JACOB MARKSTROM

Toronto’s Auston Matthews won the Hart Trophy as the NHL’s most valuable player, beating out Edmonton’s Connor McDavid and Igor Shesterkin of the New York Rangers to win the award for the first time.

Flames Oilers Hockey Edmonton Oilers center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, second from left, celebrates his goal against the Calgary Flames with teammates during the first period of Game 4 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoffs second-round series Tuesday, May 24, 2022, in Edmonton, Alberta. Evander Kane scored his NHL-leading 11th and 12th goals of the postseason, and Zach Hyman added a goal for Edmonton. He has 25 points in 11 playoff games for the Oilers, who earned a third straight victory over their provincial rival. With the Oilers wobbling, Nugent-Hopkins poked in his fourth goal of the playoffs from in front of Markstrom. The goal was the third-fastest in Oilers’ playoff history, just short of McDavid (19 seconds in 2020) and Fernando Pisani (16 seconds in 2006).

APTOPIX Oilers Flames Hockey Edmonton Oilers winger Zach Hyman celebrates his goal against the Calgary Flames during the third period of Game 2 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoffs second-round series Friday, May 20, 2022, in Calgary, Alberta. Oilers goalie Mike Smith, pulled early in the last game, made 37 saves for the win and assisted on Draisaitl’s insurance goal. The best-of-seven Western Conference semifinal heads to Edmonton’s Rogers Place for Sunday's Game 3 and Tuesday’s Game 4. Edmonton scored its first power-play goal of the series midway through the second period to send the game into the third deadlocked 3-3. Hyman celebrated an Oilers goal with just over four minutes left in the opening period, but officials waived it off.

Oilers Flames Hockey Calgary Flames forward Matthew Tkachuk, right, celebrates his goal against the Edmonton Oilers with forward Johnny Gaudreau during the third period of Game 1 of an NHL hockey second-round playoff series Wednesday, May 18, 2022, in Calgary, Alberta. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP) (Jeff McIntosh)CALGARY, Alberta — (AP) — Matthew Tkachuk had his first career playoff hat trick and the Calgary Flames beat the Edmonton Oilers 9-6 Wednesday night in Game 1 of their second-round series. Game 2 is Friday at the Saddledome before the series heads to Edmonton for Sunday’s Game 3 and Tuesday’s Game 4. The Flames scored twice in a 25-second span in the first minute and led 3-0 by 6:05 when Smith was replaced by Koskinen. ... Game 1 was the highest scoring playoff game involving Calgary and Edmonton, surpassing the previous high of 12 goals scored in Game 3 of the 1983 Smythe Division final.

Flames Stars Hockey Dallas Stars players celebrate a goal by Miro Heiskanen during the second period of Game 6 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series against the Calgary Flames, Friday, May 13, 2022, in Dallas. That came with 2:28 left in the second period, in which both teams scored twice. The series wraps up Sunday night in Calgary, where the Flames last hosted a Game 7 in 2006 and lost their first-round series to Anaheim. The Stars had a 2-0 lead about six minutes into the second period when Raffl finished off a wild play. GAME 7 HISTORYCalgary is 5-7 in Game 7s, but has lost six of the last seven it has played.

Miro Heiskanen scored the go-ahead goal late in the second period and the Dallas Stars beat Calgary 4-2 to force a Game 7 in their first-round Western Conference series.

DALLAS — (AP) — Rasmus Andersson scored Calgary's first power-play goal since early in the playoff opener, Jacob Markstrom had 34 saves and the Flames beat the Dallas Stars 4-1 in Game 4 on Monday night to even their first-round series. The series returns to Dallas on Friday night for the sixth game in the best-of-seven series. Calgary had failed to convert on 13 consecutive power-play attempts before that, including two earlier in the game, since scoring five seconds into their first power play of the series. That was five minutes into Game 1, and the only goal in that 1-0 win. The Stars have also struggled on the power play, going 0 for 4 with a man advantage in Game 4 before Tyler Seguin scored with 4:57 left to get the Stars within 3-1.

Rasmus Andersson scored Calgary’s first power-play goal since early in the playoff opener, Jacob Markstrom had 34 saves and the Flames beat the Dallas Stars 4-1 in Game 4 to even their first-round series.

