Winnipeg Wins Game 7 vs. St. Louis in Double OT

The Winnipeg Jets are alive and well. The St. Louis Blues are finished for the season.

Down 2-0 early on, and behind 3-1 with just over two minutes remaining in regulation, the host Jets tallied two goals to knot matters, and then scored late in the second overtime to oust St. Louis, 4-3, in Game Seven of their first-round Stanley Cup Playoff series on Sunday night. Winnipeg advances to the second round of the Western Conference playoffs against Dallas, which defeated Colorado in seven games.

Kyle Connor (Michigan) set up three goals for the Jets, as did Neal Pionk (Minnesota-Duluth), with both assisting on the winning goal just over 16 minutes into the second extra session. Winnipeg goaltender Connor Hellebuyck (UMass Lowell) overcame a rough start to finish with 26 saves and pick up his fourth win of the 2025 postseason, all at home. Colton Parayko (Alaska Fairbanks) assisted on the first goal by the Blues, who won all three games in St. Louis in their return to the NHL postseason for the first time since 2023.

Blues Force Game Seven with Jets

The St. Louis Blues have forced a deciding Game Seven to close out the first round of this year's Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The host Blues routed visiting Winnipeg, 5-2, on Friday night to knot their first-round series at three wins apiece. The home team has won every game in the best-of-seven Western Conference series so far.

Jimmy Snuggerud (Minnesota), Justin Faulk (Minnesota-Duluth), Ryan Suter (Wisconsin) and Colton Parayko (Alaska Fairbanks) all recorded assists for the Blues, who broke open a tie game with three consecutive goals in just over two minutes in their four-goal second period. Kyle Connor (Michigan) and Mason Appleton (Michigan State) set up goals for the Jets, who got 18 saves from Connor Hellebuyck (UMass Lowell) before he was pulled for the third straight game in Missouri, after surrendering all five St. Louis scores tonight.

Game 7 will be Sunday night in Winnipeg. The winner will go on to face the winner of the only other first-round NHL playoff series still being contested—Colorado and Dallas, who will play their own Game 7 tonight in Texas.

DU's Bozak Saves Blues in Denver

In a year where his alma mater won the NCAA Division I men's hockey national title, Tyler Bozak (Denver) kept his current NHL club alive in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and in his old college town.

Bozak's goal just over three-and-a-half minutes into overtime last night in Denver lifted the St. Louis Blues to a 5-4 win over the host Colorado Avalanche. St. Louis fought back from a three-goal second-period deficit, scoring four times in the third period to force overtime after Colorado regained a late lead. The Avalanche still leads the best-of-seven second-round series, three games to two.

Bozak, 36, played two years at DU (2008, 2009), notching 26 goals and 31 assists for 57 points in 60 outings, while helping the Pioneers to two NCAA tournament berths. The Regina, Sask. native then signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs as a free agent, and has 170 goals and 291 assists for 461 points in 814 career regular-season NHL games with Toronto and St. Louis. 

Bozak has also recorded 13-26—39 points in 67 career Stanley Cup playoff contests. He posted five goals and 13 points in 26 postseason outings in 2019, in his first season with St. Louis, as the Blues won their first-ever Stanley Cup.

Game Six of the Blues-Avalanche series will be played Friday night at 8 p.m. ET in St. Louis.

Alaska's Parayko Re-Ups with Blues

Colton Parayko (Alaska Fairbanks) will remain a St. Louis Blue for the foreseeable future.

The 6-foot-6 defenseman, who helped the Blues to their first-ever Stanley Cup title two years ago, re-upped with St. Louis late last week for eight years and $52 million, or an average annual value of $6.5 million. According to NHL.com, he has one season remaining on the five-year deal he inked with the Blues in 2017.

Parayko, 28, from St. Albert, Alta., made the Blues roster for good beginning with the 2015-16 campaign, after turning pro the previous season. He has scored 41 goals and tallied 130 assists for 171 points in 418 NHL regular-season outings to date, to go with 119 penalty minutes and a plus-54 plus-minus rating. In 70 Stanley Cup Playoff contests, he has recorded a further 8-19—27 points and 18 PIM.

Parayko skated for UAF from 2012 through 2015, and served as team captain as a junior. In three seasons with the Nanooks, he notched 17-49—66 points, a plus-16 rating and 55 PIM, and was a two-time NCAA (West) Second All-America selection and a two-time WCHA First All-Star Team choice. 

A linchpin on three Governor's Cup championship teams while with UAF, He was also a member of the 2015-16 NHL All-Rookie Team, and helped Canada to a World Championship silver medal in 2017.

