7:45 AM ET The Stanley Cup champions from 2018 (Washington Capitals) and 2019 (St. Louis Blues) are both in an 0-2 hole after Friday. The team that won in 2016 and 2017 (Pittsburgh Penguins) has already been eliminated. It sure feels like there’s going to be some new blood winning this summer. We also got
NHL
11:53 PM ET One the St. Louis Blues‘ defining traits in their Stanley Cup run last season was an ability to bounce back after losses. They were 8-2 after defeats, including their Game 7 win over Boston on the road for the championship. In this postseason, the Blues lost Game 1 of their Western Conference
7:47 PM ET The Los Angeles Kings announced they’ve suspended Tim Smith, who portrays their mascot Bailey the lion, following a sexual harassment lawsuit recently filed by a former member of the Kings Ice Crew. Along with being the mascot, Smith is senior manager of game presentation and events for the team, overseeing the Ice
9:27 AM ET Canadiens coach Claude Julien was released from the hospital and will return home to Montreal to rest after having a stent inserted into his coronary artery, the team announced Friday. Julien was admitted to St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto on Wednesday after experiencing chest pains following his team’s 2-1 loss in Game
6:46 AM ET For many series, this is a critical juncture: Teams with a 2-0 lead in a seven-game playoff series are 324-51 (86.4 percent) in those series. The Vegas Golden Knights are already there. Four more teams — the Colorado Avalanche, Philadelphia Flyers, New York Islanders and Vancouver Canucks — have a chance to
7:00 AM ET Rick Tocchet was disgusted. The Arizona Coyotes, riding high after upsetting the Nashville Predators in the Stanley Cup qualification round, had squandered a chance to pull another shocker in Game 1 of their quarterfinal series against the Colorado Avalanche. “You gotta be able to make a 5-foot pass and support it. It
12:02 AM ET Boston Bruins star forward David Pastrnak will be a game-time decision on Saturday after being deemed “unfit” to play on Thursday. The Carolina Hurricanes defeated Boston 3-2 in Pastrnak’s absence to even the East first-round series at 1-1. After Thursday’s game in Toronto, Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy did not elaborate much on
1:40 PM ET Associated Press TORONTO — Rod Brind’Amour wasn’t going to risk another $25,000 fine from the NHL. The Carolina Hurricanes coach provided a four-word answer Thursday when asked whether he had anything more to add a day after being fined for calling the league “a joke” in criticizing an officials’ ruling on a
2:24 PM ET Montreal Canadiens coach Claude Julien was admitted to a Toronto hospital after experiencing chest pains following his team’s game on Wednesday night. Montreal GM Marc Bergevin said he does not believe the issue is related to COVID-19, but Julien was undergoing tests on Thursday. “He’s for sure in really good hands,” Bergevin
9:00 AM ET The worst thing about the New York Rangers winning the Alexis Lafrenière draft lottery is how their fans are going to absolutely mangle his name. My father grew up in the city. His first attempt at a pronunciation was “Lufthansa.” The Canadian hamlet of Saint-Eustache produced an exquisite French Canadian moniker —