The NHLPA will form an advisory committee to help hockey players better understand chronic traumatic encephalopathy and the damage that concussions can do to the brain.

The first two weeks of the season have not been kind to a few of the top Stanley Cup contenders.

The Dallas Stars have signed No. 1 goaltender Jake Oettinger to an eight-year extension worth $66 million.

The St. Louis Blues are looking to salary cap-strapped Edmonton to upgrade their roster.

Jim Nill of the Dallas Stars has won the Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award.

Corey Perry won his first Stanley Cup championship in his second NHL season with the Anaheim Ducks.

Joe Pavelski says he's played his last game in the NHL after 1,533 games over 18 NHL seasons.

Joe Pavelski might be out of chances to win a Stanley Cup title after the Dallas Stars came up short again.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored two quick power-play goals, Stuart Skinner stopped 19 shots and the Edmonton Oilers beat the top-seeded Dallas Stars 3-1 in the Western Conference Final to take a 3-2 series lead.

Mason Marchment scored for the first time since the playoff opener and the Dallas Stars beat the Edmonton Oilers 3-1.

The Dallas Stars got a tying goal from Tyler Seguin late in regulation, then had a four-minute power play early in overtime in Game 1 of the Western Conference Final.

Connor McDavid scored 32 seconds into the second overtime and the Edmonton Oilers overcame their captain’s double-minor penalty in the first extra period and beat the Dallas Stars 3-2 in Game 1 of the Western Conference Final.

The biggest factor in the direction of the Colorado Avalanche’s offseason plans may just hinge on trust.

The Dallas Stars finally get a little bit of a breather after avoiding another Game 7 on the way to their second Western Conference Final in a row.

Matt Duchene scored at 11:42 of the second overtime after being involved in a play that led to a goal disallowed for goaltender interference in the first OT and the Dallas Stars advanced to the Western Conference final with a 2-1 victory over the Colorado Avalanche in Game 6.

Colorado defenseman Cale Makar scored two goals, the second after Casey Mittelstadt’s go-ahead tally in the third period and the Avalanche beat top-seeded Dallas 5-3 in Game 5.

Wyatt Johnston scored twice on the eve of his 21st birthday as the Dallas Stars pushed Colorado to the brink of elimination with a 5-1 win in Game 4 that came hours after Avalanche standout Valeri Nichushkin was suspended for at least six months.

Tyler Seguin scored the tie-breaking goal in the second period and added an empty-netter in the third and Dallas goaltender Jake Oettinger made it all hold up, powering the Stars to a 4-1 win over the Colorado Avalanche for a 2-1 lead in their Western Conference second-round series.

Dallas defenseman Miro Heiskanen scored two power-play goals, Roope Hintz had a goal and three assists and the Stars beat the Colorado Avalanche 5-3 in Game 2 on Thursday night to even the second-round Western Conference series.

The Colorado Avalanche had gone a full week since wrapping up their first-round series, and were down three goals in the first period on the road against the top-seeded team.

Miles Wood scored on a backhander 11:03 into overtime into overtime and the Colorado Avalanche, after trailing by three goals in the first period, beat the top-seeded Dallas Stars 4-3 in the opener of their second-round Western Conference series.

Radek Faksa broke a tie in his return to the Dallas lineup, 20-year-old Wyatt Johnston scored in another Game 7 and the Stars beat the defending Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights 2-1 on Sunday night to wrap up the first-round series.

Noah Hanifin broke a scoreless tie at 9:54 of the third period, Adin Hill stopped 23 shots and the defending champion Vegas Golden Knights kept alive their season by beating the Dallas Stars 2-0 on Friday night to force Game 7.

Jason Robertson scored a power-play goal to put Dallas ahead late in the second period after Tyler Seguin took a shot to the face and the Stars beat the Vegas Golden Knights 3-2 in Game 5.

Wyatt Johnston scored his third goal in two games, and the Dallas Stars beat the defending champion Vegas Golden Knights 4-2 to even their first-round NHL playoffs series.

Wyatt Johnston scored his second goal of the game in overtime to give the Dallas Stars a 3-2 victory over Vegas on Saturday night, cutting the defending champion Golden Knights’ series lead to 2-1.

