2019 March

Predators tie Stanley Cup Final behind heroic Pekka Rinne play

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Frederick Gaudreau sure is doing his best to earn his own locker with the Predators with a Stanley Cup Final debut for the ages. And with Pekka Rinne turning in his best performance in this series, the Predators are going back to Pittsburgh having tied up the defending champs at 2-2, turning […]

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A defense of Justin Bieber, the unabashed sports frontrunner

Among the many things Justin Bieber has been criticized for over the years is his tendency to show an allegiance to a wide variety of sports teams. Bieber has been spotted at sporting events wearing the jersey of a usually good team, leading many to call him a bandwagoner or frontrunner. Most recently, the Biebs […]

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Intense PDA session interrupts celebratory Predators broadcast

Smashville is living up to its reputation. Following the Predators’ 4-1 victory over the Penguins in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup final on Monday, local television reporter Chris Harris hit the roaring streets of Nashville to cover the ongoing celebrations outside Bridgestone Arena, where a couple got hot and heavy during the live broadcast. […]

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Penguins on cusp of history after destroying Predators

PITTSBURGH — The night started with a catfish throw. It ended with haymaker after haymaker — both literal and proverbial — from the ever resilient Penguins. The defending champions provided an emphatic and repeated reminder of what makes them such a difficult out in a 6-0 demolition of the Predators in Game 5 of the […]

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The P.K. Subban-Sidney Crosby war is epic

About a month ago, people in the NHL offices were worried — rightfully so — about the broad appeal and marketability of the upcoming Stanley Cup Final. Once the Rangers lost to the bone-dry Senators in the second round, hope in the Eastern Conference rested solely on Sidney Crosby and the Penguins. Once Connor McDavid […]

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NHL losses have union stuck between a rock and a hard place

The expectation, affirmed in conversations within the past three days by essentially everyone on the NHL players’ side of the aisle, is that the union will decline to trigger the escalator for next season, thus creating a flat salary cap right around the current $73 million for 2017-18. Well, not exactly. The NHLPA is not […]

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The players active Rangers are hunting on trade market

The Rangers have been active in conversations with clubs that either face a protection problem on defense or might be willing to trade a legitimate top-pair righty, but we’re told nothing is imminent. Among others, yes, the Avalanche’s Tyson Barrie is a person of interest. So is Jacob Trouba of the Jets, but there is […]

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Penguins beat Predators to repeat as Stanley Cup champs

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Sidney Crosby is bringing the Stanley Cup back home to Pittsburgh for a second consecutive year. Patric Hornqvist scored with 1:35 left and Matt Murray made 27 saves for his second straight shutout as the Penguins became the first team in nearly two decades to repeat as champion with a 2-0 win […]

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Rangers hire new coach for top farm team

The Rangers stayed in-house as they promoted Keith McCambridge to be the head coach of AHL Hartford following one season as an assistant. McCambridge takes over for Ken Gernander, who was fired on May 16 after 10 seasons as the headman of the Wolf Pack. McCambridge joined the Rangers organization after five seasons as the […]

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In awe of the Penguins, and star who’s shut everyone up forever

I am not sure that the 2016-17 Stanley Cup champion Penguins merit recognition as a singular all-time team, but I am certain that this repeat championship is an achievement worthy of all-time recognition. For it is not only that Pittsburgh pulled off the first repeat of the 12-year hard-cap era in which successful teams are […]

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