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UPDATE: The NHL’s Department of Player Safety suspended Orpik for three games MORE: Must-see playoff photos | 10 years of Crosby/Ovechkin: Bad breaks derailed the rivalry In the first period, Capitals defenseman Brooks Orpik delivered a high hit to Penguins defenseman Olli Maatta and that left Maatta clearly dazed struggling to get off the ice. This hit would undoubtedly result in a suspension if it happened in the regular season, and the league tends to reserve suspensions for extreme cases in the postseason, but this certainly looks like it qualifies....

Tthe Globe and Mail reports: “Such efforts are soon to become the norm. The NHL first has to decide which technologies to test, with Sportvision and SportVU, both Chicago-based, the leading contenders. The league aims to test one or more systems, starting this fall, with five to eight teams. One goal would be to integrate all the information with the league’s broadcasters.” SportsVU, specifically, just finished its first season as the official tracking system of the NBA....

However, Columbus clawed its way back and Seth Jones fired the wrist shot past Andrei Vasilevskiy with the man advantage to seal the 4-3 comeback win. The defenseman now has two postseason goals in his career to go along with 10 assists in 18 career games. Jones’ goal capped off the first comeback of three or more goals against Tampa Bay all season that included goals by Nick Foligno, David Savard and Josh Anderson....

While that’s still true, the four teams headed to Boston to compete for a national title are four of the top five ranked teams. Minnesota State, Michigan and Denver finished the regular season ranked No. 1, 2 and 3 respectively in the USCHO polls and Minnesota was No. 5. As a result, we do have the best teams in Boston, meaning we have some of the best players in college hockey competing....

Could the Kings shop Quick and Martinez this summer? The Los Angeles Kings were among the most active clubs in this season’s trade market and with management in the midst of a roster rebuild, they could continue wheeling and dealing in the off-season. While the Kings don’t have many available trade chips on their roster, The Athletic’s Lisa Dillman has goaltender Jonathan Quick and defenseman Alec Martinez atop her list of potential candidates....

When it opened, few observers expected them to end their decade-long playoff drought. Last January, Tom Dundon took over as owner and promoted Don Waddell to general manager and Rod Brind’Amour to head coach in May. Despite their solid defense corps, questions were raised about the team’s scoring punch and goalie depth. Thanks to Waddell and Brind’Amour, the Hurricanes confounded the experts. Off-season acquisitions Dougie Hamilton and Micheal Ferland bolstered the lineup while free agent signing Petr Mrazek and waiver pick-up Curtis McElhinney solidified the goaltending....

The potential answer? According to the Athletic’s James Mirtle, the Leafs have spoken with the Rangers multiple times this season about 23-year-old Alexandar Georgiev. An undrafted free agent out of Bulgaria, Georgiev has put up solid numbers in small stints with the Rangers since he signed during the 2017-18 season. Over 65 games played, the netminder has compiled a 30-26-6 record, amassing a .914 career save percentage and a 2....

The Devils on Thursday traded the 43-year-old winger to the Panthers for a 2015 second-round pick and a conditional pick in 2016. MORE: Kings get Sekera | Winnik fits Pens | Oldest athletes Jagr’s time with New Jersey had run its course, and Florida GM Dale Tallon, somewhat surprisingly, led the rescue mission. It’s a good addition for the Panthers, who started Thursday two points behind Boston for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference....

First, the clock read 12:55 PT and the Detroit left fielder hadn’t heard anything. Then it was 1:01 and as far as he knew, he hadn’t been moved by the 1 p.m. PT deadline. At that point, he started gearing up and getting ready to go for the Tigers’ matchup with the Angels. Then, bench coach Joe Vavra came over with the news. Castellanos had been traded to the Cubs....

Cutler, Palmer and Clausen threw touchdown passes to help Chicago beat the Philadelphia Eagles, 34-28, on Friday night in their preseason opener. The Bears rattled Nick Foles in the early going, intercepting two passes, even though they were missing Jared Allen. The five-time Pro Bowl defensive end and prized free-agent acquisition missed practices this week with his wife giving birth to a girl. Tight end Martellus Bennett remained suspended by the team for his role in an altercation with cornerback Kyle Fuller at practice Monday....

The duo, who recently won the Atlanta Open doubles title together, have never faced off at senior level in singles. Kyrgios will be the strong favourite to beat his doubles partner and goes into the US Open as the tournament’s 23rd seed after a productive August saw him win his first singles title in three years. Despite his seeding, the 27-year-old has been handed a tricky draw overall with 16th seed Roberto Bautista Agut awaiting him in the third round where a win would then likely see Kygrios play world number one Daniil Medvedev....

“Kokkinakis banged your girlfriend. Sorry to tell you that, mate,” Kyrgios was heard saying as he approached Wawrinka after the match in Montreal, referring to fellow Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis. MORE: The month in sports history Wawrinka went through a very public and messy divorce with his wife, Ilham, in April. Since the breakup, he is believed to be dating 19-year-old Croatian player Donna Vekic, presumably the subject of Kyrgios’ slight....

During his first radio appearance of the season on his show called “Hey Coach,” Saban went on an unprompted rant about how players talk to each other on the field. “I watch football on TV sometimes and there’s a lot of things I see,” Saban said (via AL.com). “Self-indulgent behavior. Players bringing attention to themselves. A lack of discipline. When you don’t have respect for discipline, a lot of bad things happen....

Week 17 NFL Picks: Straight Up | Against Spread First-round byes are also decided in AFC. New England and Pittsburgh will have a week off following Week 17. The Patriots have over 90% chance to take home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. In the NFC, the wounded Eagles have a first-round bye, but the Minnesota Vikings still need to wait until Sunday to claim the other first-round bye. They can do it with win over Chicago or with a multitude of other scenarios, as only the Carolina Panthers are threatening their second seed in the NFC....

In the letter, the NFLPA said Vincent had no right to impose the ban on Brady, that only NFL commissioner Roger Goodell could do so. MORE: Roger Goodell will hear appeal | Who is Brady’s agent, Don Yee? | Suspensions shorter than Brady’s Brady Appeal Letter “The CBA grants the Commissioner—and only the Commissioner—the authority to impose conduct detrimental discipline on players,” the letter to Vincent reads. “[The CBA] contains no corresponding provision authorizing the Commissioner to delegate his exclusive role to impose conduct detrimental discipline to you or anyone else....

In a joint contribution with the NHL Players’ Associations, the league announced Wednesday it will donate $200,000 to fund relief efforts by the American Red Cross and Habitat for Humanity, adding to the millions of dollars already raised from other professional sports leagues, teams and athletes. As of Wednesday afternoon, more than 32,000 people were displaced to shelters across Texas due to record rainfall that decimated the southeast portion of the state....

The New Year’s Day tradition of taking hockey outside continues Monday with the 2018 Winter Classic between the Sabres and Rangers (1 p.m. ET) to begin the week. MORE: Watch NHL live and on-demand with fuboTV (7-day free trial) The Sabres (10-20-8) are having one of their worst seasons in recent years, which is saying a lot, but Jack Eichel and Co. should be able to rise to the occasion against Henrik Lundqvist and the Rangers (20-13-5), who are smack dab in the middle of the most hotly contested division battle in the league....

While there are still over three weeks of regular season games to be played, it’s never too early to turn our gaze to the playoff races as they continue to heat up. Here’s how the 2020 Stanley Cup playoff bracket looks today. Last updated: 9:25 a.m. ET on March 12. All probabilities from Sports Club Stats, all GIFS from giphy.com. NHL Salary Cap 2020-21: Five teams that could benefit from a higher projection...