NHL

AP Hockey WriterNo-name Penguins defense faces unheralded Predators centersBy STEPHEN WHYNOThe star centers and no-name defense of the Pittsburgh Penguins. The standout defensemen and unheralded centers of the Nashville Predators.The Stanley Cup Final is full of intriguing matchups, with Game 1 coming up Monday night in Pittsburgh.Pittsburgh goes for...

AP Hockey WriterPolar opposites: Big, tough Blues face small, quick CanucksBy STEPHEN WHYNOHockey is trending to look like the Vancouver Canucks, with smaller players and more skill, speed and offense.That didn't stop the big, heavy St. Louis Blues from bruising their way to the Stanley Cup last season and...

April 15 - Chicago 4, Nashville 3, 2OT, Duncan Keith, 7:49.April 17 - Montreal 3, Ottawa 2, OT, Alex Galchenyuk, 3:40.April 19 - Montreal 3, Ottawa 2, OT, Dale Weise, 8:47.April 20 - Anaheim 5, Winnipeg 4, OT, Rickard Rakell, 5:12.

Associated PressHockey commentator Don Cherry fired for rant over immigrantsBy ROB GILLIESTORONTO (AP) Don Cherry, Canada's most polarizing, flamboyant and opinionated hockey commentator, was fired Monday for calling immigrants ''you people'' in a television rant in which he said new immigrants are not honoring the country's fallen soldiers.Rogers...

DeSmith blanks Canucks; Penguins finish perfect Canada tripVANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) Casey DeSmith stopped 29 shots for his second career shutout, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin had two goals apiece and the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Vancouver Canucks 5-0 on Saturday night.DeSmith, a 27-year-old backup, got the nod...

AP Hockey WriterDevils GM doesn't care if Zacha considers signing with KHLBy JOHN WAWROWBUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) New Jersey Devils general manager Ray Shero says he is still attempting to sign center Pavel Zacha amid concerns the former first-round draft pick will play in the Kontinental Hockey League this...

AP Sports WriterNHL's newcomers taking turn atop league at All-Star breakBy TERESA M. WALKERNASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) Feel free to study the NHL standings when the league takes its annual break for All-Star Game weekend.Just be ready for them to change again once the games resume.Consider the nightly rotations...

Blackhawks' Kirby Dach injured in Canada’s exhibition winEDMONTON, Alberta (AP) Chicago Blackhawks forward Kirby Dach left Canada's 1-0 exhibition victory over Russia in the third period Wednesday night at the world junior tournament after injuring his right wrist.Dach was injured on what seemed like a harmless bodycheck in...

AP Hockey WriterButcher an NHL free agent after not signing with AvalancheBy JOHN WAWROWCollege hockey's top player is an NHL free agent after former University of Denver defenseman Will Butcher allowed a deadline to pass without signing with the Colorado Avalanche.The Avalanche selected Butcher in the fifth round of...

AP Sports WriterNashville helps Preds' celebrate history with 1st Cup FinalBy TERESA M. WALKERNASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) The town known as Music City sure knows how to throw a party, and thousands of people turned out to mark a bit of history Saturday night as Nashville hosted the first...

April 11 - Regular season ends.April 15 - Stanley Cup playoffs begin.April 16-26 - IIHF Under-18 World Championship, Zug and Lucerne, SwitzerlandMay 1-17 - IIHF World Championship, Prague and Ostrava, Czech Republic.June 17 - Last possible day for Stanley Cup finals.June 26-27 - NHL draft, Sunrise, Fla.July 1 -...

AP Hockey WriterGaudreau and Peters have Flames cruising toward playoffsBy STEPHEN WHYNOBill Peters deadpanned that it was the first time he had heard the question.What did you learn about Johnny Gaudreau that you didn't know before you started coaching him? Midway through his first season with the Calgary Flames,...