7:47 PM ET The Los Angeles Kings announced they’ve suspended Tim Smith, who portrays their mascot Bailey the lion, following a sexual harassment lawsuit recently filed by a former member of the Kings Ice Crew. Along with being the mascot, Smith is senior manager of game presentation and events for the team, overseeing the Ice

7:00 AM ET Rick Tocchet was disgusted. The Arizona Coyotes, riding high after upsetting the Nashville Predators in the Stanley Cup qualification round, had squandered a chance to pull another shocker in Game 1 of their quarterfinal series against the Colorado Avalanche. “You gotta be able to make a 5-foot pass and support it. It

12:02 AM ET Bruins star forward David Pastrnak will be a game time decision on Saturday after being deemed “unfit to play” on Thursday. Carolina defeated Boston, 3-2, in Pastrnak’s absence to even the series. After Thursday’s game, Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy did not elaborate much on Pastrnak’s condition, but said he had been “questionable”

1:40 PM ET Associated Press TORONTO — Rod Brind’Amour wasn’t going to risk another $25,000 fine from the NHL. The Carolina Hurricanes coach provided a short, four-word answer, Thursday, when asked if he had anything more to add a day after being fined for calling the league “a joke” in criticizing an officials’ ruling on

9:00 AM ET The worst thing about the New York Rangers winning the Alexis Lafrenière draft lottery is how their fans are going to absolutely mangle his name. My father grew up in the city. His first attempt at a pronunciation was “Lufthansa.” The Canadian hamlet of Saint-Eustache produced an exquisite French Canadian moniker —

8:54 PM ET ESPN News Services New York Islanders captain Anders Lee knocked Washington Capitals forward Nicklas Backstrom out of Wednesday night’s first-round series opener, setting the tone with a big hit that Washington coach Todd Reirden called “late” and “predatory.” Reirden didn’t have an update afterward on Backstrom, who appeared to be looking the

6:48 PM ET Carolina Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour was fined $25,000 by the NHL after he criticized the officiating in Wednesday’s 4-3 double-overtime loss to the Boston Bruins. In a statement, the league also assessed a conditional fine of $25,000 to Brind’Amour “which will be collected, in addition to any subsequent discipline, in the event

7:00 AM ET NHL Insiders The 2020 NHL playoffs have advanced past the awkward yet delightful qualification round, and we are now on to the tried-and-true, 16-team tournament with which we’re all familiar. One twist this time around: Instead of a bracket, the teams will be re-racked after each round so that the highest seed

10:22 PM ET After six hours, five overtimes and a combined 151 shots on goal, the Tampa Bay Lightning won an epic Game 1 against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday night. Brayden Point scored 150 minutes, 27 seconds into the contest to give Tampa Bay a 3-2 win. “It was very special,” Lightning forward

6:40 PM ET Tim KavanaghESPN.com Close Tim Kavanagh is an editor for ESPN, including NFL and NHL coverage. He’s a native of upstate New York. The 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs are being played without fans in the building — well, the human kind of fans — so some NHL teams are getting creative in how