DALLAS — The Colorado Avalanche followed up its worst defensive performance of the season with a masterpiece.

Martin Necas scored midway through the third period and Scott Wedgewood made 17 saves against his former club to help the Avalanche squeeze past the rival Dallas Stars, 2-0, on Saturday afternoon at American Airlines Center.

The Avs,...Read more

If the Detroit Red Wings ultimately don't make the playoffs in less than two weeks now, put an asterisk next to Saturday's game against the New York Rangers.

Playing against the last-place team in the Eastern Conference, the Wings never threatened while losing 4-1 to the Rangers.

Rookies Gabe Perreault (three goals, one a power play and one ...Read more

The Minnesota Wild have already clinched a playoff spot in the Western Conference, but they are impacting the race in the East, too.

They rolled by a bubble team in the Senators 4-1 on Saturday at Ottawa’s Canadian Tire Centre for back-to-back victories for the first time in nearly a month.

Ryan Hartman scored twice for a second consecutive ...Read more

SEATTLE — Midway through the second period on Thursday night after seeing a two-goal lead disappear and a third goal disallowed by goalie interference, Lane Lambert went up and down the Seattle Kraken bench clapping his hands and shouting encouragement.

This wasn’t a coach upset. This was a coach trying to encourage and spark a group that ...Read more

LAS VEGAS — Mitch Marner recorded his first hat trick with the Vegas Golden Knights in a 6-3 win over the Calgary Flames at T-Mobile Arena on Thursday.

Marner added two assists for a season-high five points, as the Knights (34-26-16) improved to 2-0 under new coach John Tortorella.

Pavel Dorofeyev scored his team-leading 35th goal, and Brett...Read more

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Zack Ostapchuk and Collin Graf scored first-period goals, and William Eklund added one in the second as the San Jose Sharks started fast and earned a 3-1 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday at SAP Center.

Goalie Alex Nedeljkovic made 18 saves, including eight in the third period, as the Sharks (36-31-7) won their ...Read more

ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Wild have officially made the playoffs.

They clinched by rallying for a 5-2 win against the Canucks on Thursday at Grand Casino Arena in Quinn Hughes’ first game vs. Vancouver since the blockbuster trade that sent him to the Wild for Zeev Buium, Marco Rossi, Liam Ohgren and a first-round draft pick.

But it was Matt ...Read more

The two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers will not be around in June to defend their title, but they refuse to go gently into the night.

A severely hampered Panthers team jumped out to an early 2-0 lead and then leaned on a spectacular Sergei Bobrovsky in the third period to hang on for a 2-1 victory in Sunrise, Fla., on ...Read more

TAMPA, Fla. — Lightning center Anthony Cirelli netted a hat trick, leading Tampa Bay to a 6-3 win over the Penguins on Thursday night at Benchmark International Arena.

With the win and Buffalo’s loss in Ottawa, the Lightning (47-22-6, 100 points) took over first place in the Atlantic Division on point percentage. The Lightning are 7-1-2 in ...Read more

This was a different Red Wings team from the last several games, and because of it, a different result.

Alex DeBrincat scored two goals, giving him 39 for the season, and Patrick Kane had a goal and two assists, leading the Wings to a 4-2 victory over host Philadelphia.

DeBrincat's second goal halted any momentum Philadelphia got from cutting ...Read more

The Blues were left for dead in January, but their March revival might have just died on the first day of April.

A 2-1 overtime loss to the Kings on Wednesday night could be the final blow to the Blues' slim playoff chances, as they are four points out of a playoff spot in the Western Conference with just eight games remaining.

Trevor Moore ...Read more

DENVER — Two nights after a resounding performance, the Avalanche offered up their most inexplicable outing of the season.

Brock Boeser scored a hat trick, and the league-worst Vancouver Canucks came to Ball Arena and stunned the Avs in a wild 8-6 affair. Vancouver began the day 58 points behind Colorado in the NHL standings.

This result ...Read more

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Macklin Celebrini scored with 1:39 left in the third period, then assisted on Alex Wennberg’s goal with 21 seconds left in the regulation time to finish off a four-point night in the Sharks' dramatic 4-3 win over the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday

The Sharks’ top two scorers, Celebrini and Will Smith, combined to score the ...Read more

DENVER — Nathan MacKinnon has scored 50 goals for the second time in three NHL seasons.

The Avalanche star scored his 50th during his first shift of the night Wednesday against the Vancouver Canucks at Ball Arena. MacKinnon wheeled near the left point and snapped a shot past goalie Kevin Lankinen just 82 seconds into the contest.

MacKinnon ...Read more

DENVER — Colorado Avalanche star Cale Makar will not play Wednesday night, and will “miss some time” with an upper-body injury, coach Jared Bednar said.

Makar did not play in the third period Monday night of a 9-2 win against the Calgary Flames. Nick Blankenburg will replace Makar in the lineup Wednesday night at Ball Arena against the ...Read more

DENVER — The Colorado Avalanche made this Bednar. Now they’ve got to lie in it.

“Results are — they come as they come,” Jared Bednar said before his Avs eviscerated the Calgary Flames, 9-2, at Ball Arena on Monday night. “And whether they’re good or bad, other people make decisions based on what they’re seeing and hearing. But I...Read more

The Kraken spent 40 minutes trying to undo the first-period damage in Edmonton, but they never found a way past goaltender Connor Ingram.

They were shut out by the Oilers, 3-0, on Tuesday night, the latest blow to their narrowing playoff chances.

Moneypuck.com put Seattle’s odds of securing its second-ever postseason berth at 23.9% with nine...Read more

PITTSBURGH — The Penguins mustered a massive effort in a win against the New York Islanders on Monday. It would have been understandable if they didn’t have much left in the tank Tuesday.

Instead, they played a nearly flawless first period and raced past a fellow Eastern Conference playoff hopeful. The Penguins beat the Detroit Red Wings, 5...Read more