NHL

The Stanley Cup playoffs constitute the greatest postseason tournament in sports. Not just for the action, the drama, the brutality, the endurance, the pain, the glory and the legends that are made. But because in every single postseason, there are lessons to be learned. Here are 10 things we’ve taken away from the 2023 NHL

Ryan S. Clark, NHL reporterMay 4, 2023, 03:02 AM ET Close Ryan S. Clark is an NHL reporter for ESPN. LAS VEGAS — How the Vegas Golden Knights walked away with a 6-4 win Wednesday night against the Edmonton Oilers to open the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs could be a microcosm of

Ryan S. Clark, NHL reporterMay 3, 2023, 07:42 PM ET Close Ryan S. Clark is an NHL reporter for ESPN. Seattle Kraken center Matty Beniers, Buffalo Sabres defenseman Owen Power and Edmonton Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner are the finalists for the Calder Memorial Trophy, the NHL announced Wednesday. The award which goes to the NHL’s

6:58 AM ET The second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs is underway after a memorable — and frankly, wild — first two weeks. I’ve spent that time traversing the East Coast, spending hours at the rinks having conversations with players, coaches, front office executives and people around the game. Here’s some info I’ve gleaned:

12:52 AM ET ESPN News Services DALLAS — Joe Pavelski scored four goals for the Dallas Stars in Game 1 of their second-round playoff series against the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday night after missing the final five games of the opening round while in concussion protocol. His efforts weren’t enough to save the Stars from

7:51 PM ET As Round 2 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs began across the NHL on Tuesday, the league’s best team during the regular season cleaned out their lockers and headed for home. The Boston Bruins had their breakup day at TD Garden, meeting the media for the final time after exit interviews. As was

9:00 AM ET As the Stanley Cup playoffs reach their second round, it’s time to check in on the race for the Conn Smythe Trophy for playoff MVP. Keep in mind that in the NHL, the Conn Smythe is based on a player’s performance during the entire postseason, not just the championship round. The award

11:45 PM ET The New Jersey Devils have a very particular set of skills. After their 4-0 shellacking of the New York Rangers in Game 7 of their first-round Stanley Cup playoffs series, the Devils were in a trolling mood. They harkened back to the Rangers’ playoff hype video, which featured actor Liam Neeson reprising

3:23 PM ET Hip-hop artist and entrepreneur Snoop Dogg has joined businessman Neko Sparks’ bid to buy the Ottawa Senators. Snoop confirmed his involvement in an Instagram post Monday. “Amazing what [Neko Sparks] is trying to do in Ottawa,” Snoop wrote to his 80 million followers. “I’m looking forward to being apart [sic] of that

8:05 AM ET Days before King Charles III was to be formally crowned in England, there was another coronation underway in Boston. Or at least that was the unmistakable vibe during Game 1 of the Boston Bruins‘ series against the Florida Panthers. The 2022-23 Bruins were the most successful regular-season team in NHL history, setting

9:55 PM ET Brianna WilliamsESPN The Boston Bruins have cemented their place in the history books with one of the greatest regular seasons. With a 65-12-5 record, they became the fourth NHL team to win at least 60 games and set a new mark for single-season victories. And now they’re out of the playoffs. The

7:30 AM ET ESPN staff After a record-setting season, the Boston Bruins find themselves on the brink of a first-round upset loss against the Florida Panthers. Can the reigning Presidents’ Trophy winners avoid becoming the latest NHL team with the best regular-season record to flop in the postseason? Or will the Panthers pull off the

1:11 AM ET ESPN News Services LOS ANGELES — Kailer Yamamoto scored his first playoff goal with 3:02 remaining, and the Edmonton Oilers defeated the Los Angeles Kings 5-4 on Saturday night to advance to the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Klim Kostin had two goals and an assist as the Oilers eliminated

12:20 AM ET NEW YORK — New Jersey Devils coach Lindy Ruff blamed a parade of penalties for breaking his team’s early momentum in Game 6, as the New York Rangers pushed their Eastern Conference first-round series to a seventh game after a 5-2 win on Saturday night. “I thought the penalties took our best

12:03 AM ET NEWARK, N.J. — The last time the New York Rangers played in New Jersey, they established a 2-0 series lead and had many wondering if the upstart Devils weren’t ready for the Stanley Cup playoffs spotlight. But after Thursday night’s Game 5 at Prudential Center, the Devils had a 4-0 win and

3:09 AM ET SEATTLE — Needing answers to stave off elimination, the Colorado Avalanche found quite a few on Friday in a 4-1 series-tying win in Game 6 against the Seattle Kraken. Exactly how did the defending Stanley Cup champion Avalanche force a Game 7 on Sunday against the upstart Kraken at Ball Arena? They

12:26 AM ET The Boston Bruins aren’t ruling out a goalie change for Game 7 of their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series against the Florida Panthers. In fact, Boston coach Jim Montgomery thought about pulling starter Linus Ullmark during Game 6 on Friday night, a 7-5 loss for the Bruins in which Ullmark gave up

4:53 PM ET ESPN News Services SEATTLE — The Colorado Avalanche did not comment Friday on either the status of forward Valeri Nichushkin, who has been away from the team for a few days, or on a police report about an incident at the team hotel in Seattle last weekend. Colorado coach Jared Bednar again