1:43 PM ET Associated Press VORHEES, N.J. — Former Philadelphia general manager Ron Hextall said he was stunned the Flyers fired him this week, despite their losing record. Hextall, a former Flyers goalie, was fired Monday after four-plus seasons on the job. “I didn’t see this coming in any way,” Hextall said Friday. “I was

12:54 PM ET Judging power plays by conversion percentage is a good measure of success, but not a great one. There are situations in which a power play can have a level of success which is overblown by the use of a simple calculation of power-play goals divided by opportunities. A 5-on-3 power play or

11:30 AM ET Greg WyshynskiESPN The Wysh List publishes every Friday. One of the best trends in the NHL over the past decade or so are the waves of popularity created by the resurgence of the Chicago Blackhawks, Pittsburgh Penguins and Boston Bruins during their championship runs. Their championship contention felt like a national movement:

7:00 AM ET When it comes to making important decisions on upcoming restricted and unrestricted free agents, teams have a number of factors to weigh when deciding whether to begin negotiating a top-dollar deal, make a trade or slow-play the situation. Organizations will ask themselves: What is their timeline to compete? Is the player’s current

8:49 PM ET ESPN News Services Rick Middleton, whose slick moves en route to 448 career goals earned him the nickname “Nifty,” saw his No. 16 raised to the rafters by the Boston Bruins before Thursday night’s game against the New York Islanders at TD Garden. Middleton, who played the final 12 of his 14

7:00 AM ET Greg WyshynskiESPN NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Pekka Rinne is thinking about Miikka Kiprusoff. With career win No. 320 on Nov. 22, the Nashville Predators star passed the former Calgary Flames netminder for the most NHL victories by a goalie born in Finland. “He was a different kind of guy,” Rinne recalled, which was

3:55 PM ET Nearly two months since the first puck dropped, we’re already more than one-quarter of the way through the regular season. The NHL’s Christmas break, though still a few weeks off, is definitely within sight. Fantasy success through the dozen or so games scheduled for each team between now and Dec. 23 could

12:14 PM ET Boston Bruins defenseman Kevan Miller is expected to be out until at least January after he was struck in the throat by a puck during Monday’s game. The Bruins said a CT scan revealed a cartilage injury to the larynx after he was hit by a John Tavares shot in the first

9:30 AM ET The Washington Capitals are situated atop the Metropolitan Division, which isn’t entirely surprising. What is surprising? The New York Rangers are in playoff position, and the Pittsburgh Penguins are not. We debate which of those three trends will continue, and make some creative trades to get the fast-starting Carolina Hurricanes back into

10:48 PM ET Emily KaplanESPN The Buffalo Sabres have gone from worst to first, and the rest of the NHL is on notice. With a 3-2 win over the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday night, the Sabres have a league-leading 36 points. That makes Buffalo the first team ever to finish the previous season with