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Jason Mackey: We should all be rooting for Penguins' Mike Sullivan at 4 Nations Face-Off

Sports / Hockey /

PITTSBURGH — Mike Sullivan worried the opportunity might've passed.

When it was announced on Dec. 22, 2021, that NHL players would no longer participate in the 2022 Beijing Games, the result of COVID-19 complicating the league's regular-season schedule, it also meant Sullivan would lose out on a lifelong dream to coach for his country at the ...Read more

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Wild surge into their break knowing they've set up an opportunity

Sports / Hockey /

MINNEAPOLIS — To have less than a third of the season to go and be ahead of most of the NHL rather than behind is a point of pride for the Minnesota Wild.

After all, the playoffs were a pipe dream last year.

But the team also recognizes what’s at stake after a two-week break for the 4 Nations Face-Off: The Wild still have work to do to ...Read more

Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group/TNS

Why the word 'disgruntled' could be key to Sharks' offseason

Sports / Hockey /

SAN JOSE, Calif. — What we’ve learned unequivocally about the San Jose Sharks through the first four months of the season is that they’re not one player away from being a playoff contender.

As the NHL’s 32nd-place team, the Sharks (15-35-7) are not one draft pick away; they’re not one free agent signing away or one trade away from ...Read more

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Penguins captain Sidney Crosby will play for Canada in 4 Nations Face-Off tournament

Sports / Hockey /

PITTSBURGH — Sidney Crosby says he's good to go for the start of the 4 Nations Face-Off this week.

Crosby, who missed two Penguins games this weekend with an upper-body injury, practiced with Team Canada in Montreal on Monday. Afterward, he told reporters that he planned to play in Wednesday's tournament opener against Sweden.

Canada's ...Read more

Matty Beniers scores OT winner after Kraken erase two-goal deficit

Sports / Hockey /

The Seattle Kraken stirred their stumps during the final 10 minutes of Saturday’s game in Calgary and launched their seventh multigoal comeback of the season. Matty Beniers scored in overtime for a 3-2 victory, ending a three-game skid and sending Seattle into the 4 Nations Face-Off break on a high note.

For the second time in less than a ...Read more

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Wanna get away? Sharks blasted by Dallas Stars in final game before break

Sports / Hockey /

SAN JOSE, Calif. – Few NHL teams need some time away from the rink more than the San Jose Sharks.

In their last game before the league pauses its schedule to hold the 4 Nations Face-Off, the Sharks gave up three goals in a lopsided first period. They never fully recovered in an 8-3 loss to the playoff-bound Dallas Stars on Saturday before an ...Read more

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Flyers snap five-game losing streak with 3-2 win against rival Penguins

Sports / Hockey /

PHILADELPHIA — Speaking to reporters on Friday, John Tortorella said he wasn’t worried about the Flyers getting up to play their last game before the 4 Nations Face-Off break.

After all, the team was on a five-game losing streak and had lost seven of the past eight. Plus, as the coach noted, they were playing their Keystone State rival, the...Read more

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Blues complete comeback in back-and-forth shootout win over Blackhawks before break

Sports / Hockey /

ST. LOUIS — The upcoming two-week break for the 4 Nations Face-Off was going to feel long.

But the result of Saturday's game against the Chicago Blackhawks would determine if it felt looooong for the Blues.

In beating the Blackhawks 6-5 in a shootout, the Blues entered the break on a high note and collected points in three of the last four ...Read more

Panthers contingent participating in 4 Nations Face-Off come up big in win over Senators

Sports / Hockey /

SUNRISE, Fla. — The NHL’s focus starting next week will be on the 4 Nations Face-Off, the league’s midseason tournament that will feature the NHL’s top players from the United States, Canada, Finland and Sweden that is serving as a re-introduction to NHL players participating in best-on-best tournaments.

On Saturday, Florida Panthers ...Read more

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Wild surge past Islanders 6-3, head into break after sweeping homestand

Sports / Hockey /

ST. PAUL, Minn. — A feel-good rally is certainly one way to ensure the Minnesota Wild return from a two-week hiatus feeling upbeat about their game.

Down a forward because of another injury, the Wild overcame a successful homecoming by the Islanders’ Minnesotans to prevail 6-3 against the New York Islanders Saturday at Xcel Energy Center ...Read more

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Golden Knights score late to stun Bruins, head into break on winning streak

Sports / Hockey /

Tomas Hertl scored the go-ahead goal on a power play with 1:10 remaining, and the Vegas Golden Knights rallied for a 4-3 win over the Boston Bruins on Saturday at TD Garden.

