NHL Reaches Seven-Year Deal With ESPN

Included in the deal, which starts next season, will be 25 regular-season games on ESPN or ABC, early-round playoff series and one conference final each year, and four Stanley Cup Final series on ABC.

The deal also includes opening-night games and the NHL All-Star Game. Since 2004, all NHL games have been on NBC or its cable stations.

Panarin Rejoins Rangers

New York Rangers star Artemi Panarin rejoined the team at practice Wednesday after a two-week leave of absence. Head coach David Quinn said the timeline for his return to play is unclear.

Panarin left the team after a Russian tabloid printed allegations from a former coach that he attacked a woman in Latvia almost a decade ago. He denies it, and the Rangers said it was a fabricated story meant to intimidate Panarin, a vocal critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

National Hockey League

Wednesday, March 10 Scoreboard

Minnesota 4, Vegas 3

Edmonton 7, Ottawa 1

Colorado 2, Arizona 1 (OT)

Los Angeles 5, Anaheim 1

Montreal 5, Vancouver 1

Thursday, March 11 Schedule (All Times Central)

New York Rangers at Boston, 6 p.m.

Pittsburgh at Buffalo, 6 p.m.

New Jersey at New York Islanders, 6 p.m.

Washington at Philadelphia, 6 p.m.

Nashville at Carolina, 6 p.m.

Florida at Columbia, 6 p.m.

Winnipeg at Toronto, 6 p.m.

Tampa Bay at Detroit, 6:30 p.m.

Chicago at Dallas, 7:30 p.m.

Montreal at Calgary, 8 p.m.