Goaltenders are in the spotlight for all four series resuming Sunday in the first round of the NHL playoffs.

Czech leaders have condemned apparent threats made by former Russian president and prime minister Dmitry Medvedev against NHL great Dominik Hasek for his critical stance on the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Alex Ovechkin added another accomplishment to his illustrious career just over two weeks since breaking Wayne Gretzky's record for the most goals in NHL history.

Alex Ovechkin scored the first playoff overtime goal of his NHL career to give the Washington Capitals a 3-2 victory over the Montreal Canadiens in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series.

Buffalo Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams placed the blame on himself two days after his team closed its 14th consecutive season without a playoff berth.

The drive that fuels Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby is burning as bright as ever, even as his team struggles.

The Columbus Blue Jackets' surprising season of exceeding expectations and contending for the playoffs is still going after beating the Eastern Conference-leading Washington Capitals twice this weekend.

Gabriel Landeskog played in a professional game Friday night for the first time in nearly three years as he suited up with the Colorado Eagles of the American Hockey League.

Alex Ovechkin broke Wayne Gretzky's NHL career goals record, and the Washington Capitals clinched the top spot in the Eastern Conference the following game.

Wayne Gretzky says he has no political power or pull with the U.S. president or Canada's prime minister in his first public comments on the issue since Donald Trump began his second term.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has congratulated Alex Ovechkin for setting an “outstanding record” as the NHL’s all time top goal-scorer.

Alex Ovechkin's pursuit of Wayne Gretzky's NHL goals record became the talk of the league a time of the season usually reserved only for playoff races.

Wayne Gretzky's NHL goal-scoring record is no longer considered unbreakable — because Alex Ovechkin just broke it.

Alex Ovechkin with his 895th career goal has broken Wayne Gretzky's NHL record that most thought was untouchable.

Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals is now the leading goal-scorer in NHL history.

Alex Ovechkin has broken Wayne Gretzky’s record for the most goals in NHL history by scoring the 895th of his career.

Sidney Crosby took part in another dueling hat tricks game with a Russian opponent 16 years after his memorable one in the playoffs against Alex Ovechkin.

Wayne Gretzky made his first in-person appearance during Alex Ovechkin’s pursuit of the NHL career goals record in time to watch him tie it with No. 894.

Alex Ovechkin has matched Wayne Gretzky's NHL career goals record by getting to 894.

Alex Ovechkin has tied Wayne Gretzky’s NHL goals record by scoring the 894th of his career.

Wayne Gretzky witnessed Alex Ovechkin scoring his 893rd goal to move one back of tying his NHL record, as the Canadian great made his first in-person appearance during this chase.

Alex Ovechkin moved three goals away from breaking Wayne Gretzky’s NHL record after scoring the 892nd of his career in the Washington Capitals’ game at the Carolina Hurricanes on Wednesday night.

Alex Ovechkin moved four goals away from breaking Wayne Gretzky’s NHL record after scoring the 891st of his career in the Washington Capitals game against the Bruins in Boston on Tuesday night.

Alex Ovechkin is now five goals away from breaking Wayne Gretzky’s NHL record after scoring the 890th of his career in the Washington Capitals’ game Sunday against the Buffalo Sabres.

Alex Ovechkin initiated a memorable moment on the ice in Minnesota even though he went scoreless for Washington in a 4-2 loss.

Sidney Crosby broke an NHL record he shared with Wayne Gretzky for point-per-game consistency.

Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals has tied the NHL career goals record of 894 held by Wayne Gretzky.

Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals finished his record-breaking season with 897 goals.

The Washington Capitals became the first NHL team this season to clinch a playoff spot, doing so after playing 69 games.

Alex Ovechkin has scored his 888th career goal to move seven away from breaking Wayne Gretzky's NHL career record.

Alex Ovechkin scored his 887th career goal Saturday to move within eight of breaking Wayne Gretzky’s NHL record.

Alex Ovechkin scored his 886th career goal into an empty net to move nine back of breaking Wayne Gretzky's NHL record.

Alex Ovechkin scored his 885th career goal midway through the third period of the Washington Capitals’ game against New York Rangers on Wednesday night, moving nine away from tying Wayne Gretzky’s NHL record.

