The Predators took an all-but-insurmountable 3-0 series lead over the Blackhawks with a 3-2 overtime victory Monday, on a night in which all four NHL Stanley Cup playoff matchups went to an extra period. The last time all four playoff games went to overtime was 1985. The game in Nashville wasn’t without controversy. MORE: NHL scores, news, live updates On Nashville’s first goal, by Filip Forsberg, video showed the puck bounced high off a stanchion and back onto the ice, although Blackhawks players argued it hit the netting and thus went out of play....

In Pittsburgh, however, it is simple. Crosby is the patron saint of Penguins hockey, a deity in the mold of Mario Lemieux. And his greatness was on display again in Game 1 against the Washington Capitals on Thursday night, scoring game-tying goal and adding an assist on Jake Guentzel’s eventual winner as part of a three-goal rally and a 3-2 victory. “He’s the ultimate competitor,” Pens coach Mike Sullivan said....

William Karlsson scored 8:17 into overtime to give Vegas a 4-3 win over the Sharks and a 2-1 lead in their best-of-seven series. James Neal dropped the puck off for Karlsson in the neutral zone and this season’s breakout star did the rest, outpacing the Sharks defense and firing a shot off the crossbar and in behind Martin Jones. Karlsson had helped the Golden Knights jump out to a 3-1 lead with a sublime assist on Reilly Smith’s second-period tally, but the Sharks tied things up with two unanswered goals in the third....

What is surprising is that future Hall of Famer Joe Thornton had never scored two or more goals in a single playoff game. Until Wednesday, that is. The Sharks veteran netted in the first and second periods of San Jose’s 5-4 Game 3 win in overtime over the St. Louis Blues, marking his first goals of the series and setting several NHL marks in the process. MORE: Sharks win Game 3 on controversial play that once again can’t be reviewed...

Despite the San Jose Sharks coming out firing, and both teams hitting goalposts early on, the St. Louis Blues went up 2-0 off Sharks giveaways — and then the potential dagger by Vladimir Tarasenko. The Blues winger was hauled down by a gassed Brent Burns in the second period on a breakaway attempt, which he also got a great scoring chance on after he got back up. Awarded the second-ever postseason penalty shot by a St....

Fleury and his crew advanced to the semifinals after a hard-fought Game 7 win against the Wild in the opening round and what some may call a surprising second-round series win over the Avalanche. They did lose the first two games in Round 2, so that would have been a fair assessment before the puck dropped for Game 3; however, let’s also remember that while Colorado won the Presidents’ Trophy, it only did so thanks to a win in the last game of the regular season and because it held the tiebreaker (regulation wins) over Vegas....

The league is set to postpone its remaining five matchups on Thursday, extending the break that was initially supposed to start after the Golden Knights face the Kings on Thursday night. MORE: NHL introduces enhanced COVID-19 protocols: What do they mean for season, Olympics? All team facilities are shutting down from Wednesday through Saturday in an effort to combat the recent wave of COVID-19. Players are slated to return to facilities on Sunday for daily testing, and the league plans on resuming the schedule on Dec....

The Rangers are moving closer to becoming sellers before the Feb. 26 trade deadline. Reports emerged Monday indicating veteran winger Rick Nash submitted his 18-team no-trade list. Over the weekend, the New York Post’s Larry Brooks reported the Rangers were willing to absorb up to half of the remainder of Nash’s $7.8 million salary cap hit. He speculated the Predators, Stars, Blues, Sharks, Penguins and Blue Jackets (Nash’s former club) could be interested in the 33-year-old winger....

Between now and July 1, Sporting News will examine the NHL’s top RFA players. This week, we look at the Pacific Division: Matthew Tkachuk - Calgary Flames Since his NHL debut in 2016-17, Tkachuk established himself among the league’s elite power forwards. Following two seasons with at least 48 points each, the 21-year-old left wing enjoyed a 34-goal, 77-point breakout performance in 2018-19. He finished third among Flames scorers in goals and fourth in points....

