3:20 PM ET Associated Press The Colorado Avalanche could be without two important players for the rest of their second-round series against the Dallas Stars. Coach Jared Bednar on Monday said goaltender Philipp Grubauer and defenseman Erik Johnson are out indefinitely with injuries. Grubauer appeared to pull something three minutes into the second period of

8:35 AM ET Back-to-back early playoff exits were enough to make the Washington Capitals realize that they had made a mistake. In the two seasons since the team promoted top assistant Todd Reirden instead of giving Stanley Cup-winning coach Barry Trotz a raise, the Caps have been knocked out of the playoffs in the first

3:28 AM ET Vancouver Canucks agitator Antoine Roussel tried to get under the Vegas Golden Knights‘ skin in Game 1 of their series. Instead, the Knights said Roussel helped fuel their 5-0 blowout win on Sunday in Edmonton, Alberta. “He’s running around out there. I don’t think he’s distracting anyone but himself,” forward Reilly Smith

8:00 AM ET The 2020 NHL playoffs roll on to the conference semifinals beginning on Aug. 22 with the Colorado Avalanche taking on the Dallas Stars. The Golden Knights and Canucks played only twice in the regular season, splitting the contests both staged in December. That seems like decades ago in pandemic time, so this

11:15 AM ET Associated Press The Washington Capitals have fired coach Todd Reirden after a second consecutive first-round exit in the Stanley Cup playoffs. General manager Brian MacLellan announced the move Sunday, three days after the Capitals lost to former coach Barry Trotz’s New York Islanders in a five-game series. Washington opted to promote Reirden

12:57 AM ET ESPN News Services Colorado Avalanche goaltender Philipp Grubauer left his team’s 5-3 loss to the Dallas Stars on Saturday because of an injury. In the second period, Grubauer went face down on the ice after pushing a shot away with his right skate. He was helped off by trainers and replaced by

6:41 PM ET Mike Milbury will not appear on NBC Sports’ coverage for the rest of the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs, he said Saturday. The news comes one day after the NHL condemned Milbury’s on-air comments that players aren’t as distracted because there are no women in the league’s bubble as “insensitive and insulting.” “In

2:00 PM ET NHL Insiders The 2020 NHL playoffs have been one of the more unique postseasons in recent history. From the eight extra teams vying for spots during the qualification round, to the fact that the games are being played in fanless arenas in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s been quite the

2:11 AM ET Ryan O’Reilly stared down at the table in front him, moments after the Vancouver Canucks completed their six-game upset of his St. Louis Blues. After last season’s final game, he and his teammates passed around the Stanley Cup in victory. But O’Reilly didn’t recognize the team around him Friday night, as far

6:24 PM ET After the Colorado Avalanche closed out their first-round series with the Arizona Coyotes in five games on Wednesday, their schedule looked clear for most of the next week. But on Friday, the NHL cut that vacation short, moving up the start of their Western Conference semifinal series against the Dallas Stars to