NHL

8:15 AM ET Over the past two seasons, Nicklas Backstrom faced conversations that frankly, he had no interest in having. The Washington Capitals center’s nagging left hip had deteriorated to the point where he had a hard time putting on his socks and shoes. He struggled to play with his kids (ages 9, 6 and

9:28 PM ET ESPN News Services HALIFAX, Nova Scotia — Connor Bedard scored in the second period, igniting a rally and electrifying a hungry home crowd, as Canada defeated the United States 6-2 in the semifinals of the world junior championship Wednesday. Team Canada will play host to the Czech Republic in the tournament’s title

7:39 PM ET Ottawa Senators goalie Cam Talbot decided to use his new mask to send a not-so-subtle message to actor Ryan Reynolds about his potential ownership stake in the team. Of course, a lack of subtlety is expected when it comes to Deadpool, the Marvel character Reynolds had embodied for two films. Latest mask

9:00 AM ET The NHL season is nearing its midpoint, which means teams separating out into the hopeful and the hopeless. Here are the Stanley Cup Hope Tiers as they are currently constituted. The projected points and playoff probabilities are through Monday’s games and provided by FiveThirtyEight. The Stanley Cup champion probabilities are via Money

11:29 PM ET ESPN News Services WASHINGTON — Damar Hamlin was at the forefront in the minds of the Buffalo Sabres from the time they woke up on a game day through the end of their 5-4 overtime victory at the Washington Capitals on Tuesday night. It was evident from the “LOVE FOR 3” shirts

3:08 PM ET The Detroit Red Wings placed forward Jakub Vrana on waivers Tuesday, less than three weeks after he returned to the team following a stint in the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program. Vrana is midway through a three-year, $15.75 million deal that carries a $5.25 million cap hit. Vrana, 26, sought treatment through the

6:53 PM ET ESPN News Services MONCTON, New Brunswick — Logan Cooley had three goals, and Red Savage and Cutter Gauthier had two each, as Team USA cruised past Germany 11-1 in the world junior championship Monday, securing a spot in the tournament’s semifinals. The win was the Americans’ third straight after a surprising loss

5:32 PM ET BOSTON — The Boston Bruins defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 2-1 to win this year’s Winter Classic in front of 39,243 fans at Fenway Park on Monday. Winger Jake DeBrusk scored two third-period goals, including the game-winner with 2:33 left to break a 1-1 tie. “This is an event that’s a dream come

2:14 PM ET The Seattle Kraken and Vegas Golden Knights, the NHL’s two newest franchises, will play the 2024 Winter Classic at T-Mobile Park, the league announced on Monday. It will be the first time hosting an outdoor game for the Kraken, who are in their second season as a franchise. It will be the

1:10 PM ET Time to go play outside. The NHL Winter Classic on Monday features the Pittsburgh Penguins against the Boston Bruins at Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox. This is the NHL’s second time playing in front of the Green Monster, the first coming in 2010. Since the Winter Classic began in

1:38 PM ET The Dallas Stars have signed 38-year-old center Joe Pavelski to a one-year contract extension through the 2023-24 season. The contract is worth a base salary of $3.5 million and includes $2 million in potential performance bonuses. Pavelski has 12 goals and 25 assists in 38 games this season. Since signing with Dallas

6:53 PM ET ESPN News Services MONCTON, New Brunswick — Captain Luke Hughes and forward Jimmy Snuggerud each had a goal and an assist and Team USA secured the Group B title at the world junior championship Saturday night with a 6-2 victory over Finland. The Americans improved to 3-1 at the tournament and won

8:16 PM ET ESPN News Services WASHINGTON — Alex Ovechkin scored almost at will against the Montreal Canadiens and moved a few steps closer to Wayne Gretzky’s NHL goal record. Ovechkin recorded his 30th career hat trick to speed up his pursuit of Gretkzy’s mark, Charlie Lindgren made 31 saves against his first NHL team

Dec 31, 2022 The Colorado Avalanche have activated star center Nathan MacKinnon off injured reserve ahead of Saturday’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs. MacKinnon has not played since Dec. 5 because of an upper-body injury that forced him out of a loss to the Philadelphia Flyers. He was placed on IR the following day.

7:01 AM ET There’s always that one surprise NHL team. The success story we don’t see coming. They’ve gone from missing the playoffs — usually by a sizable margin — to beginning the following season so well that it forces an inevitable question: Are they for real? This season’s Cinderella turn has belonged to the

7:00 AM ET The calendars are poised to flip from 2022 to 2023, and while it’s not precisely the midpoint of the NHL regular season, it’s a good time to take stock of where teams fall short. For this week’s edition of the Power Rankings, we identify a New Year’s resolution for all 32 clubs.

Dec 29, 2022 ESPN News Services Sidney Crosby will be appointed as an officer of the Order of Canada, officials announced Thursday, as the Pittsburgh Penguins captain receives one of the country’s highest honors. Crosby, a three-time Stanley Cup champion who helped Canada win two Olympic gold medals, is among 99 new appointments. His selection

12:13 AM ET ESPN News Services SUNRISE, Fla. — Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov recorded a hat trick in the first period and helped his team snap a three-game losing streak with a 7-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday night. Barkov scored the first two goals of the game within the first 11:50