Goaltenders are in the spotlight for all four series resuming Sunday in the first round of the NHL playoffs.
Adrian Kempe had two goals and two assists, captain Anze Kopitar added a goal and three assists, and the Los Angeles Kings routed the Edmonton Oilers 6-2 to seize a 2-0 lead in their first-round Stanley Cup playoff series.
Phillip Danault scored his second goal with 42 seconds to play, and the Los Angeles Kings blew a four-goal lead before rallying for a 6-5 victory over the Edmonton Oilers in the opener of the clubs’ fourth consecutive first-round playoff series.
When Los Angeles Kings goalie Darcy Kuemper came out to center ice ready to fight his Boston Bruins counterpart Jeremy Swayman on Sunday night, Kings head coach Jim Hiller was only thinking about all the bad things that could have happened.
Saturday night crystallized how two trades made over the previous summers benefitted three teams in a way they usually don’t in the NHL.
Juraj Slafkovsky became the top pick in the 2022 NHL draft in part because he showed in the months leading up that he could score goals with an impeccable release.
Alex Ovechkin scored his 787th career goal to break Gordie Howe’s record for scoring with one team, but the Arizona Coyotes scored three times in the third period to rally for a 3-2 win against the Washington Capitals.
Alex Ovechkin tied Gordie Howe for the most goals scored for one NHL team and Andrew Copp had a go-ahead goal with 3:50 left, helping the Detroit Red Wings beat the Washington Capitals 3-1.
The Columbus Blue Jackets made the biggest splash in NHL free agency, stunning the league by landing Johnny Gaudreau with a seven-year contract for $68.25 million.
Colorado, Chicago and Pittsburgh all made key moves ahead of the NHL draft with the Stanley Cup champion Avalanche making a deal to shore up their goaltending situation and the Penguins ensuring a long-time defenseman was sticking around.
Nazem Kadri scored at 12:02 of overtime — perhaps with too many Colorado players on the ice — and the Avalanche beat Tampa Bay 3-2 on Wednesday night in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final to move within a victory of dethroning the two-time defending champion Lightning.
Steven Stamkos, Pat Maroon and Ondrej Palat each had a goal and an assist, and the Tampa Bay Lightning scored four times in the second period and beat the Colorado Avalanche 6-2 in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final.
Andre Burakovsky scored 1:23 into overtime and the Colorado Avalanche opened the Stanley Cup Final with a 4-3 victory over the two-time defending champion Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday night.
Nazem Kadri had three assists in a 2:04 span in the second period, backup Pavel Francouz stopped 24 shots for his second career playoff shutout and the Colorado Avalanche beat the Edmonton Oilers 4-0 on Thursday night to take a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference finals.
Darren Helm scored with 5.6 seconds left and Darcy Kuemper stopped 17 shots as the Colorado Avalanche finished off their second-round series with a 3-2 win over the St. Louis Blues in Game 6.
Nazem Kadri scored three goals, including two during a four-goal second period barrage, and the Colorado Avalanche beat the St. Louis Blues 6-3 to take a 3-1 lead in their Western Conference series.
David Perron scored twice, Jordan Binnington made 30 saves and the St. Louis Blues beat the Colorado Avalanche 4-1 to tie their second-round series at a game apiece.
Josh Manson scored 8:02 into overtime, Darcy Kuemper made 23 saves in his return to the net from an eye injury, and the Colorado Avalanche beat the St. Louis Blues 3-2 in Game 1 of their second-round series.
Gabriel Landeskog scored twice in the second period, and the top-seeded Colorado Avalanche beat the Nashville Predators 7-3 for a commanding 3-0 lead in their first-round Western Conference series.
Cale Makar scored 8:31 into overtime, Darcy Kuemper made 25 saves on his 32nd birthday and the Colorado Avalanche beat the Nashville Predators 2-1 to take a 2-0 lead in the first-round playoff series.
Nathan MacKinnon and Devon Toews scored 22 seconds apart in a five-goal first period, sending the Colorado Avalanche to a 7-2 win over the Nashville Predators in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series.
Nathan MacKinnon had three goals and two assists, Nicolas Aube-Kubel scored twice in a dominant first period and the Colorado Avalanche set a franchise record with their 53rd win by routing the Los Angeles Kings 9-3.
Ethan Bear scored the game’s first goal with 5:40 left and Sebastian Aho added an empty-netter to help the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Colorado Avalanche 2-0 on Thursday night.
Gabriel Landeskog tied the game with 36.5 seconds left in regulation and Cale Makar scored a power-play goal 3:01 into overtime as the Colorado Avalanche rallied past the Boston Bruins 4-3 for their 17th straight home victory.
Logan O’Connor scored twice in a 22-second span in a five-goal second period, and the Colorado Avalanche beat the Rangers 7-3, ending New York’s seven-game winning streak.
:strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gmg/V5UE6OOKMBAITAQP7NRZWZABE4.jpg)
:strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65):fill(FFF)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gmg/IPLDHPWQWZF4XH327XS3HLGJUU.jpg)
:strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gmg/HXW6OFVQM5EZNDO3L7UFUYJJIA.jpg)