NHL

AP Sports WriterNeal lifts Golden Knights to win in Vegas franchise debutBy SCHUYLER DIXONDALLAS (AP) James Neal simply wanted to give the people of Las Vegas a reason to smile.Chances are he did.Neal scored twice in the third period, rallying the Golden Knights to a 2-1 victory over...

Associated PressStaal, Dubnyk lead Wild past Arizona 2-1By PATRICK DONNELLYST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) Eric Staal had already seen his former teammate rob him of a goal once. When he got another chance, he made sure it didn't happen again.Staal and Mikael Grandlund scored and Devan Dubnyk stopped 27...

Associated PressCrawford lead Blackhawks to 1st win, 3-1 over OilersBy MATT CARLSONCHICAGO (AP) Patrick Kane and Alexander Nylander scored, Corey Crawford stopped 27 shots, and the Chicago Blackhawks beat the Edmonton Oilers 3-1 Monday night for their first win of the season.Brandon Saad added an empty-netter with 32.7...

Associated PressKuznetsov and Holtby prove just as valuable as OvechkinBy W.G. RAMIREZLAS VEGAS (AP) Alex Ovechkin finally got to hoist the Stanley Cup. And then he raised the Conn Smythe Trophy as the MVP of the Stanley Cup Final.Fellow Russian linemate Evgeny Kuznetsov and goaltender Braden Holtby certainly...

NHL suspends Rangers' Lemieux for 2 preliminary round gamesNEW YORK (AP) New York Rangers forward Brendan Lemieux has been suspended by the NHL for the first two games of the team's preliminary-round series against Carolina because of an illegal check that injured Colorado forward Joonas Donskoi in March.The...

AP Hockey WritersNHL, players approve plan to resume season, extend CBABy STEPHEN WHYNO and JOHN WAWROWPro hockey's return is potentially three weeks away, and with it an assurance of labor peace through September 2026.In separate votes announced Friday, the NHL board of governors and members of the NHL Players'...

Carolina 1 2 2-5San Jose 0 1 3-4First Period-1, Carolina, E.Staal 17 (Tlusty, Jo.Staal), 19:02.Second Period-2, Carolina, Nestrasil 2 (Semin, Sekera), 5:33. 3, San Jose, Hertl 9 (Tierney, Desjardins), 8:26. 4, Carolina, Lindholm 10 (Faulk), 10:13 (pp).Third Period-5, San Jose, Hertl 10 (Hannan,...

Blues fire coach Ken Hitchcock, promote Mike YeoST. LOUIS (AP) The Blues abruptly fired coach Ken Hitchcock on Wednesday, cutting short the veteran's final season in St. Louis and putting coach-in-waiting Mike Yeo in charge of the underperforming team months earlier than planned.General manager Doug Armstrong announced the...

Kraken's AHL franchise in Palm Springs delayed by 1 yearSEATTLE (AP) The Seattle Kraken will split its players among several American Hockey League teams for its inaugural 2021-22 season with plans for their own AHL franchise in the Palm Springs area delayed by a year.Oak View Group and...

AP Hockey WriterVariety of champs shows there's no one Stanley Cup blueprintBy STEPHEN WHYNOHad the night of June 13 gone differently, maybe NHL rivals would be looking to the Boston Bruins as the model to follow to win the Stanley Cup.''We were one game away to change the narrative...

AP Hockey WriterDevils buck odds to win NHL draft lottery; Vegas to pick 6thBy JOHN WAWROWThe New Jersey Devils won the NHL draft lottery, vaulting four teams including the last-place Colorado Avalanche and expansion Vegas Golden Knights for the right to the first pick in the draft.The Philadelphia Flyers...

AP Sports WriterSharks seek new voice after firing coach Peter DeBoerBy JOSH DUBOWSAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) Flying back home from a winless road trip, general manager Doug Wilson could feel the same lack of energy and excitement that had plagued the San Jose Sharks on the ice too...