NHL

1:09 AM ET ESPN News Services Facing the prospect of a second consecutive Stanley Cup celebration in isolation in Canada, the Tampa Bay Lightning insist they’re focused on completing a sweep of the Montreal Canadiens and not the prospect of winning at home in front of family and friends. However, Tampa Mayor Jane Castor said

1:34 PM ET The Tampa Bay Lightning can raise the Stanley Cup over Montreal ice after Game 4 on Monday as they lead the Canadiens 3-0 in their series. While seeing an opponent celebrating a championship in Bell Centre isn’t ideal, defenseman Jeff Petry kept the bigger picture in mind. “We don’t want to see

2:46 PM ET The Tampa Bay Lightning are one win away from sweeping the Stanley Cup Final, but if they clinch the series in Game 4 on Monday, families of players and staff will not be on the ice to celebrate. The Canadian government did not grant additional exemptions for family members to cross the

4:26 PM ET Veteran forward Mikhail Grigorenko, on the cusp of unrestricted free agency in the NHL, decided to return instead to the KHL on Saturday, agreeing to a three-year contract with CSKA Moscow, the league announced. Grigorenko, 27, a 2012 first-round selection of the Buffalo Sabres, had four goals and 12 points for the

12:58 AM ET The Tampa Bay Lightning are one win away from being the first team in 23 years to sweep the Stanley Cup Final, but good luck trying to catch them looking that far ahead. “We’ve put ourselves in good position, obviously, but the fourth one is the hardest to get,” defenseman Victor Hedman

11:06 PM ET Associated Press Thomas M. Reich, a pioneering baseball agent with an ebullient, oversized personality who helped players gain multimillion dollar salaries in the early years of free agency, died Friday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. He was 82. Reich had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in December 2019. “Tom Reich

11:43 PM ET The Tampa Bay Lightning moved within one victory of back-to-back Stanley Cup championships, with an emphatic 6-3 win at the Montreal Canadiens in Game 3 on Friday night. Miss any of the game? We’re here with the top takeaways. More: Cup Final schedule | Playoff Central Stanley Cup Final Game 3 in

6:37 PM ET Associated Press ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Minnesota Wild signed forward Joel Eriksson Ek to a $42 million, eight-year contract Friday that carries an annual salary cap hit of $5.25 million. Eriksson Ek had a career-high 30 points on 19 goals and 11 assists in 56 games last season. The 24-year-old Swede

6:59 AM ET The Tampa Bay Lightning are two wins away from winning their second Stanley Cup in nine months. But the series shifts back to Montreal, where the Canadiens will have the home crowd behind them to help claw back in. Check out the ESPN NHL Playoffs Daily to catch up every day of

8:16 PM ET Associated Press GLENDALE, Ariz. — Bill Armstrong sat in a small-town Canadian restaurant and watched a major junior hockey coach interact with his players. Then a scout, Armstrong was mesmerized how André Tourigny, a man nicknamed “Bear,” was able to connect with his team. “He was known as this big, tough coach,

9:00 AM ET TAMPA, Fla. — Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman said it would be an honor to represent his homeland of Sweden in the Olympics, calling the men’s ice hockey tournament “as good as it gets on the international level.” That was in 2013. He still hasn’t gone. He might never go. Hedman

7:00 AM ET TAMPA, Fla. — Brayden Point swears nothing changes for him in the playoffs. “You try and play the same way,” said the Tampa Bay Lightning center, “but pucks have found their way into nets as of late.” That they have. Through 20 games, Point had 14 goals for the Lightning, while no

11:42 PM ET TAMPA, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Montreal Canadiens, 3-1, in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final at home on Wednesday night. It was a game with outstanding goaltending, and a goal-of-the-year candidate from Blake Coleman that beat the second-period buzzer. Miss any of the game? We’re here with

9:00 PM ET ESPN News Services RALEIGH, N.C. — Tom Dundon is now sole owner of the Carolina Hurricanes after buying out the remaining shares of the NHL club held by Peter Karmanos and others. The league’s board of governors unanimously approved the transaction Wednesday. “We are fortunate to have a passionate fan base that

12:20 PM ET Chicago Blackhawks star Jonathan Toews finally revealed why he missed the 2020-21 NHL season, saying he had “chronic immune response syndrome.” In a video announcing his return to the team on Wednesday, the team captain said: “Honestly, I haven’t taken this much time off the ice probably ever, since I was a

8:20 PM ET Edmonton Oilers star Connor McDavid won the Hart Trophy as NHL most valuable player, becoming only the second player in the 97-year history of the award to win it unanimously. McDavid placed first on all 100 ballots from the Professional Hockey Writers Association. Previously, only Wayne Gretzky won the Hart unanimously back

12:08 PM ET Associated Press TORONTO — Veteran forward Wayne Simmonds signed a two-year contract extension with the Maple Leafs on Tuesday. The team said his contract has an average annual value of $900,000. Simmonds played in 38 regular-season games with the Maple Leafs this season, posting seven goals and two assists. He had an

7:00 AM ET UNIONDALE, N.Y. — The first $17 can of beer hit the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum ice roughly 20 seconds after New York Islanders forward Anthony Beauvillier‘s overtime goal. Then another. Then another. Then what seemed like an entire brewery’s inventory landed on the ice as the Islanders mobbed the overtime hero at