Tim Thomas and Dwayne Roloson matched each other save for save for more than 50 minutes in the decisive seventh game of the Eastern Conference finals. They both needed to be perfect. Only one of them was. Nathan Horton beat Roloson with 7:33 left for the only goal of the game, and the Boston Bruins beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 1-0 on Friday night to reach the Stanley Cup finals for the first time...

Manny Malhotra's season with the Vancouver Canucks was supposed to be over when a deflected puck exploded into his left eye in mid-March. There were bigger concerns that his vision and career were done, too. But on Friday, Malhotra was cleared for "light contact" in practice, reason enough to celebrate -- whether or not the popular assistant captain and valuable shutdown center will...

From separated shoulders for Joe Thornton and Ryane Clowe, to broken pinkies, sprained ankles, wrenched knees and broken noses, the injury report for the San Jose Sharks is extensive after their quest for the Stanley Cup ended in the Western Conference final for the second straight year. Those ailments are a sign that the Sharks have learned the price it takes to make it through the NHL playoffs.

Age and injury finally caught up to Doug Weight, who retired from the NHL after a three-decade career that ended with a stint as the New York Islanders' captain. The longtime captain who played for six teams announced his retirement Thursday at a Long Island hotel -- about a slap shot away from the Nassau Coliseum -- and accepted a job with the Islanders as an assistant coach and senior...

Facing elimination in the Eastern Conference finals, the Tampa Bay Lightning knew they could count on Martin St. Louis to make a difference. The six-time NHL All-Star has a knack for thriving in big games. What he did -- on and off the ice -- to help his team stay alive against the Boston Bruins hardly came as a surprise on Wednesday night.

Kyle Okposo agreed to a five-year, $14 million deal on Wednesday to stay with the New York Islanders. The 23-year-old right wing, who could have become a restricted free agent on July 1, had five goals and 15 assists last season -- his fourth in the NHL, all with New York. Okposo missed the Islanders' first 44 games after he tore the labrum in his right shoulder during training camp in...

Trevor Linden is tired of celebrating a loss as the greatest moment in Vancouver Canucks history. Seventeen years after he captained the Canucks to their last Stanley Cup finals and three years since his last game, Linden hopes this year's team, still loaded with former teammates, can give the city something really worth commemorating.

The Buffalo Sabres have signed rookie forward Marcus Foligno to a three-year entry level contract. Selected in the fourth round of the 2009 draft, Foligno completed his fourth season with Sudbury of the Ontario Hockey League. He is the son of former Sabres player Mike Foligno and younger brother of Ottawa Senators forward Nick Foligno.

Brian Rafalski chose quality time with his wife and three kids over making $6 million next season with the Detroit Red Wings. The three-time Stanley Cup winner and two-time Olympic silver medalist confirmed Wednesday he's retiring after 11 seasons in the NHL, leaving one lucrative season left on his contract.

For a franchise that has endured more than its share of playoff disappointments, the end to this season for the San Jose Sharks might rank right at the top. A game-tying goal after a questionable call in the closing seconds of regulation, several prime scoring chances in overtime turned aside by a goalie at the top of his game, and a fluky bounce that led to a season-ending goal in double...

Chicago Blackhawks Hall of Famer Stan Mikita says he has been diagnosed with stage 1 oral cancer. "Stan has been diagnosed with an early base of tongue cancer and the prognosis is excellent," Dr. Richard Borrowdale of Loyola Medical Center, who is treating Stan. "He will be treated with external beam radiation therapy." The 71-year-old Mikita had 541 goals and 926 assists in a...

Derek Boogaard might have been "The Boogeyman" during his rough life as an NHL enforcer, but he was remembered Saturday as a gentle giant off the ice. Rain fell as family, friends and hockey players filed into a chapel at the RCMP training academy to pay tribute to Boogaard, who was found dead on May 13 at his home in Minneapolis.

The Phoenix Coyotes have signed free-agent center Petteri Nokelainen to a one-year contract. Financial terms of the deal weren't released Friday. It's Nokelainen's second stint with Phoenix. He had one goal and one assist in 17 games with the Coyotes in 2009-10 after being acquired from Anaheim.

Patrice Bergeron was back on the ice for a full practice on Monday as the Boston Bruins prepared for Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Bergeron has not played since May 6 because of a concussion. That was the finale of the second round, when Boston swept the Philadelphia Flyers.

The San Jose Sharks have been making a bad habit of blowing leads in the playoffs. While the Vancouver Canucks celebrated a come-from-behind 3-2 win to open their first appearance in the Western Conference finals in 17 seasons, the Sharks were lamenting another game that got away in the final period.

ESPN analyst and former NHL player Matthew Barnaby pleaded not guilty Saturday to charges stemming from an argument with his estranged wife at an upstate New York home. The 38-year-old Barnaby was arrested Friday and spent the night in jail after being picked up at a home in Getzville, a hamlet in Amherst where his wife and two children live, police said.

Nicklas Lidstrom insisted he doesn't know whether he's returning to the Detroit Red Wings for a 20th season or retiring at the age of 41. He has, however, set a deadline to give the Red Wings his decision. "Before July 1," he said Saturday, two days after the San Jose Sharks eliminated Detroit in Game 7 of their Western Conference semifinal.

Rookie sensation Michael Grabner, who led the Islanders with 34 goals after being claimed off waivers, is staying with New York after agreeing to a five-year, $15 million deal that keeps him away from free agency. The Islanders announced the agreement with the NHL rookie of the year finalist on Friday.