Sean O Leary

Carolina Hurricanes forward Evgeny Kuznetsov felt the love from his new fans after burying his first goal with the club in Thursday's win over the Florida Panthers.

After discussing potential tweaks to three-on-three overtime at Monday's general managers meetings, the NHL appears content to leave things as is.

Monsters of tabletop gaming Reiner Knizia and Richard Garfield belong on the Mount Rushmore of tabletop games.

Erik Karlsson offered a blunt assessment of the Pittsburgh Penguins' campaign after officially being eliminated from playoff contention Tuesday night."We are a huge disappointment," Karlsson told The Athletic's Josh Yohe. "We underachieved so much, and it's very disappointing. There's no other way to say it."He added: "I think it's been an underachieving season for a lot of us. I think we're a much better team than what we've displayed in 81 games this season. But at the same time, we did all of this to ourselves. That's what is frustrating."The Penguins missed the playoffs for the first time since 2005-06 last season and were expected by many to bounce back this year after acquiring Karlsson in a blockbuster trade with the San Jose Sharks over the summer.The 33-year-old took a huge step back from his 101-point, Norris Trophy-winning 2022-23 campaign, with only 11 goals and 44 assists so far in his debut season with Pittsburgh. Karlsson's arrival was supposed to help resurrect the Penguins' putrid power play, but the club converted at a measly 14.3% rate this season."We couldn't get our minds out of the situation," Karlsson said of the slumping man advantage."That's what happens. When you're into something so incredibly deep like we all were on the power play, I think it actually becomes harder to see and figure out what the solution is. You try to get yourself out of that mindset. You try and try. You want to get rid of this feeling that you have, that something's not right on the power play, and you want to fix it. But we couldn't."Karlsson is under contract for three more seasons at a $10-million cap hit. The Penguins have a projected $12.74 million in cap space over the summer to make improvements, and general manager Kyle Dubas previously said the club intends to compete for the playoffs while captain Sidney Crosby is still in the picture.Karlsson hopes the current group is given another shot to prove themselves."I just hope we're together for a bit longer, because that way, we would get another chance to show just what we are capable of doing," he said. "I think we've learned a lot this season."

The NHL board of governors voted in favor of the sale and relocation of the Arizona Coyotes to Utah for the 2024-25 season.The league is giving control of the franchise to Ryan and Ashley Smith while awarding former Coyotes owner Alex Meruelo the right to reactivate the team should he secure a fully constructed NHL-appropriate arena within five years.The Smiths run the NBA's Utah Jazz, and the two organizations will share the Delta Center beginning next season, according to ESPN's Emily Kaplan. The arena has a hockey capacity of 12,000. "As everyone knows, Utah is a vibrant and thriving state, and we are thrilled to be a part of it," commissioner Gary Bettman said in a statement."The NHL's belief in Arizona has never wavered. We thank Alex Meruelo for his commitment to the franchise and Arizona, and we fully support his ongoing efforts to secure a new home in the desert for the Coyotes. We also want to acknowledge the loyal hockey fans of Arizona, who have supported their team with dedication for nearly three decades while growing the game."Relocation talks for the Coyotes picked up steam earlier this month after years of rumors. The league's flip of the franchise to Smith was first reported last week. Smith has pushed hard to land a franchise and made a formal request to the NHL for an expansion club in January.Coyotes players and staff were informed of the move last week. All of Arizona's hockey assets, including its full reserve list, roster, draft picks, and hockey operations will be transferred to the Utah franchise. The Coyotes were unsuccessful in landing a new arena deal after moving to Arizona State's Mullett Arena ahead of the 2022-23 season. Scottsdale mayor David Ortega publicly opposed the Coyotes' latest plans to purchase a plot of land in North Phoenix for a new arena and entertainment district, calling the idea "not feasible."Arizona players bid an emotional farewell to their home crowd Wednesday night after their season finale, a 5-2 win over the Edmonton Oilers.

The Vancouver Canucks signed forward Vasily Podkolzin to a two-year contract extension Thursday. The deal is worth $1 million per season, according to The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun

The Tampa Bay Lightning saw a goal called back for goalie interference in each of the first two periods of Monday's Game 5 series-ending loss to the Florida Panthers.

Alex Ovechkin got 31 goals closer to Wayne Gretzky's all-time goal-scoring record this season but is remaining levelheaded in his pursuit of 42 more tallies.

The Toronto Maple Leafs forced a winner-take-all Game 7 in their first-round series against the Boston Bruins after earning a narrow 2-1 victory on home ice on Thursday night.

The Toronto Maple Leafs forced a winner-take-all Game 7 in their first-round series against the Boston Bruins after earning a narrow 2-1 victory on home ice Thursday night.