Has international hockey replaced the NHL All-Star Game for good?
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Greg Wyshynski
BOSTON — The 4 Nations Face-Off has emerged as a transformative moment for the NHL.
“Nothing’s done more for hockey in a decade than what this tournament’s done,” Team Canada coach Jon Cooper said.
What was supposed to be a midseason appetizer for the 2026 Winter Olympics has evolved into a transcendent event for hockey, which has lacked a best-on-best event since the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. That was never more apparent than the first U.S. vs Canada showdown in Montreal, which produced three fights in the first nine seconds of the game followed by an elite representation of the sport as played by two bitter rivals.
The audience was massive — with 9.3 million viewers, it was the most-watched non-Olympic hockey game ever in the United States. The hype was something the NHL hadn’t seen in recent memory. People who don’t usually talk about hockey were suddenly talking about hockey.
It’s just incredible how much of a home run 4 Nations has been for the NHL and hockey in general.
Friends who never watched a hockey game in their lives reaching out asking what the plan is for tonight’s game, what food we’re ordering, etc.
Definition of growing the game.
— JJ Watt (@JJWatt) February 20, 2025
“The game is in a better place because that game existed,” Cooper said.
Now that the 4 Nations Face-Off was a game-changer, how will the NHL capitalize on it — and what comes next for its midseason events?
THE NHL HAS ANNOUNCED what is on the way in 2026. The All-Star Weekend, which took a hiatus in favor of 4 Nations this year, will return at the New York Islanders‘ UBS Arena next February. That will serve as a bon voyage event ahead of the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy, which mark the return of NHL players for the first time since 2014.
The 2026 Olympics begin what the NHL and the NHL Players’ Association hope will be a regular cadence of international best-on-best events. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and NHLPA executive director Marty Walsh announced last week the next World Cup of Hockey is scheduled for 2028. Then come the 2030 Winter Olympics, and then potentially another World Cup and so on.
“We couldn’t be more excited about making a reality: Olympics, World Cups, Olympics, World Cups on a regular schedule of the best hockey players in the world representing their countries,” Bettman said. “We know the full-blown World Cup is going to be sensational.”
Sources told ESPN that the future of the NHL All-Star Game beyond next season has yet to be determined.
The NHL All-Star Game isn’t going anywhere — sources said its status as a tentpole event and its history within the league make it an important part of the league’s slate of events. But All-Star Weekend’s cadence and format beyond next season hasn’t been determined. Logically, it could be held in years when there isn’t a best-on-best event. Perhaps the league continues to double up with the All-Star Game and the Olympics, like it is doing in 2026.
ALL-STAR GAMES are in a transient place in the sports world right now — that’s not just a function of the success of the 4 Nations Face-Off.
While the NHL’s midseason tournament was being widely praised, the NBA All-Star Weekend received criticism from fans and players. Draymond Green called the game’s format “absurd” and said it existed “because ratings are down and the game is bad.”
The effort of the NHL’s players in its best-on-best tournament was in stark contrast with basketball’s midseason classic.
“You can go on an NBA court and go through the motions. You can’t do that in hockey,” P.K. Subban said on “Get Up.” “The culture of our sport, you have to play it with passion. That’s what fans are investing in.”
While that’s true, the NHL All-Star Game isn’t exactly USA vs. Canada for the 4 Nations title, either.
“Different event, obviously. I don’t remember any fights in the All-Star Games,” Winnipeg Jets defenseman Josh Morrissey said. “There’s definitely a place to have both. From what I’ve heard, that’s the plan in the future. And I think both can be exciting.”
1:34
USA, Canada fight 3 times in the first 9 seconds of game
Three players each from USA and Canada are penalized for three fights in the first nine seconds of the game.
THE ALL-STAR GAME brings some virtues that these international tournaments do not. The World Cup of Hockey will be awarded through a host city bidding process. The All-Star Game brings the world’s best players to markets that may never host a World Cup game. It doesn’t just spread the wealth among NHL cities — it does the same among players.
