Here is Game 7 preview from a betting perspective. All odds are current as of Tuesday evening. Check our live odds page for updated lines from Las Vegas. Red Wings at Lightning (series tied 3-3) 7:30 p.m., NBCSNBest Detroit line: +170 (Westgate)Best Tampa Bay line: -175 (Wynn)Total: 5 (over -130) Analysis: The Lightning, unbeatable at home during the regular season, have looked plenty mortal at Amalie Arena against the Red Wings, winning just one of three games....

For (at least) the second time this postseason, Marchand was caught licking an opponent, perhaps in an effort to get under their skin by planting his tongue on it. His latest tongue attack came Friday during the second period of Game 4 against the Lightning. His target was the left cheek of Lightning forward Ryan Callahan, which took the brunt of the lick. GOLDEN STANDARDHow Vegas became the most successful expansion team in sports history...

How they’ve managed to do this much and get this far with so many missing pieces every night, including in this series, is even more stunning. Or, maybe not so stunning. MORE: Lazy Alex Ovechkin narratives can be laid to rest — finally “Our depth is a lot deeper than a lot of people gave us credit for,’’ forward T.J. Oshie said after the Caps’ morning skate at their practice facility....

The Capitals will be facing the Lightning, and the ghosts. They showed up again Thursday night at Capital One Arena, and as exhausting as the topic is in Washington, they just can’t be ignored or avoided. The Capitals led the series 2-0 as they came back home, but now they’re tied, and every blown series lead in franchise history is drifting back into view. The 4-2 loss to the Lightning left the home fans booing — at least, those who weren’t too full of dread to boo (or too exasperated to stay until the final horn)....

Unlike the previous updates, though, was the reference to the Capitals’ center’s status for that night’s Game 4 of the East finals as being up to the medical staff. There had been no indications before the other four games he’d missed that he was close enough to return, but with that pronouncement, “game-time decision” took on an all-new meaning. Backstrom might be looking at an extra precautionary day off for his injured right hand, had the Capitals won Tuesday night in Washington and taken a 3-0 series lead over the Lightning....

The play occurred during the first period of their game Tuesday night at Xcel Energy Center. With the Wild already on the power play, Morrissey was battling with Staal near the goal. But as he tried to push Staal out of the lane, Morrissey came up high with his hands and his stick, cross-checking Staal in the neck. GOLDEN STANDARDHow Vegas became the most successful expansion team in sports history...

The Golden Knights forward, who registered a career-high 43 goals this campaign, showed off his vision and passing ability in the second period of Game 3 against the Sharks Monday night. Jonathan Marchessault started the play by making a spinning pass to Karlsson down low and the winger deftly deflected the puck across Martin Jones’ crease to Reilly Smith, who backhanded the puck into an essentially empty net. The goal gave Vegas a 3-1 lead late in the second period, but the beautiful passing play was all that anyone could talk about....

The mercurial head coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets was in a jovial mood as his team pulled off one of the biggest upsets in sports history by completing the sweep of the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday, suggesting that the man known around the hockey world as “Torts” has a lighter side. With Game 4 taking place in Columbus, the crowd was predictably energetic to start. With every goal of the Blue Jackets’ 7-3 series-clinching victory, the celebrations in the stands became more raucous as the realization that the team was on the verge of history became clearer....

Colorado upset the Western Conference regular-season champion Calgary Flames in five games and who can forget the Sharks (albeit controversial) overtime win in Game 7. The Avalanche have had a week off to recoup while the Sharks, who will be without captain Joe Pavelski for at least Game 1, if not longer, had two nights to rest. SN STAFF PREDICTIONS:Eastern Conference | Western Conference | Stanley Cup A lot is on the line for San Jose and 21-year-veteran Joe Thornton as they look for the first Stanley Cup in team history....

The Hurricanes surprised the NHL world last week by removing Ron Francis as general manager and making him president of hockey operations, a de facto demotion by way of promotion in terms of control over hockey matters. New majority owner Tom Dundon isn’t wasting time searching for a replacement, having reached out to several clubs seeking permission to speak with their assistant general managers. Whoever gets the job could be expected to be much bolder in the trade market than his predecessor....