Dartmouth's Stempniak Retires From NHL

On the eve of the 2019-20 NHL season, a longtime NHL forward and former collegian called it a career.

Lee Stempniak (Dartmouth) announced his retirement on Tuesday after playing 13 full seasons and for 10 teams in the league. A fifth-round draft choice of the St. Louis Blues in 2003 following his sophomore season at Dartmouth, Stempniak, 36, played three seasons with the Blues and also went on to skate for Toronto, Phoenix, Calgary, Pittsburgh, the New York Rangers, Winnipeg, New Jersey, Carolina and Boston.

In 911 career NHL regular-season games, Stempniak scored 203 goals and set up 266 others for 469 points, while adding 327 penalty minutes. He also had three goals and six points in 28 career Stanley Cup Playoff contests. His highest-scoring season as an NHL player was in 2006-07 with St. Louis, when he netted 27 goals and 52 points in 82 outings

A native of West Seneca, N.Y., and a product of the Buffalo Lightning junior hockey club, Stempniak played at Dartmouth from 2001 to 2005, where he notched 63 goals and 88 assists for 151 points for the Big Green in 135 NCAA  appearances. As a junior, he earned First Team All-America accolades, and then was tabbed Second Team All-America as a senior. He was all named All-ECAC Hockey First Team in both of those seasons. As a sophomore, he collected a career-high 21 goals and 49 points.

St. Louis Blues Win First Stanley Cup

For the first time ever, the St. Louis Blues are the Stanley Cup champions.

The Blues defeated the host Boston Bruins, 4-1, on Wednesday in Game Seven of the 2019 Stanley Cup Final, for the first NHL championship in the Blues' 51-year history. It marked the fourth straight year the Cup was awarded to a team that was playing on the road, and it was also the Blues' 10th road win of this postseason.

After the Blues scored twice late in the first period and once again midway through the third, Zach Sanford (Boston College) scored his first goal of the playoffs to put St. Louis up, 4-0. Matt Grzelcyk (Boston University), in his return to the Bruins lineup after suffering an injury in Game Two of the series, closed out the scoring later on with Boston's lone goal of the evening.

Jordan Binnington made 32 saves for the Blues, who went from the worst team in the NHL at the start of the calendar year to league champions. St. Louis forward Ryan O'Reilly finished the postseason with a league-high 23 points and earned the Conn Smythe Trophy as the Most Valuable Player in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Other former NCAA players on the Blues roster included Tyler Bozak (Denver), Jaden Schwartz (Colorado College), Colton Parayko (Alaska Fairbanks), Mackenzie MacEachern (Michigan State), Chris Butler (Denver), and Jordan Schmaltz (North Dakota).

Bruins Force Game Seven in Stanley Cup Final

There will be a Game Seven in the 2019 Stanley Cup Final.

The Boston Bruins staved off elimination on Sunday night, and also put the St. Louis Blues' backs to the wall, with a 5-1 win in Game Six at Enterprise Center in Missouri. Boston scored four goals in the third period to break open a game that had been 1-0 since a Bruins' 5-on-3 power-play goal in the first period, with Torey Krug (Michigan State) drawing an assist on that play.

Karson Kuhlman (Minnesota-Duluth), playing in his first game for Boston since April 30, wristed home a puck from the right side to make it 3-0 in the third period as the Bruins knotted the series at three games apiece after dropping the last two contests. Kuhlman was the MVP of the 2018 NCAA Tournament when UMD won its first of two consecutive national championships. Sean Kuraly (Miami) helped set up Boston's fourth goal, after the Blues had pulled within 3-1.

Game Seven will be Wednesday night at TD Garden in Boston (8 p.m. ET, NBC, CBC), to close out both the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs and the 2018-19 NHL season as a whole.

Blues Knot Stanley Cup Final at Two Games

Zach Sanford (Boston College) had an assist for the second straight game as the St. Louis Blues tied the Stanley Cup Final with a 4-2 win at home on Monday over the Boston Bruins. The series is now tied at two games apiece.

The win was the first ever in the Blue's Stanley Cup Final history, and assured more one home game for St. Louis this postseason, which will be played Sunday night. The Blues scored twice in the third period to break a 2-2 tie for the win.

Charlie Coyle (Boston University) scored a goal for the third straight game for the Bruins, who will now host Game Five on Thursday night (8 p.m. ET, NBC, CBC).

