NHL

11:09 PM ET Evil has prevailed. Tampa Bay has captured a second straight Stanley Cup. The Great Lightning Heist has been completed. This is how we’re supposed to react to this victory, right? That the “cheaters” won? That the team that was $18 million over the salary cap after reuniting with star winger Nikita Kucherov

One thing the NHL refuses to turn down is an opportunity to boast about its competitive balance. It’s one thing the front office believes in its bones that it has on other major sports leagues — other major sports leagues that remain two or three steps ahead, decidedly, in terms of branding, accessibility, and appeal.

Aloha everyone! It’s Shanna McCarriston, ready and thrilled to be bringing you all the latest sports news you need to know. Thank you to everyone who gave me suggestions for what to do in Maui. We are currently on our way to the island and I have to say, I feel like a very important

The Lightning earned the opportunity to celebrate a championship the right way, defeating the Canadiens in five games in the 2021 Stanley Cup Final. (Getty Images) The Tampa Bay Lightning are Stanley Cup champions, proper.  After winning inside the sanitary confines of a COVID-19-free bubble last summer miles away from home base, the Lightning earned

For the second time in 10 months, the Tampa Bay Lightning are Stanley Cup champions. The Lightning defeated the Montreal Canadiens 1-0 on Wednesday to close out the Stanley Cup Finals in five games. The title is the Lightning’s third since their founding in 1992 and their second straight, joining the 2016-17 Pittsburgh Penguins as

The Tampa Bay Lightning needed seven games to defeat the Calgary Flames to win the first Stanley Cup championship in franchise history in 2004. Last year, it took Tampa Bay six contests to get past the Dallas Stars and hoist the Cup as NHL champions for the second time. The Lightning hope to reduce the

Getty Blue Jackets goalie Matiss Kivlenieks was at a Michigan home owned by the team’s goaltending coach Manny Legace when he died in a fireworks accident on July 4, according to ESPN’s Emily Kaplan. Kivlenieks was hit in the chest by a fireworks mortar blast and was pronounced dead by the time he arrived at

7:02 AM ET The Stanley Cup will be in the building again on Wednesday night. Do the Tampa Bay Lightning get to raise it this evening, or is this series heading back to Montreal again? Check out the ESPN NHL Playoffs Daily to catch up every day of the postseason until the Stanley Cup is

Josh Anderson (17) and the Canadiens have had their ups and downs this year. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) Josh Anderson’s first season with the Montreal Canadiens has been turbulent and erratic, but in many ways serves as a mirror of his team’s season more broadly.  Anderson was acquired by the Canadiens from the Columbus

Hello everyone, I hope you all had a wonderful Fourth of July weekend. It was cold and raining here in Boston, but I still made the most of it and had a good time with family and friends. I am now getting ready for a two-week Hawaii vacation, but don’t worry, I’ll still be bringing

7:00 AM ET Stephen Johns sat out the 2021 NHL season, and he knew his career was over. It’s not that the 29-year-old didn’t want to play hockey anymore; he simply couldn’t. The Dallas Stars defenseman once spent 22 months sidelined dealing with post-concussion syndrome. Though he had been cleared to return to the ice,

12:10 AM ET The Montreal Canadiens stayed alive in the Stanley Cup Final with a 3-2 win in overtime in Game 4, avoiding a sweep and sending the series with the Tampa Bay Lightning back to Florida for Game 5 on Wednesday night. Miss any of the game? We’re here with the top takeaways. More:

Josh Anderson made sure the Lightning wouldn’t lift the Cup quite yet as he muscled his way to a season-saving OT winner for the Habs in Game 4. (Getty) The Montreal Canadiens aren’t going down without a fight. After forcing overtime in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Tampa Bay Lightning while

Happy Monday, everybody. I hope you enjoyed your holiday weekend. I would also like to say hello to everybody in and around my neighborhood setting off fireworks until at least 3 a.m. last night. Shout out to my dog, Frankie, who is not bothered by fireworks in the slightest. I know how lucky I am

Goaltender Matiss Kivlenieks of the Columbus Blue Jackets has died at age 24. (Photo by Jamie Sabau/NHLI via Getty Images) Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Matiss Kivlenieks passed away in Michigan on Sunday night after a tragic accident. The 24-year-old netminder from Riga, Latvia, fell and suffered an apparent head injury. Medical personnel were immediately called

The Tampa Bay Lightning have the chance to hoist the Stanley Cup on Monday evening. The Lightning lead the Montreal Canadiens by a 3-0 series margin as the teams face off on Monday in Game 4 of the 2021 Stanley Cup Final in Montreal. Tampa Bay exploded offensively in scoring six goals during a Game

NBC’s coverage of the NHL ends after the Stanley Cup finals, but its impact on how the game is broadcast will carry on due to its different innovations in 15 years. The network’s coverage could conclude as soon as Monday night if the Tampa Bay Lightning complete a four-game sweep of the Montreal Canadiens. “I

Here is what the Montreal Canadiens are facing after their Game 3 loss in the Stanley Cup Final on Friday night. They need to win four games in a row. They need to do so against the defending Stanley Cup champions. A team that has outscored them 14-5 through the first three games of the