NHL

7:00 AM ET After the NHL staged a 24-team, bubble-based tournament to determine the Stanley Cup winner in 2020, we’re back to a more traditional 16-team event in 2021 — with a significant twist. The first two rounds of the 2021 playoffs will be intradivisional. After a winner is crowned from the four divisions, the

7:00 AM ET Goaltenders are known as “the great equalizers” in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. They give every underdog a chance at an upset. They give every favorite the cold sweats, knowing one bad round from their goalie could be their ultimate undoing. As the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs arrive, which teams are in the

Welcome to the PHT Morning Skate, a collection of links from the NHL and around the hockey world. Have a link you want to submit for the PHT Morning Skate? Email us at phtblog@nbcsports. • Why Gerard Gallant should be the next head coach of the Rangers. [Blueshirt Banter] • Joel Quenneville has pushed the

The Vegas goaltending duo of Marc-Andre Fleury (36 games played) and Robin Lehner (19 games played) captured the William M. Jennings Trophy on Wednesday night. The Golden Knights allowed a league-low 124 goals against this season to overtake the New York Islanders (128) and claim the award. Lehner won the award with the Islanders in

Getty Images Hockey fans know that the NHL’s Stanley Cup Playoffs are one of the best postseasons in sports. With the regular season wrapping up, it’s almost that time again to watch teams battle it out for the Stanley Cup. This season is different from last year, which was different from others in the past

2:53 PM ET The Seattle Kraken have signed their first player. Luke Henman, a 21-year-old center, inked a three-year, entry-level contract with the NHL’s 32nd franchise on Wednesday. Henman, the team captain and leading scorer for Blainville-Boisbriand Armada (QMJHL), was a fourth-round draft pick of the Carolina Hurricanes in 2018. He went unsigned by the

Getty Images The Seattle Kraken officially have their first player. Center Luke Henman, 21, became the first player to be announced by the franchise, with their inaugural season expected for the 2021-22 season. Henman currently plays for the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada in the Quebec Major Juniors Hockey League. He currently has a standard two-way, three-year, entry-level

7:00 AM ET The 2021 NHL season was — hopefully — the most unique campaign that any of us will witness. Arenas had reduced numbers of fans — or no fans — and as a result of the U.S.-Canada border being closed, the divisions had to be realigned to sequester the Canadian teams; that decision

Getty Images David Quinn’s time in New York is up. The New York Rangers announced on Wednesday morning that they dismissed the head coach of his duties. A search for a new head coach will begin immediately. Quinn’s assistant coaches David Oliver, Jacques Martin and Greg Brownas were also fired. Goalie coach Benoit Allaire was the lone

The New York Rangers announced on Wednesday that they’ve fired head coach David Quinn and most of his coaching staff.  Only two coaches will reportedly continue in their roles going forward. Goaltending coach Benoit Allaire, who started in that role in 2004, has now outlasted five head coaches: Glen Sather, Tom Renney, John Tortorella, Alain

6:53 AM ET Tim KavanaghESPN.com Close Tim Kavanagh is a senior NHL editor for ESPN. He’s a native of upstate New York. We’ve reached the final three games to determine the winner of the West Division and the Presidents’ Trophy as the team with the best regular season record for the 2021 NHL season. The

11:44 PM ET ESPN News Services WASHINGTON — The Washington Capitals got Alex Ovechkin back on the ice feeling “100%” heading into the playoffs. Winning was just a bonus. Michael Raffl scored from a tight angle with 1.8 seconds remaining, Ovechkin saw his first extended action since April 22 and the Capitals beat the short-handed

THREE STARS 1. Blake Wheeler, Winnipeg Jets The Jets captain had a pair of goals and a pair of assists in a 5-0 rout of the Vancouver Canucks. It was Wheeler’s 10th career four-point game. Only Ilya Kovalchuk (20) has more four-point nights for the Jets/Thrashers franchise. Winnipeg is 8-0-1 this season when Wheeler has

After win over Bruins, Capitals shift focus toward playoffs originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington After Michael Raffl’s shot somehow found the top of the Bruins’ net to give the Capitals a lead with just three seconds to play, the focus, if it hadn’t already, shifted to what was next.  The Capitals and Bruins played

Special to Yahoo Sports With the 2020-21 NHL regular season coming to an end, Yahoo Fantasy takes a look at what the first round of 2021-22 fantasy hockey drafts could look like, courtesy of RotoWire’s Jason Chen. There’s not much debate at the top of the list. Where it gets dicey is after the first

Our hair is a thing for pretty much all Black people.  But you can’t — and perhaps more precisely, won’t — let just anyone touch your hair. Not with clippers. Which is why there are a lot of Black men giving an understanding nod toward Toronto Maple Leafs wing Wayne Simmonds after Simmonds shared with

7:00 AM ET If there’s anything we know about NHL hiring practices, it’s that they can be predictable. Since 2005-06, there have been 171 head coaching changes in the NHL — more than the NFL, NBA or MLB. However, 101 of the 171 new hires had previous head-coaching experience, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

6:55 AM ET Tim KavanaghESPN.com Close Tim Kavanagh is a senior NHL editor for ESPN. He’s a native of upstate New York. We had a good feeling about Monday’s NHL calendar providing quite a bit of clarity in the playoff races, and it delivered. The Montreal Canadiens clinched the final North Division playoff spot, and