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Forward Nick Paul left in the first period after falling awkwardly from a shove by Avalanche defenseman Josh Manson. He appeared to be in significant pain on the bench before heading down the tunnel. He did not return to the bench in the first period. Paul did, however, return to the ice ahead of the second period. After a brief skate, he sat on the bench, but his return remained uncertain....

Alabama coach Nick Saban and Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher, natives of Fairmont and Clarksburg, W.Va., respectively, are asking high school coaches in Florida and Alabama to donate one full uniform, including equipment and practice jerseys, to help affected West Virginia programs and ensure they field teams in 2016. MORE: Ranking college football’s best coaches - where dp Saban, Fisher land? “As football coaches, we can do a small part to help the community heal by assisting the high school football programs affected by this tragedy,” Fisher wrote in a letter to Florida State coaches....

The Eagles (3-7-1) just played on Monday night against the Seattle Seahawks, but they couldn’t muster enough offense to remain competitive. Philadelphia fell to Seattle 23-17, but the margin of defeat could have been larger. A miraculous touchdown catch by Eagles TE Richard Rodgers kept the score close. The Packers (8-3) clobbered the Chicago Bears last Sunday night. Green Bay took a sizable 41-10 lead in the first three quarters....

With the league running out of active volunteers to participate on the HBO series "Hard Knocks," NFL owners passed a rule that would allow the league to select a team of its choosing for the HBO/NFL Films reality show that goes behind the scenes of training camp. MORE: Nike unveils new Pro Bowl uniforms | Week 5’s studs & duds Over the duration of the show's eight seasons, only six teams have participated: Baltimore Ravens, Dallas Cowboys (twice), Kansas City Chiefs, Cincinnati Bengals (twice), New York Jets and Miami Dolphins....

In conjunction with the National Hockey League Player’s Association, the league launched the NHL & NHLPA Female Hockey Advisory Committee. Featuring 11 women from various backgrounds connected to the game, the committee’s formation coincides with the launch of the NHL and NHLPA’s first-ever Gender Equality Month campaign. “The NHLPA is pleased to be collaborating with the NHL to establish the Female Hockey Advisory Committee," Maria Dennis, the committee chairperson and NHLPA director of player health and safety & associate counsel, said in a statement....

We’ll do our best to explain … The Red Wings, Senators (two picks, one courtesy of the Sharks), Kings, Ducks, Devils and Sabres won’t resume their seasons as part of the NHL’s return-to-play plans and thus had the best odds to win one of Friday’s three drawings. However, a team outside the bottom seven jumped the group, necessitating a Phase 2 lottery drawing. There were eight unassigned “placeholder” slots that factored in to the drawing....

For some of these players, it’s also a platform to show off their skill ahead of the upcoming NHL Draft. Every year, we see draft-eligible players stand out on their teams and among their peers and last year’s edition is proof of this. Alexis Lafrenière, the eventual No. 1 pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, dominated the tournament and helped lead Team Canada to the gold medal, winning MVP along the way....

Remain on Long Island with the Islanders — “a place where I’d been for a long time and helped me become the man I am today,” he said — or return home to Toronto to play for the team he grew up rooting for as a child, the Maple Leafs. And, though, ultimately Tavares is coming home for the next seven years after signing a $77 million contract Sunday with the Maple Leafs, he called it “a bittersweet day” because of what he decided to leave behind....

The Vancouver Canucks signed Ferland to a four-year, $14 million contract hat carries an AAV of $3.5 million, the team announced Wednesday. The deal was originally reported by Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. NHL free agency tracker: Complete list of signings, best players available The 27-year-old center, who had 89 points in 250 games with the Calgary Flames prior to the 2018-19 campaign, joined the Hurricanes as a UFA last season. In 71 games with Carolina in 2018-19, Ferland finished with 17 goals and 40 points, one point shy from matching his career high that he set just one year prior....

Last year saw the Hurricanes and Rangers take a leap forward, claiming the top two spots in the division and finishing two of the top seven teams in the league. The Penguins and Capitals relied on their veteran core to get back to the postseason, while the Islanders faltered and underwhelmed. The Blue Jackets and Devils finished where most expected of them, with the Flyers were a lot worse than anticipated, ending the year as the fourth-worst team in the league....

