7:05 AM ET Lindy Ruff had reason to smile. Not just because the New Jersey Devils were in the midst of a winning streak that would reach 11 games, but because the same fans who had called for his dismissal at the start of the season had audible apologized: “Fire Lindy!” had become “Sorry, Lindy!”

10:18 PM ET ESPN News Services TORONTO — Yegor Sharangovich scored 57 seconds into overtime, Vitek Vanecek made 25 saves and the New Jersey Devils beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-2 on Thursday night for their 11th straight victory. Sharangovich scored his fourth goal of the season on a rebound after Jack Hughes stole the

8:00 AM ET You would absolutely hate my Hockey Hall of Fame. It would be more exclusive than a dating app for single billionaires. In the current setup, too many mortals are granted immortality. To be enshrined with the likes of Mario Lemieux, Wayne Gretzky, Bobby Orr and Nicklas Lidstrom is to be counted as

8:08 AM ET Los Angeles Angels pitcher/DH Shohei Ohtani had a 2.33 ERA and an .875 OPS in 2022. New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge led the league in OPS, runs, RBIs and set the American League home run record with 62. In any other year, either would be the obvious choice for AL Most

9:01 PM ET Associated Press CHICAGO — Marian Hossa isn’t exactly sure how he will feel when the Chicago Blackhawks retire his No. 81 jersey. The Hockey Hall of Famer is certain he is going to watch some more numbers from his championship teams in Chicago go up to the United Center rafters some day.

3:44 PM ET The Columbus Blue Jackets on Wednesday placed left wing Patrik Laine on injured reserve because of a sprained ankle. The move is retroactive to Saturday. Laine is expected to miss three to four weeks after suffering the injury in a 4-3 loss to the New York Islanders on Saturday. During the game,

3:45 PM ET The Boston Bruins have retained former U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch to conduct an independent review of their player-vetting process after they signed prospect Mitchell Miller and then cut ties with him two days later amid intense backlash. The Bruins announced on Tuesday that Lynch, of the law firm of Paul, Weiss,

10:00 AM ET Johnny Gaudreau was confused, if not amused. It was Saturday night in Long Island, and every time the Blue Jackets winger touched the puck, Islanders fans at UBS Arena booed him. “I was talking to my coach after the third shift, and I was like, ‘I don’t get it,'” Gaudreau said. “I

9:38 AM ET Associated Press TORONTO — Henrik and Daniel Sedin, Canucks teammate Roberto Luongo, former Ottawa Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson, Finnish women’s national team player Riikka Sallinen and Herb Carnegie were welcomed into the Hockey Hall of Fame as the class of 2022 on Monday. The Sedin twins and Luongo were elected in their

3:00 PM ET It’s always a sinking feeling when going through the rankings and dropping someone out that was within the top 100 the week prior. Season-ending or season-ending-adjacent injuries are about the only excuse for such radical movement, so it’s never a joyous process. Even if the player in question wasn’t on any of