Disappointed Senators taking positives from season
PITTSBURGH -- In the end, their captain was right. But the Ottawa Senators aren't going to let getting eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs by the Pittsburgh Penguins ruin what was, on the whole, a positive season. "I hope they do...
Neal takes over Penguins' powerful offense
PITTSBURGH -- It has not been the easiest Stanley Cup Playoffs for James Neal. He scored once in the Pittsburgh Penguins' first nine postseason games and managed three assists. It was not up to the expectations Neal has for himself or those th...
Alfredsson unsure of future after season ends
PITTSBURGH -- Ottawa Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson said Friday he hasn't made any decisions about whether his NHL career will continue. But he allows that his positive experiences with teammates this season might be a factor perhaps swaying h...
Penguins steamroll into Eastern Conference Finals
The Pittsburgh Penguins are back in the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since winning the Stanley Cup in 2009. After two straight first-round exits, the Penguins wrapped up this year's second-round series against the Ottawa Senator...
Blackhawks draw on past in believing rally is possible
CHICAGO -- The Chicago Blackhawks have been in a similar spot before and nearly pulled off an unthinkable escape, so they don't sound intimidated by facing elimination from the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Chicago trails the rival Detroit Red Win...
Bruins ignore 2010 talk after failing to sweep Rangers
BOSTON -- By not closing out the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the New York Rangers on Thursday, the Boston Bruins left themselves open to having to answer questions about 2010 and their second-round loss to the Philadelphia Flyers. "I ...
Three items Rangers must accomplish to win Game 5
GREENBURGH, N.Y. -- Henrik Lundqvist told the New York Rangers before Game 4 Thursday that they weren't going to go out in a sweep. "We worked for too long and too hard to go out in four straight," Lundqvist said. He was right, but now the...
Kreider earns Tortorella's trust, then seizes chance
GREENBURGH, N.Y. -- New York Rangers coach John Tortorella consistently talks about how he's always evaluating his players as the game is going on. If Tortorella sees that someone has it that night, no matter who it is, he'll use that player for m...
Five reasons Blackhawks are on verge of being upset
DETROIT -- Members of the Chicago Blackhawks spent the morning before Game 4 of their Western Conference Semifinal series against the Detroit Red Wings at Joe Louis Arena talking about how they knew this never was going to be easy, even if they st...
Kings well-stocked with talent from Monarchs
Kings aren't born, they're made. And in the case of the Los Angeles Kings, they're made in the Queen City: Manchester, New Hampshire. No matter that they're 3,000 miles apart, the Kings and their primary affiliate, the American Hockey Leagu...
Crosby preaches focus, desperation before Game 5
PITTSBURGH -- Sidney Crosby isn't ready to get ahead of himself in this Eastern Conference Semifinal. The Pittsburgh Penguins captain has heard all the chatter about how his team has found its legs in this series after the 7-3 thrashing they de...
Play of the Week: Kreider extends Rangers' season
With a flick of his stick, Chris Kreider ensured the New York Rangers' season would continue beyond Thursday. Kreider, who burst onto the scene during the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs straight out of Boston College, rediscovered a little of that p...
Hartley believes Roy will be success with Avalanche
Calgary Flames coach Bob Hartley has heard a lot in the past few days that former superstar players don't become great NHL coaches and that it's been a long time since a goalie has succeeded as a coach in the League. Hartley, who coached Patri...
Howard emerging as the center of attention in Detroit
DETROIT -- Jimmy Howard had just authored one of the best performances of his NHL career -- not just because the Detroit Red Wings goaltender stopped all 28 shots against a desperate Chicago Blackhawks club, but because of the magnitude of the sit...
Penguins, Kings using different styles to win
The Pittsburgh Penguins have advanced to the conference finals, and the Los Angeles Kings are one win from getting there. If the 2009 and 2012 Stanley Cup champions end up meeting in this year's Final, the Penguins and Kings would present one of t...
Bruins' Seguin finds his game in loss
NEW YORK -- Tyler Seguin's scoring touch returned Thursday night. Seguin, the Boston Bruins' leading scorer in 2011-12, had a lone assist in his team's first 10 Stanley Cup Playoff games this spring, though the Bruins overcame his lack of produ...
London advances to Memorial Cup semifinals
The London Knights will live to play another day in the 2013 MasterCard Memorial Cup. The Ontario Hockey League champion received goals from six players and got 32 saves from goalie Jake Patterson in a 6-1 victory against the host Saskatoon Bla...
Bruins' mistakes keep them from sweeping Rangers
NEW YORK -- After playing with so much polish and confidence through three games, the Boston Bruins appeared intent on sweeping the New York Rangers out of the Eastern Conference Semifinals on Thursday. It seemed especially true when a pair of...
Tortorella scratches Richards, then defends him
NEW YORK -- New York Rangers coach John Tortorella started by saying he felt it was important to spend a few minutes talking about why he scratched center Brad Richards for Game 4 against the Boston Bruins on Thursday at Madison Square Garden. ...
Alfredsson doesn't back down from comments
OTTAWA – Daniel Alfredsson has been captain of the Ottawa Senators for 14 of the 20 years the modern incarnation of the franchise has been in the NHL. Over that time, his leadership has almost never come into question. Until now. When Alfred...
