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3 years ago

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5:40 PM ET

  • William E. Ricks

After a long offseason, hockey is back!

The NHL regular season kicked off Tuesday night with some exciting games from some of the the league’s best — and newest — franchises. The Tampa Bay Lightning raised their second banner in as many years, but the Pittsburgh Penguins spoiled their special night. Later on, two of the league’s newest teams — the Vegas Golden Knights and the Seattle Kraken — took the ice and started their respective seasons.

Both games were featured on ESPN, bringing hockey back to the network after quite some time — 2003 to be exact. Some NHL teams had some fun with this, remembering where their franchises were the last time hockey was last broadcasted on ESPN.

The return of the puck to the ice was a celebration for many fans and enthusiasts. Social media also reacted the beginning of the 2021 NHL regular season. Grammy award-winning artist Justin Bieber helped set the stage for what was a huge night on the ice for the NHL.

Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Tampa Bay Lighting

The regular season of the NHL kicked off with the Pittsburgh Penguins traveling to Florida to take on the defending champions in the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Penguins were without star Sidney Crosby who is still rehabbing from wrist surgery. Nevertheless, Pittsburgh saw Tuesday as a great day for hockey and hoped to start their 2021 campaign with a win. Despite them being without their impact player in Crosby, the Penguins received a shout-out from their fellow Pittsburgh team — the Steelers.

The Lightning are coming into 2021 looking for a three-peat, which would cement this team’s status as a hockey dynasty. The team knew that their journey started Tuesday, and this video narrated by Steven Stamkos from the squad’s Twitter account set the tone for their 2021 campaign. They also had a little fun courtesy of Pierre-Edouard Bellemare during their morning skate.

Tampa Bay also brought the tunes to begin their season with a performance by multi-platinum recording band All Time Low. The concert was held on a stage above the waters where the Hillsborough River meets the Garrison Channel, where fans watched from land at the Tampa Convention Center’s Sail Plaza or by boat in Garrison Channel before Tuesday’s contest. They had the Lightning’s Stanely Cup nearby during their performance, as they got the 2021 NHL season off to a rocking start.

Before the new season of hockey began, the Lightning relived last season’s championship year one more time with their banner raising ceremony. The moment was in front of a packed Amalie Arena — a much different atmosphere compared to last year when the arena wasn’t as full due to COVID-19 protocols. The fans showered their team with praise for a great 2020 season and cheered them on in what hopes to be a successful 2021-2022 campaign.

The first goal of the 2021 NHL season came from Danton Heinen. After a scoreless first period, a deflected shot came Heinen’s way in the second, and he put the puck in the net to give the Penguins a 1-0 lead. This was Heinen’s first game as a Penguin, signing with the team this offseason. He wasn’t the only one to score in the second period as Brian Boyle, who was just signed on Monday by the Penguins, also scored to raise Pittsburgh’s lead to two.

What a way to make your team debuts, huh?

Both offenses got things going in the third period, with a combined five goals being scored in that frame. The Penguins took advantage of an empty net by the Lightning and ran away in the contest late. They pulled off the upset, and ruined Tampa Bay’s banner night with a 6-2 win. It’s only one game, but it was an impressive outing by a Crosby-less Penguins and an underwhelming one by the defending champion Lightning.

Seattle Kraken vs. Vegas Golden Knights

The second game of ESPN’s doubleheader of opening night NHL action featured the league’s two newest franchises. The Seattle Kraken began its inaugural season against the Vegas Golden Knights, who are in their fifth season of existence. Both teams are expected to make some noise during the 2021 season despite being two of the NHL’s youngest franchises. Prior to the game, other Seattle professional sports teams reached out to the Kraken via social media and wished them luck on their first season on the ice.

The Kraken players had some fun before things got serious Tuesday night, kicking the soccer ball around amongst themselves pregame. If Brandon Tanev plays this season as hard as he was going after the soccer ball, the Kraken could have an impressive opening year.