The problems for Dallas are two-fold.

Noah Hanifin broke a tie with an unassisted goal late in the second period and the Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights beat the top-seeded Dallas Stars 3-1 on Wednesday night to take a 2-0 lead in the first-round series.

The Dallas Stars will be the top seed in the Western Conference playoffs for the first time since 2016.

Dallas Stars coach Pete DeBoer went into this season a little worried about the potential hangover effect after that long postseason run that ended in a six-game Western Conference Final.

Some early trends are showing in the NHL.

The Vegas Golden Knights will play the Florida Panthers in the Stanley Cup Final beginning Saturday.

William Karlsson scored two goals and had an assist as the Vegas Golden Knights advanced to their second Stanley Cup Final with a 6-0 rout over Dallas.

The Western Conference Final isn't over yet, and suddenly feels much different.

Ty Dellandrea scored twice in a 1:27 span midway through the third period and the Dallas Stars beat the Vegas Golden Knights 4-2 on Saturday night to stay alive in the Western Conference Final.

Alec Martinez was part of the 2014 Los Angeles Kings team that erased a 3-0 first-round series deficit and beat Joe Pavelski and the San Jose Sharks in Game 7.

Joe Pavelski scored on a power play at 3:18 of overtime and the Dallas Stars avoided a sweep in the Western Conference final with a 3-2 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday night.

Jonathan Marchessault and the Vegas Golden Knights are one more win from reaching another Stanley Cup Final.

The Vegas Golden Knights certainly know how to rally when they've fallen behind in these NHL playoffs.

Brett Howden scored from behind the net off Dallas Stars goalie Jake Oettinger 1:35 into overtime to give the Vegas Golden Knights a 4-3 victory in Game 1 of their Western Conference final.

The roles have changed for Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin with the Dallas Stars, and they have also played a little less this season.

Roope Hintz and Wyatt Johnston scored goals and the Dallas Stars advanced to the Western Conference final with a 2-1 win over the Seattle Kraken in Game 7.

Jordan Eberle scored twice, Eeli Tolvanen had a goal and two assists, and the Seattle Kraken beat the Dallas Stars 6-3 to force a deciding Game 7 in their Western Conference semifinal series.

Roope Hintz scored two goals and had an assist, Joe Pavelski scored his seventh goal of the second-round series and the Dallas Stars beat the Seattle Kraken 5-2 in Game 5.

Joe Pavelski scored his sixth goal of the series as part of a four-goal second period for Dallas, and the Stars routed the Seattle Kraken 6-3 on Tuesday night in Game 4 to even the Western Conference semifinal series.

Jordan Eberle sparked a five-goal outburst in the second period with his fourth goal of the playoffs, Philipp Grubauer made 24 saves and the Seattle Kraken beat the Dallas Stars 7-2 to take a 2-1 series lead in their Western Conference semifinal.

Joe Pavelski scored his fifth goal in two games since returning from concussion protocol as the Dallas Stars beat the Seattle Kraken 4-2 to even the second-round series at a game each.

Edmonton's Leon Draisaitl and Dallas' Joe Pavelski became just the second pair of NHL players to each score four goals on consecutive days in the playoffs.

Joe Pavelski became the oldest player ever with a four-goal game in the NHL playoffs, and did it in his return two weeks after going into concussion protocol.

Roope Hintz scored his fifth goal of the series, Jake Oettinger stonewalled his home-state team again, and the Stars eliminated the Minnesota Wild with a 4-1 win in Game 6 of their first-round NHL playoff series.

Tyler Seguin scored two power-play goals and Jake Oettinger made 33 saves to help the Dallas Stars bounce back from a lopsided loss and beat the Minnesota Wild 3-2 in Game 4 to even their first-round NHL playoff series.

The Minnesota Wild have delivered a forceful and punishing performance to take the first-round NHL playoff series lead from the Dallas Stars.

Ryan Hartman scored 12:20 into the second overtime and the Minnesota Wild beat the Dallas Stars 3-2 in their playoff opener Monday night, and into Tuesday morning.

Dallas center Joe Pavelski left Game 1 of the Stars’ playoff series after taking a massive hit from Minnesota defenseman Matt Dumba, who was not assessed a major penalty for that after a lengthy replay review by officials.

