NHL

7:00 AM ET Welcome to the second half of this 2021-22 NHL season, where hope springs eternal for all 32 teams. That’s right. Every franchise has at least one Reason For Optimism (RFO), and we’re here to highlight it alongside this week’s power rankings. From top performers to comeback stories to future considerations, there’s bound

Getty Images Sidney Crosby shot his way into NHL history Tuesday night in Pittsburgh. The Penguins star became the 46th player to reach 500 goals after his first-period score against the Flyers. He and Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin are the only active NHL players with at least 500 goals.  The play Pittsburgh fans will

9:00 AM ET The fields for some NHL awards are narrowing and solidifying as the league heads deeper into its playoff races. The fields for other NHL awards … not so much. “I have no clue on the Hart Trophy at this point. I change my mind frequently,” lamented one voter we surveyed. Welcome to

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Getty Images On Monday, the Ontario government announced that the province will be ramping up its reopening timeline. The NHL‘s Ottawa Senators, Toronto Maple Leafs, and the NBA‘s Toronto Raptors will be permitted to increase 50 percent capacity beginning on Feb. 17. In addition, if public health officials believe that it’s a safe environment, then

BEIJING — The NHL opting out of the 2022 Winter Olympics gave several elite prospects across the world an Olympic opportunity, as well as the chance to show off the future of the sport. It appears to be in good hands, but the veterans provided the difference as the U.S. men’s hockey team defeated Canada

9:25 AM ET If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then consider Trevor Zegras quite flattered. Ever since the Anaheim Ducks rookie sent a pass over the Buffalo Sabres’ net to teammate Sonny Milano for a goal on Dec. 7 — on a move heretofore known as “The Zegras” — he’s been inundated with

Getty Images The Arizona Coyotes have reached a multi-year agreement that will allow the team to play their home games at Arizona State, according to an announcement from the team. The Coyotes will begin utilizing the university’s new multi-purpose stadium beginning at the start of the 2022-23 season. The franchise will play their home games

Special to Yahoo Sports Hope your fantasy hockey lineups haven’t been significantly affected as a result of some teams playing zero games in a week. We’re winding down the Panthers, Rangers, Sharks and Kings on that schedule with the Hurricanes, Blues and Canadiens having recently relaxed. The good news is that the slacking will conclude

Getty Images The Edmonton Oilers have fired head coach Dave Tippett, according to an announcement from the team. In coordination with the move, the Oilers will name Jay Woodcroft, who was the head coach of the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors, as the team’s head coach on an interim basis. The Oilers also fired assistant coach Jim

Dave Tippett’s met the end of the line in Edmonton. As first reported by TSN’s Darren Dreger, the Edmonton Oilers have fired Tippett after two-plus seasons as head coach. The decision comes on the heels of a 4-1 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks, Edmonton’s third in its last four outings. Jay Woodcroft has been named

10:16 AM ET The NHL trade deadline is March 21. That’s a lot of runway for teams to fall out of playoff races, for general managers to lay the groundwork for deals and for rampant media conjecture about who stays and who goes. Here’s a look at the 10 most fascinating people at the trade

Special to Yahoo Sports Trending Up Jeremy Swayman, Bruins (8-7-2, .914 Sv%, 2.35 GAA) The bombshell news dropped late Tuesday evening that Tuukka Rask is halting his comeback and now, he announced his retirement via a statement. It’s been a long road back for the veteran netminder, and despite a good initial showing, Rask struggled

7:43 AM ET JEREMY SMITH REMEMBERS laughing. It was the 2018-19 season, and Smith was a goalie for the AHL Bridgeport Tigers, an affiliate of the New York Islanders. It was the ninth minor league team of his career. He was getting older. Outside of 10 games with the Colorado Avalanche, his NHL dream hadn’t

There’s reason to be disappointed. Despite NHL participation being collectively bargained, the world’s best players will not be involved in the sport’s premier international tournament for the second consecutive Winter Olympic — this time due to COVID-19 concerns. That means hockey fans will go 12 years, at minimum, without watching a true best-on-best international tournament

Special to Yahoo Sports This week’s fantasy hockey article includes Hockeytown’s top pivotman, Rust in the Steel City, Colorado’s No. 1 goalie, Eichel inching closer to returning and a long-term deal not paying dividends on the Island. First Liners (Risers) Anze Kopitar, C, LA Kopitar continues to roll, showing no signs of slippage or aging,

8:04 AM ET The NHL’s journey with the city of Las Vegas has been a fascinating one. In a span of five years, we’ve gone from the league discouraging its new expansion team from adopting a name associated with gambling to having NHL players shooting pucks at playing cards on The Strip in a blackjack-inspired

CBS Sports The NHL’s All-Star weekend is in the rearview mirror and that means the push for the playoffs will really start to ramp up. I can guarantee that the second half of the season will be more fun than awkward magic at a skills competition and offside reviews in an All-Star game. In the