• The Canadian Press

    MacKinnon has 2 assists, breaks franchise's single-season points mark as Avs beat Oilers 5-1

    DENVER (AP) — Valeri Nichushkin scored twice, Nathan MacKinnon added two assists to break the franchise’s single-season points mark and the Colorado Avalanche cruised into the playoffs behind a 5-1 win over the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday night. MacKinnon wrapped up the regular season with 140 points (51 goals, 89 assists) to top Peter Stastny’s franchise record of 139 set in 1981-82 when the club was in Quebec. The speedy MacKinnon couldn’t catch Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov in the race for the

  • The Canadian Press

    NHL playoff series set after conclusion of regular season

    The NHL post-season is now set. The playoffs begin Saturday with the Toronto Maple Leafs taking on the Boston Bruins in opening-round action. The Vancouver Canucks open their first-round series against the Nashville Predators. The Winnipeg Jets, meanwhile, will matchup against the Colorado Avalanche. The Edmonton Oilers will see the Los Angeles Kings to open the post-season for the third consecutive year. The start dates for the Western Conference series have yet to be announced by the NHL. This

  • The Canadian Press

    The Dallas Stars have a big age gap with players who have come together for No. 1 seed in the West

    DALLAS (AP) — The Dallas Stars have quite an age gap. Top goal scorer Wyatt Johnston is only 20 years old, and was a teenager for most of the playoffs last year. On the other end for the Western Conference's top-seeded team is Joe Pavelski, who will turn 40 this summer and has more points this season than the kid who again is living in his house. “Joe's not an old 39-year-old. He stays pretty young with the youth in this group," six-time All-Star forward Tyler Seguin said. “It's just cool becaus

  • The Canadian Press

    Vatrano's hat trick sends the Ducks to a 4-1 win over the Golden Knights

    LAS VEGAS (AP) — Frank Vatrano scored three goals and the Anaheim Ducks ended their season on a high note, defeating the Vegas Golden Knights 4-1 Thursday night. The loss could knock the Knights — whose three-game winning streak ended — out of third place in the Pacific Division and into the second Western Conference wild card. Vegas' destination hinged on the result of a game that started a little later between Los Angeles and Chicago. Vatrano’s goals gave him 37 for the season, a career high.