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Watch: Utah 'checks all the boxes' for NHL franchise
KSL.com Sports | Updated April 19 - 6:06 p.m. | Save Story
The NHL is officially coming to Utah, and the league will celebrate its newest market with a press conference at Delta Center.
Kings hoping goaltender Cam Talbot can return to early form as Stanley Cup playoffs begin
Joe Reedy, Associated Press | Posted April 19 - 3:37 p.m. | Save Story
It would be an understatement to say that Cam Talbot's season has been a roller coaster. The Los Angeles Kings, though, are hoping their veteran netminder's game is ascending heading into the Stanley Cup playoffs. Talbot signed a one-year contract with the Kings during the offseason. He played in 54 games and started 52, marking the fourth time in his 12-year career, and first since 2018, that he has started at least 50 games. Among goaltenders with at least 50 games, Talbot is fifth with a 2.50 goals-against average and .913 save percentage. Los Angeles opens its first-round series against Edmonton on Monday.
Stars waited late to find out they get playoff rematch against the defending Stanley Cup champions
Stephen Hawkins, Associated Press | Posted April 19 - 3:18 p.m. | Save Story
The Dallas Stars had to wait to find out who they would play in the first round of the NHL playoffs. That changed a couple of times for the Western Conference's No. 1 seed, who will have a playoff rematch against defending Stanley Cup champion Vegas. The Golden Knights wrapped up the Western Conference Final last year with a Game 6 win in Dallas, where the first-round series this year starts Monday night. Vegas is the second wild card in the West after losing its regular-season finale late Thursday night. That was right before the Los Angeles Kings rallied late to win and pass the Knights in the standings.
Canucks' Rick Tocchet among new coaches making an impact in leading teams to NHL playoffs
John Wawrow, Associated Press | Posted April 19 - 3:14 p.m. | Save Story
Rick Tocchet isn't sure the Vancouver Canucks would be closing the season as Pacific Division champions without him having the head start of taking over as coach in January 2023. Some 15 months later, Tocchet is a Jack Adams coach of the year candidate for overseeing the Canucks' turnaround. Of the the NHL's 16 playoff teams, seven feature coaches who are in their first full year or hired as midseason replacements. They include Patrick Roy with the Islanders, Andrew Brunette in Nashville and Spencer Carbery in Washington.
Late-blooming, mustached goalie Charlie Lindgren carries the Washington Capitals into the playoffs
Stephen Whyno, Associated Press | Posted April 19 - 2:47 p.m. | Save Story
Alex Ovechkin scored a lot of goals down the stretch for the Washington Capitals. But he's not the biggest reason they made the playoffs. That's Charlie Lindgren, the unheralded, late-blooming mustached goaltender who emerged as the starter and carried the Capitals for much of the season. No one in the NHL faced more shots or made more saves over the past three months since supplanting Darcy Kuemper for the No. 1 job. The 30-year-old is now set to make his Stanley Cup playoff debut Sunday afternoon against brother Ryan and the heavily favored New York Rangers.
John Tortorella says he failed to get Flyers to 'close the deal' in wake of late-season collapse
Dan Gelston, Associated Press | Posted April 19 - 1:51 p.m. | Save Story
Philadelphia Flyers general manger Danny Briere and coach John Tortorella are prepared for a rebuilding process. Tortorella and Briere are tempering offseason expectations for any fan looking for a quick fix. The Flyers' decision-makers say they will not sign any high-priced, big-name free agents. The Flyers are looking to replenish the roster through the draft and their farm system. Preaching patience over playoffs has been the long-term blueprint in Philadelphia since Briere took over late last season. The Flyers were eliminated this season in the Eastern Conference playoff race in the final game of the season.
At playoff time, NHL teams march to the beat of their goaltenders and count on them to save the day
Pat Graham, Associated Press | Posted April 19 - 1:18 p.m. | Save Story
This time of year teams march to the beat of their goaltenders. They want them laser-focused, full of confidence and ready to save the day. There are quite a few teams going into the postseason with big decisions in net. That includes Boston, which could split the goaltending duties, and the Colorado Avalanche, where Georgiev led the league in wins but also surrendered the most goals. Not every team has a Connor Hellebuyck in net. The Winnipeg goaltender is a favorite to win the Vezina Trophy as the league's best at turning back shots.