Hope everyone enjoyed the All-Star break. It’s time for stuff to get real in the NHL. This has been the Lightning’s year. Most everything has gone their way, at least until the Victor Hedman injury. Steven Stamkos is having an incredible year. Nikita Kucherov is right there with him. Andrei Vasilevskiy is probably going to run away with the Vezina Trophy. When you add those things up, it sure seems like they’re the odds-on favorite to win the Stanley Cup — but there’s been a slow shift in the tide that might disrupt things along the way....

The NHL regular season officially opened Wednesday, with a few of its biggest stars in action. First, Auston Matthews and the Leafs head to Winnipeg to face off against Patrik Laine’s Jets (7 p.m. ET, Sportsnet). Then it’s back to Pittsburgh where Sidney Crosby and the Penguins raise their Stanley Cup banner in front of the Blues (8 p.m. ET, NBCSN) to begin their three-peat quest. SN PREDICTIONS: Atlantic | Metro | Central | Pacific | Stanley Cup...

In fact, Saturday night’s matchup between the Boston Bruins and Columbus Blue Jackets went into a second overtime period as the teams remained tied for more than 50 minutes. Matt Duchene eventually gave the Blue Jackets a 3-2 road win when he scored off the rebound of a shot by Artemi Panarin. The goal was the first postseason game-winner of Duchene’s career. He is proving to be a strong trade deadline acquisition (he came over from the Ottawa Senators on Feb....

Just 31 seconds into the game, the Isles’ Tom Kuhnhackl netted a goal past Penguins netminder Matt Murray; however, after an extended examination, the play was deemed offsides and the marker was erased from New York’s ledger. One minute later, Jordan Eberle netted a goal that actually counted as the point shot hit him while he was all alone in the slot, he turned and buried it five-hole to give the Islanders an early 1-0 lead....

The Avalanche and the Lightning will square off for a chance at raising the Stanley Cup. Tampa Bay is eyeing a three-peat, coming into this series as champions from 2020 and 2021. They would be the first team to accomplish the rare feat since the Islanders in the early ’80s. Opposing them is the preseason favorites to win the championship, the Avalanche. Colorado has not won it all since 2001 when current general manager Joe Sakic was still playing as their captain....

That hasn’t changed in our first rankings of 2018. However, there has been much movement in between, including the expansion Golden Knights surging into the second spot in the rankings. Here is the complete breakdown of Sporting News’ NHL power rankings for Week 12. PREVIOUS POWER RANKINGS: Preseason | Week 1​ | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 8 | Week 9 | Week 10 | Week 11...

It didn’t take long for former Maple Leafs GM Lou Lamoriello to find a new home. Earlier this week, the Islanders announced Lamoriello was taking over as their president of hockey operations. The New York Post’s Larry Brooks believes this move spells an end to the Islanders’ long-standing tradition of hoarding draft picks and prospects in hopes they’ll blossom into stars. With two picks in the first two rounds of the 2018 NHL Draft, Brooks thinks Lamoriello could draw upon those selections, as well as the Isles’ depth in promising youth, to bolster the lineup with upper-level veteran talent....

The New Year hasn’t been kind thus far to the Maple Leafs, who sit in second place in the Atlantic Division. After dropping seven of their last 10 games entering Wednesday’s contest with the Capitals, Toronto is in danger of being overtaken by the Bruins and Canadiens. Defense remains a nagging issue, particularly on the right side. With the losses mounting, there’s growing media chatter suggesting they could look for help in the trade market....

The 24-year-old winger is headed to Colorado in a deal that will see the Avalanche send second- and third-round picks in the 2020 NHL Draft to Washington along with pending unrestricted free agent forward Scott Kosmachuk, the teams announced Friday. “We are excited to be adding a big, fast, skilled winger like Andre,” Avalanche general manager Joe Sakic said in a release. “He already has a lot of NHL experience at a young age and is a Stanley Cup winner who has performed well in the playoffs....

Marc Bergevin and the Canadiens traded team captain Max Pacioretty to the Golden Knights in exchange for veteran winger Tomas Tatar, top prospect Nick Suzuki and a 2019 second-round draft pick which originally belonged to the Blue Jackets. The deal brings to an end not only Pacioretty’s decade-long tenure in Montreal, but all of the speculation about the star forward’s future which had been the cause for great debate throughout the offseason....