3:53 PM ET Associated Press ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Minnesota Wild have acquired center Victor Rask from the Carolina Hurricanes for left wing Nino Niederreiter, in a swap of underperforming but still-young players on long-term contracts. The 25-year-old Rask, a native of Sweden, has one goal and five assists in 26 games this season

11:01 AM ET With the Toronto Maple Leafs–Tampa Bay Lightning and Winnipeg Jets–Nashville Predators games streaming live on ESPN+ on Thursday night, we figured it was a good time to update our picks on who will be representing each conference in the Stanley Cup Final, given that these four clubs all have a strong Cup

8:44 AM ET Greg WyshynskiESPN In a digital age, NHL teams were still relying on analog approaches to deliver stats and data to coaches during games. One team’s video coach would leave his room with 30 seconds left in a period, run out to print game summaries from NHL.com in order to ensure that his

5:00 AM ET Emily Kaplan Greg Wyshynski The NHL trade season is underway. Get caught up on the assets, restrictions and potential moves for every team ahead of the Feb. 25 deadline. Note: Read through all 31 teams, or click below to skip ahead to your favorite: Atlantic Division What to watch: The Bruins have

10:43 PM ET Greg WyshynskiESPN The Anaheim Ducks are winless in their last 11 games, losing to the Winnipeg Jets in overtime on Sunday. In theory, coach Randy Carlyle’s seat couldn’t be hotter. But his general manager said Caryle’s job is safe — for now. “While it’s not my preference to make comments on this

9:44 PM ET Washington Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby left Saturday night’s game against the Columbus Blue Jackets after taking a stick to the face. The stick of Cam Atkinson slid through the goalie mask as Holtby raised it to prepare to deflect a potential shot, and the stick appeared to make contact with Holtby near

10:41 PM ET Associated Press TAMPA, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Lightning have acquired defenseman Jan Rutta in a trade with the Chicago Blackhawks. NHL-leading Tampa Bay also got a 2019 seventh-round draft pick from Chicago in exchange for defenseman Slater Koekkoek and a fifth-round selection in this year’s draft. The 28-year-old Rutta had 2

5:49 PM ET Associated Press PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Casey DeSmith‘s impressive play has earned him a three-year contract extension. The deal, announced Friday, begins in the 2019-2020 season and carries an average annual value of $1.25 million. The 27-year-old DeSmith is 12-7-4 with a 2.47 goals-against average and a .924 save percentage for

5:55 PM ET Associated Press PHILADELPHIA — The Arizona Coyotes have acquired center Jordan Weal from the Philadelphia Flyers for a minor leaguer and a draft pick. Weal has three goals and nine points in 28 games for the Flyers this season. Over parts of four seasons, Weal had 19 goals and 42 points in

4:17 PM ET Associated Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Nashville Predators forward Austin Watson says the arrest last year that led to his 18-game suspension came when he started drinking again after 23 months of sobriety. The Predators’ Austin Watson, whose suspension for domestic violence was reduced to 18 games by an arbitrator in October, is