The Florida Panthers are weird. And coach Paul Maurice says that as a compliment
Tim Reynolds, Associated Press | Posted April 19 - 1:18 p.m. | Save Story
Ordinarily at playoff time, this would be bulletin-board material: A coach in the NHL referred to the Florida Panthers as weird. Except nobody minded. Because the guy who said it was Panthers coach Paul Maurice. Weird, goofy and unique are just some of the terms Maurice uses to describe his team. He says those words in the most endearing way possible. To him it's part of the reason why the Panthers finished with 110 points, won the Atlantic Division for the second time in three years and have a full head of steam going into a first-round playoff series with Tampa Bay.
John Hynes of Minnesota Wild to coach U.S. men's national team at world championships in Czechia
The Associated Press | Posted April 19 - 12:28 p.m. | Save Story
John Hynes of the Minnesota Wild has been named the coach of the 2024 U.S. men's national team for next month's IIHF men's world championship in Czechia. USA Hockey announced the appointment on Friday for the event that will take place from May 10-26 and be held in Prague and Ostrava. Hynes finished his first season as coach of the Wild this week, missing the NHL playoffs. The 49-year-old has also been a head coach for the Nashville Predators and New Jersey Devils and for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the AHL.
NHL team moving from Arizona to Salt Lake City will have a name starting with Utah
Stephen Whyno, Associated Press | Updated April 19 - 10:52 a.m. | Save Story
The NHL team moving from Arizona to Salt Lake City will be known as Utah, at least initially. New owner Ryan Smith says the name will begin with Utah and he does not want to rush the process of rebranding the franchise upon relocation. The league's board of governors unanimously approved the sale of the team to Smith Entertainment Group on Thursday. Smith has already contracted with an agency to oversee the process of determining a team name and logo. Former owner Alex Meruelo keeps the Coyotes name and has the chance to reactivate the franchise if he's able to build an arena.
Playoff-less Penguins want to sign up Sidney Crosby long-term. Might be easy part of busy offseason
The Associated Press | Posted April 19 - 10:42 a.m. | Save Story
The Pittsburgh Penguins are heading into another long summer. Pittsburgh missed the playoffs for a second straight year despite a late surge that brought the club to the brink of the postseason. General manager/director of hockey operations Kyle Dubas says the responsibility for the club's failure lies with him. Dubas has a lengthy to-do list in the offseason. The first order of business will be locking up longtime captain Sidney Crosby to a new deal. Crosby is entering the final season of the 12-year deal he signed in 2012. The 36-year-old remains one of the NHL's best players, piling up 94 points in his 19th season.
New York Rangers captain Jacob Trouba may be the most interesting man in hockey, on and off the ice
Stephen Whyno, Associated Press | Posted April 19 - 9:33 a.m. | Save Story
New York Rangers captain Jacob Trouba might be the most interesting man in the NHL. Trouba asked for a trade to an American team to make sure his fiancée could pursue her medical career. He was the first and only player to agree to have his photo taken getting the COVID-19 vaccine. He paints on the side and met with Fortune 500 CEOs about leadership before he became team captain. The big-hitting defenseman's latest venture is a commercial alongside his mother for AstraZeneca and Hockey Fights Cancer about early detection.
How to watch and what to expect in the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs
The Associated Press | Posted April 19 - 4:10 a.m. | Save Story
The chase for the Stanley Cup is back underway, with the NHL's top 16 teams left to duke it out through four grueling rounds. It's also arguably the most wide open the playoffs has been in years, if not decades. Nearly everyone who qualified has a chance to win it all, with no prohibitive favorite. Carolina has a slight edge on BetMGM Sportsbook followed by Florida, Dallas, Colorado, Edmonton and the New York Rangers. Toronto's Auston Matthews, Tampa Bay's Nikita Kucherov and Oilers captain Connor McDavid are going into the playoffs coming off absurd statistical regular seasons.