The Knights (33-17-6) trailed 3-1 with 4:53 left in the second period before scoring three unanswered.

Pavel Dorofeyev tied it early in the third period, and captain Mark ...Read more

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Red Wings head into break with disappointing 6-3 loss to Lightning

Sports / Hockey /

DETROIT — The Red Wings will head into a lengthy break in the schedule in a sour mood.

They'll have plenty of time, two weeks to be exact with the 4-Nations Face-off Tournament, to mull Saturday's 6-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Tampa's Dylan Duke, playing his first NHL game, scored his first goal at 4:10 of the third period, giving ...Read more

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Hurricanes rumble into two-week break: Takeaways from the Canes' home win over Utah

Sports / Hockey /

RALEIGH, N.C. — The cure for the Carolina Hurricanes’ recently ailing offense?

Apparently, a rough-and-tumble game against a young Utah team trying to claw its way back into the Western Conference wild-card race.

Who knew?

In a game that nearly saw the goalies come to blows at center ice, the Hurricanes punched where it mattered most — ...Read more

AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post/TNS

Avalanche's Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar outshine Oilers' superstars in wild 5-4 win

Sports / Hockey /

EDMONTON, Alberta — The Colorado Avalanche and Edmonton Oilers produce brilliant hockey games when they face each other.

Colorado showed Friday night that it can throw haymakers with arguably the best roster in the NHL. Now the Avs have 25 games to make sure they don’t need to see Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and friends until the second ...Read more

Penguins top Rangers, win first game without both Evgeni Malkin, Sidney Crosby in nearly 4 years

Sports / Hockey /

With history serving as a precedent, the odds were surprisingly in the Penguins’ favor without either Evgeni Malkin or Sidney Crosby.

Entering Friday night, the Penguins were a robust 36-18-10 in 64 regular-season games without both Crosby and Malkin in their lineup. Add another tally to the win column following an impressive showing in the ...Read more

Kraken get good news on Jordan Eberle, scuffle in 3-1 loss to Maple Leafs

Sports / Hockey /

SEATTLE — The highlight of the Seattle Kraken’s Thursday came just before 10 a.m., when captain Jordan Eberle donned a regular blue contact jersey for morning skate for the first time since November.

Winger Eberle, 34, sustained a relatively rare and serious pelvis injury in a collision with the Chicago Blackhawks’ Connor Murphy on Nov. ...Read more

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Vanecek shines, Toffoli scores late, but Sharks lose in overtime

Sports / Hockey /

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Drew O’Connor scored on a penalty shot 33 seconds into overtime to lift the Vancouver Canucks to a 2-1 win over the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center on Thursday.

After Macklin Celebrini was called for hooking on a breakaway in overtime, O’Connor beat Sharks goalie Vitek Vanecek with a wrist shot to the glove side.

With ...Read more

AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post/TNS

Nathan MacKinnon, Martin Necas help Avalanche roll in Calgary

Sports / Hockey /

The Colorado Avalanche have a new dynamic duo, and they lit up the Calgary Flames on Thursday night.

Nathan MacKinnon had three assists, while his new linemate Martin Necas had two goals and an assist to help the Avalanche shrug off a slow start before rolling past the Flames, 4-2, at Scotiabank Saddledome.

Necas now has three goals and eight ...Read more

Matthew Tkachuk's late third-period goal lifts Panthers to 3-2 win over Blues

Sports / Hockey /

ST. LOUIS — The Blues were seconds away from forcing overtime against the defending Stanley Cup champions for a second time this season.

Instead, St. Louis left Thursday night without a point in hand.

St. Louis native Matthew Tkachuk scored the game-winning goal for Florida with 11.8 seconds remaining in the third period, boosting the ...Read more

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Wild find a spark at Xcel Energy Center, end skid by defeating Hurricanes, 2-1

Sports / Hockey /

ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Wild probably wish they played the Hurricanes more than twice.

After one of their best games of the season last month in Carolina, the Wild used the rematch as a fresh start: Not only did they snap their scoreless slump, but holding off the Hurricanes, 2-1, Thursday at Xcel Energy Center also ended their two-game losing ...Read more