Golden Knights sweep Avalanche to advance to third Stanley Cup Final in nine seasons
LAS VEGAS — Mark Stone and Cole Smith scored for Vegas, and the Golden Knights suffocated Colorado’s high-powered offense to beat the Avalanche, 2-1, on Tuesday night for an unthinkable sweep to make their third Stanley Cup Final in nine seasons. The Golden Knights will get a break while they...
US beats Austria to set up a quarterfinal against unbeaten Canada at ice hockey worlds
ZURICH — The United States set up a quarterfinal showdown with fierce rival Canada at the ice hockey world championship by beating Austria, 4-1, on Tuesday. The U.S. and Canada met in the final at the Milan Cortina Olympics in February, when the Americans prevailed 2-1 in overtime to take...
Hurricanes looking like powerhouse again after Game 3 victory over Canadiens
MONTREAL — After receiving their first wake-up call of the playoffs, the Carolina Hurricanes have responded like the beasts of the East they have been all season. Following a loss to open the Eastern Conference Final, the Hurricanes have won back-to-back games in overtime to take a 2-1 lead against...
Andrei Svechnikov scoring in OT could be a turning point for him and the Hurricanes
MONTREAL — After being nearly a point-a-game producer and eclipsing 30 goals during the regular season as one of the Carolina Hurricanes’ leading scorers, Andrei Svechnikov did not have much to show for his first 10 playoff games this spring. Then came overtime Monday night. Svechnikov’s goal to win Game...
First Call: An 18th game ‘highly unlikely’ for ’27-’28; memories of an all-time favorite Penguins moment
Tuesday’s “First Call” returns from Memorial Day weekend with criticism of the Aaron Rodgers signing by a former Pittsburgh Steelers coordinator. The NFL may be slowing its roll when it comes to 18 games. We go back to 2017 with the Penguins during a brief nostalgia fix. And the best...
Carolina tops Montreal in overtime, takes 2-1 lead in Eastern Conference final
MONTREAL — Andrei Svechnikov scored at 14:06 of overtime and the Carolina Hurricanes defeated the Montreal Canadiens, 3-2, on Monday night to take a 2-1 lead in the Eastern Conference final. Shayne Gostisbehere and Taylor Hall scored in regulation for Carolina. Frederik Andersen made 11 saves. “You’re seeing that the...
Bednar: Avalanche will take a limited Nathan MacKinnon as Colorado trails 3-0
LAS VEGAS — Just when the Avalanche got back reigning Norris Trophy winner Cale Makar, Colorado might be without Hart Trophy finalist Nathan MacKinnon. Or, at least, will have a highly limited MacKinnon, which was what he was after taking a puck to his right knee in Sunday night’s 5-3...
Vegas rallies from 3 goals down to beat Colorado, take 3-0 lead in Western Conference final
LAS VEGAS — Tomas Hertl weaved his way toward the slot and scored the winner at 8:21 of the third period to rally the Golden Knights from a three-goal deficit Sunday night and defeat the Colorado Avalanche, 5-3, and move to within one game of their third Stanley Cup Final...
A 2-0 road start, then a hard lesson: The Golden Knights’ warning before Game 3
LAS VEGAS — Winning the first two games on the road, the Golden Knights returned home owning what seemed like complete control of their NHL playoffs series. Against Colorado in 2026? Try Dallas in 2024. Vegas, which won the Stanley Cup less than a year earlier, instead returned home two...
Nikolaj Ehlers’ OT goal lifts Hurricanes past Canadiens in Game 2 of Eastern Conference finals
RALEIGH, N.C. — Nikolaj Ehlers got loose up the center of the ice and popped the puck past Jakub Dobes at 3 minutes, 29 seconds of overtime to lift the Carolina Hurricanes past the Montreal Canadiens, 3-2, on Saturday night to level the Eastern Conference finals at one game apiece....
Ivan Barbashev, Jack Eichel score in 2:07, Golden Knights stun Avs for 2-0 lead
DENVER — Jack Eichel and Ivan Barbashev scored in a 2-minute, 7-second span in the third period, and the Vegas Golden Knights stunned the Colorado Avalanche, 3-1, on Friday night to take a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference finals. Eichel tied it, then set up Barbashev for the go-ahead...
Canadiens pounce on Hurricanes early in Game 1 of Eastern Conference Final
RALEIGH, N.C. — The Montreal Canadiens pounced for four first-period goals on slow-starting Carolina — coming off the longest postseason break in more than a century — and handed the Hurricanes their first loss of the playoffs with a 6-2 victory Thursday night in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference...
