national-hockey-league Page 20 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Avs announcer John-Michael Liles and his wine cave are a life goal
I’ve always liked John-Michael Liles. He was the type of player I had spent decades as a Hawks fan wishing they would have. When my professional life combined with my fandom life, my cohorts and I must’ve dreamed up 50 different proposals to pry him loose from Toronto or Carolina to bolster the Hawk...

Tim Peel is just a symptom of the NHL’s problem with enforcing fake parity
As expected, the NHL couldn’t wait to toss Tim Peel out on his ass after he got caught on a hot mic basically admitting to make-em-even calls. It’s not really much of a punishment. Peel was due to retire next month anyway, will still get paid, and due to his years and years of clown shoes refereeing...

Flyers need to shake off epic Rangers beatdown in a hurry, and history’s on their side
The 9-0 beating that the Flyers took at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night wasn’t a record breaker, but it was a rarity. It’s the first time Philadelphia has gotten shut out by that wide of a margin since 1969 against Chicago, only the 82nd game in NHL history that was 9-0 or worse, and the 17...

The Minnesota Wild have a fun player in Kirill Kaprizov, and suddenly everything seems possible
Even if you’re a hockey fan, it always takes a second to remember that the Minnesota Wild exist and what their jerseys look like. In all of the four major sports, the Wild are the most guy-in-the-work-kitchen that no one really knows. You see him there, he might nod to someone once a month, and then...

Ryan Fitzpatrick is Caine in ‘Kung Fu’
Grabbag style today, as not a whole lot going on last night. ...

It’s happening to Erik Karlsson again
Erik Karlsson has always generated an infuriating debate amongst hockey observers, where the “old school” — i.e. Molson-filled and incontinent old Canadians who somehow fell out of a duck blind and into a TV studio — could never reconcile Karlsson’s style of not eating pucks regularly and his desire...

When will we see Jack Eichel again? Who knows, it's Buffalo
This season has been a great big ball of suck for the Buffalo Sabres. They’re stuck in the loaded East Division, have played 25 games, won an NHL-worst six, and they don’t exactly have a lot of hope for the future....

Joel Embiid's knee woe is dumb fodder for new episode of 'When Meatheads Attack'
Joel Embiid needs an MRI on his hyperextended left knee when the 76ers get back home. This after he just got back from health-and-safety protocols and having to (getting to?) sit out of the All-Star Game....

The NCAA doesn’t know what it’s doing; also, see Connor McDavid's insane no-look pass
As the NCAA begins the process of sorting out their tribute-to-Hoosiers championship tournament, it’s becoming pretty obvious that they’re making it up as they go. Which we already knew, but it’s always a little jarring to see a multi-billion dollar “non-profit” give the shrug emoji to genuine quest...

ESPN rediscovers the NHL
For fans my age, the soundtrack of hockey, when we get wistful, can at times still be Steve Levy and Darren Pang calling yet another multiple overtime game. Or Bill Pidto hosting NHL 2night. It was eons ago now, but when ESPN launched ESPN2 “The Deuce,” one of its main tenets was that it was to show...

The Buffalo Sabres are a Joy Division song
Buffalo probably thought it escaped sporting hell this past fall when the Bills finally won their division and got to the AFC Championship game, looking poised to be a competitor for the next couple years. A city that hadn’t even had a relevant team for a couple of decades could finally cheer someth...

It’s not like the NHL to make a reasoned argument
I’m not usually so happy to be wrong as I was on Saturday night, when the NHL announced that Tom Wilson is suspended seven games for his Friday night hit on Brandon Carlo....

SEE IT: Devils’ epic power play whiff showcases pivot to neutral zone crap defense
Call them the New Jersey Evils, because they’ve abandoned any concept of “D.”...

Deadspin Wayback Machine: A look back at some of sports’ great relics
One of the great things about sports is the comfort that they provide. While the world is always changing, sometimes at a pace that’s hard to process, sports are largely static. If you watch a football game from 50 years ago, there certainly are differences in strategy and the size and speed of the ...

Back in the Saddle(dome) for Darryl Sutter
Nine years ago, the Kings were 13-12-4 when they fired coach Terry Murray. After four games with John Stevens behind the bench as interim coach, Los Angeles tapped Darryl Sutter, six seasons removed from his last job with the Flames, to return to the NHL and take the helm....

The Dallas Stars are about to embark on a trip to hell
We’ve had our way with the Dallas Stars this year. They’ve made it so easy. Whether it was to be the first NHL team riven with COVID, or their unnecessary leap into the Mavericks-anthem debate with a “We Fuck The Flag” press release, or having to be dissuaded at the last minute from not playing whil...

You should probably prepare for a Patrick Kane MVP campaign again
As I’ve remarked a few times before, just because the shape and structure of the seasons have been so greatly altered hasn’t kept the favorites from reaching the top. It’s no different in the NHL, where all four divisions are led by the teams you would expect, and if they’re not, those teams are sim...

Kings and Wild star in NHL Color Rush
Sometimes, to the rare and broken people who think about these things, it can drive one to tears how the NHL and the people who run and market the game can’t make better use of just how good the sport can look on TV. Even in person, the NHL really hasn’t made use of it being the best live sport, and...

The Penguins don’t need Tom Wilson, they need a time machine
The Penguins are fifth in the NHL’s East Division, tied with the Flyers at 21 points but having played two more games. Pittsburgh lost to Washington on Thursday night, in a game that included Tom Wilson delivering a gratuitous late hit, as is his specialty....

Kreider does it all but it’s not enough for hapless Rangers
In most sports, it’s fairly common to have an outstanding individual performance be nothing more than a silver lining in defeat....