“The one thing about this tournament is ‘Where’s Leon Draisaitl?’ Or Nikita Kucherov?’ Go down the list of guys that aren’t here that you do get to see in an All-Star Game because those guys are special talents,” Cooper said. “Maybe there’s something down the road where everybody gets to play, and that would be super cool.”
The players at the 4 Nations Face-Off uniformly agreed that there’s room for both best-on-best battles and All-Star games in the NHL.
“Obviously this brings out real emotions when you get to play these meaningful games,” Sweden’s Jesper Bratt said. “The All-Star Game has its cool things to it, too, and I think fans appreciate that part of it: to see the best individual players from each division and each team to participate in a skill competition.”
Team USA’s Jack Hughes, Bratt’s teammate on the New Jersey Devils, said he’s made some great memories at the All-Star Game.
“That’s always fun for me personally, just because it’s not as extreme as this. Obviously, you get to spend more time with your family and your friends and get to enjoy that with them. I think that’s a great event,” he said. “But as a hockey player for sure, [4 Nations] is the elite of the elite. Getting to play against the best players and represent your country. It means something to everyone on the ice.”
Vincent Trocheck said the experience is different for every player at the All-Star Game.
“I’ve only played in two, and they’ve been extremely special to me. Every time I’ve been able to go, sharing that with my family is really cool. So those are … awesome weekends, but something like this is just different,” said the New York Rangers center, who played for Team USA. “It’s more meaningful. It’s more emotional. Stuff like this is what you dream of as a kid. So coming to a tournament like this is something that you’ll never forget. You can’t match it.”
THE NHL PLAYERS deserve credit, having pushed for more best-on-best opportunities since the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.
“Whether it’s Team Canada, the U.S., Sweden, Finland, the other nations in the future, if there’s more playing in these events when you put on your country’s uniform, it just means something special,” Morrissey said. “It’s a different feeling, and you can’t replicate that in any other way.”
After the success of 4 Nations, everything is on the table. Could the All-Star Game become something that hues a little closer to nation vs. nation? Could those years between the Olympics and World Cup produce more international events, be it a 4 Nations Face-Off or a “summit series” between the U.S. and Canada?
The 4 Nations Face-Off has broadened the possibilities.
“Look to soccer. They have so much international play that gets so much attention. We’re not soccer, as far as a global game, but we’re not that far behind,” Ron Hainsey of the NHLPA said. “That’s the long-term goal here … where fans look forward to these players representing their countries on a regular basis.”
Shutting down the regular season for international events isn’t without its risks or its critics. The 4 Nations Face-Off saw a handful of injuries, most notably to Boston Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy, who was hospitalized Monday with an infection in his right shoulder and a significant injury to his AC joint.
“I don’t know how the NHL teams feel about it, because guys are going so hard out there and we still have a quarter of the season left,” New Jersey Devils center Jack Hughes said. “But I think the guys inside the locker room have extreme care for this and are really, really enjoying this.”
Canada star Connor McDavid agreed less is more for international tournaments.
“I’m not sure you could do this every single year. It’s been pretty taxing. Obviously, we see guys going down and getting hurt.” McDavid said. “But it goes to show how much guys care about playing for the country, how much pride they play with while they’re wearing the jersey.
“I think with the Olympics and the World Cup, I think we’ll get enough.”
The World Cup of Hockey returns in 2028, although its final form has yet to be determined. There will be eight teams representing eight nations, without the “melded” teams from 2016 like Team North America and Team Europe. The NHL will not partner with the International Ice Hockey Federation for the World Cup, instead negotiating with other professional leagues themselves in order to populate teams like Germany and Switzerland with players.
There will be a bidding process for host cities, and that process will be open to European locations.
“The Olympics provides a good model for us in terms of how long the break will be for games in Europe,” NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said.
Of course, the biggest issue around the 2026 Olympics and 2028 World Cup is whether Russia will be included, as it remains banned from international play through 2026 by the IIHF because of its invasion of Ukraine.
“I’d love to see our Russian players playing in these tournaments. Again, they’re incredible hockey players,” Walsh said. “The issues are political and it is not political as far as the NHLPA, it’s the world politics that we have to get through and I’m hoping that as we get closer to the Olympics, as we get closer to the World Cup, we will start seeing the Russian athletes back in the competition.”
THE 4 NATIONS FACE-OFF showed best-on-best hockey can cross over to the mainstream. But the conditions might not be there to capture lightning in a bottle a second time.
The geopolitical undercurrents to the USA vs. Canada rivalry heightened its passions. The tournament featured the first opportunity for a generation of stars — McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, the Tkachuk brothers and Auston Matthews, among others — to represent their countries in a best-on-best event.
And what, exactly, do they do for an encore? Four fights in eight seconds next time?
“The expectations were high. I think the tournament’s done a good job of setting that bar and going beyond it,” Team USA’s Brock Nelson said.
The 4 Nations Face-Off was meant to be the appetizer for the Olympics. Based on its success, the NHL needs to capitalize on the moment.
For the first time, MLB is putting some of the sport’s top geographical battles together in a rivalry weekend that begins Thursday night.
Because the matchups are built around natural location rivalries, some of this week’s series will bring the heat (Juan Soto‘s return to the Bronx for a Mets-Yankees showdown, for starters) while others have significantly less juice (Rockies-Diamondbacks, we’re looking at you).
With that in mind, we took the liberty of putting the rivalry weekend matchups in tiers, from the spiciest showdowns to the biggest stretches — then we identified the true current rivals for every MLB team.
The most heated rivalries
What makes it a rivalry: This is one of those old, intrastate civic rivalries that bubbled in the minors (the Texas League in this case) for decades and grew slowly at the big league level once interleague play began. This one really took off a little more than a decade ago with the Astros joined the Rangers in the AL West. It has a name — the “Silver Boot Series” — and plenty of on-field enmity emerging in recent years. They represent Texas’ two biggest metro areas, both of which stake claim to being the hub of the Lone Star-verse, and compete for the same things: the AL West, the AL pennant and the right to claim Nolan Ryan as their own.
One thing to watch: There have been a lot of high-powered offenses in these rivalry matchups, but this year the pendulum has swung towards run prevention for both teams. The Astros have featured an offense that’s been a little below league average, a level to which the Texas batsmen would love to reach. But both pitching staffs rank in the top 10 by ERA+. Expect tight, low-scoring tussles. — Bradford Doolittle
Each team’s true rivals
Rangers: Astros. To a lesser degree, AL West rivals such as the Angels, Mariners and Athletics
Astros: Rangers — plus the added weight of basically being everyone’s hated rival since the franchise was rocked by scandal a few years back
What makes it a rivalry: The Subway Series, like most matchups on this list, derives from geography. New York City has a rich baseball history, and these are its two baseball franchises. About 10 miles and a 50-minute subway trek with a transfer at Grand Central separate the two ballparks. They’re so close that, in 2003, they played the first game of a doubleheader at Yankee Stadium and the second at Shea Stadium. But there’s more than geography here. The two clubs have battled for the city’s attention since the Mets debuted in 1962 — with the Yankees almost always boxing out their Queens counterparts. They met in the 2000 World Series when Roger Clemens threw a piece of lumber at Mike Piazza. And, a quarter century later, little brother (the Mets) seem poised to challenge big brother’s standing for years to come after convincing Soto to leave the Bronx behind.
