RALEIGH, N.C. — Sometimes, it’s a better hockey game than anyone probably expected.

It was a national holiday. It was an afternoon game. It was the middle of January.

But sometimes, those games can surprise. It can be like it’s April or May, with a lot more on the line, with some hard hits, chippy moments and desperation saves by the two...Read more

SEATTLE — It’s been a season full of unlikely heroes for the Pittsburgh Penguins. Monday’s road win was perhaps the greatest example yet.

Brett Kulak became the 26th different goal-scorer for Pittsburgh, the most in the NHL, when he slammed in a one-timer late in the second period. None of the Penguins’ first four goal-scorers Monday ...Read more

DENVER — The short-handed Colorado Avalanche needed a spark. The once and maybe future MVP obliged.

Nathan MacKinnon had two goals and an assist and provided the officials with a little salty guidance shortly after a potential fourth point was taken away in the Avs’ 5-2 victory against the Washington Capitals Monday afternoon at Ball Arena....Read more

The chase will be delayed again.

In their fifth attempt to win a third straight game, the St. Louis Blues once again failed during a 5-0 loss to the Oilers on Sunday night in Edmonton. It was the first time since opening night that the Blues were shut out.

Jordan Binnington allowed five goals as he lost his third start in a row, and he's won ...Read more

DETROIT — That didn't take long.

The Detroit Red Wings were forced to go into overtime Sunday but it only took 36 seconds for Alex DeBrincat to score his 26th goal, giving the Wings a 4-3 overtime victory over the Ottawa Senators.

DeBrincat came down on a 2-on-1 rush, was fed by Andrew Copp, and fired a top-shelf shot, high past goaltender ...Read more

LAS VEGAS — The Vegas Golden Knights scored seven unanswered goals to win their seventh straight game, 7-2 over the Nashville Predators at T-Mobile Arena on Saturday night.

Alexander Holtz and Shea Theodore scored 55 seconds apart in the second period to give the Knights a 2-1 lead after trailing for the first 37 minutes.

The Knights (24-11-...Read more

PITTSBURGH — Games between the Blue Jackets and Penguins this season have followed a distinct script. Columbus leads in the third period. Pittsburgh makes a comeback.

And the game goes to overtime.

All four meetings between the teams have stretched past 60 minutes. And they split the season series after the Blue Jackets beat the Penguins, 4-...Read more

If Mason Lohrei’s days as a Bruin are numbered, he’s making them count.

Lohrei has been the subject of rampant speculation the last couple of days as part of a possible package for Calgary Flames defenseman Rasmus Andersson. If it was bothering him, he didn’t show it.

The defenseman scored his fifth and sixth goals in the Bruins’ 5-2 ...Read more

TAMPA, Fla. — If the game’s outcome was still in doubt, the moral of the story was not.

Brandon Hagel had just been thrown head first into the boards by Pittsburgh’s Connor Clifton. While everyone else was racing toward the puck behind the Penguins net, Anthony Cirelli took a sharp right turn and met Clifton with a combination of fists ...Read more

The Kraken’s streaky winter continues.

They erased a two-goal deficit but couldn’t finish the job in Utah, falling, 6-3, to the Mammoth on Saturday. That capped a 1-3-1 road trip.

The Kraken (21-17-9) are sitting on one victory in their past six games. Thanks to an overtime loss in their most recent home game Jan. 8, that skid barely ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — The hockey season can be a long and winding road, but right now the Flyers have gone off-roading and toward a cliff.

Eleven days ago, the vibes were high following an emotional, high-intensity win against Cutter Gauthier and the Anaheim Ducks. The whole night, Xfinity Mobile Arena was rocking in front of a sellout crowd.

On ...Read more

The Wild snapped out of their slump in the most unlikely circumstances.

Missing their best forward line and two veteran defensemen due to injury, the Wild topped the sizzling Sabres, 5-4 in overtime, Saturday afternoon at KeyBank Center for their first victory in four games.

Mats Zuccarello scored a 4-on-4 goal 1 minute, 47 seconds into ...Read more

DENVER — It took a monster night from an old friend for the Colorado Avalanche to lose in regulation at Ball Arena for the first time this season.

Ryan O’Reilly had a hat trick and a four-point game Friday night to help the Nashville Predators knock off the Avalanche, 7-3. The Avs are now 19-1-3 at home this season, but they have lost the ...Read more

RALEIGH, N.C. — No team has frustrated the Carolina Hurricanes quite like the Florida Panthers the past few years.

Regular season, Stanley Cup playoffs, it didn’t matter. The Panthers have been beating up on the Canes, staging comebacks, winning games late and generally having their way.

And winning Stanley Cups. The Panthers have won the ...Read more

DETROIT — The Red Wings have been consistent, and fair to say consistently good, since Thanksgiving.

They continued an impressive statistic that has its origin that weekend, Friday defeating San Jose, 4-2.

With the victory, the Wings still have not lost two consecutive games in regulation time since a three-game losing streak from Nov. 24-28...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — Kirill Kaprizov used to get on the Wild plane and go to sleep.

As a rookie fresh from Russia, he would be out like a light while teammates played cards, and how much the newcomer was nodding off didn’t go unnoticed.

“Guys asking me like, ‘How do you fall asleep right away?’ ” Kaprizov recalled.

Now, in his sixth NHL ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — The biggest crowd pop at Xfinity Mobile Arena during Monday’s Pride Night was for Christian Dvorak’s breakaway goal, the Flyers’ only goal of the game.

But the second-biggest was for “All the Things She Said,” a song that, only two months ago, was just another early 2000s club hit — until "Heated Rivalry" turned it ...Read more

LAS VEGAS — Jack Eichel scored with 2:16 remaining in overtime, and the Vegas Golden Knights rallied from two goals down in the third period to defeat the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-5 at T-Mobile Arena on Thursday night.

Eichel, who also had three assists, walked in alone and finished with the backhand.

Center Tomas Hertl scored the game-tying ...Read more

ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Wild are in their first rut in ages after suffering one of their worst losses of the season.

They were waxed, 6-2, by the Jets on Thursday, Jan. 15, and booed inside Grand Casino Arena while dropping a third consecutive game and second in a blowout.

This is the Wild’s longest skid since a five-game funk Oct. 22-30.

...Read more