The Golden Knights need to make their mark on this season early, as they have championship or bust aspirations. Maybe they took the term “leave their mark” in a literal sense, as their logo was seen all around Vegas before the game.

The Knights brought out fire footwear to begin their 2021 season. Before putting on skates, Vegas players William Karlsson and Jonathan Marchessault donned some exceptional shoes pregame. Karlsson wore spiked shoes that were as shiny as they were dangerous, and Marchessault sported black shoes with a red geometric design. Both men got an A+ for their ensembles with some of the best fits from opening night.

Even though they are foes on the ice tonight, the Golden Knights made sure they welcomed the Kraken to the NHL brotherhood. Even though it looked like a half-baked welcome, Seattle still appreciated Vegas’ kind pregame gesture.

It’s an exciting time for hockey fans in Washington — and a full-circle experience for two people. John Barr and Paul Buxton had a sign four years ago at a hockey game that read “We [Seattle] want the NHL next,” inferring that their city wanted be next to receive an expansion team. Four years later, the statement came to fruition, and Barr and Buxton were in attendance for the Kraken’s first franchise game on Tuesday night — with an important change to their sign.

Unlike last season, arenas will be packed, and fans in Vegas were pretty pumped to see their team take the ice in person. The atmosphere in the T-Mobile Arena was electric as the Golden Knights took the ice for warmups.

Right before the puck dropped, Vegas showed an incredible clip on its ice. The video showed a Kraken (Seattle’s mascot) wreaking havoc in the sea before the Golden Knight vanquishes the beast. Maybe Vegas was doing a little foreshadowing, but it was an impressive video nonetheless.

It didn’t take long for the first goal to be scored — courtesy of the Golden Knights. Max Pacioretty put the puck in the net for Vegas to get the first goal of the season. Marchessault joined in on the fun a few minutes later, notching his first goal of the new season and pushing Vegas’ lead to two.

During the first intermission, the Golden Knights Twitter account started a new game to pass the time. It has a food tournament, pitting two cuisine items head-to-head — with the winner moving on to the next bracket during the team’s next contest. What was the first matchup of the year? Mozzarella sticks vs. jalapeno poppers.

Vegas also had a special guest at their first game of the season. UFC flyweight champion Brandon Moreno stopped by for the festivities, even getting the crowd hyped during the first intermission. It’s safe to say he succeeded in getting the audience pumped up for the remainder of the game after he cranked the manual siren machine.

In the second frame, Vegas extended their lead thanks to a goal by Nicolas Hague. His goal gave the Golden Knights a 3-0 lead over the Kraken. The T-Mobile Arena was loving what they were seeing from their squad in the first game of the 2021-22 season.

Ryan Donato was the one who scored the first-ever goal in Seattle Kraken franchise history. He scored just as the power play ended in the second period, cutting the Golden Knights lead to two. Seattle was excited about their first goal — and they weren’t done. Shortly after, Jaden Schwartz added another score to bring the Kraken within one.

The Kraken didn’t go away quietly, as they tied the game in the middle of the third period. Morgan Geekie scored for Seattle with an accurate wrist shot from a good distance — but it didn’t give the Kraken the lead for long. Nearly a minute after Geekie’s score, the Knights scored a goal of their own by Chandler Stephenson off of his skate. After another look by the referees, the goal was confirmed, but the Knights’ social media team had their own reasons for why the play needed an extra review.

The Knights’ defense came up big late, getting numerous saves against a furious comeback effort from the Kraken. Vegas was able to hold on at home and get the victory 4-3. The final minutes of this game gave fans high-quality hockey and was a great end to a phenomenal opening night of the 2021 NHL season.

The Golden Knights’ social team had one more trolling tweet to cap off the evening.

