2:19 PM ET Associated Press Buffalo Sabres interim coach Don Granato and assistant Matt Ellis are headed back to work after being cleared from the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol. The Sabres announced Granato and Ellis are traveling to join the team in Boston after spending a night in self-isolation in Pittsburgh. Both were placed in the
NHL
12:18 PM ET Associated Press ST. LOUIS — Former St. Louis Blues defenseman Bob Plager likely died of a “cardiac event,” not injuries from a highway accident, the St. Louis medical examiner said Friday. Plager, 78, an original member of the Blues whose long association with the team continued until his death, was alone in
12:03 PM ET Calgary Flames star Matthew Tkachuk is the first NHL player to release his own official non-fungible token, auctioning the digital sports memorabilia to help raise money for two children’s hospitals. “I thought this was a new way to show digital art. To play a tiny, tiny part in bringing in donations, it’s
5:32 PM ET Associated Press Buffalo Sabres interim coach Don Granato and assistant Matt Ellis have been placed in the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol. The development leaves general manager Kevyn Adams taking over behind the bench for Buffalo’s game at Pittsburgh on Thursday night. The team made the announcement two hours before the opening faceoff. This
3:56 PM ET The Canadian government is expected to reduce its federal quarantine from 14 days to seven days for NHL players traded from American teams, a league source confirmed to ESPN on Thursday. The NHL league office has yet to receive official notification from the government, though it is expected ahead of the April
8:35 AM ET “You were the chosen one!” Every time I look at the stats for Philadelphia Flyers goalie Carter Hart this season, I think of Obi-Wan Kenobi screaming that line at Anakin Skywalker in “Revenge of the Sith,” and not just because Gen Xers like myself incessantly relate everything back to Star Wars. (It
7:00 AM ET As Carolina Hurricanes top-line center Sebastian Aho explained to ESPN in 2019: “Our team’s identity comes from Rod [Brind’Amour].” The team’s coach, who captained the Canes to their only Stanley Cup in 2006, is demanding, but he empowers his players. At 50, Brind’Amour still lives up to his nickname “Rod the Bod,”
7:06 PM ET Associated Press The Boston Bruins are resuming practice for the first time since having two games postponed after five players were placed in the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol. The team announced it will practice Wednesday night, a day before the Bruins are still scheduled to host the New York Islanders. The development comes
7:00 AM ET Francesco Pinelli had been looking forward to the 2020-21 hockey season his entire life. Pinelli, a 17-year-old from Hamilton, Ontario, is a top prospect for the 2021 NHL draft. In October, NHL Central Scouting named Pinelli to its preliminary players to watch list; the Kitchener Rangers (Ontario Hockey League) center was one
7:00 AM ET We’re past the midseason mark of this abridged 56-game 2021 NHL season, and the April 12 trade deadline is just around the corner. For this week’s NHL Power Rankings, we offer up bold predictions for all 31 teams. How we rank: The ESPN hockey editorial staff submits selections ranking teams 1 to
7:29 PM ET Associated Press MONTREAL — The NHL announced Tuesday that the Montreal Canadiens have had their games through Sunday postponed. The league made the announcement a day after the Canadiens’ game against the visiting Edmonton Oilers was postponed following the addition of Montreal forwards Joel Armia and Jesperi Kotkaniemi to the NHL’s COVID
12:52 PM ET The NHL board of governors has approved new rules for the NHL draft lottery that will help last-place teams but restrict perpetual losers from winning multiple lotteries, a source confirmed to ESPN on Tuesday. The rules will be implemented beginning with the 2022 lottery. TSN was first to report the approval. The
7:00 AM ET The coach on the other end of the phone scanned ESPN’s 2021 NHL position-by-position ranking player pools, his stress level increasing. “We’re talking about the best of the best,” he said, sighing. “Now you’re asking me to vote for the best of ‘the best of the best.'” Well, yeah, that’s sort of
10:39 PM ET ESPN News Services NEW YORK — Rasmus Asplund, Dylan Cozens and Jeff Skinner scored for Buffalo, on a rare night where the Sabres showed some offensive skill, but it wasn’t enough in a 5-3 loss to the New York Rangers Monday. The defeat dropped Buffalo to a miserable 0-12-2 in their last
7:00 AM ET Joe Pavelski is having one of the best seasons of his 15-year NHL career. Though the Dallas Stars are off to a slower-than-expected start after making it to the 2020 Stanley Cup Final, Pavelski is carrying the load — especially as the team weathers early injury-related absences of Tyler Seguin, Ben Bishop
2:06 PM ET Associated Press DENVER — The Colorado Avalanche acquired Jonas Johansson from the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday in a bid to shore up their shaky backup goaltending. The Sabres received Colorado’s sixth-round draft pick in a trade agreed to a day earlier. The Sabres had to wait for COVID-19 testing results after the
3:41 PM ET Associated Press PITTSBURGH — The Penguins say center Evgeni Malkin is out indefinitely with a lower-body injury. The team placed the Russian star on injured reserve Thursday, two days after Malkin appeared to hurt his right knee in a loss to the Boston Bruins. Head coach Mike Sullivan described Malkin as “week
1:45 PM ET When looking at a particular type of fantasy production, there are a few ways to parse the data. While taking a look at power-play fantasy points, I was torn between looking at the statistics raw, as a rate or as a percentage. So I settled on a little bit of all three.