One thing to watch: Soto’s return to the Bronx will be cinema. The right fielder’s relationship with Yankees fans in his one season in the Bronx, particularly with the Bleacher Creatures beyond the right-field wall, became a storyline of its own. They showered Soto with love and he gave it right back. They chanted “Re-sign Soto!” and he played along. Then he didn’t re-sign and all that love went off the RFK Bridge. Soto will undoubtedly receive raucous boos from offended crowds who still can’t believe he chose the Mets over their team. If Soto’s history is any indication, the scorn will fuel him. — Jorge Castillo
Each team’s true rivals
Yankees: Red Sox, Mets
Mets: Braves, Phillies, Yankees
What makes it a rivalry: Mizzou. Not entirely, but the University of Missouri sits right smack between Busch Stadium and Kauffman Stadium. When innumerable high school grads from the state head to Columbia, there they encounter a whole population of baseball fans rooting for the wrong team. Having experienced this directly, I can recall stories of lines being drawn inside of fraternity houses during the 1985 World Series, keeping fans of the combatants separated. And of course there’s that World Series, now 40 years ago, the outcome of which Cardinals fans of a certain age still whine about.
One thing to watch: Both teams are rolling, having rebounded from sub-.500 starts to leap into the playoff chase. In a reversal of the recent fortunes of the franchises, the Royals’ snap-back was expected and it’s the Cardinals’ sudden rise that is the shocker. However you frame it, the Royals and Cardinals will clash with both teams riding sizable waves of momentum. — Doolittle
Each team’s true rivals
Cardinals: Cubs
Royals: Cardinals — and the Yankees for a time in the 1970s
What makes it a rivalry: Separated by 5.5 miles on the L (subway), the Cubs and Sox are natural rivals, divided by the North and South sides of the city. Growing up a fan of one undoubtedly means not being a fan of the other. The rivalry ebbs and flows as both teams are rarely good at the same time though that hasn’t stopped the two fan bases from duking it out — oftentimes in the stands. A home plate collision — and brawl — between catchers A.J Pierzynski and Michael Barret in 2006 only heightened tensions between the clubs.
One thing to watch: Before assuming the Cubs will sweep the lowly White Sox, consider the teams give up nearly the same amount of runs per game. In fact, the South Siders have a better bullpen by the numbers. And perhaps this is the game where Luis Robert Jr rights his season. He has a career .992 OPS against the Cubs including a 1.063 mark at Wrigley Field. Keep an eye on those fights in the stands. There’s usually a couple that go viral. — Jesse Rogers
Each team’s true rivals
Cubs: Cardinals, with the Brewers a close second, then the White Sox
White Sox: Twins, Cubs
These matchups should be fun
What makes it a rivalry: About 250 miles via Interstate 71 separate these in-state rivals, as there’s no love lost between Cleveland and Cincinnati. Cleveland has mostly owned this matchup, winning 76 of the 135 times (.563) they’ve played. In fact, the Reds haven’t won the season series against Cleveland in a decade, last beating them 3 out of 4 in 2014. Terry Francona facing his old team should add some spice to the match-up.
One thing to watch: Francona’s reception from the Guardians faithful will have to wait until next month when the teams square off in Cleveland so this weekend is about the Reds trying to break that decade-long slump against their rivals. They’ll have to contend with Jose Ramirez, who has a career .935 OPS against Cincinnati including 12 of his 45 interleague home runs. — Rogers
Each team’s true rivals
Guardians: Twins
Reds: Cardinals
What makes it a rivalry: “Bay Bridge Series” no longer works now that the A’s have moved out of Oakland and into Sacramento, about 90 miles away. That’s a shame — there used to be some real juice here, highlighted by an encounter in the 1989 World Series, an A’s sweep in a series best remembered for a terrifying earthquake. But the real rivalry here was among the fans. And given how betrayed the people of Oakland feel after watching their baseball team relocate, that element is long gone.
