2:10 AM ET Colorado Avalanche star Nathan MacKinnon was direct in his assessment of his team’s effort in a 4-1 Game 2 loss to the St. Louis Blues on Thursday night. “We were bad. We were really bad tonight,” MacKinnon said with the Western Conference second-round series now tied 1-1. “We just didn’t have our
NHL
7:00 AM ET It was a moment when youthful exuberance met Stanley Cup playoffs euphoria. Facing elimination in Game 5 at Madison Square Garden against the Pittsburgh Penguins, the New York Rangers were staging a rally. As they had for most of the first-round series, the trio christened “The Kid Line” — 20-year-old left wing
3:06 PM ET Associated Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Nashville Predators have extended the contracts of coach John Hynes and his assistants through the 2023-24 season, trying to build on a season with several individual successes for a franchise that wound up being swept in the playoffs for the first time. General manager David Poile
11:27 AM ET New York Rangers coach Gerard Gallant, Florida Panthers interim coach Andrew Brunette and Calgary Flames coach Darryl Sutter are the finalists for the NHL’s Jack Adams Award, given to the head coach who has “contributed the most to his team’s success.” The award is voted on by members of the NHL Broadcasters’
8:00 AM ET Milan Lucic has lived many NHL lifetimes when it comes to rivalries. He was there in Boston, for the most recent apex of the Bruins‘ feud with the Montreal Canadiens. He was there in 2011, when the Bruins sparked a brief but blazing animosity with the Vancouver Canucks in the Stanley Cup
1:41 AM ET Mike Smith went from hero to zero in the Edmonton Oilers‘ crease. And now the team’s goaltending could be in flux following a 9-6 loss to the Calgary Flames in Game 1 of their second-round Stanley Cup playoff series on Wednesday. The veteran netminder never even got settled into Wednesday’s matchup before
11:12 PM ET Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Ian Cole had played 103 career playoff games before competing in Game 1 of their series against the New York Rangers on Wednesday night, scoring one postseason goal. Now he has two. Cole, 33, scored at 3:12 of overtime to give the Hurricanes a 2-1 come-from-behind overtime win over
8:36 PM ET Tampa Bay Lightning forward Brayden Point will miss Game 2 of his team’s second-round playoff series against the Florida Panthers on Thursday with a lower-body injury. Point, a first-line center and staple on the Tampa Bay power play, did not play in the Lightning’s Game 1 victory on Tuesday after going hard
5:20 PM ET Maple Leafs star Mitchell Marner made his first public comments on Wednesday after he was a victim of a carjacking in Toronto on Monday night. “To all the fans, my friends and teammates, and the entire Maple Leafs organization — thank you for all your positive messages over the last few days,”
5:06 PM ET ESPN News Services TAMPERE, Finland — Sweden prevailed in a penalty shootout to edge host Finland 3-2 Wednesday for its fourth straight victory at the ice hockey world championship. Emil Bemstrom, a forward for the Columbus Blue Jackets who had six goals and 11 points in the NHL this season, was the