Blues Tie Stanley Cup Final with OT Victory

Jaden Schwartz (Colorado College) assisted on the tying goal late in the first period, and the St. Louis Blues went on to knot the 2019 Stanley Cup Final with a 3-2 overtime victory over the host Boston Bruins in Game Two on Thursday evening. It was the first win ever in the NHL's championship series for the Blues in 14 tries, dating back to their inaugural appearance in 1968.

Charlie Coyle (Boston University) opened the scoring on Thursday with a power-play goal for the Bruins, while Sean Kuraly (Miami) set up Boston's second goal that put the home team ahead briefly, 2-1. Game Three will be played Saturday night in St. Louis (8 p.m. ET, NBC, CBC).

Bruins Win Opener of 2019 Stanley Cup Final

A goal by Sean Kuraly (Miami) early in the third period stood up as the game-winner Monday night as the Boston Bruins defeated the visiting St. Louis Blues, 4-2 in Game One of the 2019 Stanley Cup Final.

After St. Louis forged a 2-0 lead one minute into the second period, Connor Clifton (Quinnipiac) and Charlie McAvoy (Boston University) scored to tie the contest, the latter on a power-play, before Kuraly completed the Bruins' comeback 5:21 into the final stanza with his goal at point-blank range.

Game Two of the NHL's best-of-seven championship series will be Wednesday night (8 p.m., NBC, CBC) at TD Garden in Boston.

St. Louis Advances to Stanley Cup Final

For the first time since 1970, the St. Louis Blues are headed to the Stanley Cup Final.

Tyler Bozak (Denver) scored a goal as the Blues defeated the San Jose Sharks, 5-1, in Missouri on Tuesday to clinch the best-of-seven Western Conference Final in six games. Dylan Gambrell (Denver) scored San Jose's only goal, the first of his NHL career.

The Blues will now face the Eastern Conference champion Boston Bruins, including former St. Louis captain David Backes (Minnesota State), starting on Monday, May 27, for the Stanley Cup itself.

Schwartz Shoots Blues Past Sharks on Sunday

Jaden Schwartz (Colorado College) scored three goals and the St. Louis Blues moved within one game of the Stanley Cup Final with a 5-0 win at San Jose on Sunday. The Blues now lead the best-of-seven Western Conference Final series, three games to two, and can close out the Sharks in St. Louis on Tuesday.

Schwartz scored one goal in the first period to put the Blues up, 1-0, after 20 minutes, and then added the final two goals of the game in the third period for his second hat trick of the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs. He is the first player to tally two hat tricks in the same NHL postseason since 2008, and has now scored 12 goals in all this playoff year. St. Louis, which had the worst record in the league at the start of the calendar year, is now one win away from its first Stanley Cup Final since 1970.

Schwartz skated at Colorado College from 2010 to 2012, where he tallied 32 goals and 56 assists for 88 points in 60 career NCAA contests. As a freshman in 2011-12, he led the Tigers in scoring with career highs of 17 goals and 30 assists for 47 points in 30 outings in helping them to their most recent NCAA Tournament berth to date. He also led CC in scoring as a sophomore with 15-26—41 points, again in 30 appearances, before signing with St. Louis, which drafted him 14th overall in 2010.

CC's Schwartz Shoots St. Louis Past Winnipeg in Playoffs

Jaden Schwartz (Colorado College) almost single-handedly boosted the St. Louis Blues to the second round of the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs. His hat trick on Saturday provided all of St. Louis's offense in a 3-2 win over the Winnipeg Jets that sealed the series for the Blues in six games. He scored one goal in each period to boost the Blues to a 3-0 lead en route to the victory, their first in a Stanley Cup playoff series since 2017.

Schwartz, 26, from Wilcox, Sask. finished seventh on the St. Louis scoring scroll this season with 11 goals and 25 assists for 36 points. Drafted 14th overall by the Blues in 2010, the 5-foot-10 forward has tallied 124-183—307 points in 489 career NHL regular-season outings to date, all with St. Louis.

Schwartz played at Colorado College from 2010 to 2012, where he collected 32-56—88 points in 60 games with the Tigers. He also helped CC to its most recent NCAA Tournament berth in 2011, where the Tigers beat Boston College but fell to Michigan in the West Regional in St. Louis.

The Blues will next take on the winner of the Dallas-Nashville series, with Dallas currently ahead in that Western Conference best-of-seven match-up, three games to two.

Larkin Re-Signs, Berenson Earns Latest Honor

Two former University of Michigan players made headlines over the weekend—one an up-and-comer, and the other a living legend.

