NHL

7:15 AM ET With Phase 2 of the draft lottery and the first round of the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs complete, the 2020 NHL draft picture is slowly becoming clearer in this unprecedented season. The New York Rangers are the lucky winners of the Alexis Lafreniere sweepstakes, but there’s plenty of talent across this draft

3:19 AM ET After two weeks without a game and one controversial tweet from his agent, Marc-Andre Fleury returned to the crease to lead the Vegas Golden Knights to within a victory of advancing to the Western Conference Final. Fleury made 28 saves in the Golden Knights’ 5-3 win over the Vancouver Canucks in Game

7:41 AM ET After two days with no games, as the NHL paused to put a focus on racial violence and issues of equality, the Stanley Cup Playoffs restarted with the Boston Bruins being pushed to the brink of elimination, and two key games that were front ends of back-to-back games that’ll continue on Sunday.

1:15 AM ET ESPN News Services EDMONTON, Alberta — Robin Lehner stopped 32 shots, and the Vegas Golden Knights rebounded from an uncharacteristic Game 2 loss, defeating the Vancouver Canucks 3-0 in Game 3 of their Western Conference semifinal series Saturday night. Vegas leads the series 2-1 and improved to 9-2 inside the Western Conference

12:22 AM ET ESPN News Services TORONTO — Matt Martin and Leo Komarov scored in the second period as the New York Islanders rallied to beat the Philadelphia Flyers 3-1 on Saturday night, taking a 2-1 lead in their conference semifinal series. Anders Lee also scored, and Semyon Varlamov, a few days removed from being

6:10 PM ET Associated Press TORONTO — Well-rounded winger Ondrej Palat is scoring, reigning MVP Nikita Kucherov is defending and the Tampa Bay Lightning have taken over their series against the Boston Bruins. Palat scored two goals to give him four in the past three games, Kucherov was part of a strong defensive effort in

7:00 AM ET The NHL paused its schedule the past two days in solidarity with other sports leagues, protesting racial injustices as well as the recent police shooting of Jacob Blake in Wisconsin. “I’ve got so much more respect for every single player in this league for doing something like this,” said Colorado Avalanche center

2:05 PM ET The NHL is investigating an anonymous allegation toward former Florida Panthers GM Dale Tallon for conduct while in the Toronto bubble, deputy commissioner Bill Daly confirmed to ESPN. FloridaHockeyNow first reported the incident, claiming Tallon used a racial slur. Daly would only confirm that the alleged comment did involve race. Florida parted

11:25 AM ET Associated Press The NHL’s second-round playoff series will resume with three games each on Saturday and Sunday after players prompted the league to postpone two days of action to protest racial injustice. In the NHL’s Eastern Conference hub city of Toronto, Tampa Bay and Boston will play Game 4 of their series

8:38 AM ET The NHL postponed all playoff games on Thursday and Friday to stand in solidarity with other sports leagues protesting racial injustice, including the recent police shooting of Jacob Blake. This decision came after the league took some criticism for playing all three playoff games on Wednesday as scheduled, while games in other

2:39 PM ET The NHL will not play any playoff games Thursday in solidarity with other leagues protesting the recent police shooting of Jacob Blake in Wisconsin, sources told ESPN. The decision postpones games between the New York Islanders and Philadelphia Flyers, and the Vegas Golden Knights and Vancouver Canucks. Sources had told ESPN that

12:45 PM ET Back in March, as teams were offering vague plans about compensating their arena workers after the NHL paused the regular season, the Vegas Golden Knights stepped up with a minimum of $500,000 of support from their foundation. More than that, they received a $100,000 pledge of help from one of their players

6:55 AM ET The NHL always wants the sports spotlight shining on Stanley Cup Playoff games, but probably not like this. On a night when games in the NBA, Major League Baseball, MLS and the WNBA were postponed in protest over racial injustice, the NHL and the players completed their full slate of games —

7:00 AM ET After Pat Maroon won a Stanley Cup with his hometown St. Louis Blues in 2019, his career was again at a crossroads. The 32-year-old wanted to stay in St. Louis, where, for the first time in his professional career, he was able to live in the same city as his son, Anthony.

7:00 AM ET Scott Niedermayer was 19 years old when he appeared in his first NHL playoff game with the New Jersey Devils in 1993, staring at an arena of rabid Pittsburgh Penguins fans and hockey royalty across the ice. “You’re really naïve at that stage, which is probably a really good thing. When I

6:53 AM ET Tuesday night in the 2020 NHL playoffs included a doubleheader that brought the heat — including two of the nicest goals we’ve seen in the playoffs yet. And today, we get a triple threat: the return of afternoon hockey (yay!), the second of a back-to-back, plus a pivotal game for the Colorado

10:14 PM ET Associated Press NEW YORK — The New York Islanders‘ playoff run is helping boost season-ticket sales for their new arena, scheduled to open next year. The Islanders beat the Florida Panthers in the qualifying round, then advanced past the Washington Capitals in the first round. Now, the Isles lead the Philadelphia Flyers

2:42 PM ET Greg WyshynskiESPN Close Greg Wyshynski is ESPN’s senior NHL writer. Follow on Twitter Facebook Twitter Facebook Messenger Pinterest Email The Pittsburgh Penguins acquired Kasperi Kapanen in a multiplayer trade on Tuesday with the Toronto Maple Leafs, reuniting the 24-year-old forward with the general manager who drafted him. The Penguins sent center Evan