Nico Hischier scores twice as Devils beat Flyers 6-3 before 70,328 at MetLife Stadium
Devils captain Nico Hischier had two goals and an assist, including the second-fastest goal to start an outdoor game, and New Jersey never looked back in beating the Philadelphia Flyers 6-3 before 70,328 fans at MetLife Stadium.
'Sloppy' hockey is the name of the game early in NHL season
San Jose's Erik Karlsson (65) handles the puck against Minnesota Wild's Nick Bjugstad (27) in the third period of an NHL hockey game Sunday, Jan. 24, 2021, in St. Paul, Minn. San Jose won 5-3. (AP Photo/Stacy Bengs)With an outbreak delaying the Dallas Stars opener, Rick Bowness got to watch a lot of hockey in the first couple of nights of the NHL season. The San Jose Sharks have been the NHL's nomads since they opened training camp in Arizona because of a ban on contact sports by Santa Clara County, California. โWeโre staying in 5-star hotels, get to play hockey, so I canโt complain,โ defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic said. Ad___Follow AP Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno on Twitter at https://twitter.com/SWhyno___More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
NHL teams making moves, not waiting for top free agents
The NHL is embarking on a free agent period like never before in hockey history. A handful of the top free agents are still available, but NHL teams aren't waiting for those big fish to sign to make other moves. Koivu signed for $1.5 million for next season, and they need to re-up top center Pierre-Luc Dubois and other restricted free agents. Teams have to move money, and in order to move money, they might have to move some really good players.โSome good free agents found new homes Saturday. The Buffalo Sabres signed center Cody Eakin to a $4.5 million, two-year contract, according to a person with direct knowledge of the deal.
Canucks cruise to 5-2 win over Vegas, even series 1-1
Tanner Pearson also scored for Vancouver, and Jacob Markstrom stopped 38 shots including 21 in the second period. It was the first game back for Toffoli since the first game of the qualifying round against Minnesota on Aug. 2. Toffoli, standing behind the net, delivered a tape-to-tape pass to an incoming Horvat, who blasted it past Lehner. Horvat scored his second goal by taking Brock Boeser's backhanded pass in front and tucking it past Lehner for his eighth playoff goal. Pearson added the final Vancouver goal into an empty net.