Dylan Larkin, who played one season with the Wolverines before turning pro, has signed a five-year contract with the Detroit Red Wings. A restricted free agent, Larkin, 22, will receive an average of $6.1 million per season, according to NHL.com. Drafted 15th overall by Detroit in 2014, the Waterford, Mich. native has notched 56 goals and 84 assists for 140 points in 242 regular-season appearances over three full NHL campaigns, all with Detroit. He registered 15-32—47 points in 35 outings with U-M in 2014-15, his lone year in Ann Arbor and the inaugural season of the current Big Ten Conference.

Longtime Michigan head coach Gordon "Red" Berenson, who manned the Wolverines for 33 seasons and also won two NCAA Division I titles at the U-M helm, will be inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in December. The Regina, Sask. native starred at Michigan as a forward before going on to play in the NHL from 1962 to 1978. He later coached the St. Louis Blues for three seasons.

Berenson guided his alma mater from 1984 to 2017, and recorded an 848-426-92 overall mark with the Wolverines while winning national titles in both 1996 and 1998. He also led the Maize and Blue to 10 Central Collegiate Hockey Association regular season championships, nine CCHA Tournament crowns, one Big Ten tournament title, and 22 consecutive NCAA Tournament berths from 1991 to 2012.

Also, in late July, Michigan defenseman Quinn Hughes announced he will return to U-M for his sophomore season. Drafted seventh overall by the Vancouver Canucks in June, the Orlando, Fla. native earned 2017-18 Big Ten All-Freshman Team accolades in collecting 5-24—29 points in 37 games as a rookie, while also helping the Wolverines to the NCAA Frozen Four.

Former Collegians on the Move in NHL Free Agency

A number of former college players changed NHL teams over the last week, both before and after the league's annual free agent frenzy got underway.

Prior to the beginning of the free agency period on Sunday, the Pittsburgh Penguins dealt forward Connor Sheary (Massachusetts) and Matt Hunwick (Michigan) to the Buffalo Sabres for a conditional 2019 draft choice. Pittsburgh later signed defenseman Jack Johnson (Michigan) of the Columbus Blue Jackets to a five-year contract. Jimmy Hayes (Boston College) and John Muse (Boston College), who both helped BC to its 2010 NCAA title, joined the Penguins from the New Jersey Devils and Reading (ECHL), respectively.

Power forward and 30-goal scorer James van Riemsdyk (New Hampshire) returned to the Philadelphia Flyers after six seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs, the latter club pulling perhaps the biggest coup in free agency this summer by signing New York Islanders captain and All-Star forward John Tavares.

Paul Stastny (Denver) has jumped from the Winnipeg Jets to the Vegas Golden Knights. Tage Thompson (Connecticut) went from the St. Louis Blues to the Buffalo Sabres as part of a four-player trade, while Tyler Bozak (Denver) has re-upped with the Blues for three years. Jay Beagle (Alaska Anchorage), who helped the Washington Capitals win their first-ever Stanley Cup this spring, has left Washington after decade to join the Vancouver Canucks, while Nic Dowd (St. Cloud State) has signed with the Caps after spending last season with the Canucks.

Brian Gibbons (Boston College), a two-time NCAA champion with the Eagles, parlayed his most successful NHL season to date by leaving New Jersey for the Anaheim Ducks, while Eric Gryba (Boston University) went to the Devils from the Edmonton Oilers. Longtime pro netminder Mike McKenna (St. Lawrence), who backstopped the Dallas Stars' American Hockey League franchise to within one win of the AHL's Calder Cup championship, has signed with the Ottawa Senators, as has former New York Rangers forward Paul Carey (Boston College).

A full list of recent NHL transactions can be found here.

UML's Hellebuyck, Hutton Top NHL Goalie Stats

Two former UMass-Lowell goaltenders were atop the NHL statistical charts as hockey's top league finished its 2017-18 regular season on Sunday.

Connor Hellebuyck of the Winnipeg Jets led all NHL goaltenders with 44 victories, setting a new league standard for American-born netminders, while Carter Hutton of the St. Louis Blues paced the circuit in both goals-against average (2.09) and save percentage (.931). Hellebuyck finished 44-11-9 in 67 games this season, while Hutton went 17-7-3 in 32 contests.

Hellebuyck, a 2012 Jets' draft choice, from Commerce, Mich., played at UML from 2012 to 2014. He backstopped the River Hawks to both the 2013 Hockey East championship and the 2013 NCAA Frozen Four as a freshman, and went 38-12-2 (1.60, .946) in 53 career appearances. Hutton, a free agent from Thunder Bay, Ont., went 32-41-10 (2.33, .913) in 85 outings at UML from 2006 to 2010.