Golden Knights roll to early lead, hold off Avs to open Western Conference Final
DENVER — Dylan Coghlan scored his first playoff goal to get Vegas rolling, Carter Hart made 36 saves and the Golden Knights opened the Western Conference Final by holding off the Colorado Avalanche, 4-2, on Wednesday night. Trailing 3-0 in the third period, Colorado made it 3-2 with 2:21 remaining...
Sabres reward coach Lindy Ruff with 2-year extension after breakthrough season
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Having transformed the Buffalo Sabres into contenders again, Lindy Ruff will have the opportunity to build on the team’s breakthrough season by continuing his second stint as coach. The Sabres on Wednesday announced signing Ruff to a two-year contract extension in a move coming two days after...
Hurricanes get another shot at Eastern Conference Final roadblock, this time against Canadiens
RALEIGH, N.C. — Years of consistent regular-season success and postseason wins have again brought the Carolina Hurricanes to the Eastern Conference Final of the Stanley Cup playoffs. That same roadblock. The Hurricanes host the Montreal Canadiens to open their best-of-seven series Thursday night, the third time in four seasons they’ve...
Avalanche, Golden Knights set for star-studded Western Conference final
DENVER — Gabriel Landeskog doesn’t need any extra incentive. Being in the Western Conference Final is more than enough for the Colorado Avalanche captain. If he did, though, memories of the second-round loss to Vegas in 2021 would be a powerful motivator. The Avalanche led that series 2-0 — and...
Canucks fire coach Adam Foote after finishing last in NHL in his 1 season
VANCOUVER — Adam Foote is out as coach of the Vancouver Canucks, fired Tuesday as part of the organization’s latest purge of staff after a last-place finish in the NHL this season. Foote lasted just one year in the role after being promoted from an assistant to succeed Rick Tocchet,...
NHL denies Golden Knights’ appeal to get draft-pick punishment reduced, AP sources say
NEW YORK — The Vegas Golden Knights’ appeal to have their punishment reduced for breaking media access rules was denied by the NHL and they will lose a second-round pick in the draft this year, two people with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press on Tuesday. The people...
Alex Newhook scores in OT to lift Canadiens over Sabres in Game 7
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Alex Newhook scored his second Game 7-winning goal of the postseason, this time 11:22 into overtime in the Montreal Canadiens 3-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Monday night. Newhook drove up the left wing and as he approached the circle snapped a shot through a screen...
Marner’s Vegas reinvention: From Toronto heat to a Western Conference final run
LAS VEGAS — Mitch Marner isn’t about to start bragging, to express any kind of feelings of vindication in proving wrong those who questioned and even doubted whether he could deliver at this time of year. There has, indeed, been magic in Marner’s play as he leads the Vegas Golden...
Topsy-turvy Sabres-Canadiens 2nd-round playoff series to be decided with Game 7
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Buffalo Sabres coach Lindy Ruff’s bid to relinquish home-ice advantage has fallen on deaf ears. Montreal Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis, meantime, was busy citing physics in looking forward. Odd as it might sound, the comments were befitting of a logic-
defying, momentum-elusive NHL second-round playoff series that...
Avs forward Nicolas Roy puts Vegas friendships on hold as he meets his old team in conference finals
DENVER — Nicolas Roy still has his place in Las Vegas. He still has plenty of friends on the Golden Knights. He still has those cherished memories, too, from helping them win a Stanley Cup title three years ago. Roy, who was traded from Vegas to Toronto last summer as...
Sabres rally to beat Canadiens, force Game 7
MONTREAL — Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 17 saves after starter Alex Lyon stopped only one of the four shots he faced, and the Buffalo Sabres roared back to beat the Montreal Canadiens, 8-3, on Saturday night and force a Game 7 in the Eastern Conference semifinal series. The winner Monday night...
Avalanche take advantage of break to heal before conference finals
DENVER — Most of the Colorado Avalanche’s players returned to the ice for practice Saturday after a two-day break. Emphasis on most. Noticeably missing were defensemen Cale Makar and Brent Burns, along with forward Artturi Lehkonen. There to warm up before heading to the locker room was defenseman Josh Manson,...
Suzuki, Evans cap 2nd-period surge, Canadiens beat Sabres 6-3 to take 3-2 lead in 2nd-round series
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Captain Nick Suzuki and the Canadiens’ top line brought the offense, goalie Jakub Dobes shook off a rough start, and Montreal is one win from advancing to the Eastern Conference finals. Suzuki and Jake Evans capped a three-goal second period surge by scoring 68 seconds apart in...