Senators defenseman Erik Karlsson was the biggest name in the market heading toward Monday’s NHL trade deadline. While the deadline passed with the 27-year-old superstar still a Senator, his long-term future in Ottawa remains uncertain. TSN’s Darren Dreger reported the Golden Knights and Lightning were among six teams attempting to acquire the 26-year-old superstar. Sportnet’s Elliotte Friedman said Vegas came the closest, offering up “probably about six pieces," including players and draft picks and willingness to take on Bobby Ryan’s contract....

Both the Kings and Avalanche lost their respective outdoor games, so something has to give Saturday night when the two meet at Falcon Stadium, the college football home for the Air Force Academy. Colorado has been one of the best teams in the NHL this season currently sporting the sixth-most points in the NHL entering Saturday. The Kings, on the other hand, are in the midst of a rebuild as they have the second-worst record in the league....

With a handful of weeks remaining in the regular season schedule, the Eastern Conference wild-card race is down to three teams while the Western Conference is slightly more wide open. Below is an up-to-date playoff projection based on the current standings and AccuScore’s probability simulator, which takes into account remaining strength of schedule and injuries, among other factors. Remember, ROW (regulations and overtime wins, excluding shootouts) represents the first tiebreaker if two teams are equal in points and games played....

So, it can be argued that Wheeler’s biggest assist of the season did not even take place on the ice. “I was more of a sounding board,” offered Wheeler following practice. However, Jets coach Paul Maurice said Wheeler played a much bigger role than that. “Having Blake have a relationship with (Stastny) – and with what we feel about Blake, knowing what he values – was important,” explained Maurice. “(Wheeler) was just very direct, very excited when (Stastny’s) name came up....

On Family Day, Calgary trailed early in the third period 3-1 before mounting a comeback and scoring five unanswered goals — two of which capped off a first-ever hat trick by Andrew Mangiapane — to defeat the visiting Anaheim Ducks 6-4. Trade deadline: Flames | Top 10 targets | Tracker It marked the fifth time in the team’s last six games they’ve scored at least three goals in a game and sixth time in the nine they laced them up for this month....

These types quickly become angry and insulting if they don’t get what they think they deserve from women. Posts describing such exchanges often go viral on the r/niceguys forum, not least because the road from “Nice to meet you” to rage-flecked invective can be so short. Newsweek spoke to psychologists and therapists, as well as a woman who has encountered the type, to figure out how to identify and deal with “nice guys....

Bosa, who has logged six sacks so far this season, came up lame early in the game and was ruled out for the game shortly after. The Niners pass rusher has been putting together a Defensive Player of the Year-caliber season, having entered this game leading the league in sacks, QB pressures, QB hits, and pressure rate. Bosa played all of the 2021 season after tearing his ACL in Week 2 and missing the year in 2020....

In effect, Foles is entering Kirk Cousins’ world. Last year at this time, it was Cousins who was the hot ticket in the open market. The Vikings made him the league’s highest-paid player at the time with a contract worth $28 million per year on a groundbreaking three-year, fully guaranteed deal. Foles, who was one of the league’s biggest bargains in Philadelphia as a playoff QB and Super Bowl 52 MVP in relief of Carson Wentz, did not top the Cousins deal, but he got plenty of guaranteed money....

As Dubas told TSN’s James Duthie recently: “It’s no secret that we are going to be a team that is going to be looking to acquire players at the deadline.” Well, with less than 24 hours remaining in the NHL’s 2021 trade season, Dubas added another versatile veteran forward in Blue Jackets captain Nick Foligno. The move was part of a three-team trade with the newest term in hockey, a “broker team” utilized to complete the deal because of that pesky thing known as the salary cap....

After losing a gripping five-set quarter-final match against Karen Khachanov, the Australian smashed two racquets on the court as he let out his frustration. The incident has subsequently seen him pinged for unsportsmanlike conduct with the US Open handing out their biggest fine of 2022 to date. Kyrgios also picked up four other fines during his captivating run at the tournament for audible obscenities and spitting. All up, the 27-year-old was fined a total of $32,500 for his behaviour during the US Open....