Winnipeg will face the Minnesota Wild in the first round of the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs, while St. Louis was eliminated from postseason contention by the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday night.

Penguins Force Game Seven

Bryan Rust (Notre Dame) and Chris Kunitz (Ferris State) combined on an insurance goal with just over two minutes remaining in regulation, and Nick Bonino (Boston University) tallied an empty-net goal to make it official as the Pittsburgh Penguins survived with a 5-2 win at Tampa Bay on Tuesday night in Game 6 of the best-of-seven Eastern Conference final of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Game 7 is set for Thursday night in Pittsburgh (NBCSN, 8 p.m. ET).

Phil Kessel (Minnesota) scored the first goal of the game on a first-period power play for the Penguins, who built a 3-0 advantage after 40 minutes. Brian Boyle (Boston College) scored both Tampa Bay goals in the third period to pull the Lightning to within 3-2, before Kunitz sent Rust in on a successful breakway with 2:08 left to send the now-tied series back to Pennsylvania for a deciding game.

In the Western Conference final, the San Jose Sharks can clinch their first-ever trip to the Stanley Cup Final with a victory in Game 6 tonight (NBCSN, 9 p.m. ET) over the visiting St. Louis Blues. The Sharks lead the series, three games to two. San Jose captain Joe Pavelski (Wisconsin) has three goals in the last two games for San Jose, and has tallied a league-leading 12 goals and 21 points in 17 playoff contests so far this spring.

Blues Alive, Lightning Seek to Clinch

The St. Louis Blues forged a series tie on Saturday night in San Jose. The Tampa Bay Lightning moved to within one game of the Stanley Cup Final on Sunday in Pittsburgh.

Paul Stastny (Denver) had two assists and Jaden Schwartz (Colorado College) set up another in the Blues’ 6-3 victory over the Sharks on Saturday as St. Louis knotted the Western Conference final at two games apiece. The six-goal outburst also broke a scoreless string of more than 157 minutes for the Blues. Joe Pavelski (Wisconsin) scored the first Sharks’ goal, as San Jose lost for the first time since Game 1. Game 5 will be held on Monday in Missouri.

A shot by Jason Garrison (Minnesota-Duluth) was deflected home just 53 seconds into overtime on Sunday as the Tampa Bay Lightning completed their comeback from a two-goal deficit with a 4-3 win over the Penguins in Pennsylvania. Alex Killorn (Harvard) also scored for the Lightning, who surrendered the first two goals of the game and then fell behind, 3-2, on a goal by Pittsburgh’s Chris Kunitz (Ferris State). Tampa Bay then knotted matters with 3:16 remaining in regulation before Garrison helped win it. Brian Dumoulin (Boston College) tallied his first career NHL playoff goal in the final second of the first period. Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Final is Tuesday in Tampa.

Sharks Tie Series in St, Louis

Tommy Wingels (Miami) wristed home a shot from the slot just over two minutes into Game Two of the Western Conference semifinals on Tuesday night in Missouri. That goal was all the San Jose Sharks needed en route to a 4-0 victory over the St. Louis Blues that tied the best-of-seven NHL Stanley Cup Playoff series at one game apiece.

Joe Pavelski (Wisconsin) picked up an assist as the Sharks connected on two of five power plays at Scottrade Center. The Blues, who got 20 saves from Pavelski's former NCAA teammate, Brian Elliott (Wisconsin), were blanked in six man-advantage attempts despite outshooting San Jose, 26-24, overall. Game 3 is Thursday night in California (9 p.m. ET, NBCSN).

Blues Rout Stars in Game 7

David Backes (Minnesota State) and Paul Stastny ( Denver) scored goals, and Brian Elliott (Wisconsin) made 31 saves as the St. Louis Blues advanced to the third round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs with a 6-1 rout of the Dallas Stars on Wednesday night in Game 7 in Texas. The Blues, who will have home-ice advantage throughout the rest of the NHL postseason, advanced to the Western Conference final for the first time in 15 years, and will meet the winner of tonight's seventh game between Nashville and San Jose.

The Blues jumped out to a 3-0 lead after 20 minutes Wednesday and held on for their second Game 7 victory this spring, having eliminated the defending NHL champion Chicago Blackhawks in a Game 7 in St. Louis last month. Stastny finished with a goal and two assists last night, while Backes, Colton Parayko (Alaska Fairbanks), Jaden Schwartz (Colorado College) and Kevin Shattenkirk (Boston University) all added assists. Patrick Eaves (Boston College) scored the lone goal for Dallas, the top team in the West during the regular season, with an assist going to Alex Goligoski (Minnesota).