LEON DRAISAITL

Duncan Keith is retiring after 17 seasons in the NHL, three Stanley Cups and two Norris Trophy awards as the league’s top defenseman.

Cale Makar has won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP after leading the Colorado Avalanche to their first Stanley Cup title since 2001 and third in franchise history.

The Colorado Avalanche didn't need to be fully healthy to sweep the Edmonton Oilers in the Western Conference final.

Avalanche Oilers Hockey Colorado Avalanche left wing J.T. Compher came out of the penalty box to give Colorado the lead with 7:18 left and the Avalanche beat the Edmonton Oilers' 4-2 on Saturday night to take a 3-0 lead in the Western Conference finals. Valeri Nichushkin scored twice for Colorado, Mikko Rantanen had an empty-netter with 30 seconds left, and Pavel Francouz made 27 saves. Game 4 is Monday night in Edmonton, with Colorado a game away from advancing to the Stanley Cup final. Only four NHL teams have ever come back from a 3-0 deficit to win a seven-game series.

Nazem Kadri had three assists in a 2:04 span in the second period, backup Pavel Francouz stopped 24 shots for his second career playoff shutout and the Colorado Avalanche beat the Edmonton Oilers 4-0 on Thursday night to take a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference finals.

APTOPIX Oilers Flames Hockey Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid, right, celebrates his goal against the Calgary Flames with defenseman Cody Ceci in overtime in Game 5 of an NHL hockey second-round playoff series Thursday, May 26, 2022, in Calgary, Alberta. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP) (Jeff McIntosh)CALGARY, Alberta — (AP) — Connor McDavid scored at 5:03 of overtime and the Edmonton Oilers defeated the Calgary Flames 5-4 on Thursday to win the second-round playoff series in five games and advance to the Western Conference finals. Zach Hyman had a goal and two assists and Darnell Nurse, Jesse Puljujarvi and Evan Bouchard also scored for the Oilers. Draisaitl added four assists — his fifth straight contest registering three-plus points to build on the NHL playoff record he set in Game 4. Blake Coleman added two assists and Jacob Markstrom made 30 saves as the Flames dropped to 0-10 when trailing a playoff series 3-1.

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).

The Panthers, the league’s top team during the regular season, say there’s still a lot of fight left in them. Ross Colton’s goal with 3.8 seconds remaining won Game 2. To come back and win the best-of-seven series, Florida will have to take four of five games from the defending champs over the next week. “We are in the history books, and we’re going to go down as two-time champs. The Hurricanes won the first two games to improve to 6-0 at home in the playoffs going back to their seven-game first-round series against the Boston Bruins.

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.

The Los Angeles Kings rebounded from back-to-back blowout losses to even their first-round playoff series with a 4-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers in Game 4.

Anze Kopitar had a goal and an assist while Phillip Danault also scored for Los Angeles, who had a 45-37 advantage in shots on goal. Game 4 is Sunday night in Los Angeles. Kane had a pair of rebound goals in the second period and finished the hat trick with a wrist shot with 20 seconds remaining. Edmonton won 6-0 Wednesday night and built a five-goal lead midway through the second period of this one as it took a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. Los Angeles averted a shutout 16 seconds after Kane's second goal when Kopitar went top shelf on a backhand in front of the net.

Evander Kane picked up his first hat trick in a Stanley Cup playoff game, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Zach Hyman each had two goals, and the Edmonton Oilers dominated the Los Angeles Kings for the second straight game, posting a 8-2 victory in Game 3 of their first-round playoff series.

(Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP) (DARRYL DYCK)EDMONTON, Alberta — (AP) — The Edmonton Oilers fired coach Dave Tippett on Thursday with the star-studded team scrambling to secure a playoff spot. Jay Woodcroft, the 45-year-old head coach of the Oilers' AHL affiliate in Bakersfield, California, will take over behind the bench. Tippett, 60, was named Oilers coach in May 2019, three weeks after Ken Holland was hired as GM and president of hockey operations. Tippett coached the Phoenix/Arizona Coyotes from 2009-10 through 2016-17. Tippett, who played more than 700 NHL games, was a senior adviser with the Seattle Kraken before joining Edmonton.

(Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP) (DARRYL DYCK)EDMONTON, Alberta — (AP) — The struggling Edmonton Oilers have fired coach Dave Tippett, according to two people with direct knowledge of the decision. One of them said assistant Jay Woodcroft will replace Tippett as coach. Tippett, 60, was named Oilers coach in May 2019, three weeks after Ken Holland was hired as GM and president of hockey operations. Tippett coached the Phoenix/Arizona Coyotes from 2009-10 through 2016-17. Tippett, who played more than 700 NHL games, was a senior adviser with the Seattle Kraken before joining Edmonton.

Philadelphia captain Claude Giroux scored three goals and the Metropolitan Division beat the Central Division 5-3 in the final 3-on-3 match of the NHL All-Star Game.

Washington star Alexander Ovechkin and high-scoring Edmonton teammates Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl headline the rosters for the NHL All-Star Weekend announced Thursday.

A handful of NHL players are voicing frustration over the decision not to allow them to go to the upcoming Winter Olympics in Beijing.

The Chicago Blackhawks have traded two-time Norris Trophy winner Duncan Keith to the Edmonton Oilers for young defenseman Caleb Jones and a third-round draft pick.

McDavid was voted the Hart Trophy winner as the NHL's MVP for the second time in his career, Tuesday, June 29. McDavid became just the second unanimous Hart selection — joining Wayne Gretzky in 1982 — in receiving all 100 first-place votes from members of the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association. McDavid doubled up on honors by also winning his third Ted Lindsay Award as the league’s most outstanding player, which is voted on by NHL players. Fox became the second player to win the Norris in his second season, joining Bobby Orr winning in 1968. The Oilers players have now won the Hart in three of the past five years, with Draisaitl winning it last year.

Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid ran away in the voting to win his second Hart Trophy as NHL MVP after leading the league in points.

Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid, Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews and Colorado Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon have been named finalists for the Hart Trophy as NHL MVP.

Draisaitl has won the Hart Trophy as MVP after leading the NHL in scoring. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)EDMONTON, AB – The Stanley Cup Final is in Edmonton, and Oilers star Leon Draisaitl made history Monday night. Draisaitl became the first German player to win the Hart Trophy as MVP after leading the league in scoring with 110 points in 71 games. Draisaitl is the second Oilers player to win the Hart in the past four years following Connor McDavid, who is widely considered the best hockey player in the world. “But there’s nothing that comes ahead of the Stanley Cup.

The NHL Hart Trophy voters agreed with NHL players in selecting Edmontons Leon Draisaitl, Colorados Nathan MacKinnon and Artemi Panarin of the New York Rangers as MVP award finalists. The finalists were announced by the NHL on Tuesday, and determined by members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association. The 24-year-old Draisaitl is seeking to become the first German-born player to win the Hart after leading the NHL with 110 points (43 goals, 67 assists). The 28-year-old Russian was the NHL rookie of the year with Chicago in 2016, and a first-time Hart finalist. Panarin has an opportunity to become the fifth Rangers player to win the honor, and first since Mark Messier in 1992.

Washington's Alex Ovechkin and Boston's David Pastrnak share the Maurice Rocket Richard Trophy the league announced Thursday, May 28, 2020. (AP Photo/Winslow Townson, File)Since the NHL is planning to go straight to the playoffs, it's handing out a handful of trophies for the regular season cut short by the coronavirus pandemic. Not long after unveiling a 24-team right to the playoffs format, the league on Thursday announced the winners of its regular-season awards. Although Ovechkin was stopped short of a ninth 50-goal season, his ninth goal-scoring title extends his NHL record. The benefit and the curse of a bye, I suppose.___For more AP NHL coverage: https://apnews.com/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports