NHL

AP Sports WriterLightning's Stamkos ruled out for start of Stanley Cup FinalBy FRED GOODALLCaptain Steven Stamkos is out, Brayden Point is hurting and Anthony Cirelli is hobbling, too.The Tampa Bay Lightning enter the Stanley Cup Final against the Dallas Stars with several key players dealing with injuries the team...

Hurricanes, 1st-round pick agree to 3-year entry-level dealRALEIGH, N.C. (AP) The Carolina Hurricanes have agreed to terms with first-round draft pick Martin Necas.General manager Ron Francis said Friday that Necas has received a three-year, entry-level contract worth $832,500 per season in the NHL or $70,000 a year in...

Bruins trade Frank Vatrano to Panthers for draft pickBOSTON (AP) The Boston Bruins stayed active as the NHL trade deadline nears, dealing forward Frank Vatrano to the Florida Panthers on Thursday for a third-round pick in the June draft.Vatrano has appeared in 25 games with Boston this season,...

Associated PressFleury shuts out former team; Knights defeat PenguinsBy DAN SCIFOPITTSBURGH (AP) Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 29 shots against his former team, leading the Vegas Golden Knights to a 3-0 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday night.Fleury recorded his 445th win, tying Terry Sawchuck for seventh on the...

AP Hockey WriterNHL's top draft prospect staying patient amid uncertaintyBy JOHN WAWROWAlexis Lafreniere could never have envisioned ending his prolific junior hockey career in such an anticlimactic setting.There was no final buzzer, and the NHL's projected top draft prospect was nowhere near an ice rink Wednesday. Lafreniere was instead...

AP Hockey WriterMarijuana legalization in Canada won't change NHL - yetBy STEPHEN WHYNOAs Riley Cote took and delivered countless punches over more than a decade of junior and pro hockey, he was eager to avoid painkillers.Early on, marijuana was touted to the enforcer as a healing option.''I started noticing...

Associated PressHuberdeau scores in OT to lift Panthers past Sharks, 6-5By RICK EYMERSAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) Jonathan Huberdeau scored 1:38 into overtime after San Jose's Joe Pavelski scored twice late in the third period to tie it, and the Florida Panthers beat the Sharks 6-5 on Wednesday night.Nick...

Pat Stapleton, longtime Blackhawks defenseman, dies at 79TORONTO (AP) Pat Stapleton, a longtime NHL defenseman who famously kept an air of mystery over whether he possessed the puck from the winning goal of the 1972 Summit Series, has died. He was 79.The Strathroy Rockets, a Greater Ontario Junior...

Wife of Luc Robitaille tweets about Trump elevator encounterNEW YORK (AP) The wife of Hall of Fame hockey player Luc Robitaille has tweeted about an encounter with Donald Trump more than two decades ago in an elevator at Madison Square Garden.Stacia Robitaille wrote Monday on Twitter that Trump...

Penguins win 2-1 in OT, take 2-0 series leadPITTSBURGH (AP) Conor Sheary scored 2:35 into overtime, lifting the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 2-1 win over the San Jose Sharks in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final on Wednesday night and a 2-0 lead in the series.The Sharks...

AP Hockey WriterCan Ovechkin catch Gretzky? NHL's new Mr. 700 has a chanceBy STEPHEN WHYNOAlex Ovechkin is making the seemingly impossible appear to be not so far-fetched after all.Wayne Gretzky's 894 career goals has, for decades, loomed as one of hockey's most untouchable records. The ''Great One'' set the...

Avalanche sign defenseman Mark Alt to a 2-year dealDENVER (AP) The Colorado Avalanche have signed defenseman Mark Alt to a two-year deal.The team claimed the 26-year-old off waivers from Philadelphia on Feb. 26. He played in seven games for Colorado during the regular season but didn't play in...