Detroit Red Wings forward Jakub Vrana practiced for the first time in two months, returning to the team after entering the player assistance program of the NHL and NHL Players’ Association.

The Boston Bruins have hired Jim Montgomery as their new coach.

The Detroit Red Wings announced the hiring of Tampa Bay Lightning assistant Derek Lalonde as their new head coach, the team and Yzerman confirmed on Thursday.

The Dallas Stars have hired Peter DeBoer as their new coach.

Rick Bowness will not return as the coach of the Dallas Stars.

Miro Heiskanen scored the go-ahead goal late in the second period and the Dallas Stars beat Calgary 4-2 to force a Game 7 in their first-round Western Conference series.

Rasmus Andersson scored Calgary’s first power-play goal since early in the playoff opener, Jacob Markstrom had 34 saves and the Flames beat the Dallas Stars 4-1 in Game 4 to even their first-round series.

Joe Pavelski scored twice and got the game-winner on the first power-play goal in the series for Dallas as the Stars beat the Calgary Flames 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round Western Conference playoff series.

The first-round matchups are set for the NHL playoffs that begin Monday.

The NHL playoff race is going into its final few days with both Western Conference wild-card slots still unsettled.

Darcy Kuemper made 23 saves for his second shutout this season, Gabriel Landeskog scored two goals and the streaking Colorado Avalanche beat the Dallas Stars 4-0.

The Detroit Red Wings started fast and strong against the Dallas Stars on Friday night in front of a rocking Little Caesars Arena crowd.

Roope Hintz scored a power-play goal with 2:09 left in overtime to give the Dallas Stars a 5-4 victory over the Detroit Red Wings.

Friday afternoon will be 5-10 degrees colder than average, but with abundant sunshine. Highs will be in the low 20s to near 25 degrees.

Roope Hintz and Joe Pavelski scored 75 seconds apart late in the third period, and the Dallas Stars stopped Pittsburgh’s 10-game win streak with a 3-2 victory over the Penguins.

Edmonton captain and reigning league MVP Connor McDavid has been placed on on NHL’s COVID-19 protocol list.

I’ll work my way through each team in the league, alphabetically by division.

Dallas Stars goalie Ben Bishop’s career is over because of a degenerative condition in his right knee.

Detroit Red Wings forward Tyler Bertuzzi was placed in COVID-19 protocol before Wednesday night's game against the Seattle Kraken at Little Caesars Arena.

Luke Glendening is leaving the Detroit Red Wings, according reports Wednesday.

The Detroit Red Wings have signed left wing Taro Hirose to a one-year contract extension.

Alex Nedeljkovic has signed a two-year contract with the Detroit Red Wings reportedly worth $3 million per season after he was traded to Detroit from the Carolina Hurricanes.

The Detroit Red Wings have announced the list of players the team is protecting in this week’s Seattle Kraken expansion draft.

Dallas Stars goaltender Ben Bishop has waived his no-movement clause to be exposed in the Seattle expansion draft after approaching the team with the idea.

Jakub Vrana has 6 goals and an assist for 7 points through seven games since joining the Detroit Red Wings at the trade deadline.

Jakub Vrana has 6 goals and an assist for 7 points through seven games since joining the Detroit Red Wings at the trade deadline.

Jamie Benn scored 32 seconds into overtime, lifting the Dallas Stars to a 2-1 win over the Detroit Red Wings.

Jakub Vrana scored four goals for the first time to help the Detroit Red Wings rout the Dallas Stars 7-3 and match their total number of wins from last season.

Here is the Detroit Red Wings injuries list.

Rookie Jason Robertson had a goal and an assist in the first period, leading the Dallas Stars to a 5-2 win and a two-game sweep of the Detroit Red Wings.

Denis Gurianov scored in the fifth round of a shootout to give the Dallas Stars a 3-2 win over the Detroit Red Wings.

(AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)DETROIT – Michael Rasmussen broke a tie early in the third period with his first goal of the season and the Detroit Red Wings defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-1 on Sunday. The Red Wings won 3-1 on Saturday. “We competed all over the ice, and when they did get a couple chances, Pixie (Pickard) was back there,” Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin said. Roslovic tied the game 1-1 with 1:35 remaining in the second period when he tipped Oliver Bjorkstrand’s shot out of mid-air and past Pickard. Red Wings: at Florida Panthers on Tuesday.

Dallas Stars' Ty Dellandrea reacts after scoring a goal on Detroit Red Wings goaltender Thomas Greiss (29) during the third period of an NHL hockey game, Saturday, March 20, 2021, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)DETROIT – Tanner Kero broke a scoreless tie late in the second period, Anton Khudobin stopped all 21 shots he faced and the Dallas Stars pulled away to beat the Detroit Red Wings 3-0 Saturday night. “At this point, you appreciate every game you get in," Kero, who is from Hancock, Michigan, said after playing in his 85th NHL game. “We’re not the only team that has struggled to score against that team," Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said. The Red Wings will have a couple days off, a luxury in the NHL this season, before playing the Predators on the road Tuesday night.

Detroit Red Wings center Robby Fabbri shares during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, March 18, 2021, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)DETROIT – Robby Fabbri scored three goals, one in each period, and the Detroit Red Wings held on to beat the Dallas Stars 3-2 on Thursday night. “He’s not the biggest or fastest guy, but he makes up for it with competitiveness," Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said. Thomas Greiss finished the game in net for the Red Wings and had 16 saves. “We’re clicking right now and I think that comes from getting a lot of reps together in practice," Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin said.

So, like any good mom, she did her homework, learning more about the policies in place because of the COVID-19 pandemic. New York's Madison Square Garden had roughly 2,000 fans on hand for the Knicks game Tuesday night. Several spring training facilities will open their doors to fans when major league exhibition games start on Sunday. Many places will have no problem filling their limited capacities, but some sports are looking at a longer road when it comes to fans returning. UFC was next at 59% of 40 million devices, followed by the NFL at 53% of 497 million devices.

12 Texas and No. The Big 12 has an extra week before the start of the conference tournament to try to make up some postponed games. The postponement of the Alabama game makes it five straight games called off for the Aggies. Two season-opening series involving Big 12 baseball teams scheduled for this weekend were canceled. Jacksonville State was supposed to visit Baylor, and Oklahoma was set to play Wichita State in Round Rock, Texas, just north of Austin.

NHL games scheduled for Monday and Tuesday between the Dallas Stars and Nashville Predators had already been scrapped. The shuffling of pro events came amid adjustments for several men's and women's college basketball games in Texas because of frigid temperatures and icy conditions for traveling. 12 Texas men's visit to ninth-ranked Oklahoma has been moved back a day to Thursday after originally getting bumped from Tuesday to Wednesday because of the weather. Two other women’s games scheduled for Wednesday had also been called off: Texas at TCU and Texas Tech at Oklahoma. The American Athletic Conference men's game between Tulane and SMU in Dallas scheduled for Wednesday was postponed, with no makeup date announced.

A lone vehicle drives on Victory Ave. in front of American Airlines Center which was to host the Nashville Predators and the Dallas Stars NHL hockey game, Monday, Feb. 15, 2021, in Dallas. Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson requested that the teams not play Monday due to a shortage of electricity in the region. (AP Photo/Brandon Wade)DALLAS – The Dallas Stars postponed their home game Monday night against the Nashville Predators after a request from city officials not to play because of the impact extreme winter weather had on the area. The NHL didn't announce the postponement until just more than a half-hour before the scheduled start of the game. “I don’t know the status of that grid, but frankly, the Stars game is not critical infrastructure,” Hallman told the DMN.

DALLAS, TEXAS - JANUARY 28: Andrew Cogliano #11 of the Dallas Stars scores a goal against Jonathan Bernier #45 of the Detroit Red Wings in the second period at American Airlines Center on January 28, 2021 in Dallas, Texas. AdValtteri Filppula knocked in a rebound for his first goal for the Red Wings (2-5-1). “Made it 4-3 there, and it got away from us,” Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin said. The puck crossed the line just before the Red Wings did. WHAT’S NEXTBoth teams play back-to-back games Saturday and Sunday, the Red Wings at home against Florida, and the Stars on the road for the first time this season at Carolina.

(AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)DALLAS – Jason Dickinson scored 1:32 into overtime and the Dallas Stars won a third straight home game to start their delayed season, beating the Detroit Red Wings 2-1 on Tuesday night. The Red Wings controlled the puck for the first minute-plus of the 3-on-3 period before the Stars gained control and moved into the offensive zone. “I saw he probably thought that I was going to shoot it so I was going to take him out,” Klingberg said. The Red Wings are winless in four of their past five games this season. Guys had to step up at key times.”STILL MISSINGThe Red Wings remain without forwards Adam Erne, Robby Fabbri, Sam Gagner and Filip Zadina and defenseman Jon Merrill because of COVID-19 protocols.

San Jose's Erik Karlsson (65) handles the puck against Minnesota Wild's Nick Bjugstad (27) in the third period of an NHL hockey game Sunday, Jan. 24, 2021, in St. Paul, Minn. San Jose won 5-3. (AP Photo/Stacy Bengs)With an outbreak delaying the Dallas Stars opener, Rick Bowness got to watch a lot of hockey in the first couple of nights of the NHL season. The San Jose Sharks have been the NHL's nomads since they opened training camp in Arizona because of a ban on contact sports by Santa Clara County, California. “We’re staying in 5-star hotels, get to play hockey, so I can’t complain,” defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic said. Ad___Follow AP Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno on Twitter at https://twitter.com/SWhyno___More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

... That was a special moment.”Joe Pavelski had two goals and two assists and Alexander Radulov also scored twice for the Stars, who had a scoreless first period. Five of Dallas’ goals came in the second, including three on the power play and an unassisted short-handed wrist shot by Esa Lindell. Pavelski and Kiviranta added power-play goals in the third period, those against Pekka Rinne, who entered after Saros allowed five goals on 20 shots. CAPTAIN HURTStars captain Jamie Benn was injured when his right leg buckled awkwardly after a collision with Viktor Arvidsson in the second period. Three of the shots game in the first period, including a wraparound attempt into Khudobin’s pads and a hard second shot on the rebound.

The Stars' return comes after 17 players tested positive for COVID-19, even though most were asymptomatic. Their first four scheduled games, all on the road and including an early Stanley Cup Final rematch with Tampa Bay, were postponed. “Right now, listen, we're all ready for a game,” Stars coach Rick Bowness said after practice Thursday at their home arena. Now the Stars are the last team to open the NHL's 56-game, division-only regular season. About 5,000 fans will be allowed for Stars games, well below the hockey capacity of 18,532, though the NBA's Dallas Mavericks are playing their home games there without fans.

The NHL said Friday that six Dallas Stars players and two staff members have tested positive for COVID-19 in a development that will push back the opener for the defending Western Conference champions by nearly a week. The Columbus Blue Jackets also held a number of players off the ice “out of abundance of caution” in another reminder that the pandemic will likely play havoc with the season opening next Wednesday. Dallas had been set to open the season Jan. 14 at Florida. The Dallas players and staff are self-isloating and the team’s training facilities were closed for the next several days amid contact tracing. The NHL has shortened the regular season to 56 games for each of its 31 teams, who will play only division foes and sometimes multiple times in a matter of a few days.

The Stars are still Bowness' team. Dallas officially removed the interim tag Thursday and gave the 65-year-old Bowness a two-year contract, making him the franchise's 24th head coach, and ninth since moving to Dallas in 1993. Bowness was 20-13-5 after becoming their interim head coach. The Stars made it to the Stanley Cup final even while dealing with a plethora of significant injuries. That would have been a lot more interesting if we had been a healthy team,” Bowness said.

The triumph of winning the NHL championship in a bubble was certainly no less sweet for the Tampa Bay Lightning. He played 964 regular-season and 137 playoff games to get to this point, losing in the final twice before. Tampa Bay had Point and No. Coach Jon Cooper thought the attitude needed to change from wanting to beat every opponent 9-0 because that’s not realistic in playoff hockey. ... Alexander Volkov made his NHL playoff debut for Tampa Bay, which also saw Patrick Maroon become just the eighth player to win the Cup in back-to-back seasons with different teams (St. Louis).