'Sloppy' hockey is the name of the game early in NHL season
San Jose's Erik Karlsson (65) handles the puck against Minnesota Wild's Nick Bjugstad (27) in the third period of an NHL hockey game Sunday, Jan. 24, 2021, in St. Paul, Minn. San Jose won 5-3. (AP Photo/Stacy Bengs)With an outbreak delaying the Dallas Stars' opener, Rick Bowness got to watch a lot of hockey in the first couple of nights of the NHL season. “It was entertaining hockey, but it was a little sloppy,” Bowness said. “We’re staying in 5-star hotels, get to play hockey, so I can’t complain,” defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic said. Ad___Follow AP Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno on Twitter at https://twitter.com/SWhyno___More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
Racial injustice not forgotten as NHL resumes playoffs
EDMONTON, AB Before playoff hockey returned to its usual intensity, the NHL and its players took time Saturday to highlight racial injustice and the sport's role in confronting it. What we did was the best thing for not only our two teams but I think for the NHL, and we stand by it, Horvat said. Vigneault had said in previous days he wasn't aware of anything going on outside the NHL bubble, including racial injustice protests in other sports. I never bothered to ask or check with anyone what was going in the world or the NBA. Being on the ice, you want to win hockey games, Tampa Bay captain Victor Hedman said after his team won to take a 3-1 lead in the second-round series.