NHL

Biggest NHL draft questions: Top prospects, trade targets, bold predictions
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Emily Kaplan is ESPN’s national NHL reporter. Greg Wyshynski is ESPN’s senior NHL writer. Draft day is here! You’ve read through our top-50 prospect rankings, checked out the latest projections in Greg’s mock draft, learned more about what makes Owen Power such a great prospect from Emily’s story, and of course, digested the Seattle Kraken’s expansion draft process thanks to our top takeaways file. Now, it’s time to answer those

Predators prospect Prokop announces he is gay
NHL

Emily Kaplan is ESPN’s national NHL reporter. Nashville Predators prospect Luke Prokop on Monday became the first active player under NHL contract to come out as gay. Prokop, 19, made the announcement in an Instagram post. “It has been quite the journey to get to this point in my life, but I could not be happier with my decision to come out,” Prokop wrote. “From a young age I have

Why Owen Power has become the clear No. 1 prospect in the 2021 NHL draft
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Emily Kaplan is ESPN’s national NHL reporter. Growing up in Mississauga, Ontario, Owen Power dreamed of playing in the NHL. “It’s all I worked and hoped for,” Power said in a phone conversation this week. “To have that day come to reality, that’s going to be pretty special.” Power, a 6-foot-6 defenseman, is the favorite to go No. 1 overall to the Buffalo Sabres in the 2021 NHL draft next

NHL Draft prospects 2021: Ranking the top 32 players overall on the big board
NHL

It’s been an interesting year. Delayed starts. Cancelled seasons. Players travelling overseas for playing time. International tournaments cancelled. Many played despite the odds.  All of this was on top of the stress of living, let alone playing hockey, in the global pandemic.  But we’re here. The opening round of the 2021 NHL Draft is now quickly approaching and is set for June 23. 2021 NHL DRAFT: FCHockey’s full 300-player ranking In the scouting

Lightning finish off Habs to repeat as Cup champs
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Emily Kaplan is ESPN’s national NHL reporter. The Tampa Bay Lightning are back-to-back Stanley Cup champs — and they did it in a nine-month span. Tampa Bay defeated the Montreal Canadiens 1-0 in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final on Wednesday at home, becoming the first team to repeat as champion since the 2016 and 2017 Pittsburgh Penguins. Goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy won the Conn Smythe Trophy and recorded his

Why the Lightning are the most impressive Cup champions of the salary-cap era
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Greg Wyshynski is ESPN’s senior NHL writer. Evil has prevailed. Tampa Bay has captured a second straight Stanley Cup. The Great Lightning Heist has been completed. This is how we’re supposed to react to this victory, right? That the “cheaters” won? That the team that was $18 million over the salary cap after reuniting with star winger Nikita Kucherov in the playoffs — missing the entire regular season after hip

Canadiens fans outside Bell Centre force lockdown inside with violent celebration
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Montreal hockey fans made things dangerous for people outside — and inside — Bell Centre on Thursday after the Canadiens clinched the franchise’s first trip to the Stanley Cup Final in 28 years. CTV News reported that a police vehicle was turned on its side, fans threw objects at officers and officers responded by lobbing tear gas to disperse revelers following the Habs’ 3-2 overtime win over Vegas in Game 6

What channel is Canadiens vs. Lightning on today? Game 2 time, TV schedule for 2021 Stanley Cup Final
NHL

Is it too early to call Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final a must-win for the Canadiens? Montreal entered Monday’s matchup with the defending champion Lightning on a hot streak, but were bullied in a 5-1 defeat in Tampa Bay. Goalie Carey Price gave up a playoff-high five goals on 27 in the defeat, turning in his worst save percentage (.815) of the postseason. The Lightning onslaught was simply

Hart History: McDavid unanimous choice for MVP
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Greg Wyshynski is ESPN’s senior NHL writer. Edmonton Oilers star Connor McDavid won the Hart Trophy as NHL most valuable player, becoming only the second player in the 97-year history of the award to win it unanimously. McDavid placed first on all 100 ballots from the Professional Hockey Writers Association. Previously, only Wayne Gretzky won the Hart unanimously back in 1981-82, also with the Oilers. Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston

Canadiens defeat Golden Knights in overtime in Game 6, reach first Stanley Cup Final since 1993
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No Canadian team has won the Stanley Cup since the 1993 Montreal Canadiens. The 2021 version of the team has a shot at ending that drought after defeating the Vegas Golden Knights 3-2 in overtime in Game 6 in Montreal on Thursday night. The Canadiens are the first Canadian team to reach the Stanley Cup Final since the 2011 Vancouver Canucks lost to the Boston Bruins. Artturi Lehkonen scored the winning