National Hockey

PITTSBURGH — Mike Sullivan knew the Stanley Cup hangover was coming.

RALEIGH, N.C. — The New York Rangers have known for a while they won't make the playoffs. They made it official that the Carolina Hurricanes won't, either.

VANCOUVER — It was a wild ride with a dangerous swerve toward hitting the ditch, but goaltender Thatcher Demko couldn't stop grinning the whole game.

DETROIT — Out of the playoffs and sinking fast with one win in 14 games a week ago, the Detroit Red Wings could have embraced tanking to bolster their chances in the NHL draft lottery. Instead, they launched a winning streak.

BOSTON — Nick Holden has only been in Boston for about a month, and he's already learned that he needs to keep his stick on the ice when he's playing with David Krejci.

DENVER — The playoff-chasing Colorado Avalanche received a big blow when goalie Semyon Varlamov and defenceman Erik Johnson were ruled out for the remainder of the regular season due to injuries.

WASHINGTON — Alex Ovechkin is built like a linebacker with the motor of a steam engine and the mentality of a wrecking ball. He can score like no other player of this generation and few in history and has the physicality to match.

LAS VEGAS — Vegas Golden Knights general manager George McPhee stood alone in the hallway outside of his team's locker room Friday night, as someone walked by and blurted: "One more George.

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Rickard Rakell scored 4:41 into overtime, and the Anaheim Ducks defeated the Los Angeles Kings 2-1 on Friday night. Nick Ritchie also scored and John Gibson saved 28 shots for the Ducks, who are 6-1-1 in their last eight games.

NEW YORK — Brayden Point and Cedric Paquette each scored two goals, and the Tampa Bay Lightning stopped a three-game slide with a 7-3 victory over the New York Rangers on Friday night. J.T.