WASHINGTON -- The Washington Capitals are one victory from putting to rest the anguish and angst spawned by more than four decades of playoff failures.

Gaining strength with each shift, the Capitals overpowered the Vegas Golden Knights, 6-2, on Monday at Capital One Center to put themselves in position to win the Stanley Cup on Thursday at Las ...Read more

WASHINGTON -- Washington Capitals defenseman Brooks Orpik, eight months past his 37th birthday, doesn't move as fast as he once did. Not that he ever was a speedster. He's an old-school, physical defender who clears opponents from the front of his net and rarely jumps into the play or figures in his team's scoring exploits.

It was no surprise, ...Read more

LAS VEGAS -- The Washington Capitals spoiled the Vegas Golden Knights' playoff party Wednesday, pulling out a split of the first two games of the Stanley Cup Final and handing Vegas only its second loss in nine home playoff games.

Washington winger Alexander Ovechkin scored a power-play goal in the second period, defenseman Brooks Orpik scored ...Read more

LAS VEGAS -- A year ago, the Vegas Golden Knights were merely a glimmer in the eye of Commissioner Gary Bettman and were labeled suckers for having shelled out $500 million to become the NHL's 31st franchise. On Monday they won the opener of the Stanley Cup Final, continuing a season full of unlikely feats that undeniably are their normal.

If ...Read more

A Stanley Cup champion is about to be determined, and the winner will be the Vegas Golden Knights, who are the first team in major North American professional sports since the Blues to reach the Stanley Cup Finals in their first season, or the Washington Capitals, a team whose level of frustration rivals only a few teams because it joined the ...Read more

Eleven months after piecing together a hockey team, the Vegas Golden Knights have become one of the most improbable underdog stories in pro sports history.

Never has an American expansion franchise excelled like the Knights, who blistered their way through their debut season to inexplicably reach the Stanley Cup Final.

No team in modern NHL, ...Read more

Paul Fenton takes over as general manager of a Wild team that has made the Stanley Cup playoffs for six consecutive seasons.

To team owner Craig Leipold, that wasn't good enough. Leipold joined Fenton and coach Bruce Boudreau, and team captains Mikko Koivu, Zach Parise and Ryan Suter, at an introductory news conference Tuesday morning at Xcel ...Read more

The Wild made their first major acquisition of the offseason Monday, tabbing Paul Fenton as their next general manager exactly a month after cutting ties with Chuck Fletcher once the season ended.

"It is my distinct pleasure to welcome Paul Fenton as the General Manager of the Minnesota Wild," owner Craig Leipold said in a statement. "Paul is ...Read more

When Marian Hossa stunned Blackhawks fans and the hockey world in June by announcing he would sit out the 2017-18 season because of a skin disorder, there was little doubt he had played his last NHL game.

Hossa confirmed that Saturday, telling Slovakian news outlet Novy Cas he is retiring after 19 seasons.

"I'm done playing hockey," Hossa, 39,...Read more

LAS VEGAS -- The Golden Knights like to see themselves as a bunch of rejects who carry a chip on their collective shoulders because they were discarded and doomed to the cruel fate of playing for an expansion team.

On Friday this group of misfit toys moved within one victory of clinching a berth in the Stanley Cup Final, withstanding another ...Read more

The NHL, the only major professional North American sports league that operates a team in the gambling mecca of Las Vegas, reacted cautiously Monday to the Supreme Court decision that struck down the federal law that prohibited individual states from allowing and managing bets on college and professional sports.

"The Supreme Court's decision ...Read more

Legalized sports betting will not make a difference to NHL players, Flyers general manager Ron Hextall said.

"I can't imagine it's going to have any effect on our players," Hextall said Monday afternoon after the Supreme Court made sports betting legal in the United States. The decision was especially hailed in New Jersey, because the state has...Read more

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Sharks center Joe Thornton revealed Tuesday that the anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments in his right knee were fully torn when he was injured on Jan. 23 in game against the Winnipeg Jets at SAP Center.

It's the exact same injury he dealt with last spring, only it was his left knee that was hurt at that point. ...Read more

LAS VEGAS -- A stirring San Jose Sharks comeback in the third period Friday created a few tense moments for the frenzied, sold-out crowd inside T-Mobile Arena.

But the first half of Game 5, when the Sharks reverted back to some bad habits against the Vegas Golden Knights, was too much to overcome.

Now they've got less than 48 hours to get ...Read more