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
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
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
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
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
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
Former NHL forward JT Brown was named a television analyst for the league's newest franchise in Seattle, the team announced Monday. Brown will join play-by-play announcer John Forslund in calling games on ROOT Sports Northwest for the Seattle Kraken's first season in 2021-22. "What better way to retire, to stay in hockey, to go to a new, great organization and what they're trying to do," Brown said. "I believe they want to be
When the National Hockey League returns to ESPN and ABC this fall, former NHL great Mark Messier will be behind the microphone to offer his expert analysis. Elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2007, Messier has previously worked as a studio analyst on Versus' coverage of the NHL and has also appeared as part of Rogers Communications' national coverage in Canada. “My passion for the game is as
Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Alec Martinez, a key contributor in a postseason run that ended in the NHL semifinals, admitted Saturday that he played with a broken foot. The 33-year-old veteran, who had four goals and six points across three series for Vegas, disclosed the injury at a pivotal time, as he’s about to hit unrestricted free agency next month and is certain to attract interest on the open market
Boston Bruins forward David Pastrnak announced on social media early Monday that his newborn son, Viggo, died last week. Viggo Rohl Pastrnak was born on June 17 and died on June 23, Pastrnak announced on Instagram. “We have an Angel watching over us and we call him SON. You will be loved FOREVER,” Pastrnak wrote. “Please respect our privacy as we are going through these heartbreaking times.” https://www.instagram.com/p/CQp0N8IlmWf/ The Bruins
