Establishing team chemistry in college football is tougher than ever with so many players not staying at the same school for four years. But it's still doable. New Mexico provides perhaps the clearest example. With 75 newcomers last year — the second-most of any Football Bowl Subdivision ...
DALLAS — Matt Boldy had two goals with an assist, Joel Ericksson Ek scored two power-play goals and rookie goalie Jesper Wallstedt stopped 27 shots in his postseason debut to help the Minnesota Wild beat the Dallas Stars 6-1 on Saturday in Game 1 of their Western Conference playoff series. Kirill Kaprizov added a goal and two assists and Mats Zuccarello had three helpers for the Wild, who have lost nine consecutive playoff series since 2015. This was an impressive start in a long-expected matchup of Central Division rivals who finished behind Presidents' Trophy winner Colorado. "A ...
PITTSBURGH — Travis Sanheim scored the go-ahead goal midway through the third period and the Philadelphia Flyers announced their return to the playoffs with a 3-2 win over Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday night. Philadelphia pulled off a stunner in the opener when Sanheim split a pair of Penguins at the top of the zone, glided down the slot and then fired the puck by Stuart Skinner. Porter Martone, the Flyers' 19-year-old rookie forward, provided some needed insurance when he beat Skinner on a wrist shot with 2:37 to play. Game 2 is in Pittsburgh on ...
RALEIGH, N.C. — Logan Stankoven and Taylor Hall scored, and Frederik Andersen came through with a big third-period performance in net to help the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Ottawa Senators 2-0 on Saturday to open their first-round playoff series. Carolina can take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-7 series on Monday night in Raleigh. Carolina coach Rod Brind'Amour had gone with Andersen's veteran experience as the starter over Brandon Bussi, and it paid off for the Eastern Conference's top seed. "We have good options and both guys have played well and we have confidence in both guys," ...
DENVER — Jamal Murray scored 30 points, going 16 of 16 from the free-throw line, and Nikola Jokic had a triple-double as the Denver Nuggets shook off a sluggish start to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 116-105 on Saturday in the opener of their first-round playoff series. Jokic had 25 ...
LOS ANGELES — Luke Kennard scored a career playoff-high 27 points, LeBron James had 19 points and 13 assists, and the short-handed Los Angeles Lakers capitalized on Kevin Durant's injury absence for a 107-98 victory over the Houston Rockets in the opener of their first-round playoff series ...
