TAMPA, Fla. — We watched the hit that ended Brandon Hagel’s season. We heard the emotion in the Lightning forward’s voice when he talked about the concussion that resulted from it. We read Florida defenseman Aaron Ekblad’s explanation. We saw Hagel’s hit on Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov. And we listened to Hagel’s acknowledgment...Read more

RALEIGH, N.C. — During the first postseason go-round of what we used to call a Southeast Division Showdown, Alex Ovechkin probably scores twice in the first period Saturday and the Carolina Hurricanes spend Sunday figuring out what went wrong.

But 2025 isn’t 2019. There’s only so much the Washington Capitals can do now. And when their ...Read more

RALEIGH, N.C. — When it comes to the Stanley Cup playoffs, Carolina Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour likes to say, “You live and die every day.”

Win a game and you’re living large. Lose and it can seem too harsh. Such is the ebb and flow when the games mean so much.

The Hurricanes enjoyed that winning feeling again Saturday, surging ...Read more

The Florida Panthers were facing more than sudden-death overtime Friday night. They were facing their season all but suddenly dying.

The overtime ended with the horn blasting happily, with rats on the ice, and with jubilant teammates hugging winning-goal scorer Brad Marchand.

And the season lives, hope lives, for the reigning Stanley Cup ...Read more

LAS VEGAS — Leon Draisaitl scored with 4:40 remaining in overtime and the Edmonton Oilers defeated the Vegas Golden Knights 5-4 in Game 2 of their second-round series at T-Mobile Arena on Thursday.

The Oilers lead the best-of-seven series 2-0. Game 3 is at Rogers Place on Saturday.

The Knights lost after killing a five-minute major penalty ...Read more

Tom Wilson threw down the gauntlet Thursday after the Washington Capitals’ morning skate.

“We’re a tough team to reckon with and we have to show that,” the Caps power forward said.

It wasn’t just talk. Wilson had a goal and assist and was the Caps’ best player in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup playoff series as Washington took a 3-1 ...Read more

DENVER — You don’t trade Stars for scrubs. During the worst Game 7 loss in Colorado Avalanche history, Martin Necas and Brock Nelson were passengers from start to Finnish.

“We felt we had to get deeper, and not only for this season’s team, but moving forward,” Joe Sakic said Tuesday afternoon when asked about America’s newest Avs-...Read more

The Florida Panthers had multiple opportunities to generate consistent momentum on Wednesday, plenty of chances to put their stamp on this series against the Toronto Maple Leafs after a rough start to the series two days earlier.

But each time Florida made a push, Toronto answered.

And now, the Panthers have been on the wrong end of the result...Read more

LOS ANGELES — A day after parting ways with his general manager, Kings president Luc Robitaille expressed confidence in his head coach, saying he expected Jim Hiller would be back with the team next season. Yet the final decision, he added, would be with the new GM.

“Your general manager, you want to give him the freedom. You don’t want ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — The most revealing moment of the most riveting game of this NHL postseason didn’t feature a player on the ice or a coach on the bench. It, of course, did not feature the Flyers, either, but they were connected to the moment, if you care about them.

On Sunday night, in Game 7 of the Winnipeg Jets-St. Louis Blues first-round ...Read more

PITTSBURGH — Kyle Dubas' plan has occasionally been difficult to decipher, the Penguins' president of hockey operations toggling between urgency and patience when describing what exactly he's trying to do, but it's hard to get too upset over any of it.

One, the needle Dubas is trying to thread — retooling on the fly, managing some lousy ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — The Kings and long-embattled general manager Rob Blake have mutually agreed to part ways, the team announced Monday, four days after the team's fourth consecutive first-round playoff loss to the Edmonton Oilers.

"On behalf of the entire organization, I would like to thank Rob for his dedication to the L.A. Kings and the passion ...Read more

DENVER — Stan Kroenke doesn’t own the Colorado Avalanche. The Dallas Stars do.

Whiny Pete DeBoer does. Still. After all these years. After all those trades. After all those draft picks.

If not now, when?

The Avs were up 2-0 in the third period on Saturday night, laughing old demons away while the fans partied back home. With about eight ...Read more