This year, NBC will carry 109 NHL regular-season games — the most since it acquired NHL rights prior to the 2005-06 season — with the majority airing on NBCSN, the network’s cable sports station. The weekly offering, now called “Wednesday Night Hockey,” includes scheduled doubleheaders for 17 of 25 Wednesday nights. All games broadcast on NBC or NBCSN also are available to be live streamed via fuboTV on your favorite devices (sign up here for a seven-day free trial)....

The Florida Panthers, a day after acquiring Thomas's past sparring partner from the Vancouver Canucks, sent Thomas to the Dallas Stars. They'd looked at Thomas when he was looking to return to the NHL after a yearlong sabbatical. He gives them a legitimate backup option for starter Kari Lehtonen. NHL trade deadline live blog | Trade tracker Lehtonen has a .916 save percentage in 51 appearances already. He needs a day off from time to time....

One team that was expected to make some moves stayed fairly quiet on Monday. The Coyotes had been shopping both defenseman Jakob Chychrun and forward Phil Kessel, however, both players remain members of the Coyotes organization post-deadline. While keeping hold of Chychrun isn’t a huge surprise, the fact that general manager Bill Armstrong did not move Kessel is a bit of a head-scratcher. He is a pending free agent and the Coyotes could have used him in a trade to get some draft capital....

A fast start is a distant memory for the Leafs as they look at the playoff picture and wonder how they can get back into it. GM Dave Nonis is "getting desperate," a general manager told The Toronto Sun. Why? He must find a way to bolster a center corps that is without Tyler Bozak and Dave Bolland. Bozak returned from a bum hamstring but then went on long-term injured reserve with an oblique injury....

The amount of high-quality players rumored to be available via trade is far greater than the list of UFAs where, after John Tavares and John Carlson, there is a significant drop-off in impact stars. Let’s take a look at the list of high-end players who could be dealt this summer. 2018 UFA RANKINGS: Forwards | Defensemen | Goalies Erik Karlsson He was almost dealt at the trade deadline, so Erik Karlsson sits at the top of this list, 12 months shy of unrestricted free agency....

Head coach John Hynes was poised to guide the team to its second playoff berth in three seasons — but the season went off the rails real fast. New Jersey lost its first six games of the season and blew numerous leads, especially at home. In early December, then-general manager Ray Shero fired Hynes after a 9-13-4 start. One month later, Shero was shown the door weeks after he executed Taylor Hall’s trade to the Arizona Coyotes....

Early returns favor the Lightning, primarily because of the team’s overall success and how Sergachev slots perfectly into a top-four role on the blue line. Meanwhile, Drouin struggles to find his groove with a disappointing Canadiens team, further coloring the early impressions of this trade. Thursday’s 3-1 Lightning victory over the Canadiens was a microcosm of what’s happened this season for both teams. Tampa Bay, with Sergachev playing a solid two-way game, won for the league-leading 27th time already this season....

But boy, was he happy when he found out. “I was excited and happy about coming to Buffalo, and then it was actually one of my buddies that told me, ‘Man, you guys are playing in that,’” Pominville told Sporting News. “And I was like, ‘Sweet.’ I had no idea about it.” This story actually begins 10 years ago, on a snowy New Year’s Day in Orchard Park. In 2008, the Buffalo Sabres were coming off consecutive trips to the Eastern Conference finals....

To be fair to the doubters, it seemed pretty unlikely. Nicaragua had qualified for the Gold Cup just once before and needed three goals to clinch passage after falling 2-1 to Haiti in the first leg of a playoff. After 80 minutes Nicaragua still hadn’t found an opener, despite support from a vibrant crowd at Managua’s Estadio Nacional. But Barrera still believed. He scored from the spot in the 82nd minute and followed up the opener with goals in the 86th and 88th minute to complete a six-minute hat trick and put Los Pinoleros into the continental championship once again....

Folk got a second chance after he missed a 56-yarder moments earlier. But Chris Jones was called for unsportsmanlike conduct for pushing a teammate forward to try to block the kick, a new NFL rule. MORE: Live Scoreboard | Stats | Week 7’s must-see images (Via Buzzfeed Sports) New York, given new life, ran the ball three times to set up Folk's winner. Geno Smith threw a touchdown pass and ran for another score as the Jets (4-3) topped Tom Brady and the Patriots (5-2)....