MONTREAL — Carolina Hurricanes captain Jordan Staal said he expected a tight game between two good teams Monday in the Eastern Conference final.

How about another overtime game? How tight is that? Staal was right.

The Hurricanes evened the series Saturday on an overtime goal by Nikolaj Ehlers at Lenovo Center. The move to the Bell Centre ...Read more

LAS VEGAS — At first, it looked like maybe just a bad stinger, like getting hit really hard on the funny bone.

That happens in hockey. A player blocks a shot, a part of their body goes numb for a bit and then eventually, things go back to normal.

That wasn’t the case Sunday night for Nathan MacKinnon. In a Western Conference final where a ...Read more

PARKER, Colo. — When they talked about three parades, we didn’t mean the kind with a hearse at the front.

“Looking at it from that perspective,” Tanner Roush sighed late Sunday night after Vegas 5, Colorado 3, “it’s been a pretty rough year to be a Denver fan.”

Welcome to 2026, the year when stars went on the shelf and seasons ...Read more

LAS VEGAS — The Vegas Golden Knights are one win away from going back to the Stanley Cup Final after rallying from three goals down to defeat the Colorado Avalanche 5-3 in Game 3 of the Western Conference final at T-Mobile Arena on Sunday.

Center Tomas Hertl broke the tie at 8:21 of the third after the Knights trailed 3-0 at the end of the ...Read more

The Carolina Hurricanes were after two things Saturday in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Final against the Montreal Canadiens: a 60-minute effort and a victory.

Disappointed by their play in the opening game of the series, determined not to repeat it, the Canes took a 3-2 overtime victory Saturday to square the series at Lenovo Center.

It ...Read more

Carter Hart knew the best word to describe the Vegas Golden Knights: Resilient.

It is what they have been in this Western Conference Final against Colorado, a best-of-seven series the Knights lead 2-0 heading to Game 3 on Sunday night at T-Mobile Arena.

“We’ve stuck in games and grinded it out and just battled,” said Hart, the goalie who...Read more

DENVER — The Vegas Golden Knights scored twice in just over two minutes in the third period to come back and win 3-1 over the Colorado Avalanche in Game 2 of the Western Conference final at Ball Arena on Friday.

Center Jack Eichel scored his first goal since Game 3 of the first round at 9:15 to tie it 1-1, then Ivan Barbashev scored the go-...Read more

DENVER — Cale Makar remains out of the Western Conference final.

Colorado Avalanche coach Jared Bednar confirmed that Makar will miss a second straight contest Friday night when his club faces the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 2 of this series at Ball Arena.

When Makar missed Game 1, it was his first Stanley Cup Playoffs absence since he was ...Read more

RALEIGH, N.C. — The Carolina Hurricanes looked like a team that had been sitting around for 12 days and not playing hockey.

The Montreal Canadiens looked like a team coming off a Game 7 victory, sharp, confident and ready for more in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

For the Canes, that was a bad combination Thursday in Game 1 of the Eastern ...Read more

DENVER — The Colorado Avalanche led from the front all season in the NHL. Now the Avs need to come back to reach the Stanley Cup Final.

The Vegas Golden Knights got goals from a journeyman defenseman and the top two shooters in this postseason en route to an 4-2 victory Wednesday night at Ball Arena in Game 1 of the Western Conference final. ...Read more

DENVER —The Golden Knights are easy not to like.

As the NHL’s Western Conference final opens Wednesday night against the Colorado Avalanche at Ball Arena, two countries should be united in rooting against Las Vegas.

The queue of reasons is longer than a hockey stick. And not just because of the juxtaposition to the Avalanche, who, you ...Read more

DENVER — The NHL Coaches’ Association said it is continuing to monitor the “unprecedented” situation involving former Vegas Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy having not yet interviewed for any job openings across the league.

“While we respect the league’s rules and processes, it is our position that coaches who remain under ...Read more

LAS VEGAS — It was a bad look all the way around.

John Tortorella didn’t address the media following his Vegas Golden Knights eliminating Anaheim in Game 6 of the best-of-seven playoff series on Thursday night.

Didn’t show up to the postgame press conference.

And no matter the reason — he wanted to speak first and before Ducks coach ...Read more

LAS VEGAS — The NHL has handed down a massive punishment as a result of the Vegas Golden Knights’ brief media availability following Thursday’s Game 6 in Anaheim.

The Knights must forfeit a second-round pick in this year’s NHL draft, and coach John Tortorella has been fined $100,000 for not speaking to the media postgame at Honda Center...Read more

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Brett Howden had a game plan: That his Vegas Golden Knights team start so fast against the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday night, doubt would creep into the minds of the hosts.

That the Knights would jump on top of the Ducks from the opening puck drop and be so dialed in, things would fall just as Howden’s side hoped.

And they ...Read more

ANAHEIM, Calif. — The Vegas Golden Knights are going to the Western Conference Final for the fifth time in nine years after defeating the Anaheim Ducks 5-1 in Game 6 of the second round at Honda Center on Thursday.

The Knights will face the Colorado Avalanche. Game 1 at Ball Arena in Denver will take place on Wednesday.

Mitch Marner scored a...Read more

CHICAGO — The Chicago Blackhawks didn’t get lucky in the NHL draft lottery, dropping two spots to the No. 4 pick. It puts them in a weird spot — they might not be able to draft the game-changer they were hoping for, but general manager Kyle Davidson didn’t exactly jump at the idea of trading down.

Still, Davidson said all options are on...Read more

DENVER — It took one of the greatest comebacks in franchise history, but this Colorado Avalanche team is halfway to immortality.

Brett Kulak scored 3:52 into overtime on a pass from Martin Necas, and the Avs defeated the Minnesota Wild, 4-3, on Wednesday night at Ball Arena to win this series in five games. Colorado erased a three-goal ...Read more

LAS VEGAS — Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Brayden McNabb has been suspended for Game 6 of the team’s second-round series against the Anaheim Ducks for his hit on center Ryan Poehling on Tuesday.

It’s the first time McNabb, 35, has been suspended in his NHL career.

McNabb had a hearing with the NHL’s Department of Player Safety on ...Read more

Hunched in pain and lying on the ice for several seconds, it looked like Pavel Dorofeyev’s night was over.

The puck came off the stick of defenseman Jackson LaCombe and hit Dorofeyev inside his right knee.

Dorofeyev eventually got up and skated to the back under his own power. He came back late in the second period.

“I just blocked a shot...Read more