Hockey Page 260 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Leafs F Auston Matthews skips practice for 'maintenance'
Auston Matthews, the NHL's leading goal scorer in the regular season, won't practice Friday for what the Toronto Maple Leafs called a "maintenance" day off....

Under-performing Lightning look to avoid sweep by Panthers
The Florida Panthers are one victory away from ending their first-round Eastern Conference playoffs in as little time as possible....

Hurricanes push Islanders to brink by winning third straight
Sebastian Aho scored the game-winning goal in the second period for the visiting Carolina Hurricanes, who beat the New York Islanders 3-2 Thursday night in Elmont, N.Y., to take a 3-0 lead in their Eastern Conference first-round series....

Panthers claim 3-0 series lead on rival Lightning
Matthew Tkachuk scored twice, including an empty-net goal to ice the game, as the visiting Florida Panthers beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-3 Thursday to take a commanding 3-0 lead in their best-of-seven Eastern Conference playoff series....

Kings relying on veterans as series vs. Oilers moves to L.A.
Fresh off a resilient victory that changed the course of their first-round Western Conference playoff series, the Los Angeles Kings return home for Game 3 on Friday against the Edmonton Oilers....

Goalie issues swing outcomes for Jets-Avalanche series
The Winnipeg Jets dominated Colorado during the regular season, outscoring the Avalanche 17-4 in sweeping the three games....

Vancouver relying on G Casey DeSmith as series heads to Nashville
With the Vancouver Canucks and Nashville Predators tied one game each in their Western Conference first-round playoff series, the biggest issue is the absence of Vancouver's No. 1 goaltender Thatcher Demko going into Game 3 on Friday night in Nashville....

Alex Ovechkin, Caps must produce as Rangers lead series 2-0
Alex Ovechkin hasn't been quite himself through the first two games of the Washington Capitals' Eastern Conference first-round series against the New York Rangers....

Panthers' Kyle Okposo set for first playoff game in 8 years
Florida Panthers forward Kyle Okposo will play in the postseason for the first time in eight years on Thursday when he takes the ice for Game 3 of the Eastern Conference first-round series versus the host Tampa Bay Lightning....

NHL roundup: Knights make it two straight at Dallas
Jonathan Marchessault and Jack Eichel each had a goal and an assist as the Vegas Golden Knights produced a second consecutive road victory over the Dallas Stars, prevailing 3-1 on Wednesday....

Anze Kopitar's OT goal helps Kings level series with Oilers
Anze Kopitar scored in overtime to cap a three-point game and give the visiting Los Angeles Kings a 5-4 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday....

Knights down Stars again, go home up 2-0
Jonathan Marchessault and Jack Eichel each had a goal and an assist as the Vegas Golden Knights produced a second consecutive road victory over the Dallas Stars, prevailing 3-1 on Wednesday....

Brad Marchand powers Bruins to 2-1 series lead vs. Leafs
Brad Marchand scored the go-ahead goal with 8:07 remaining in the third period, lifting the visiting Boston Bruins to a 4-2 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference first-round series....

Islanders attempt to shake off meltdown, host Hurricanes for Game 3
The New York Islanders are frustrated they didn't earn a split of the first two games of their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series against the Carolina Hurricanes....

Lightning get crack at home ice down 2-0 to Panthers
The Florida Panthers defended home ice with an overtime victory on Tuesday. Now it's up to the Tampa Bay Lightning to try and match it....

Panthers F Sam Bennett sidelined at least one week
Florida Panthers forward Sam Bennett will be sidelined at least one week with an upper-body injury, coach Paul Maurice said Wednesday....

Report: Hurricanes D Brett Pesce out 'couple weeks'
Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Brett Pesce is expected to miss "a couple weeks at the least" due to a lower-body injury, the Raleigh News and Observer reported on Wednesday....

NHL roundup: Panthers top Lightning in OT for 2-0 series lead
Carter Verhaeghe scored on a backhander 2:59 into overtime as the Florida Panthers defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2 on Tuesday in Game 2 of a first-round Eastern Conference playoff series at Sunrise, Fla....

Defense carries Predators to Game 2 win over Canucks
Anthony Beauvillier and Filip Forsberg each collected one goal and one assist to pace the visiting Nashville Predators to a 4-1 victory over the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday and even their Western Conference first-round playoff series at one win apiece....

Avalanche get even with Jets in Game 2
Alexandar Georgiev made 28 saves and the visiting Colorado Avalanche beat the Winnipeg Jets 5-2 in Game 2 of their Western Conference first-round playoff series on Tuesday....