ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Wild power play was finally the catalyst for a win instead of contributing to another loss.

After a 0-for-15 drought, the Wild scored three times — including during a match penalty for a slew-foot against captain Jared Spurgeon — to get by the Predators, 5-3, Tuesday night at Xcel Energy Center for a subdued victory ...Read more

CHICAGO — There’s still no joy in Wrigleyville, at least where the Chicago Blackhawks are concerned.

The Hawks lost their sixth of seven Winter Classics on Tuesday — and their second at Wrigley Field — suffering a 6-2 defeat at the hands of the St. Louis Blues.

Another longtime rival, the Detroit Red Wings, had dealt the Hawks a 6-4 ...Read more

CHICAGO — When the NHL announced in February the 2024 Winter Classic would be held in Chicago, some wondered why they’d put the Blackhawks back in the national spotlight.

The answers were quite obvious:

Connor Bedard and Wrigley Field.

Blackhawks president of business operations Jaime Faulkner said then the team began mapping out a 10-...Read more

DENVER — Casey Mittelstadt began the night with a demotion. He ended it the hero.

Mittelstadt’s first goal in 19 games helped the Avalanche defeat the division-leading Winnipeg Jets, 4-2, Tuesday night at Ball Arena. It was the Avs’ fifth win in a row and ninth in the past 11 contests.

The Jets played the night before and didn’t start ...Read more

SAN JOSE, Calif. — The San Jose Sharks made progress during the 2024 calendar year. They’ve been more competitive this season, have continued to bolster their prospect pool, and now have what appears to be a future franchise centerman in Macklin Celebrini.

But that doesn’t change the fact that the Sharks will head into 2025 on an eight-...Read more

DETROIT — Red Wings coach Todd McLellan said the other day the NHL has become somewhat a race to three goals in his estimation, and the first team to reach that number has a great chance to win.

It worked Tuesday on New Year's Eve for the Red Wings.

J.T. Compher scored his fifth goal, a power-play goal, at 14 minutes, 26 seconds of the third...Read more

CHICAGO — Undoubtedly, the Blues are the overlords of the outdoors.

In dispatching the Blackhawks, 6-2, on Tuesday evening at Wrigley Field, the Blues cemented their status as the best team on outdoor ice. St. Louis is now undefeated in three Winter Classics. They have scored at least four goals in each game. They have beaten the Blackhawks ...Read more

LAS VEGAS — The Golden Knights allowed three unanswered goals, two in the third period, and had their six-game winning streak end in a 3-2 loss to the Montreal Canadiens at T-Mobile Arena on Tuesday.

Defensemen Zach Whitecloud and Noah Hanifin scored in the first period, but the Knights (25-9-3) didn’t score again in their first loss since ...Read more

Good starts are imperative for the Bruins if they want to compete against teams like the Washington Capitals. They got one on Tuesday, but they could not keep the foot on the accelerator for the full 60 minutes. And it cost them.

The B’s came flying out of the gate in Washington and took the lead early. But they lost it before the end of the ...Read more

The Wild’s best player is hurt, losses have outnumbered wins for the past three weeks, and the schedule is back to its every-other-day rhythm after a brief pause for the holidays.

Although they’re not officially at the halfway point yet, it already feels like the Wild are in the murky middle of the season, the blah blip that hits when the ...Read more

SEATTLE — The revived Seattle Kraken earned a convincing 5-2 victory Monday night at Climate Pledge Arena in their first-ever meeting with the Utah Hockey Club, the yet-to-be-named remnants of the Arizona Coyotes.

Kraken winger Jaden Schwartz kept rolling with a hand in the first three Kraken goals. He scored the game-winner midway through ...Read more

Goaltender Ilya Samsonov made 31 saves for his first shutout of the season and the Golden Knights beat the Calgary Flames 3-0 at T-Mobile Arena on Sunday.

The win extended the Knights’ winning streak to six games.

Left wing Brett Howden scored his 15th goal in the second period. Right wing Victor Olofsson added a power-play goal in the third...Read more

What the Penguins have done since Thanksgiving Eve has been admirable. When everyone thought they were circling the drain, they won nine of 13 entering the NHL's Christmas break, flirting with a possible playoff spot.

Their power play, which last year was a significant drag, was clicking at 30.8% during that time, their penalty kill at 90.6%. ...Read more

SAN JOSE, Calif. — The San Jose Sharks’ losing streak has reached seven games.

In front of a sellout crowd of 17,435 spectators, San Jose couldn’t match score for score with Calgary, the fifth-best team in the NHL’s Pacific Division.

Instead, the Sharks managed just one goal on 22 shots, squandering a strong performance from goaltender...Read more

LOS ANGELES — The Kings have seen each of the last three seasons end in first-round playoff losses to the Edmonton Oilers. And if the current NHL season had ended Saturday, guess who the Kings would face in the first round of the playoffs?

That made Saturday's matinee at Crypto.com Arena, the first meeting of the season between the teams, an ...Read more