NHL Metropolitan

The Carolina Hurricanes are heading back to the Stanley Cup playoffs for the fourth straight season. 

Carolina clinched a spot in the 2022 postseason with a 5-3 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday night at PNC Arena. With the win, the Hurricanes moved to 46-17-8 to stay atop the Metropolitan Division standings. 

Here's a look at the updated Eastern Conference standings:

Metropolitan Division

1. Carolina Hurricanes: 46-17-8, 100 points
2. New York Rangers: 46-20-6, 98 points
3. Pittsburgh Penguins: 41-21-10, 92 points

Atlantic Division 

1. Florida Panthers: 49-15-6, 104 points
2. Toronto Maple Leafs: 45-19-6, 96 points
3. Boston Bruins: 44-21-5, 93 points

Wild Card

1. Tampa Bay Lightning: 43-20-7, 93 points
2. Washington Capitals: 38-22-10, 86 points

The Hurricanes have spent most of the 2021-22 season atop the Metropolitan Division standings thanks to Sebastian Aho, Andrei Svechnikov and Teuvo Teravainen offensively.

Aho leads the team with 33 goals and 38 assists for 71 points, while Svechnikov has 27 goals and 35 assists for 62 points and Teravainen has 19 goals and 39 assists for 58 points. 

In addition, the Hurricanes have received excellent depth scoring from Vincent Trocheck, Nino Niederreiter, Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Jordan Staal. Jaccob Slavin, Brady Skjei and Tony DeAngelo have led the pack defensively. 

Frederik Andersen and Antti Raanta have also combined to form one of the best goaltending duos in the NHL. They entered Thursday's game against the Sabres with a league-best 2.37 goals-against average.

The Hurricanes are aiming to win the Stanley Cup for the first time since 2006. However, they'll face a difficult path to the Stanley Cup Final, with the Tampa Bay Lightning as a possible first-round opponent. 

Despite sitting fourth in the Atlantic Division, the Bolts are primed to win their third straight Stanley Cup behind Nikita Kucherov, Steven Stamkos, Victor Hedman and Andrei Vasilevskiy. 

The Florida Panthers, meanwhile, have been the best team in the Eastern Conference all season and have already clinched a playoff spot, and the New York Rangers, Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins and Pittsburgh Penguins all have at least 92 points.

Washington Capitals superstar Alex Ovechkin expressed opposition Friday to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

According to The Athletic, Ovechkin responded to a question from a reporter about the attack:

It's a hard situation. I have family back in Russia and it is scary moments. But we can't do anything. We just hope it going to be end soon and everything is going to be all right. ...

Please, no more war. It doesn't matter who is in the war—Russia, Ukraine, different countries—I think we live in a world, like, we have to live in peace and a great world.

The 36-year-old Ovechkin was born in Moscow, and he spends his offseasons in his home country of Russia. Ovechkin has shown support for Russian President Vladimir Putin in the past, per The Athletic.

Ovechkin organized a movement in support of Putin in 2017, and his Instagram profile photo is an image of him with Putin.

When asked Friday if he supports Putin's decision to invade Ukraine, Ovechkin said:

Well, he is my president. But how I said, I am not in politics. I am an athlete and you know, how I said, I hope everything is going to be done soon. It's [a] hard situation right now for both sides and everything. Everything I hope is going to end. I'm not in control of this situation.

Russia began invading Ukraine on Thursday via land, air and sea. Attacks and airstrikes have been reported across Ukraine, and Russian forces had reached the capital city of Kyiv on Friday.

According to Reuters, the United Nations refugee agency said Thursday that the invasion has already resulted in over 100,000 Ukrainian people being displaced from their homes.

Ukraine has been a sovereign nation since 1991, following the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

Ovechkin is one of the best-known and most influential Russian athletes of all time because of his accomplishments in the NHL.

The future Hockey Hall of Famer is a nine-time Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy winner, three-time Hart Trophy winner, one-time Art Ross Trophy winner, one-time Conn Smythe Trophy winner and one-time Stanley Cup champion.

He is also fourth on the NHL's all-time goals list with 762, putting him just four goals behind Jaromir Jagr in third and 132 behind all-time leader Wayne Gretzky.

Zdeno Chara stands alone atop the NHL's career list for most regular-season games played by a defenseman after taking the ice for the New York Islanders against the host San Jose Sharks on Thursday evening.

Chara entered the night tied for eighth overall and first among defensemen in games played with Hall of Famer Chris Chelios. He moved into seventh after taking the ice for the 1,652nd time.

The 44-year-old made his NHL debut with the 1997-98 Isles. He was with New York for four seasons and the Ottawa Senators for four more before signing a five-year, $37.5 million contract with the Boston Bruins.

Chara became one of the franchise's best defensemen, a storied list that includes Bobby Orr, Ray Bourque, Eddie Shore and Brad Park. 

He is a seven-time All-Star who won the Norris Trophy as a member of the 2008-09 Bruins. He also won the Stanley Cup with the B's in 2011, when he earned the Mark Messier Leadership Award.

Chara's Bruins career ended after the 2019-20 season. He spent one year with the Washington Capitals before seeing his career go full circle with a return trip to the Islanders.

The Slovakian has registered 207 goals, 467 assists and 674 points for his career. He's also played in 200 playoff games and amassed 18 goals and 51 assists (69 points).

