The NHL is just about halfway through its season, and with that, there have been plenty of impressive first-year players. The Calder Trophy, given to the best rookie, should be a tight race between several candidates.

The deal sent first- and second-round picks, along with defenseman Robert Hagg, to Buffalo. Less than a year later, Ristolainen agreed to a five-year contract extension worth an average of $5.1 million annually. He is set to become an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2027.

The Dallas Stars (26-13-1, 3rd in the Central Division) head to Canada to take on the Montreal Canadiens (19-18-3, 5th in the Atlantic Division) as they

Mike Vrabel's search for an offensive coordinator is underway. The Patriots requested to speak with a veteran offensive playcaller

Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Jake McCabe's stat line from Thursday's win over the New Jersey Devils shows just how much the team missed him while he was out.

The boxing-out issues continued against Utah. A minute into the game, Utah’s Ian Cole fired a point shot tipped by teammate Barrett Hayton. Igor Shesterkin made the initial stop, but Matias Maccelli got away from K’Andre Miller and buried the rebound.

Evan Bouchard scored the winning goal late in the third period, capping the Edmonton Oilers' rally from a three-goal deficit to beat the Colorado Avalanche 4-3 in Denver on Thursday night. Bouchard also had an assist,

Alex Ovechkin's OT goal was his 874th career goal, putting him 20 away away from tying Wayne Gretzky’s mark of 894.

William Nylander scored his second goal of the game at 1:10 of overtime as the Toronto Maple Leafs battled back from 2-1 and 3-2 deficits in the third period to down the New Jersey Devils 4-3 on Thursday.

NFL PLAYOFFS: 4:30 p.m. — Houston at Kansas City in AFC divisional round (ABC, ESPN); 8 p.m. — Washington at Detroit in AFC divisional round (Fox). NHL: 12:30 p.m. — Philadelphia at New Jersey (NHL Network);

In an absolute thriller, the Maple Leafs' stars prevailed as they beat the Devils for a third straight time this season.

The Daily is chock full of news and note son the New York Rangers and how they flipped the script on early-season failures, as well as taking a spin around the NHL, including another NHL record for Alex Ovechkin.