Cup champions put the Flyers on the brink of elimination Wednesday night as they ...Read more

When the Wild turned to a younger and more inexperienced blue line for the playoffs after losing Ryan Suter to a right ankle fracture, the margin of error didn't just shrink for the new-look defense.

Goalie play became even more critical, too, and although the Wild trails its first-round, best-of-seven series with the Jets 3-1, Devan Dubnyk ...Read more

Before they can gobble up pucks between the pipes, goaltenders sometimes need to clear out the space between their ears. Connor Hellebuyck started that task immediately following his Game 3 loss to the Wild, when the Winnipeg netminder was pulled after giving up six goals in 40 minutes.

Hellebuyck knows the best way to forget a dismal game is ...Read more

The Wild took a major hit Tuesday even before taking the ice for Game 4 when it was revealed winger Zach Parise will be sidelined week-to-week after suffering a fractured sternum in Game 3 against the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday.

The injury appeared to happen when Parise played a puck with his hand near his own blue line with about four minutes ...Read more

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- The San Jose Sharks showed poise and more than a little bit of resiliency in bringing back to SAP Center a 2-0 lead in their opening round NHL playoff series against the Anaheim Ducks.

Game 3 showed one thing above everything else, though. That the Sharks are simply too much right now for their Southern California rivals.

...Read more

LOS ANGELES -- They can't avoid it now that it's that time again. The Los Angeles Kings have to talk about the cockroaches in the room.

Alec Martinez memorably described the 2013-14 Kings as "cockroaches" because they wouldn't die. They became the fourth team in NHL history to win a best-of-seven playoff series from 0-3 down, eventually posting...Read more

If you exclude an empty-net score in Game 2, the Flyers have just five goals in their Eastern Conference quarterfinals against the Pittsburgh Penguins, an average of 1.67 goals per game.

Coach Dave Hakstol said Monday he hasn't made a decision on whether he will alter the lines or add a player to the lineup to try to get more production ...Read more

Wild winger Charlie Coyle had relief and frustration in his voice at the same time.

Coyle said the Wild was frustrated in its attempt to gain control in the offensive zone during the first two games of its playoff series against the Jets.

But in its 6-2 victory in Game 3 on Sunday, Coyle said the Wild made the needed adjustments -- adjustments...Read more

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- The Anaheim Ducks have been here before.

They stared down the barrel of a 2-0 series deficit after consecutive defeats to the Edmonton Oilers last season. Those second-round losses also came at home, and they set out on the road with a formidable task ahead. Slowly but surely, the victories came, and the Ducks returned to ...Read more

TAMPA, Fla. -- Lightning coach Jon Cooper spent a lot of time during the final weeks of the season talking about the importance of home ice during the Stanley Cup playoffs. His take: It's what you do with it that matters.

Here is what the Lightning did with home ice during the first two games of their quarterfinal series against the Devils: win...Read more

PITTSBURGH -- The Flyers have shown remarkable resilience throughout their up-and-down season, and they demonstrated that trait -- better than most ever expected -- before a stunned sellout crowd Friday night at PPG Paints Arena.

Two nights after their most lopsided Game 1 playoff loss in franchise history, the Flyers did the unthinkable: They ...Read more

WINNIPEG, Manitoba -- The most vulnerable segment of the Wild's lineup at the outset of the playoffs was without question its blue line.

Stalwart Ryan Suter was out of the picture, sidelined for the rest of the season with a right ankle fracture, and that meant not one but two rookies would be on the ice -- a difficult challenge against the ...Read more