1:54 PM ET Greg WyshynskiESPN BOSTON — With an inspiring story and boundless enthusiasm for her St. Louis Blues, 11-year-old Laila Anderson has become a celebrity super fan during the Stanley Cup playoffs. Now, she hopes that fame can help support the children’s hospital that’s helped her battle a rare disease. The National Bobblehead Hall
NHL
1:43 PM ET Emily KaplanESPN BOSTON — Bruins captain Zdeno Chara was not at TD Garden on Wednesday as the team practiced a day ahead of Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final — a likely sign that the defenseman will not be available to play. The Bruins and the St. Louis Blues are tied
11:47 AM ET Associated Press BUFFALO, N.Y. — Buffalo Sabres general manager Jason Botterill remains confident that 40-goal scorer Jeff Skinner will re-sign with the team. Contract talks began in January. Botterill says negotiations continue and both sides are focused on having a contract completed before the NHL’s free-agency period opens July 1. Botterill spoke
9:24 AM ET Associated Press MOSCOW — Pavel Datsyuk has signed for his hometown Russian club in the Kontinental Hockey League, ending speculation of a possible return to the NHL. The 40-year-old center has signed a one-year deal with Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg, the successor to the team where he began his pro career in the 1996-97
7:00 AM ET Emily KaplanESPN The Stanley Cup Final between the Boston Bruins and St. Louis Blues has gone back and forth between games. Each offensive spurt has been met with a counterpunch. Each loss is followed by a necessary adjustment. No real fireworks (yet), though plenty of players trying to antagonize opponents (exactly how
7:30 AM ET Coming into the Stanley Cup Final, the Boston Bruins had an edge on the St. Louis Blues in just about every statistical category. You name it, it leaned toward the Bruins: power play, goaltending, scoring and more. But the Blues did have one point of advantage, and that was in their defense
7:30 AM ET The 2019 NHL draft class is marked with exceptional talent but not a lot of consensus on the board beyond Jack Hughes and Kaapo Kakko. There are a handful of polarizing prospects who appear all over team, scout and analyst rankings heading into the June 21 draft. We picked five especially interesting
6:35 PM ET Associated Press CHICAGO — The Chicago Blackhawks have hired Marc Crawford as an assistant coach on Jeremy Colliton‘s staff. The 58-year-old Crawford was the interim head coach for Ottawa at the end of last season. He also has served as the head coach for Colorado, Vancouver, Los Angeles and Dallas, leading the
12:21 PM ET Greg WyshynskiESPN ST. LOUIS — Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said that injured defenseman Zdeno Chara will be evaluated in Boston, but he is formulating plans in case he can’t go in Game 5. Chara took a puck to the face in the second period of the Bruins’ Game 4 loss to the
6:48 AM ET Emily KaplanESPN Was there any doubt this series was going to be a long one? After laying an egg in Game 3, the St. Louis Blues bounced back with a 4-2 win in Game 4 that left the home crowd singing along to “Gloria,” and the Stanley Cup Final against the Boston