Kucherov picked up an assist Thursday in a 3-0 win over Los Angeles.

As the second half of the NHL season continues, the Edmonton Oilers and Tampa Bay Lightning are coming on strong. Both teams are jockeying for position within t

Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl earned No. 1 status on the strength of an outstanding first four months of the season after signing an eight-year, $14-million AAV extension that will almost certainly make him the highest-paid player in 2025-26.

Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov, Edmonton Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl, Vegas Golden Knights forward Jack Eichel, and Winnipeg Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck each got one first-place vote.

The Islanders will complete their back-to-back set against the Florida Panthers on Sunday in Sunrise, Fla. The Lightning, meanwhile blanked the visiting Los Angeles Kings 3-0 on Thursday to snap a two-game skid and win for just the second time in their last six games (2-4-0).

The Hart Trophy race looks like it’ll be an interesting one this season. There is a favorite, but a couple of players you wouldn’t expect to be in the Hart race in most seasons have made their cases to be in contention because they’ve made that much of a difference for their teams.

Marc-Andre Fleury, playing his final game in his home province, recorded his 76th career shutout as the visiting Minnesota Wild beat the Montreal Canadiens 4-0 on Thursday.Fleury made 19 saves while tying Ed Belfour and Tony Esposito for the 10th-most shutouts in NHL history.

The NHL’s nation-based tournament is not the Olympics, and it isn’t really an all-star game either. Instead of the typical all-star format used by nearly every other professional sports league, the NHL opted to create the 4 Nations Face-Off, featuring teams of players from Canada, the United States, Finland and Sweden.

In 16 games since McLellan took over, the Red Wings are 11-4-1, riding a three-game win streak as they prepare to head to western Canada on Wednesday. It’s not unusual to see a midseason coaching change bring better results in the NHL, but now more than 30 days in, the Red Wings’ surge has lasted longer than a simple adrenaline rush.

Lucas Raymond is a big reason the Detroit Red Wings are doing so well, and Patrick Kane may soon rejoin the lineup.

Slaggert put the Blackhawks ahead 2-1 at 18:14 with a snap shot from the top of the left circle off a drop pass from Lukas Reichel. Slaggert was playing his first NHL game of the season, having been recalled from Rockford of the American Hockey League on Sunday.

The Calgary Flames continue to search for offense, which explains why Jonathan Huberdeau is the NHL's lowest-ranked top scorer of a team.