LOS ANGELES-Anze Kopitar suspected something might be up. In two games at San Jose, the Kings had scored two goals and lost twice to the Sharks, dropping into a 2-2 tie in the teams' Western Conference semifinal playoff series. The Kings perfected the art of playing taut, low-scoring games last spring but that scoring pace probably won't get them out of this round.

The images make a Flyers fan's heart stop: a flashy sports car belonging to the team's star player, mangled on the side of a road.

James Neal and Jarome Iginla each had two goals to help lift the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 7-3 Game 4 win over the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Place.

Sidney Crosby was careful not to get too far ahead of himself after helping the Pittsburgh Penguins rout the Ottawa Senators for a 3-1 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinal series.

Sharks forward TJ Galiardi said Wednesday that Los Angeles Kings goalie Jonathan Quick is guilty of "a little embellishment every now and then" in this Western Conference semifinal series as he tries to draw penalties on San Jose forwards.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. - The Los Angeles Kings are facing a litmus test on Thursday night against San Jose, which might be why Dustin Brown's practice jersey changed from white to green.

NHL coaches, when asked about their first line, sometimes fall into an Abbott-and-Costello-like routine.

They talked about urgency. They talked about the need to get more goals early to survive the inevitable third-period onslaught from the Los Angeles Kings. They talked about the imperative of winning a game away from home.

The Vancouver Canucks have fired coach Alain Vigneault on Wednesday.

Daniel Cleary drives people crazy. He gets under their skin and he rattles them and he won't just go away.

The Vancouver Canucks have reportedly fired head coach Alain Vigneault along with his entire coaching staff, in the wake of a disappointing first-round playoff exit.

Defenseman Andy Sutton officially announced his retirement from the National Hockey League on Wednesday.

The Ottawa Senators will aim for a second straight win on Wednesday, as they host the top-seeded Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals at Scotiabank Place.

NEW YORK - After the Rangers slipped to the brink of elimination Tuesday with a 2-1 loss to the Boston Bruins in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinals at the Garden, a win that gave the Bruins a commanding 3-0 in the series, the talk was about bounces.

The Sharks did the necessary thing Tuesday night. They turned a best-of-seven series into a best-of-three. With momentum.

SAN JOSE-The Sharks turned this into a real series Tuesday night.

SAN JOSE, Calif.-Turns out the San Jose Sharks were not blowing smoke, and now their series with the Los Angeles Kings has become a simple best-of-three.

The San Jose Sharks barely held off the Los Angeles Kings at the end for a second straight home win.

John Tortorella's message isn't going to change even though his New York Rangers are in an even more desperate situation than before their latest loss to the Boston Bruins.

Down on the ice after absorbing another crosscheck that sent him flying into the maelstrom in front of the Red Wings goal, Jonathan Toews spun on his knees and whacked away at the puck.

As Blackhawks teammates tracked back and forth in various states of post-loss gloom late Monday, Patrick Sharp sat silent in a shoebox-sized anteroom to the main visitor's dressing area at Joe Louis Arena, hands folded and staring straight ahead.

CHICAGO - If the rosters of past Stanley Cup champions hand-painted on concrete walls inside Joe Louis Arena didn't reiterate to the Blackhawks that they face a Red Wings tradition, not just a team, defenseman Brent Seabrook unwittingly offered a reminder.

Daniel Paille's goal with 3:31 left in the game led the Boston Bruins to a 2-1 win over the New York Rangers in Game 3 of this Eastern Conference semifinal series. The win gives the Bruins a 3-0 lead in this best-of-seven series with a chance to close things out on Thursday at Madison Square Garden. Johnny Boychuk tied the contest early in the third period while Tuukka Rask turned away 23 shots for Boston, which got a pair of assists from Shawn Thornton. Taylor Pyatt had the lone goal while Henrik Lundqvist made 32 stops for the Rangers, who have dug themselves a deep hole thanks to going 0-for-10 on the power play in this series, including 0-for-2 on Tuesday.

Joe Thornton set the tone for the San Jose Sharks with a dominant first period. After that, the Sharks did their best to hang on and tie up their playoff series against the Los Angeles Kings.

Antti Niemi made 22 saves to help the San Jose Sharks take a 2-1 win over the Los Angeles Kings in Game 4 of this Western Conference semifinal series.