One thing to watch: Matt Chapman represented a better time in A’s history. The organization drafted him in the first round in 2014, then watched him come up and star on teams that made three consecutive playoff appearances from 2018 to 2020. Chapman was traded shortly thereafter, yet another symbol of the frugality that has plagued this franchise for decades. The A’s haven’t done much right since then, but they’ve held Chapman to four hits and zero home runs in 25 at-bats over these last two years. — Alden Gonzalez
Each team’s true rivals
Giants: Dodgers, Athletics
Athletics: Giants, Angels
What makes it a rivalry: Nothing spices up a rivalry quite like a shared interstate highway and media rights drama. The Beltway Series is just two decades old — the Expos crossed the border to become the Nationals in 2005 — and it has lacked much on-field intrigue. Off the field, particularly inside courtrooms, is another matter. A synopsis: Baltimore was the incumbent team in the region before the Nationals existed. To appease the Orioles, who opposed a franchise entering their market, MLB ordered Nationals games to be broadcasted by MASN — the Orioles-owned television network in perpetuity. Soon enough, the franchises disagreed on the rights fees MASN should pay the Nationals. The Orioles took the matter to court in 2014, igniting a legal battle that finally ended in March when MLB dissolved the agreement, allowing for the Nationals to pursue selling its local TV rights on the open market. This is their first meeting since. Drama.
One thing to watch: These two teams feature exciting young cores on slightly different championship contention timelines. Or so that was the expectation. While the Nationals are, as projected, in fourth place in the NL East and en route to not reaching the postseason for the sixth straight season, the Orioles have face-planted out of the gate with World Series aspirations after consecutive postseason appearances. The Orioles can’t stand to sit in last place much longer. All eyes are on whether they can dig themselves out of this hole. — Castillo
Each team’s true rivals
Nationals: Phillies
Orioles: Yankees and Red Sox
What makes it a rivalry: They share a spring training complex in Peoria, Arizona, neither franchise has won a World Series, and they used to make a lot of trades with each other — indeed, the Mariners’ top two relievers, Andres Munoz and Matt Brash, were acquired from the Padres in two separate trades made on the same day in 2020. The Mariners’ largest comeback in franchise history came against the Padres, a 16-13 victory in 2016 after trailing 12-2. But this is hardly a heated rivalry — it really came about only because neither team had a logical opponent back when interleague play began in 1997.
One thing to watch: With both teams battling for first place, it’s been forever since either team won a division title: 2006 for the Padres and 2001 for the Mariners. Both teams also have early MVP candidates to focus on: Fernando Tatis Jr. leads the NL in WAR and Cal Raleigh is among the leaders in the non-Aaron Judge mix in the AL — and has played every game, starting at either catcher or DH. — David Schoenfield
Each team’s true rivals
Padres: Dodgers (arguably the best rivalry in the game right now!)
Mariners: None, really. The Astros would be the most hated among Mariners fans right now, but you can say that about every team in the AL West.
Well, the geography does line up …
What makes it a rivalry: Back in 2011, the Dodgers were navigating Frank McCourt’s financial mess and Angels owner Arte Moreno saw an opportunity. He signed Albert Pujols and inked a lucrative cable deal that came with the hopes of supplanting the Dodgers as the “it” team in Southern California. The opposite occurred. Guggenheim purchased the Dodgers in spring 2012, then signed an even bigger cable deal, hired Andrew Friedman to lead baseball operations, and the franchise eventually became the industry’s standard-bearer. The Angels, meanwhile, are trending toward a 10th consecutive losing season and saw Shohei Ohtani spurn them for the Dodgers two offseasons ago. Moreno and his lieutenants despise the Dodgers, but the gap between the two teams has become so wide — in track record, financials, resources and reputation — that it doesn’t matter.
One thing to watch: Clayton Kershaw makes his return from offseason toe and knee surgeries Saturday, and the Dodgers need him far more than they ever anticipated. Tyler Glasnow, Blake Snell and Roki Sasaki are all on the injured list with shoulder injuries. Ohtani, meanwhile, is still methodically going through his pitching rehab and isn’t expected back until some time after the All-Star break. Kershaw is in his age-37 season, but he has looked sharp through five rehab starts, posting a 2.57 ERA in 21 innings. — Gonzalez
Each team’s true rivals
Dodgers: Giants, Padres, Diamondbacks, Braves, Astros, Yankees
Angels: Rangers, Mariners, Astros
What makes it a rivalry: Let’s be honest here, this isn’t even the best rivalry between Tampa and Miami. The NHL version between the Lightning and Panthers is much more intense and competitive, with both franchises having won Stanley Cups this decade (the Lightning in 2020 and 2021 and the Panthers in 2024). The Rays have dominated the head-to-head play of late, going 24-4 since 2019.
