NHL

With hockey set to return after a four-month lockout, the NHL is apologizing again. Echoing last week's remarks by commissioner Gary Bettman, the NHL is using full-page newspaper ads Thursday to tell fans it's sorry for the lockout that delayed the season and trimmed the schedule from 82 games to...

Associated PressForsling's goal in OT lifts Blackhawks over Sabres, 3-2By MATT CARLSONCHICAGO (AP) Gustav Forsling scored on a screened shot from the blue line with 4.9 seconds left on the clock in overtime, and the Chicago Blackhawks rallied to beat the Buffalo Sabres 3-2 Friday night to snap...

Montreal Canadiens coach Michel Therrien wants to remind his team that the season isn't over just because a playoff spot has already been clinched. Therrien was angry after the Canadiens lost by four goals for a second straight game -- this time 7-3 to the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday...

AP Sports WriterClash of styles: Columbus, Toronto face off in short seriesBy MITCH STACYThe Columbus Blue Jackets' body-banging, shot-blocking, harassing defensive style frustrated the offensively gifted Tampa Bay Lightning in a stunning first-round playoff sweep last year.After a long break and hurried training camp, the Blue Jackets now will...

Sens GM: Getting Duchene was a 'no-brainer'OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) Senators general manager Pierre Dorion says the trade to bring Matt Duchene to Ottawa was a ''no- brainer.''Dorion and Duchene met with reporters on Monday, a day after the Senators acquired Duchene from Colorado as part of a three-way...

AP Sports WriterBobrovsky comes back strong in Blue Jackets' playoff chaseBy MITCH STACYCOLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) Through an odd, erratic season for the Columbus Blue Jackets, nobody has had a bumpier ride than star goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky.A high-profile contract issue, a slump, a disciplinary suspension and a humiliating healthy...

Stars get defenseman Carrick from Toronto for draft pickFRISCO, Texas (AP) The Dallas Stars have acquired defenseman Connor Carrick from the Toronto Maple Leafs for a conditional draft pick next year.Toronto made the deal Monday, sending Carrick to Dallas for a seventh-round pick in the 2019 draft. That...

AP Hockey WriterPuck-stopping patience: Teams wait on goalies at NHL draftBy STEPHEN WHYNODALLAS (AP) The stress of stopping the puck with a game on the line is no sweat compared to what young goaltenders deal with waiting to be taken in the NHL draft.Even the best goaltending prospects...

Dallas Stars fire Jim Montgomery for unprofessional conductDALLAS (AP) The Dallas Stars have fired second-year coach Jim Montgomery for what the team called unprofessional conduct.General manager Jim Nill said in a statement Tuesday that the Stars expect all of their employees to act with integrity and exhibit professional...

AP Sports WriterVegas hardly a fly-by-Knight squad in 1st season on the iceBy PAT GRAHAMFeel free to keep treating the Vegas Golden Knights like an expansion team. Really, they don't mind being taken lightly.The trouble is, they're hard to overlook given an 8-3 start (16 points). That despite losing...

USA Hockey prospects game to be played in MinnesotaST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) The Minnesota Wild have been selected as a first-time host this fall of the USA Hockey All-American Prospects Game.The seventh annual event, featuring the top 40 U.S.-born prospects eligible for the 2019 draft, will be played...

AP Sports WriterBruins retiring jersey of NHL barrier breaker Willie O'ReeBy KYLE HIGHTOWERBOSTON (AP) Willie O'Ree, who broke the NHL's color barrier, is set have his jersey retired by the Boston Bruins.O'Ree will have his No. 22 jersey honored prior to the Bruins' Feb. 18 game against the...