4:48 AM ET South Africa’s men’s ice hockey team will return to competitive action for the first time in nearly three years this weekend, as they host the 2022 IIHF World Championship Division III B in Cape Town. From March 13-18, GrandWest Arena will host South Africa, Thailand, and Bosnia & Herzegovina in Division III
NHL
11:07 PM ET Jack Eichel didn’t hold back in his return to Buffalo on Thursday. The Vegas Golden Knights center played his first game against the Sabres since being traded to Vegas on November 4, coming out on the losing end of a 3-1 decision. Eichel, 25, was Buffalo’s second overall pick in the 2015
10:06 PM ET Craig Anderson won the 300th game of his NHL career Thursday night, becoming just the sixth U.S.-born goaltender to reach that milestone. Buffalo‘s netminder, 40, achieved the feat while making 30 saves in a 3-1 victory over visiting Vegas. The Park Ridge, Illinois, native now trails only Tom Barrasso, Ryan Miller, Mike
6:43 PM ET Hockey Hall of Famer Willie O’Ree, who broke the NHL’s color barrier with the Boston Bruins in 1958, has joined the ownership group of the Premier Hockey Federation’s Boston Pride, sources told ESPN. “The growth of the women’s game is so important, and I admire these world class athletes for being role
4:30 PM ET Associated Press TORONTO — The Toronto Maple Leafs will be without No. 1 goaltender Jack Campbell for at least the next two weeks because of a rib injury, coach Sheldon Keefe said after Thursday’s morning skate. Keefe said the 30-year-old Campbell “tweaked something” a while ago and then aggravated the issue during
4:26 PM ET Associated Press BUFFALO, N.Y. — The Vegas Golden Knights sent home starting goalie Robin Lehner to further evaluate a lower-body injury. Coach Pete DeBoer announced the decision on Thursday, with the Golden Knights preparing to play the Buffalo Sabres in the second stop of a four-game road trip. DeBoer didn’t provide details
8:45 AM ET It’s the moment that every NHL player fears. When they’ve played with the same team for years, to the point where home ice feel like a second home, and then something from “the business side of the game” evicts them. They’re wearing a different uniform, on a different team, with different teammates.
12:17 PM ET Associated Press PHILADELPHIA — The Flyers signed defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen to a five-year contract extension, the team announced Thursday. The deal is worth $5.1 million per year, Flyers president of hockey operations and general manager Chuck Fletcher said. It comes 11 days before the NHL trade deadline. “Rasmus is an important part
2:39 PM ET Associated Press CHICAGO — Norm Maciver is returning to the Chicago Blackhawks after he was hired as associate general manager under new GM Kyle Davidson. The team announced Maciver’s return on Wednesday. The 57-year-old Maciver had been working as the director of player personnel for the Seattle Kraken. “Bringing in Norm is
12:28 PM ET Jack Eichel knows his return to Buffalo will be “awkward” and says he doesn’t know how Sabres fans will react — though he hopes they focus on some positives. “I think about my time in Buffalo, it obviously ended a little bit messy,” Eichel, the former Sabres captain, told ESPN ahead of