Roy latest Hall member to seek coaching success
Patrick Roy was a Hall of Fame goaltender who won the Stanley Cup twice with the Montreal Canadiens and twice with the Colorado Avalanche. He retired with the most regular-season wins in NHL history and holds the mark for most playoff victories. ...
Avalanche icon Roy aiming for successful sequel
Since joining the Colorado Avalanche in December of the 1995-96 season, Patrick Roy played a huge role in the fortunes of the franchise. Now he returns as coach and vice president of hockey operations with the hope of having a similar impact. ...
Roy facing several challenges with Avalanche
The Colorado Avalanche finished 15th in the Western Conference and 29th in the League standings in 2012-13, and have missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs four of the past five seasons. That led to a shake-up in the front office and coaching staff, ...
'Small play' by Neal opens Pens' blowout of Sens
Visa presents "Small Plays" which looks at the little things during a game that turn into big results. Here is a recent example from Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Ottawa Senators. Neal's rea...
Penguins pleased Pirates wearing jerseys on trip
PITTSBURGH -- There was to be a gathering of more than two dozen men wearing Pittsburgh Penguins jerseys Thursday night. Not unexpected for a May evening on the eve of a day in which the Penguins can advance to the Eastern Conference Finals wi...
Penguins scoring at prolific playoff rate
PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Penguins are scoring at a rate not seen during the Stanley Cup Playoffs since Wayne Gretzky was active. Not that the Penguins know that. Nor care. "I don't even know or look at the number of goals we're scoring,...
Verbal barbs beginning to fly between Kings, Sharks
LOS ANGELES -- The only thing surprising about the verbal bricks lobbed between the Los Angeles Kings and San Jose Sharks lately is that it took this long for it to materialize publicly. After four intense Stanley Cup Playoff games, the in-stat...
Red Wings in new territory, shift adversity to Hawks
DETROIT -- The Detroit Red Wings have played a lot of desperate hockey in the past month. They won four straight games to close the regular season and claim a spot in the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs, and already have fallen behind in a series fou...
Bruins goalie Rask evolving into one of game's best
NEW YORK -- There's reason to believe Boston Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask has the ice in his veins that's required to play the toughest position. It's also not too far-fetched to believe the 26-year-old Finn has what it takes to lead his team to a se...
Pens didn't let Anderson's dominance get them down
OTTAWA – The Craig Anderson dam finally burst Wednesday night, and the result was a flood of goals by the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Penguins had two full days to think about how Anderson stole Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals on Sunday ...
Kings could shuffle lines for Game 5
The Los Angeles Kings have perfected the art of playing -- and winning -- low-scoring playoff games. But scoring one goal a game, as they did in consecutive road losses to the San Jose Sharks in Games 3 and 4 of the Western Conference Semifinals -...
Penguins' Neal breaks through with pair of goals
OTTAWA – James Neal had expressed confidence in his game prior to Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals, but deep down, his inability to score once in the first three games of the best-of-7 series was weighing on him. "It felt good," Neal...
Alfredsson won't discuss his future past Game 5
OTTAWA – The Ottawa Senators may have played their final home game of the season Wednesday. The question remains whether it was the final game in Ottawa for captain Daniel Alfredsson. The Senators were thumped 7-3 by the Pittsburgh Penguins in ...
Five keys for Vancouver's new coach
VANCOUVER -- After firing coach Alain Vigneault and two of his assistants on Wednesday, Vancouver Canucks president and general manager Mike Gillis was in no mood to look ahead at possible replacements. "Today has been a bad enough day; can you g...
Portland beats Saskatoon, makes Memorial Cup semis
Chase De Leo's goal early in the third period snapped a 1-1 tie and the Portland Winterhawks closed round-robin play at the 2013 MasterCard Memorial Cup by beating the host Saskatoon Blades 4-2 on Wednesday at Credit Union Centre. Ty Rattie and...
Highs and lows of Alain Vigneault's time in Vancouver
VANCOUVER -- Alain Vigneault leaves the Vancouver Canucks as the franchise leader in victories and winning percentage. His 313-170-57 coaching record includes two Presidents' Trophies, six Northwest Division titles and one trip to the Stanley Cup ...
Sharks hope to end Kings' home winning streak
SAN JOSE -- The San Jose Sharks proved they could beat the Los Angeles Kings at HP Pavilion, winning Games 3 and 4 to pull even in their Western Conference Semifinal series. Now comes the hard part for San Jose as the series shifts back to Stap...
Thornton leading Sharks with strong play on ice
SAN JOSE -- For the first time in Joe Thornton's Stanley Cup Playoff career, the San Jose Sharks captain had been flying a bit under the radar, sharing the attention and pressure on a team that has a longer list of stars and characters than in the...
Bruins' defensive play shows organization's depth
NEW YORK -- For any team, missing three veteran defensemen in the first three games of a playoff series would provide a sizeable disadvantage. But the Boston Bruins, who have been without Dennis Seidenberg, Wade Redden and Andrew Ference for their...
Golfer Fritsch becomes part of Senators family
He's not exactly a two-sport star, but pro golfer Brad Fritsch is a unique athlete. The Ottawa native and longtime Senators fan enjoyed his first PGA Tour top-10 finish in January and has established himself as a unique figure on the tour. That...