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Skinner ‘great’ in return as Oilers force Game 7

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1 hour ago

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May 19, 2024

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Skinner 'great' in return as Oilers force Game 7

  • Ryan S. Clark, NHL reporterMay 18, 2024, 11:50 PM ET

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      Ryan S. Clark is an NHL reporter for ESPN.

After a week on the bench, Stuart Skinner returned to the net to help the Edmonton Oilers force a Game 7 in their second-round series against the Vancouver Canucks.

Last appearing in Game 3 after struggling to start the series, Skinner made 14 saves in the Oilers’ 5-1 win in Game 6 at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta.

Game 7 will be played Monday at Rogers Arena in Vancouver as the winner will face the Dallas Stars in the Western Conference finals starting Thursday at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.

“I think by doing what we did tonight, I think we just showed a lot of desperation,” Skinner said on the ESPN broadcast. “Guys were blocking shots all over the place. I think both teams played great. You got to give a lot of credit to Vancouver, but you know Vancouver is going to come out really hard especially in their barn. I think we’re going to have to match that and bring some more.”

Averaging 3.80 goals per game during the playoffs while boasting a defensive structure that’s been among the strongest when it comes to limiting shots on goals and scoring chances is the formula the Oilers have used to come within a game of the Western Conference finals.

Figuring out how the Oilers could mesh their defensive structure with the most consistent version of Skinner, however, was one of those challenges they were trying to solve in a series in which the first five games were decided by a goal.

Especially when the Oilers limited the Canucks to 19.3 shots per game in the first three games only to find themselves down in the series with Skinner posting a 4.63 goals-against average and a .790 save percentage through Game 3.

Saturday saw the connection between the Oilers’ defensive structure and Skinner finally click.

The Oilers, who had limited teams to 24.91 scoring chances per 60, limited the Canucks to 18 scoring chances in 5-on-5 play. They also held the Canucks to just seven high-danger scoring chances and didn’t allow any in the second period.

Combining that defensive consistency with Skinner allowing only one goal on 15 shots added to an evening that saw the Oilers burst through for five goals. It was the third time this postseason and the first time in the second round that the Oilers have scored more than five goals.

Oilers captain Connor McDavid, who finished with three points, told the Sportsnet broadcast after the game that although Skinner didn’t face many shots he did “a great job” handling what McDavid considered to be dangerous chances.

“We never had a doubt,” McDavid said. “He’s a battler. He’s always been a battler. Our team always responds and he’s no different. He responded great and gave us a great performance.”

His role in the Oilers’ Game 6 win is the latest development in what has been another mercurial season for the second-year goaltender.

A year ago, Skinner was a rookie who emerged as the No. 1 goaltender for his hometown team. He helped the Oilers reach the second round only for them to be eliminated in six games by the eventual Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights.

Skinner was pulled over the final three games of the series, which led to an offseason filled with questions. Much like the Oilers themselves, Skinner had a difficult start to the season but found consistency once the club fired coach Jay Woodcroft and hired Kris Knoblauch.

In that time, Skinner solidified his place as the team’s No. 1 goaltender — which is what made his performances through the first three games so jarring. It led to him being pulled to start the third period in the Oilers’ Game 3 loss, with Knoblauch turning to Calvin Pickard in Games 4 and 5.

Pickard stopped 19 shots in the Oilers’ Game 4 victory while allowing three goals on 35 shots in their 3-2 loss in Game 5 to the Canucks.

Knoblauch said after Game 3 that Skinner would return to the lineup at some point, and that point was Saturday.

Now he and the Oilers are just a win away from the conference finals.

“I think obviously, to start off, I think Calvin was amazing when he got put in,” Skinner said. “Definitely got the job done and kept us in it. An unbelievable teammate. For me, I was able to get a little bit of rest and just work on my game and feel good about it again. I was able to come out and do what I had to do.”

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Barkov, ‘best player in the world,’ wins 2nd Selke

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May 19, 2024

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Barkov, 'best player in the world,' wins 2nd Selke

  • ESPN News Services

May 18, 2024, 09:29 PM ET

NEW YORK — Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov has won the Selke Trophy as the NHL’s best defensive forward, the league announced Saturday night.