Alex Ovechkin scored the 884th goal of his NHL career to move 10 away from tying Wayne Gretzky's record.

Alex Ovechkin has reached 30 goals in a season for the 19th time in his 20-year NHL career.

Alex Ovechkin had so many chance to score in the Washington Capitals’ rout of the Edmonton Oilers that he joked, “I’ll take three.”.

Alex Ovechkin scored his 880th, 881st and 882nd career goals to record a hat trick and move 13 goals away from breaking Wayne Gretzky’s NHL record and give the Washington Capitals a 7-3 victory over Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers, moving back atop the league standings.

The second half of the NHL season begins Saturday with 14 games coming out of the break for the 4 Nations Face-Off.

The Washington Capitals are the top team in the NHL more than halfway through the season.

A midseason showdown between the top two teams in the NHL lived up to that billing as the Winnipeg Jets beat the Washington Capitals 5-4 in overtime.

Alex Ovechkin scored the 877th goal of his career to move 18 away from breaking the NHL record, but the Washington Capitals lost 5-4 in overtime to the Winnipeg Jets in a showdown of the top two teams in the NHL that lived up to that billing.

Alex Ovechkin moved within 20 goals of breaking Wayne Gretzky’s NHL record with an empty-netter, helping the Washington Capitals beat the Seattle Kraken 3-0 on Thursday night for their sixth straight victory.

Alex Ovechkin moved another step closer to breaking Wayne Gretzky's NHL career goals record by scoring on Marc-Andre Fleury again.

Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals is chasing the NHL career goals record of 894 held by Wayne Gretzky.

Alex Ovechkin could return to the Washington Capitals lineup when they visit the Toronto Maple Leafs in their first game back from the NHL’s Christmas break.

Alex Ovechkin skated by himself before Washington Capitals practice as he works to return from a broken leg.

Sidney Crosby became the 21st player in NHL history to score 600 goals when he reached the mark in the second period against the Utah Hockey Club on Saturday night.

Alex Ovechkin has a broken left fibula and is expected to be out four to six weeks.

The Washington Capitals put Alex Ovechkin on injured reserve and recalled fellow Russian winger Ivan Miroshnichenko from the minors.

Alex Ovechkin is considered week-to-week after injuring his lower left leg in the Washington Capitals' most recent game at Utah.

Alex Ovechkin scored his 130th career game-winning goal to keep his hot streak going, the Washington Capitals winning and the Nashville Predators losing.

Alex Ovechkin is off to a hot start, and so are the Washington Capitals.

Alex Ovechkin is now on track to break Wayne Gretzky's NHL career goals record this season.

Matvei Michkov is in the NHL ahead of schedule after the Philadelphia Flyers got him out of Russia and to North America a little over a year after taking him with the seventh pick in the draft.

The New York Rangers have advanced to the second round of the NHL playoffs after finishing off a sweep of the Washington Capitals with a 4-2 victory in Game 4.

The New York Rangers are one win away from the advancing after beating the Washington Capitals 3-1 to take a 3-0 lead in their first-round series.

Alex Ovechkin has just one shot on goal through two games of the Washington Capitals’ first-round playoff series against the New York Rangers, which they trail 2-0.

Vincent Trocheck and Mika Zibanejad each had a goal and an assist and the Presidents’ Trophy-winning New York Rangers held on to beat the Washington Capitals 4-3 for a 2-0 lead in their first-round playoff series.

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While the eight playoff teams in the NHL's Western Conference are all but settled, the race is on in the East, with three teams vying for two spots.

Alex Ovechkin has scored a goal in five consecutive games to make it his longest streak in nearly three years.

Some early trends are showing in the NHL.

Washington Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan says it's unlikely Nicklas Backstrom plays again this season.

Alex Ovechkin scored in overtime to give the Washington Capitals a 3-2 comeback victory against the Philadelphia Flyers and snap their four-game losing streak.

Alex Ovechkin scored his 787th career goal to break Gordie Howe’s record for scoring with one team, but the Arizona Coyotes scored three times in the third period to rally for a 3-2 win against the Washington Capitals.

Alex Ovechkin tied Gordie Howe for the most goals scored for one NHL team and Andrew Copp had a go-ahead goal with 3:50 left, helping the Detroit Red Wings beat the Washington Capitals 3-1.

