TAMPA, Fla. – If defending well is a total team effort — 12 forwards, six defensemen and one goalie all working as one – so is defending poorly. The Avalanche’s 7-0 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final was a masterclass; the Lightning had only 16 shots on goal. But the Avalanche’s 6-2 […]

Kristen Shilton is a national NHL reporter for ESPN. TAMPA, Fla. — The Colorado Avalanche pulled goaltender Darcy Kuemper from Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final after the Tampa Bay Lightning took a 5-2 lead midway through the second period Tuesday night. Kuemper allowed five goals on 21 shots. He was replaced by backup Pavel Francouz. The Avalanche lead […]

The Dallas Stars are closing in on a contract with Peter DeBoer to make him their next coach, a source told ESPN on Monday, confirming multiple reports. The news was first reported by TSN. DeBoer, 54, fired by the Vegas Golden Knights at the end of the regular season, will inherit a young team that advanced to the Western Conference […]

Kristen Shilton is a national NHL reporter for ESPN. DENVER — Colorado’s Andre Burakovsky will not travel with the team to Tampa on Sunday after suffering an injury in the Avalanche’s 7-0 drubbing of the Lightning in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final on Saturday. Coach Jared Bednar said Burakovsky is still being evaluated and would join the Avalanche […]

Kristen Shilton is a national NHL reporter for ESPN. DENVER — Jack Johnson is having the spring of his life — on and off the ice. Colorado’s veteran defenseman waited 16 years to finally be playing in the Stanley Cup Final, which the Avalanche lead 1-0 over Tampa Bay heading into Saturday’s Game 2. At the same time, Johnson realized […]

Kristen Shilton is a national NHL reporter for ESPN. Greg Wyshynski is ESPN’s senior NHL writer. The 2022 Stanley Cup Final between the Colorado Avalanche and Tampa Bay Lightning got off to a rollicking start, with Colorado jumping out to a 3-1 lead in the first period, Tampa Bay tying it in the second, and the Avalanche prevailing 4-3 in […]

Andrei Vasilevskiy is only human. It just seems like a giant of mythic proportions. The Tampa Bay Lightning’s stellar award-winning goaltender lost twice to the Avalanche in the regular season. And Colorado intends to beat him four more times in the Stanley Cup Finals. “They do have a great goalie on that side that has accomplished a lot but we […]

Lightning center Brayden Point, out since Game 7 of the first-round Toronto series because of a lower-body injury, participated in practice Tuesday afternoon ahead of the Lightning’s Stanley Cup Finals opener against the Avalanche on Wednesday. “There’s a chance (he plays),” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. “The last series (against the Rangers), if it was going deep (to Game 7), […]

Kristen Shilton is a national NHL reporter for ESPN. DENVER — Andre Burakovsky is close to feeling 100 percent again, days ahead of the Colorado Avalanche facing the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final on Wednesday. The Avalanche forward blocked a shot off his hand in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals against the […]

Kristen Shilton is a national NHL reporter for ESPN. The Stanley Cup Final is determined by more than star players. It’s also about star turns. The ones we expect, and often the ones we don’t. The Tampa Bay Lightning know that better than anyone. The two-time defending Stanley Cup champions are back in the Final for a third straight season, […]