1:23 PM ET Welcome to a weekly feature we’re doing here, where we try to have some fun with underlying numbers. The plan is to highlight a couple of trends, then dig beneath the surface to get a better sense of what they ultimately mean, what’s causing them and how likely it is that they’ll
NHL
11:09 AM ET Greg WyshynskiESPN What does the NHL think about its current standings? We’re not talking about the points system and its forced parity, with which they seem quite pleased. We’re talking about the teams currently in the mix for the Stanley Cup Playoffs and, in turn, potentially the Stanley Cup Final. No Chicago.
2:50 PM ET There has been a lot of horse-trading of depth forwards in the NHL this season. The latest move was the swap of Nino Niederreiter and Victor Rask between the Minnesota Wild and Carolina Hurricanes. It has been a couple seasons since either player was impactful for fantasy leagues, but it got me
3:53 PM ET Associated Press ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Minnesota Wild have acquired center Victor Rask from the Carolina Hurricanes for left wing Nino Niederreiter, in a swap of underperforming but still-young players on long-term contracts. The 25-year-old Rask, a native of Sweden, has one goal and five assists in 26 games this season
2:21 PM ET Greg WyshynskiESPN TAMPA, Fla. — Steven Stamkos isn’t shedding any tears about the loss of the World Cup of Hockey in 2020, as the collective bargaining talks between the NHL and its players resulted in its formal postponement this week. “There’s just not enough time. We’re in 2019. It’s in 2020. With
1. Connor McDavid, C, Edm C1 1 2. Auston Matthews, C, Tor C2 3 3. Nathan MacKinnon, C, Col C3 5 4. Jack Eichel, C, Buf C4 2 5. Mark Scheifele, C, Wpg C5 6 6. Nikita Kucherov, RW, TB RW1 9 7. Patrik Laine, RW, Wpg RW2 4 8. Tyler Seguin, C, Dal C6
11:01 AM ET With the Toronto Maple Leafs–Tampa Bay Lightning and Winnipeg Jets–Nashville Predators games streaming live on ESPN+ on Thursday night, we figured it was a good time to update our picks on who will be representing each conference in the Stanley Cup Final, given that these four clubs all have a strong Cup
8:44 AM ET Greg WyshynskiESPN In a digital age, NHL teams were still relying on analog approaches to deliver stats and data to coaches during games. One team’s video coach would leave his room with 30 seconds left in a period, run out to print game summaries from NHL.com in order to ensure that his
1:55 AM ET Associated Press ANAHEIM, Calif. — The Anaheim Ducks have acquired defenseman Michael Del Zotto from the Vancouver Canucks for defenseman Luke Schenn and a 2020 seventh-round draft pick. The teams announced the trade Wednesday night. Del Zotto, 28, had a goal and three assists with the Canucks this season and has 54
10:40 PM ET Associated Press BUFFALO, N.Y. — Sabres defenseman Nathan Beaulieu is concerned with his lack of playing time and would prefer being traded if his role doesn’t change in Buffalo, the player’s agent told The Associated Press. Kent Hughes says that while he didn’t demand the Sabres trade his client, he did request