David Pastrnak had a goal and three assists to help the Boston Bruins beat the Washington Capitals 5-2 in each team's season opener.

North American players in the Russia-based Kontinental Hockey League are in a difficult position amid calls from the U.S. and Canadian governments for them to leave.

It took three days by car for high jumper Yaroslava Mahuchikh to escape from Ukraine.

The Pittsburgh Penguins may have to try and close out the New York Rangers without captain Sidney Crosby.

Ilya Samsonov made 29 saves as the Washington Capitals beat the Florida Panthers 6-1 in Game 3 to take a lead in their first-round playoff series.

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The Colorado Avalanche, Florida Panthers and Carolina Hurricanes are among the contenders looking to get over the hump this year and win the Stanley Cup.

The eight playoff teams in the Eastern Conference have been set since before the All-Star break.

The first-round matchups are set for the NHL playoffs that begin Monday.

The Washington Capitals are listing Alex Ovechkin as day to day with an upper-body injury.

Alex Ovechkin was injured in the third period of the Washington Capitals' 4-3 shootout loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin enjoyed the biggest moment of his career inside T-Mobile Arena in 2018, when he skated the Stanley Cup around the rink after defeating the Vegas Golden Knights in the Final.

Five players made their NHL debut Tuesday night, fresh off their college season ending.

Lars Eller had a goal and an assist to help the Washington Capitals beat the Boston Bruins 4-2 for their third consecutive victory.

LeBron James passed Karl Malone for second place on the NBA’s career scoring list, but it was part of another loss for his Los Angeles Lakers when the Washington Wizards rallied from a 16-point deficit to win 127-119.

Alex Ovechkin scored his 767th goal to pass Jaromir Jagr for third on the NHL career list in the Washington Capitals’ 4-3 shootout victory against the New York Islanders.

Most Russian players in the National Hockey League have remained silent about their country's invasion of Ukraine.

Russian tennis player Andrey Rublev has written “No War Please” on a TV camera moments after advancing to the final at the Dubai Championships.

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.

Most of the world’s best hockey players are spending this weekend in Las Vegas instead of the Olympic village in Beijing.

Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin will miss the NHL All-Star Game in Las Vegas on Saturday after entering the league’s COVID-19 protocols Wednesday.

Tom Wilson scored early, Alex Ovechkin added an empty-net goal late, and Vitek Vanecek made 23 saves to lead the Washington Capitals to a 2-0 victory over the New York Islanders.

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.

Alex Ovechkin scored his 20th goal of the season and the 750th of his NHL career to help the Washington Capitals beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-1 and snap a two-game skid.

Garnet Hathaway a pair of goals during a two-minute span in the third period and the Washington Capitals snapped the Los Angeles Kings eight-game point streak with a 2-0 victory Wednesday night.

Garnet Hathaway scored his third goal in two games, Alex Ovechkin added two assists and the Washington Capitals spoiled Sidney Crosby’s return, routing the Pittsburgh Penguins 6-1.

Alex Ovechkin got his 742nd career goal, Conor Sheary scored with 1:22 left and the Washington Capitals beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-3.

Zach Fucale became the first goaltender in Capitals history to post a shutout in his NHL debut, stopping 21 shots as Washington beat the Detroit Red Wings 2-0.

Alex Ovechkin scored his 741st career goal to tie Brett Hull for fourth on the NHL’s all-time list and help the Washington Capitals to a 5-3 victory over the Buffalo Sabres.

Andrei Vasilevskiy made 31 saves, Anthony Cirelli had a goal and two assists, and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat Washington 3-2 to end the Capitals’ eight-game season-opening point streak.

While the fisticuffs never materialized, the Washington Capitals made a season-opening 5-1 victory against the division-rival New York Rangers memorable for Alex Ovechkin’s 731st and 732nd goals and Hendrix Lapierre’s first.

Alex Ovechkin left Washington's preseason finale against Philadelphia because of a lower-body injury.

Alex Ovechkin has re-signed with the Washington Capitals for $47.5 million over five years.

The end of the NHL draft only ushers in more questions about what's coming next this offseason.