NHL Hockey 3d Briefing
×Major Injuries Shake NHL
Penguins captain Sidney Crosby espn.com will miss at least four weeks after being placed on injured reserve. The Stars' Tyler Seguin espn.com suffered an ACL injury that will sideline him for the remainder of the regular season and playoffs. These significant injuries to star players could dramatically impact their teams' playoff positioning as the stretch run begins.
Olympic Return and Honors
The NHL resumed play following the Olympic break with several teams honoring their Olympic participants. The Devils honored Jack Hughes espn.com before their game against the Sabres after his gold medal performance. The Panthers hosted a celebration espn.com for their players returning from the Olympics, featuring a ceremonial faceoff between Matthew Tkachuk and Auston Matthews. Meanwhile, the Golden Knights returned espn.com without five players who competed in the Olympic final, including Jack Eichel and Noah Hanifin from the champion United States team.
Coaching Changes and Milestones
Lightning coach Jon Cooper espn.com will miss two games following the death of his father, Robert. In a historic achievement, Ducks coach Joel Quenneville espn.com became just the second NHL coach to reach 1,000 career wins, joining Scotty Bowman in this exclusive club after his team rallied to defeat the Oilers.
Off-Ice Developments
Senators captain Brady Tkachuk espn.com expressed frustration over an AI-doctored video released by the White House that made it appear he was disparaging Canadians. In a positive development, Maple Leafs center John Tavares espn.com has been driving mental health awareness through his foundation, crediting a mental health focus for aiding his recent renaissance.
With the playoff races heating up, teams are evaluating potential roster moves. ESPN's NHL trade tier rankings espn.com examine which big names could bring a Stanley Cup to their new teams. As the season resumes, fantasy hockey experts espn.com are providing essential lineup strategy for March, including how to use the NHL schedule to your advantage. The NHL Power Rankings espn.com show significant shifts beyond the top five teams as play resumes from the Olympic break.
Broadcast Highlights
The United States' Olympic hockey gold medal win over Canada on Sunday drew an impressive average audience of 26 million viewers on NBC and Peacock in the U.S. Looking forward, ABC will broadcast an NHL doubleheader Saturday featuring playoff-implications matchups between the Penguins and Rangers espn.com, followed by the Bruins facing the Flyers.