NHL

8:54 PM ET ESPN News Services New York Islanders captain Anders Lee knocked Washington Capitals forward Nicklas Backstrom out of Wednesday night’s first-round series opener, setting the tone with a big hit that Washington coach Todd Reirden called “late” and “predatory.” Reirden didn’t have an update afterward on Backstrom, who appeared to be looking the

6:58 AM ET The start of the NHL’s Stanley Cup quarterfinals set the bar rather high. Like, five overtimes high. Before the next day of competition, please check out our staff picks for each series, including the uncomfortable number of us predicting that the best team in the NHL during the regular season will get

7:00 AM ET The fans’ volume increased as Vegas Golden Knights forward Alex Tuch raced into the Colorado Avalanche zone during overtime. They let out a jubilant roar when he snapped a shot over goalie Philipp Grubauer to win the game and earn his team the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference half of

9:59 PM ET The first game of the first round of the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs began at 3 p.m. ET on Tuesday, between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Columbus Blue Jackets. It didn’t end until the fifth overtime, which was 6 hours, 24 minutes later in real time. Along the way, playoff records for

7:05 AM ET The 2020 NHL playoffs will officially begin on Tuesday, as the 24-team tournament — with five-game qualification round series and round-robin seeding matchups — has moved on to a more recognizable, 16-team version. This round includes several matchups where revenge will be on the mind of one team (or both, for separate

6:54 AM ET Playoffs? Yes, you can now actually say that these are the 2020 NHL playoffs. The tournament is now officially in the first round, with only 16 teams left. Day 1 brings us a slate of four games, though none before 3 p.m. ET. We miss morning/noon hockey already. Check out the ESPN

8:00 PM ET The New York Rangers won the second lottery for the 2020 NHL draft, which determined which team would have the opportunity to pick at No. 1 overall. That first selection is widely expected to be phenom Alexis Lafreniere of Rimouski Oceanic in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. In June, a ‘Placeholder’

6:40 PM ET The New York Rangers won Monday’s NHL draft lottery — and the right to select consensus No. 1 pick Alexis Lafreniere. The Rangers committed to a rebuild in 2018, but that has been expedited after an exciting 14 months. New York selected No. 2 overall in the 2019 draft, picking Finnish winger

7:05 AM ET There have been many extraordinary aspects to the National Hockey League’s return to the ice after it paused its season for the coronavirus pandemic in March. Hockey being played in August. Stanley Cup playoff games held in empty arenas echoing with artificial crowd noise. But perhaps most notable of all about the

11:13 PM ET Associated Press TORONTO — Joonas Korpisalo stopped 33 shots and the Columbus Blue Jackets advanced to the first round of the NHL playoffs with a 3-0 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs in a decisive Game 5 on Sunday night. Zach Werenski‘s floater from the left point in the first period held

7:08 AM ET The Round of 16 matchups in the 2020 NHL playoffs are coming into focus. After the No. 1 seeds were determined on Saturday — the Philadelphia Flyers in the East and the Vegas Golden Knights in the West — Sunday’s two round-robin games will give us the Nos. 3 and 4 seeds,

6:34 PM ET ESPN News Services With a shootout looming to determine the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference and time ticking away, Alex Tuch scored 4:44 into overtime as the Vegas Golden Knights outlasted the Colorado Avalanche 4-3 to win the round-robin tournament in Edmonton on Saturday. The Golden Knights, who made a

12:21 AM ET Associated Press TORONTO — Tampa Bay Lightning star defenseman Victor Hedman left the team’s round-robin finale Saturday night, after it appeared he twisted his right ankle midway through the first period against the Philadelphia Flyers. Following the 4-1 loss that secured the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference for the Lightning,

6:34 PM ET ESPN News Services With a shootout looming to determine the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference and time ticking away, Alex Tuch scored 4:44 into overtime as the Vegas Golden Knights outlasted the Colorado Avalanche 4-3 to win the round-robin tournament in Edmonton Saturday. The Golden Knights, who made a coaching

7:56 AM ET The NHL postseason bubble is officially bonkers. Friday featured three series upsets being completed, and a stunning late-game rally by the Toronto Maple Leafs against the Columbus Blue Jackets that pushed their series to a fifth and final game. On Saturday, we’ll find out who the Montreal Canadiens and Chicago Blackhawks will

11:11 PM ET The third time Jonathan Toews lifted the Stanley Cup for the Chicago Blackhawks was in 2015, which also marked the last time they advanced in the NHL postseason. That was until Friday night, when they shocked the Edmonton Oilers and won their qualifying-round series in four games. No. 12-seeded Chicago eliminated the

9:00 AM ET Kevin Fiala was frustrated. The Minnesota Wild were trailing the Vancouver Canucks by two goals in Game 3 of their qualification-round series. The winger’s shot had missed its target, one of 10 wayward attempts for the game. As the whistle sounded to stop play, he buzzed Vancouver goalie Jacob Markstrom‘s crease, stuck

7:00 AM ET Under the NHL’s CBA, players are required to wear a suit, dress shirt and tie to the arena on game days “unless otherwise specified by the head coach or manager.” It’s the only major professional sports league in North America with such a strict dress code. “Once you get onto the plane,