Panthers, Oilers more alike as Stanley Cup Final rematch arrivesVideo
A year ago when the Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers met in the Stanley Cup Final, they were polar opposites in everything from climate, market and franchise history to deep-run experience and toughness. Since Florida won that series in seven games for its first championship, much has changed to make...
Connor McDavid, Oilers going back to Stanley Cup Final after beating Stars in Game 5Video
DALLAS — Connor McDavid had a breakaway goal and an assist, 40-year-old Corey Perry scored again and the Edmonton Oilers are going to their second Stanley Cup Final in a row after beating the Dallas Stars, 6-3, on Thursday night in Game 5 to wrap up the Western Conference final....
Kraken hire Lane Lambert as coach, replacing Dan Bylsma
SEATTLE — The Seattle Kraken hired Lane Lambert on Thursday night as the third coach in team history. Lambert replaces Dan Bylsma, fired after one season. The 60-year-old Lambert was most recently a head coach for the New York Islanders from 2022 until he was fired Jan. 20, 2024. He...
In Barkov They Trust: Panthers, led by captain, back in Stanley Cup Final
The entire play took eight seconds and basically summed up why the Florida Panthers have enormous, nonstop belief in Aleksander Barkov. Third period, Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals, score tied 3-3. Barkov picks up the puck in the right corner. He skates around the end boards as Carolina...
Defending champion Panthers head back to Stanley Cup Final with 5-3 Game 5 win over HurricanesVideo
RALEIGH, N.C. — Carter Verhaeghe broke a tie off a feed from Aleksander Barkov with 7:39 left, and the defending champion Florida Panthers advanced to their third straight Stanley Cup Final, beating the Carolina Hurricanes, 5-3, on Wednesday night in Game 5. The Panthers beat the Hurricanes in the Eastern...
With Stars struggling to score, Oilers have chance to wrap up West finals in Game 5Video
DALLAS — The Dallas Stars are back home and on the verge of their season ending in the Western Conference final for the third year in a row — especially if they don’t start scoring goals again like they did all season. “We’re generating chances, and it just hasn’t been...
Oilers forward Zach Hyman likely to miss rest of playoffs after getting hurt in Game 4 against Stars
EDMONTON, Alberta — The Edmonton Oilers will likely be without hard-hitting forward Zach Hyman for the remainder of the playoffs because of an undisclosed injury to his right arm, coach Kris Knoblauch announced Wednesday. Without providing details on the nature of the injury, Knoblauch said Hyman was scheduled to have...
Hurricanes get another home-ice shot at Panthers with Game 5 in Eastern final
RALEIGH, N.C. — It’s one win in a series otherwise going resoundingly against them. The Carolina Hurricanes still face a long and improbable climb ahead against the reigning Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers. For now, the reward from Monday’s sweep-averting road win is simply another chance to play at home...
Stars need more production from 2nd tier to avoid elimination
Mikko Rantanen and Mikael Granlund scored seven of the Dallas Stars’ 13 goals in the second round to move on to the Western Conference finals against the Edmonton Oilers, yet that lopsided production was also a red flag. Before the West finals began, three-time Stanley Cup champion Ken Daneyko figured...
U.S. wins ice hockey world championship gold with OT win against SwitzerlandVideo
STOCKHOLM — The United States prevailed over Switzerland 1-0 in overtime of the final of the ice hockey world championship on Sunday. Tage Thompson wristed a shot past goaltender Leonardo Genoni from the top of the right circle for the winner 2:02 into overtime with the 40th shot on goal....
Oilers get even with 3-0 win over Stars in Game 2 of the West finalVideo
DALLAS — Connor Brown scored after getting hit in the mouth by a skate, Stuart Skinner made 25 saves for his third shutout of the postseason and the Edmonton Oilers beat the Dallas Stars, 3-0, in Game 2 on Friday night to even the Western Conference final. Brown put the...
Everybody’s scoring for Florida. Nobody’s scoring for Carolina, and that sums up the East finalsVideo
SUNRISE, Fla. — Everybody’s scoring for Florida. Nobody’s scoring for Carolina. In simplest terms, that might be the best way to describe the first two games of the Eastern Conference finals between the Florida Panthers and Carolina Hurricanes. The defending Stanley Cup champion Panthers lead the series 2-0, lead 10-2...
New York Islanders hire Tampa Bay Lightning assistant Mathieu Darche as general manager
The New York Islanders hired Mathieu Darche as their general manager Friday, giving the two-time Stanley Cup-winning Tampa Bay Lightning assistant his long-awaited first chance to run an NHL team. Darche was named executive vice president and GM and put in charge of the organization’s hockey operations department. “Mathieu is...
