The NHL made the sixth career suspension of Colorado Avalanche forward Nazem Kadri the toughest, handing him eight games Friday for an illegal check to the head of St. Louis Blues defenseman Justin Faulk. If Colorado is eliminated before the full suspension is served, it will carry into the next regular season. The incident happened Wednesday in the third period of […]

Emily Kaplan is ESPN’s national NHL reporter. Toronto Maple Leafs captain John Tavares was discharged from the hospital Friday morning after a scary collision in Thursday night’s playoff game against the Montreal Canadiens. The Maple Leafs said Tavares was “thoroughly examined and assessed” by the St. Michael’s Hospital neurosurgical team and the team’s medical director. He was “conscious and communicating […]

Greg Wyshynski is ESPN’s senior NHL writer. The Toronto Maple Leafs haven’t played since May 14. The Montreal Canadiens haven’t played since May 12. But now that the North Division’s regular season has finally come to an end, it’s finally time for these rivals to hit the ice for Game 1 of their highly anticipated series. Tonight also brings pivotal […]

The St. Louis Blues had a scare before Wednesday's game, but positive COVID-19 tests to Jordan Binnington, Vladimir Tarasenko, Jaden Schwartz and Marco Scandella ended up being negative during a retest. They then took two major hits during the 6-3 Colorado Avalanche win when defensemen Robert Bortuzzo and Justin Faulk left the game with injuries. Bortuzzo took an elbow to the head […]

An early fight from team captain and Game 1 hero Gabe Landeskog didn’t need to get the Avalanche going Wednesday night in Game 2. Landeskog’s massive check on his first shift did the job. The Avs again followed their leader at Ball Arena — scoring 35 seconds into the game right after Landeskog crushed St. Louis captain Ryan O’Reilly behind […]

It’s that special time of year, when Stanley Cup playoff action is heating up and the hockey world can also watch their countries go for gold.  After the 2020 tournament was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the IIHF Men’s World Championship is back in 2021. Sixteen teams will compete in the 17-day tourney set to take place in Latvia.  Normally a way […]

Emily Kaplan is ESPN’s national NHL reporter. We’ve had some remarkable — and tense — hockey so far in the Stanley Cup playoffs, and if Tuesday had a theme, it was stellar goaltending. Netminders in all three games stole the show. On Wednesday, Canadian teams get to join the party, as the North Division slate finally kicks off with Game […]

The Avalanche and St. Louis Blues meet for Game 2 of their first-round playoff series Wednesday night at Ball Arena (8:30 p.m., CNBC, ALT). Here are three keys for the Avs going up 2-0 in the series: Get Kadri going. Avalanche second-line center Nazem Kadri was fabulous in last year’s playoffs, producing nine goals and 18 points in 15 games. […]

Mike Modano knows a thing or two about hockey. The Hockey Hall of Famer suited up for 21 NHL seasons where he notched 1,374 points (561 goals and 813 assists) in 1,499 games for the North Stars/Stars and Red Wings. His goals and points total sits atop the list among American-born players. NHL PLAYOFFS 2021: Full bracket, dates, times, TV channels […]