Barkov, 28, is a two-time Selke winner after also finishing first in voting for the award in 2021. He was a big part of the Panthers allowing the fewest goals this season and won 57.3% of his faceoffs, ranking ninth among players with at least 50 games and 500 attempts.

The center from Finland received 156 of 194 first-place votes from members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association and was listed on all but two ballots.

Teammate and forward Matthew Tkachuk, speaking after Friday night’s series-clinching win over the Boston Bruins called Barkov “the best player in the world right now,” adding that “I don’t really even have the words for what he’s doing for our team right now.”

Barkov has led Florida to a second consecutive trip to the Eastern Conference final. After helping the Panthers to the Stanley Cup Final, where they lost to the Vegas Golden Knights last summer, he will lead his team into the Eastern Conference Finals on Wednesday, vs. the New York Rangers.

“We went through it last year, obviously, and that’s helped a lot,” Barkov told SportsNet Friday night after eliminating the Bruins. “But this year is a new year. We have new players, we’re just creating something new here, something really exciting. We’re really excited for this opportunity again, and we can’t wait to get going.”

Carolina Hurricanes veteran Jordan Staal finished second in voting, and Toronto Maple Leafs All-Star Auston Matthews finished third.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Sullivan named U.S. hockey coach for Milan 2026

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1 hour ago

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May 19, 2024

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Sullivan named U.S. hockey coach for Milan 2026

  • Associated Press

May 18, 2024, 10:50 AM ET

Mike Sullivan was selected U.S. coach for the 2026 Milan Olympics on Saturday, an expected move that puts the two-time Stanley Cup champion in charge of the country’s bid for its first gold medal since the “Miracle On Ice” in 1980.

USA Hockey also announced that the Pittsburgh Penguins coach will be behind the bench for the Four Nations Face-Off next year, a tournament the NHL will showcase in February for a taste of international competition leading up to the Olympics. Milan marks the return of NHL players to the Olympics after missing the past two Games.

“We’re excited to have Mike guiding our teams,” U.S. general manager Bill Guerin said. “He is one of the very best coaches in the game and his background, including with international hockey, is well-suited to help put our team in the best position to win.”

Sullivan, a native of Marshfield, Massachusetts, was an assistant at the 2006 Olympics, also in Italy in Turin. Most recently he was on John Tortorella’s staff for the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.

Each of those events went disastrously for the U.S., which also lost to eventual champion Canada in the semifinals of the 2014 Sochi Olympics and then to Finland in the bronze-medal game.

NHL players are set to be back in Milan and then France in 2030 after an agreement was reached between the league, players’ association, International Olympic Committee and International Ice Hockey Federation. It’s an opportunity for a generation of American stars, including Auston Matthews, Jack Eichel, Adam Fox, Charlie McAvoy and strong players in goal, to finally compete together on the world stage.

Sullivan, who coached Pittsburgh to the Cup in 2016 and 2017, will run the show. He was supposed to coach the U.S. in Beijing in 2022 before the NHL withdrew late because of pandemic scheduling issues.

“I am beyond grateful to have the opportunity to coach Team USA in these two significant international events,” Sullivan said in a statement. “It’s been amazing to see the progress we’ve made in hockey in our country over the course of my career. I am honored to lead our best players and I look forward to the challenge that lies ahead.”

Sullivan, 56, previously coached the Boston Bruins during his lengthy career that began in the early 2000s. He has been with Pittsburgh since being promoted as a midseason replacement in 2015-16. As a player, he represented the U.S. at the world juniors in 1988 and the world championship in 1997.

“Mike Sullivan is not only a great coach but someone who has a strong passion for American hockey,” USA Hockey executive director Pat Kelleher said. “He’s a world-class leader and been an important part of hockey in our country for a very long time.”

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