Bennett, Verhaeghe help Panthers roll past Hurricanes 5-0, take 2-0 lead in Eastern final
RALEIGH, N.C. — Sam Bennett scored one of his two goals in Florida’s three-goal first period, Sergei Bobrovsky made 17 saves and the Panthers beat the Carolina Hurricanes, 5-0, on Thursday night to take a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference final. Gustav Forsling and Matthew Tkachuk also scored in...
NHL playoffs include 13 players from Finland on 4 teams in conference finalsVideo
DALLAS — Dallas Stars coach Pete DeBoer has jokingly referred to himself as being Finnish during these NHL playoffs. After all, he has five of the 13 players from Finland who are on the rosters of the four teams still chasing the Stanley Cup. The Stars’ top line is a...
Chicago Blackhawks hire Jeff Blashill as head coach, hoping for a turnaround
CHICAGO — The Chicago Blackhawks hired Jeff Blashill on Thursday, giving him a second chance to prove himself as a head coach in the NHL. Blashill, a 51-year-old Michigan native, coached the Detroit Red Wings for seven seasons. He was let go after the team went 32-40-10 during the 2021-22...
Stars score 3 power-play goals early in 3rd period, take Game 1 from OilersVideo
DALLAS — Miro Heiskanen, Mikael Granlund and Matt Duchene scored power-play goals in a 5-minute, 26-second span early in the third period, and the Dallas Stars opened their Western Conference final rematch against the Edmonton Oilers with a 6-3 victory Wednesday night. Dallas began the third period with a two-goal...
Tussle with Brad Marchand, Shayne Gostisbehere stands out ahead of Eastern final’s Game 2
RALEIGH, N.C. — Aaron Ekblad shrugged it off. Paul Maurice called it “somebody else’s problem,” while casually taking a drink from a cup. Roughly 12 hours had passed since Florida’s Brad Marchand and Carolina’s Shayne Gostisbehere locked up in a punch-throwing tussle during the Panthers’ Game 1 win in the...
Much the same even with some new names as Stars and Oilers meet again in West finalVideo
DALLAS — Much is still the same, even though a lot of names have changed for the Dallas Stars and the Edmonton Oilers, meeting in the Western Conference final for the second year in a row. Coaches Pete DeBoer and Kris Knoblauch are still in charge, so the structures are...
Reigning Stanley Cup champion Panthers, Hurricanes meet again in Eastern final
RALEIGH, N.C. — The Florida Panthers were on their way to becoming the NHL’s standard, headed to the Stanley Cup Final two years ago before returning to win the Cup last year. In many ways, the breakthrough moment came in the exact spot they find themselves now: in the Eastern...
NHL’s final 4 brings familiar feel to conference finals
The NHL playoff field included some unexpected entrants, and the first two rounds featured some surprises and a handful of upsets. Yet as things stand right now with the conference finals beginning Tuesday night, the teams still in contention for the Stanley Cup are a familiar mix of those who...
Panthers rout the Maple Leafs 6-1 in Game 7 to advance to the Eastern Conference finalVideo
TORONTO — Sergei Bobrovsky made 19 saves, Florida scored three times in a 6-minute, 24-second span in the second period and the Panthers routed the Toronto Maple Leafs, 6-1, in Game 7 on Sunday night to advance to the Eastern Conference final. The defending Stanley Cup champion Panthers will play...
The Carolina Hurricanes keep leaning on their penalty kill in another deep postseason pushVideo
RALEIGH, N.C. — There’s a moment of frustrated dread for any hockey team that comes with an official raising an arm to call a penalty triggering a power play. For the Carolina Hurricanes, that moment quickly flips to next-play belief. Their penalty kill has been the NHL’s best going back...
Flyers introduce former Penguins player, assistant Rick Tocchet as head coachVideo
PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia Flyers introduced Rick Tocchet as the 25th head coach in franchise history on Friday, bringing home a fan favorite and a respected hockey mind to guide the team through its critical next phase. General manager Danny Brière made the announcement at a packed news conference at...
Andre Svechnikov breaks late tie as Hurricanes oust Capitals to reach Eastern Conference finalVideo
WASHINGTON — Surviving the initial push of an opponent facing elimination, the Carolina Hurricanes scored first thanks to Jordan Staal. Riding the waves of the pressure the Washington Capitals put on them, they scored late to close out the series. Andre Svechnikov scored the go-ahead goal with 1 minute, 59...
