7:50 PM ET Emily KaplanESPN Nashville Predators forward Austin Watson‘s 27-game suspension for domestic violence has been reduced to 18 games, the NHL and NHLPA announced in a joint statement on Thursday. The ruling came from Shyam Das, a neutral arbitrator. Watson pleaded no contest in July to a domestic assault charge. The NHL levied

6:04 PM ET Montreal Canadiens captain Shea Weber was back on the ice Thursday for the first time since having knee surgery in June. The veteran defenseman skated for about 10 minutes, and coach Claude Julien called it another step in his recovery from a torn right meniscus. When Weber had the procedure on June

7:11 PM ET Associated Press BOSTON — The Boston Bruins have moved up the start time of Saturday’s game against the Detroit Red Wings to 3 p.m. ET to avoid a conflict with the Red Sox playoff game. The hockey game had been a 7 p.m. start. Game 1 of the AL Championship Series between

12:55 PM ET Associated Press WASHINGTON — Vegas Golden Knights center Paul Stastny will miss at least three games with an undisclosed lower-body injury. Coach Gerard Gallant on ruled out Stastny for games Wednesday night at the Capitals, Thursday night at the Penguins and Saturday afternoon at the Flyers. Gallant says Stastny was injured Monday

7:00 AM ET Greg WyshynskiESPN Max Pacioretty wasn’t playing in last year’s Stanley Cup playoffs, but he still had a game-night routine. He would flop on the couch, snacks in hand, and flip on the television early enough to catch the greatest spectacle of the postseason: the Vegas Golden Knights‘ pregame festivities. “I was 100

11:07 PM ET It was a long wait — almost three-and-a-half years — but Ilya Kovalchuk finally notched career NHL goal No. 418. Kovachuk, playing in his third game as a Los Angeles King, redirected a nice centering pass from defenseman Drew Doughty on Tuesday night for a 1-0 first-period lead over the Winnipeg Jets.

6:52 PM ET Emily KaplanESPN Kevin Shattenkirk‘s New York homecoming has been anything but sweet. The former Hurricane tops the list this week thanks to his (disallowed) “pants goal” for the Belfast Giants. Already searching for some waiver adds for your fantasy hockey roster? Victoria Matiash lists the best players still available in the majority

7:34 AM ET It’s pretty tough to beat early October in the hockey world, though it gets even better this weekend as most men’s college hockey teams will be starting their seasons. The official opening of the 2018-19 men’s season was last weekend, with multiple exhibition games and nine nonconference matchups, highlighted by defending national

10:05 AM ET As another season gets rolling for the Nashville Predators, we assess the Stanley Cup chances of the defending Presidents’ Trophy winners: Will the Predators win the West? Greg Wyshynski, senior NHL writer: Can they win the West? Yes. Will they win the West? That really comes down to two external factors and

6:00 PM ET Associated Press SEATTLE — The ownership group looking to bring an expansion NHL team to Seattle unveiled plans Monday for a $70 million training facility in the northern part of the city. NHL Seattle CEO Tod Lewieke announced the plans, which include three full-sized rinks and office space to serve as the