LA Kings rally late, finish 3rd in the Pacific Division with a 5-4 overtime victory over Chicago
Greg Beacham, Associated Press | Updated April 19 - 12:17 a.m. | Save Story
The Los Angeles Kings earned a playoff rematch with Edmonton by jumping into third place in the Pacific Division with a 5-4 overtime victory against the Chicago Blackhawks. The Kings took a two-goal lead into the third period, but promptly blew it when Chicago scored three times in five minutes. But the Kings finally evened it when Viktor Arvidsson scored his second goal of the night with goalie Cam Talbot pulled for an extra attacker. With third place secured by the single point for reaching overtime, Adrian Kempe then won the game with an unassisted goal just six seconds into OT.
Defending champ Golden Knights to face top-seeded Stars in playoffs after 4-1 loss to Ducks
Mark Anderson, Associated Press | Updated April 19 - 12:03 a.m. | Save Story
Frank Vatrano scored three goals and the Anaheim Ducks finished their season on a high note, defeating the playoff-bound Vegas Golden Knights 4-1. Vegas' three-game winning streak ended and the loss knocked the Golden Knights out of third place in the Pacific Division and into the second Western Conference wild card when Los Angeles earned a point by getting to overtime against Chicago. The defending Stanley Cup champions will face top seed Dallas in the first round, while the Kings play Edmonton. Vatrano's goals gave him 37 for the season, a career high. It was his third hat trick this season and the sixth of his career.
Flames beat NHL-worst Sharks 5-1 in the season finale for the non-playoff teams
The Associated Press | Updated April 19 - 12:00 a.m. | Save Story
Blake Coleman scored his 30th goal and MacKenzie Weegar netted his 20th as the Calgary Flames beat the San Jose Sharks 5-1 on Thursday night in the season-ending game for both teams. Adam Klapka posted his first NHL goal and Oliver Kylington, and Kevin Rooney also scored for Calgary. Dustin Wolf had 16 saves and lost his shutout bid with nine seconds left in the game. Fabian Zetterlund scored for San Jose, which finished with the worst record in the NHL.
MacKinnon has 2 assists, breaks franchise's single-season points mark as Avs beat Oilers 5-1
Pat Graham, Associated Press | Updated April 18 - 11:27 p.m. | Save Story
Valeri Nichushkin scored twice, Nathan MacKinnon added two assists to break the franchise's single-season points mark and the Colorado Avalanche cruise into the playoffs behind a 5-1 win over the Edmonton Oilers. MacKinnon wrapped up the regular season with 140 points (51 goals, 89 assists) to top Peter Stastny's franchise record of 139 points set in 1981-82 when the club was in Quebec. The speedy MacKinnon couldn't catch Tampa Bay's Nikita Kucherov in the race for the Art Ross Trophy, which goes to the leading points scorer. Kucherov wound up with 144 points. Mikko Rantanen, Josh Manson and Zach Parise also scored for Colorado. Dylan Holloway had a power-play goal for the playoff-bound Oilers who rested several starters including Connor McDavid.
The Dallas Stars have a big age gap with players who have come together for No. 1 seed in the West
Stephen Hawkins, Associated Press | Updated April 18 - 11:06 p.m. | Save Story
There is quite an age gap for the Western Conference champion Dallas Stars. Top goal scorer Wyatt Johnston is only 20 years old while Joe Pavelski is 39. The 18-year, 10-month gap between the Stars' youngest and oldest players is the widest among the Western Conference playoff teams by 2 1/2 years, with Edmonton at 16 years and four months. Toronto is the only team in the postseason with a wider one, with a 21-year-old forward and defenseman Mark Giordano, the only 40-year-old in these playoffs. Stars forward Tyler Seguin says it's cool to have so many different layers of age on the team.
Jets beat Canucks 4-2 in the regular-season finale for the playoff-bound teams
The Associated Press | Updated April 18 - 10:17 p.m. | Save Story
Nikita Chibrikov scored the game-winner in his NHL debut and Cole Perfetti added two goals as the Winnipeg Jets beat the Vancouver Canucks 4-2 Thursday night in the regular-season finale for the playoff-bound teams. Gabe Vilardi also scored for the Jets, who won won two of the three games against the Canucks this season. Laurent Brossoit made 18 saves for his 15th win of the season in his 23rd game. Conor Garland had a goal and assist for the Canucks (50-23-9). Elias Lindholm added a power-play goal. Thatcher Demko stopped 22 of 25 shots in his second straight start in net for Vancouver after returning from a 14-game absence because of a knee injury.