A place in the Hockey Hall of Fame awaits Chara, but for now, he is playing out his 24th NHL season.

The Washington Capitals announced superstar Alex Ovechkin will miss Wednesday's game against the Edmonton Oilers as well as Saturday's NHL All-Star Game as a result of the league's health and safety protocols.

"Based on a positive test result, Ovechkin will not participate in the 2022 NHL All-Star Game in Las Vegas," the announcement read.

Capitals winger Tom Wilson will replace Ovechkin in the All-Star Game, according to ESPN's Emily Kaplan. 

Not only is Ovechkin, 36, one of the most lethal goal scorers in NHL history, he's also been one of the league's most durable players throughout his 17-year career. He missed four regular-season games or fewer in 14 of his first 15 seasons.

Injuries have become a little more of a factor of late, though. The three-time Hart Trophy winner missed 11 games last season because of a lower-body injury.

He also left the Caps' 2021-22 preseason finale with a lower-body injury. 

No single player can replace Ovechkin given his crucial role for Washington offensively, especially in terms of the power play. Carl Hagelin and Conor Sheary should both see more extensive roles at left wing while the face of the franchise is sidelined.

The Capitals, who are fourth in the Metropolitan Division with 59 points, should have enough scoring depth to at least tread water in the standings while Ovi is out of the lineup, but the offense isn't nearly as dangerous without him.

Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Keith Yandle has tied Doug Jarvis for the longest "Ironman" streak in NHL history, having played in 964 consecutive games. 

Jarvis played 964 straight games from Oct. 8, 1975, to Oct. 10, 1987. He did not miss a regular-season game from his NHL debut with the Montreal Canadiens through the end of the streak with the Hartford Whalers.

Yandle, meanwhile, has appeared in every game possible since March 26, 2009. 

When his streak started, Yandle was a member of the then-Phoenix Coyotes, who selected him in the fourth round of the 2005 draft. Since then, he has also played for the New York Rangers and Florida Panthers. 

Yandle's streak was almost ruined on multiple occasions. The Panthers considered making him a healthy scratch in the 2020-21 season, and he also had several teeth knocked out in a November 2019 game but returned that night wearing a cage and played the next day. 

Yandle signed a one-year, $900,000 deal to join the Flyers in July. He entered Monday's game against the Dallas Stars with 13 assists in 41 games. 

In 1,073 career games entering Monday, Yandle tallied 102 goals and 511 assists for 613 points. 

NHL veteran P.K. Subban expressed his disappointment after learning his brother Jordan Subban was allegedly a target of racist taunts during a hockey game.

"I didn't sleep much," he told reporters Sunday. "Sheer disappointment. It's distasteful. There is no room for it in our game. I'm embarrassed because our game is better than this."

In an ECHL game between the Jacksonville Icemen and South Carolina Stingrays on Saturday, a fight took place early in overtime. After the game, Jordan Subban, a Stingrays defenseman, tweeted about his fight with Icemen defenseman Jacob Panetta:

The Icemen have released Panetta, and he is indefinitely suspended by the ECHL, pending a hearing.

Stingrays team president Rob Concannon said the organization was "appalled by the incident."

P.K. Subban was named an ambassador for Hockey For All in October, an initiative created to promote diversity in hockey, and he has been in ad campaigns to foster inclusion in the sport:

"I'd rather people focus on how we can change it and make it better so the next kid that looks like P.K. Subban or Jordan Subban doesn't have to go through this," he said Sunday.

He also said this wasn't a rare experience for Black players in hockey.

"What I think about is the great people and the great things in our game that I love," Subban said. "But the unfortunate thing isn't just the incident. The unfortunate thing is how many kids deal with this every day and it doesn't come to light. ... This is life for people who look like me who have gone through the game of hockey. And that's part of the history, whether we like it or not."

The 32-year-old three-time All-Star is in his third season with the New Jersey Devils and 13th overall in the NHL.   

The New York Islanders announced Friday that legendary forward and Hockey Hall of Famer Clark Gillies died at the age of 67. 

Islanders president and general manager Lou Lamoriello released the following statement:

The entire Islanders community is devastated by the loss of Clark Gillies. He epitomized what it means to be a New York Islander. The pride he felt wearing the Islanders sweater on the ice was evident by his willingness to do anything to win. Off the ice, he was just as big of a presence, always taking the time to give back to the local community. The New York Islanders have four Stanley Cups because of the sacrifices he and the members of those dynasty teams made for the franchise. On behalf of the entire organization, we send our deepest condolences to the entire Gillies family.

Gillies spent 12 of his 14 NHL seasons with the Islanders, playing on the squad from 1974 to 1986. The organization selected him fourth overall in the 1974 NHL draft. 

The left winger appeared in 872 games for the Islanders (fifth in franchise history), tallying 304 goals (fourth in franchise history) and 359 assists for 663 points (fourth in franchise history). He also played in 159 playoff games, notching 47 goals and 46 assists for 93 points, helping the Islanders win four straight Stanley Cups from 1980-83.

Gillies spent the final two seasons of his career with the Buffalo Sabres, tallying 15 goals and 19 assists in for 34 points in 86 games from 1986-88. 

The Islanders retired Gillies' No. 9 in 1996, and he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2002.