Flames Stars Hockey Dallas Stars' Joe Pavelski (16) and Vladislav Namestnikov (92) celebrate a after Pavelski scored against Calgary Flames goaltender Jacob Markstrom (25) during the third period of Game 3 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series Saturday, May 7, 2022, in Dallas. It appeared that Lucic, who was engaged with Tyler Seguin, tried to avoid the Dallas goalie. The Flames took a 2-1 lead when Lindholm scored from just inside the circle early in the second period. He has 26 penalty minutes in this series, after 34 penalty minutes in 74 regular-season games. There have been 45 penalties and 124 penalty minutes combined in the three games.

Joe Pavelski scored twice and got the game-winner on the first power-play goal in the series for Dallas as the Stars beat the Calgary Flames 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round Western Conference playoff series.

Injuries are threatening to tip the balance of a handful of first-round series around the NHL playoffs.

Stars Flames Hockey Dallas Stars goalie Jake Oettinger, right, defends as Calgary Flames center Elias Lindholm, front left, tries to score while being checked by Stars center Roope Hintz during the second period of Game 1 of an NHL hockey first-round playoff series Tuesday, May 3, 2022, in Calgary, Alberta. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP) (Jeff McIntosh)CALGARY, Alberta — (AP) — Elias Lindholm scored and Jacob Markstrom recorded his second career playoff shutout as the Calgary Flames beat the Dallas Stars 1-0 Tuesday night in the opening game of their first-round playoff series. Markstrom stopped all 16 shots he faced as Calgary earned just its second playoff win at the Saddledome since 2015. The series shifts to Dallas for Saturday’s Game 3 and Monday’s Game 4. NOTES: The Stars ousted the Flames in six games in the first round of the 2020 playoff bubble in Edmonton.

Avalanche Flames Hockey Colorado Avalanche right wing Valeri Nichushkin (13) celebrates his goal as Calgary Flames goalie Jacob Markstrom picks himself up during the third period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, March 29, 2022 in Calgary, Alberta. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP) (Jeff McIntosh)CALGARY, Alberta — (AP) — Valeri Nichushkin scored twice and Darcy Keumper stopped 44 shots as the Colorado Avalanche edged the Calgary Flames 2-1 Tuesday night in a matchup of Western Conference division leaders. With the score tied 1-1, Colorado capitalized on a tripping penalty to Elias Lindholm halfway through the third period. Calgary entered the game 4 for 12 with a man advantage in the previous four games. NOTES: Sean Monahan returned to the lineup for Calgary after being a healthy scratch the last two games.

Flames Coyotes Hockey Calgary Flames goaltender Jacob Markstrom (25) watches the puck on a shot by Arizona Coyotes defenseman Jakob Chychrun (6) during the second period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2022, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin) (Ross D. Franklin)TEMPE, Ariz. — (AP) — The Arizona Coyotes will use Arizona State's new on-campus hockey arena for at least the next three years while the team looks for a permanent home. Arizona State’s arena will hold about 5,000 fans, easily making it the NHL’s smallest home venue. The Coyotes will begin playing there next season, and the deal announced Thursday has an option for the 2025-26 season. “We are thrilled that we have arranged to play our home games in Arizona State University’s new multi-purpose arena starting next season,” Coyotes President & CEO Xavier A. Gutierrez said in a statement. Plans for a new shared arena with Arizona State University fell through in 2017 and the franchise’s future in the Phoenix area continued to remain in doubt.

The Arizona Coyotes will use Arizona State’s new on-campus hockey arena for at least the next three years while the team looks for a permanent home.

Lundqvist signed with the Capitals when free agency opened Friday, Oct. 9, 2020. (AP Photo/Nick Wass, File)Nets around the NHL will look very different next season after a flurry of musical goaltenders in free agency. "You saw the goalie carousel take place," said San Jose Sharks general manager Doug Wilson, who traded for goalie Devan Dubnyk this week. 1 goalies.”After trading Dubnyk to San Jose, the Minnesota Wild signed former Flames goalie Cam Talbot to an $11 million, three-year deal. After losing series to them in 2009 and 2011, Lundqvist eliminated the Capitals three times: 2012, 2013 and 2015.