One thing to watch: The Rays have to view this as a chance to jump-start their season given their recent dominance over the Marlins. Chandler Simpson is fun to watch with his blazing speed but hasn’t really been all that valuable for the Rays. For the Marlins, they need Sandy Alcantara to get going, but the former Cy Young winner has struggled in his return from Tommy John surgery. He should start on Sunday. — Schoenfield
Each team’s true rivals
Rays: Yankees (although obviously the Rays aren’t the Yankees’ biggest rival)
Marlins: Braves. As Marlins fans can point out, they do have more World Series titles than the Braves since 1997
What makes it a rivalry: If playing in the same state isn’t enough to define a rivalry, then how about playing in more than 2,300 games against each other to do it? From 1969 to 1994, the Phillies and Pirates were both in the NL East, giving each city ample time to dislike the other side, each and every year. Though the Phillies have been the better team recently, it’s the Pirates who own a decided edge in the all-time series, winning 1230 games to 1085 for Philadelphia. Pirate favorite Andrew McCutchen went to the other side for three seasons before returning to earn boos from the Philly faithful who used to cheer him.
One thing to watch: When it comes to the Pirates these days, there’s literally one thing to watch: Paul Skenes. This will be his first time facing Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber and a Phillies offense that ranks in the top 10 in OPS. Skenes is coming off one of his better outings in a loss to the Mets on Monday — though he only struck out six in six innings. In fact, Skenes hasn’t hit double digits in strikeouts in a single outing this season. That trend might continue this weekend, as the Phillies are one of the tougher teams to whiff this season. — Rogers
Each team’s true rivals:
Phillies: Mets (with the Braves gaining ground)
Pirates: The Phillies — but the Cubs aren’t far behind
What makes it a rivalry: “The Border Battle” — the uninspired moniker for this rivalry — is almost entirely a product of geographic overlap. As best I can tell, insofar as there is bad blood between Milwaukee/Wisconsin and Minneapolis/Minnesota, it’s as much a carryover from the Packers-Vikings rivalry in the NFL as anything. And of course the Wisconsin-Minnesota college football rivalry is the most played of all the traditional rivalries. In baseball, the Twins and Brewers were briefly in the same division and were both in the AL for a long time. But other than claiming rights to Larry Hisle and Paul Molitor, it’s always struck me as too friendly. Midwest nice.
One thing to watch: The Brewers have yet to get hot this season for any prolonged stretch, though they did recover from their wretched season-opening series at Yankee Stadium; Milwaukee has hovered around .500 all season. That’s where Minnesota is as well but they got there in different ways. The Twins started slow and have gotten red hot lately. Their problem is that all the non-White Sox teams in the Central have been hot, so Minnesota has hardly gained any ground in the standings. When this series begins, both rivals are still establishing whatever their 2025 identities turn out to be. — Doolittle
Each team’s true rivals
Brewers: Cubs, Cardinals
Twins: Royals, White Sox, Twins
What are we doing here?!
What makes it a rivalry: Once upon a time, this was a heated AL East affair. That changed when the Tigers moved to the AL Central in 1998. Still, just a four-hour, 230-mile/370-kilometer drive separates the two cities and, with the Expos long gone, the Blue Jays don’t have a Canadian sibling franchise to loathe. Maybe the recent tense U.S.-Canada relations will make for a zestier-than-usual weekend in Toronto.
