TORONTO -- The joyride ended with a walk down the tunnel in a huff, the seething noticeable in Jonathan Quick's waddle.

The Los Angeles Kings finally lost a game in regulation, eight games into their season. Coach John Stevens cited the Toronto Maple Leafs as their biggest challenge to date, and he was right as his team had difficulty handling ...Read more

NEW YORK -- Martin Jones validated an old-hockey cliche Monday, serving as the Sharks best penalty killer on a night where his teammates couldn't stay out of the sin bin.

Jones stopped all 10 of the short-handed shots he faced against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden, allowing the Sharks penalty kill to go 6-for-6 en route to a 4-1...Read more

What we learned from the last week of play in the NHL:

STEVEN STAMKOS IS BRINGING THE THUNDER

The Tampa Bay Lightning narrowly missed the playoffs last season largely because center Steven Stamkos played only 17 games before he suffered a knee injury that required surgery. He's back in fine form, and so is his team. Stamkos matched his career-...Read more

LAS VEGAS -- If you haven't noticed, there's a new kid in town in the NHL this season. And that kid is making a lot of noise.

The Vegas Golden Knights have been one of the league's most compelling stories early in their first season.

The Knights are 6-1-0 headed into Tuesday's game against the Blackhawks. They are the first NHL team to win six...Read more

DETROIT -- With seven of their next eight games on the road, the Detroit Red Wings wanted to bank a couple points Sunday night against the struggling Vancouver Canucks, who entered the game 3-3-1. But the Wings gave a lackluster effort over the final two periods of what was their worst performance of the season.

Sven Baertshi scored a pair of ...Read more

CALGARY, Alberta – Several hours before his team played Calgary, Alex Stalock had a pretty good idea of what the Flames' strategy would be.

"The first 10 minutes, they're going to try and win the game," the Wild goaltender predicted. "I'll come out and play as strong as I can.''

Calgary might have succeeded if not for Stalock's stellar play ...Read more

LAS VEGAS -- As you might expect, hockey in Las Vegas comes with a little more flash, a little more sizzle than you might find elsewhere. There's a guy in a knight outfit who leads a drum line on a march through the plaza in front of the arena before the game, and shortly before teams take the ice for the game, there is a little sword-in-the-...Read more

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Lance Bouma's first Blackhawks goal came at an opportune time as he stuffed in a rebound off a shot from Tommy Wingels 15 minutes, 36 seconds into the third period that proved to be the game winner in a 4-2 victory over the Coyotes.

"We had had a few chances around the net, so definitely at that time of the game it was a big ...Read more

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- They didn't see this coming.

They carried the usual positivity into the season, which usually gets ruined by the first few losses. But the Los Angeles Kings aren't there yet, nor did they predict being here, at 6-0-1.

Not after Anze Kopitar reached out and lifted them to a 6-4 win Saturday against the Columbus Blue Jackets ...Read more

TAMPA, Fla. -- About a minute and a half into the second period of Saturday's game at Amalie Arena, Antti Niemi removed his mask and took a drink of water, as Lighting winger Nikita Kucherov zoomed past following a whistle.

It would have been perfectly understandable for Niemi to peer into his net, fearful there was a puck there, the same thing...Read more

WASHINGTON -- When days pass in the NHL season, the calendar can blend together, merging weekends with weekdays and rendering cities nameless. The schedule creates a sense of rhythm, an inkling of routine when day-to-day life can feel the same.

But there was no mistaking the Florida Panthers' 4-1 win in Washington on Saturday night for any of ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA -- The Flyers have five victories, and Wayne Simmonds has the game-winner in four of them.

The latest came with 2:15 left in their 2-1 victory over Edmonton at the electric Wells Fargo Center on Saturday afternoon.

Simmonds took a feed from Val Filppula and whipped a shot past Cam Talbot for his sixth goal of the young season.

...Read more

ANAHEIM, Calif.--Finally, seven games in, the Anaheim Ducks found the start they were looking for.

One by one, the bodies hit the ice as the Ducks set the tone with two crushing hits on the opening shift, one delivered by Josh Manson that sent Ales Hemsky crashing to the ice.

Moments later, the Ducks were on the board after Dennis Rasmussen's ...Read more

WINNIPEG, Manitoba -- As threadbare as the Wild roster may be, coach Bruce Boudreau doesn't believe that should have any impact on its ability to play effectively in its own zone. "No matter who's in the lineup, you can play defense," he said.

The question remained, though, whether the Wild would actually follow through with a better defensive ...Read more

DETROIT -- Tomas Tatar scored twice as the Detroit Red Wings salvaged a point at home.

The Wings scored short-handed, at even strength and on a power play but were beaten on power-play goal in overtime to lose, 4-3, Friday to the Washington Capitals at Little Caesars Arena.

Petr Mrazek had made a handful of big saves before giving up a goal to...Read more

SUNRISE, Fla. -- Six minutes into this one, the Penguins looked so sloppy that it seemed like they might need former coach Michel Therrien to venture down from the press box and install some sense of responsibility.

Fortunately for Therrien's ex-employer, this group snapped out of its funk.

Then did it once more for show.

With their former ...Read more