LOS ANGELES — The Kings and long-embattled general manager Rob Blake have mutually agreed to part ways, the team announced Monday, four days after the team's fourth consecutive first-round playoff loss to the Edmonton Oilers.

"On behalf of the entire organization, I would like to thank Rob for his dedication to the L.A. Kings and the passion ...Read more

DENVER — Stan Kroenke doesn’t own the Colorado Avalanche. The Dallas Stars do.

Whiny Pete DeBoer does. Still. After all these years. After all those trades. After all those draft picks.

If not now, when?

The Avs were up 2-0 in the third period on Saturday night, laughing old demons away while the fans partied back home. With about eight ...Read more

PITTSBURGH — The next Penguins coach will inherit one of the great players and captains of all-time in Sidney Crosby.

Who wouldn't want that?

Here's the thing, though: While that is obviously a prize, it's also a monumental challenge. The Penguins just fired a coach Crosby adored. The new guy will have to win him over, heart and mind, amid ...Read more

TAMPA, Fla. — It might be easy to put the blame on Nikita Kucherov for the Lightning’s third straight first-round playoff exit, but just know that he’s taking it harder than you.

And don’t forget that Kucherov — not just his skill, but his dedication — remains one of the biggest reasons for believing that the Lightning can get back ...Read more

WINNIPEG, Manitoba — The St. Louis Blues came about as close as you can possibly come but couldn’t find a way to beat the Winnipeg Jets on the road.

The Blues pushed the NHL’s best team in the regular season to the limit but lost to the Jets 4-3 in second overtime Sunday night in Game 7 at Canada Life Centre on a goal by Adam Lowry on a ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — It’s time for the Minnesota Wild to go deeper.

Deeper with their roster, then go deeper in the postseason.

Despite encouraging signs that the arrow is pointing upward for this franchise — it does have a decent mix of savvy veterans and developing young talent — the first-round exit at the hands of the Vegas Golden Knights...Read more

MORRISVILLE, N.C. — Jesperi Kotaniemi was lying on his back with his eyes closed in the training room, trying to hold still as a team doctor put the top of his right eyelid back together. He could only tell what was going on out on the ice by the noise of the crowd.

Then he heard the roar, and he knew, and it was just a question whether he ...Read more

PITTSBURGH — Late in Monday's press conference, which was called so Kyle Dubas could attempt to explain why he changed course behind the bench, Dubas was asked if he is concerned Sidney Crosby will want to leave the Penguins following Mike Sullivan's dismissal.

Dubas, who usually is wordier than my wife's Starbucks order, simply replied "no."...Read more

ST. LOUIS — The Blues continued to be kings of their own domain, clobbering the Winnipeg Jets at the Enterprise Center for the third time in their first-round series, winning Game 6 5-2 on Friday night and sending the series back to Manitoba for Game 7 on Sunday. That game will start at 6 p.m.

The Blues tied the series at 3-3 with a blast of ...Read more

EDMONTON, Canada — Stop me if you've heard this before, but the summer is starting early for the Kings after a first-round playoff loss to the Edmonton Oilers.

This one is a little different, though, because this was a season that had inspired rare promise before it ended Thursday in the same painful monotony as the last three, with the ...Read more

DENVER — Talk about the Pete calling the kettle black.

Dallas forward Roope Hintz did stuff to Nathan MacKinnon in Game 5 that would be a felony in 17 states. Jamie Benn and Mason Marchment spent the first week of this series trading Greg Louganis impressions.

The Dallas Stars aren’t so much a hockey team as a bunch of theater majors on ...Read more

PITTSBURGH — For years, there was a common refrain among fans and the local media that if the Penguins moved on from Mike Sullivan, he would find a new job the following day.

As it turns out, they weren't too far off.

Just four days after the Penguins announced they were "parting ways" with Sullivan, who won two Stanley Cup titles during a ...Read more

EDMONTON, Alberta, Canada — For the fourth time in as many years, the Los Angeles Kings’ season came to an end with a first-round playoff loss to the Edmonton Oilers. The coup de grace came Thursday in a 6-4 Oilers’ win at a raucous Rogers Place, which has become a house of horrors for the Kings.

Edmonton got goals from (take a deep ...Read more

DENVER — One of the wildest Stanley Cup Playoffs nights in the history of Ball Arena turned on one of the craziest own goals any hockey fan is ever going to see.

Nathan MacKinnon was credited with the go-ahead goal at 9:04 of the third period, and the Colorado Avalanche staved off elimination with a chaotic 7-4 victory in Thursday night’s ...Read more

ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Golden Knights are moving on to the second round after defeating the Minnesota Wild, 3-2, in Game 6 of their first-round series Thursday at Xcel Energy Center.

The Knights will next face the winner of the Los Angeles Kings-Edmonton Oilers series. The Oilers lead the series 3-2 entering Thursday’s Game 6 in Edmonton.

...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — The Flyers don’t have a head coach and may not have one for a while, and their search could be building to a conclusion that will feel familiar.

Rick Tocchet had roughly two months left on his contract with the Vancouver Canucks before Tuesday, when he and the team parted ways, as the phrasing goes in these situations. The ...Read more

WINNIPEG, Manitoba — The home team remains undefeated in the Blues-Jets series through five games, which puts the Blues in a precarious position.

The Blues lost to Winnipeg 5-3 on Wednesday night at Canada Life Centre, putting them down 3-2 in the best-of-seven series and on the brink of elimination.

Next up is Game 6 on Friday night at ...Read more

Sam Bennett had just been freed from the penalty box late in the second period Wednesday and broke for the net. It was the second time he was in the box in the frame, and the Florida Panthers lost their lead to the Tampa Bay Lightning the first time he was called for a penalty. He made up for it the second time around.

Anton Lundell, who had ...Read more

ANAHEIM, Calif. — For pro sports in Orange County, these are the worst of times. The Angels last appeared in the playoffs 11 years ago, the Ducks seven years ago.

The Ducks, embracing a full rebuild, scored more points last season than they had in six years. They still posted a losing record and fired their coach. The Angels, declining a full...Read more

The Golden Knights’ season was hanging by a thread. But video coach Dave Rogowski came to save the day.

One video challenge gave the Knights new life.

Minnesota Wild center Ryan Hartman appeared to score a go-ahead goal with 1:15 remaining in Game 5 of the first-round playoff series between the two teams at T-Mobile Arena on Tuesday. But ...Read more