One thing to watch: The Tigers are proving their stunning finish to the 2024 season was no fluke. They own the best record in the American League behind a starting rotation headed by reigning AL Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal. The good news for Toronto is they won’t face Skubal this weekend as they seek to remain within striking distance in the AL East. The bad news is Chris Bassitt and Kevin Gausman, two of their three best starters, won’t toe the rubber either. — Castillo
Each team’s true rivals
Blue Jays: Expos
Tigers: White Sox
What makes it a rivalry: This is always a fun series for history buffs since the Braves and Red Sox are both “Original 16” franchises, but they’ve never met in a World Series and this rivalry is really just based on the fact that the Braves played in Boston from 1876 to 1952. That doesn’t have much relevance for 2025. Seven Hall of Famers have played for both franchises: Babe Ruth, Cy Young, Jimmy Collins, Al Simmons, Orlando Cepeda, John Smoltz and Billy Wagner.
One thing to watch: We get a stellar pitching matchup on Friday between 2024 Cy Young winner Chris Sale for the Braves and 2025 Cy Young contender Garrett Crochet for the Red Sox. Sale is 1-3 with a 3.97 ERA, but has fanned 64 in 47⅔ innings. Crochet is 4-2 with a 1.93 ERA and 65 Ks in 56 innings. — Schoenfield
Each team’s true rivals
Braves: Probably still the Mets, but Braves-Phillies has escalated since 2022
Red Sox: Yankees
What makes it a rivalry: They’re … both kinda new? (The Rockies were born in 1993, the Diamondbacks in ’98.) They’re … kinda close? (It’s a two-hour flight or a 13-hour drive between their respective cities.) They … like the color purple? (The D-backs recently brought theirs back.) OK, we’re getting a little too cute. It’s not like there’s nothing here. They play in the same division, and they really got after it twice: 2007, when the D-backs won the NL West and the Rockies swept them in the NLCS; and 2017, when they met in the wild-card game. But there hasn’t been much since.
One thing to watch: Corbin Carroll slashed .299/.426/.529 in 25 games against the Rockies from 2023 to 2024, a two-year stretch in which they lost a combined 204 games. Carroll is off to a blazing start, and now he’ll get to feast on a Rockies pitching staff that holds the worst ERA in the majors. The D-backs have won 19 of 26 games against the Rockies over these past two years. That should come as no surprise. — Gonzalez
Each team’s true rivals
Diamondbacks: Dodgers, Padres
Rockies: Dodgers
WASHINGTON — Andrei Svechnikov scored the go-ahead goal with just under two minutes left and the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Washington Capitals 3-1 in Game 5 on Thursday night, winning the second-round series and advancing to the Eastern Conference finals for a second time in three years.
Captain Jordan Staal scored his first goal of the playoffs, and Frederik Andersen stopped 18 of the 19 shots he faced, including several on Alex Ovechkin.
After a give-and-go with defenseman Sean Walker, Svechnikov’s shot got through Logan Thompson from a bad angle with 1:59 remaining, and that was the difference in a back-and-forth game.
Seth Jarvis sealed it with an empty-net goal with 26.1 seconds left.
The Hurricanes improved to 10-5 in potential closeout games in seven trips to the postseason with coach Rod Brind’Amour. They will face either the Florida Panthers in a rematch of the 2023 East finals or the Toronto Maple Leafs in a reminder of 2002. The Panthers are up 3-2 in their series with the chance to eliminate the Maple Leafs as soon as Friday night.
Carolina is 35-7-2 through 82 games and then two rounds when scoring first.
Despite an unassisted goal by Anthony Beauvillier and some important saves among the 18 from Thompson, the Capitals saw their season end after finishing atop the conference and the Metropolitan Division, and beating the Montreal Canadiens in the first round to win a playoff series for the first time since their Stanley Cup run in 2018. Washington started strong, got a few quality scoring chances but could not get through tight-checking defense to prolong the series.
After giving up the backbreaker to Svechnikov, Thompson was pulled for an extra attacker and the Capitals were unable to equalize and let Jarvis get to the loose puck for his empty-netter.
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