RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Frederik Andersen has been playing so well in net for the Carolina Hurricanes that coach Rod Brind'Amour is staying with his hands-off approach when it comes to goaltenders.
Things have been trickier for the Edmonton Oilers and Stuart Skinner.
Andersen is coming off his first postseason shutout with Carolina in Game 3 of the second-round series with the Washington Capitals. Skinner, meanwhile, was pulled after a rough start to the playoffs and then returned to allow four goals — including the winner on an own goal by Leon Draisaitl with less than a second left — in a Game 3 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights. Their series resume Monday, with the Hurricanes and Oilers each holding 2-1 leads.
The 35-year-old Andersen has been strong since taking over the lead role in the playoffs, going 5-2 while posting a 1.32 goals-against average and a .940 save percentage — with the latter two numbers standing as the best among goaltenders playing multiple games in this postseason.
Saturday night's 4-0 win came with Andersen having to stand up to early quality chances for the Capitals, notably a 1-on-1 chance for Tom Wilson just 30 seconds in and a clean look from the slot for Taylor Raddysh just 2 minutes later. It also included stopping three first-period shots from Alex Ovechkin, who passed Wayne Gretzky this year for the NHL's all-time goals record.
“I don't get to choose who shoots,” Andersen said. “I've just got to try to see what comes my way and do my best to stop it.”
Andersen has allowed more than one goal in just two of his seven appearances, though one ended early on a hit from New Jersey's Timo Meier in the crease knocked him out for the rest of the rest of Game 4 and the Game 5 clincher.
Otherwise, Andersen is making decisions easy for Brind'Amour and goaltender coach Paul Schonfelder.
“I don’t get involved into much of that,” Brind'Amour said Sunday. “”We got guys that take care of that. Paul does a great job with the goalies, he kind of tells me how that’s going. ... I just ask (Andersen) how he’s doing and that’s about it. As long as he feels good, he’s going to be in there."
The 26-year-old Skinner, by comparison, is 0-3 and ranks last among postseason goalies with more than one appearance with a 5.36 GAA and .817 save percentage. The regular-season lead goalie gave up 11 goals through the first two games of the first-round series against the Los Angeles Kings before the Oilers switched to Calvin Pickard.
But Pickard was strong in the Game 2 win against Vegas, but appeared uncomfortable in the third and was seen shaking out his left leg. That opened the door for Skinner, who allowed four goals on 24 shots on Saturday — though the last came after he had sprawled out to stop Reilly Smith only to see the puck get behind him and deflect off Draisaitl's stick for the shocking score.
Coach Kris Knoblauch said Sunday that Pickard won't play Game 4 and remains day-to-day.
“I think Stuart's made some really big saves, especially in the third period, made a really good one, made some other ones early in the game on the penalty kill,” Knoblauch said. “I think, like Game 1 and 2 when he played early in the LA series, we just need to be better in front of him.”
When/where to watch: Game 4, Monday, 7 p.m. EDT (TNT, TruTV)
Series: Hurricanes lead 2-1.
Ovechkin had 44 regular-season goals then four more in the five-game win against Montreal in Round 1, but he's yet to crack the score sheet in Round 2. He averaged 3.8 shots on goal against the Canadiens, but has just eight through three games against the Hurricanes (2.7 average).
Coach Spencer Carbery pointed Sunday to the challenge for Ovechkin and top-line center Dylan Strome against a defense that makes it difficult to create off entries into the offensive zone.
“They just have to continue to work,” Carbery said. “It's not going to be perfect every night. I thought they did some good things last night. In these series, in these games, you have one game where you make a difference offensively and it could be the difference in this series.”
When/where to watch: Game 4, Monday, 9:30 p.m. EDT (TNT, TruTV)
Series: Oilers lead 2-1.
Vegas had lost home games to start this series despite jumping to first-period leads, then found itself down 2-0 by midway through the first period of Game 3. Then forward Mark Stone went down with an upper-body injury.
The Golden Knights recovered to earn their first win, but Stone's status is uncertain for Game 4. Coach Bruce Cassidy said after the win that Stone was day to day, then offered no change to reporters Sunday.
Stone has four goals and four assists in nine playoff games.
AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
Vegas Golden Knights' Victor Olofsson (95) is chased by Edmonton Oilers' Evan Bouchard (2) as goalie Stuart Skinner (74) looks for the puck during third period NHL playoff action in Edmonton on Saturday, May 10, 2025. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)
Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Frederik Andersen (31) watches the puck against the Washington Capitals during the third period of Game 3 of an NHL hockey Semi-final round playoff series in Raleigh, N.C., Saturday, May 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Karl DeBlaker)
ST. LOUIS (AP) — World champions Ilia Malinin and the ice dance duo of Madison Chock and Evan Bates will anchor one of the strongest U.S. Figure Skating teams in history when they head to Italy for the Milan Cortina Olympics in less than a month.
Malinin, fresh off his fourth straight national title, will be the prohibitive favorite to follow in the footsteps of Nathan Chen by delivering another men's gold medal for the American squad when he steps on the ice at the Milano Ice Skating Arena.
Chock and Bates, who won their record-setting seventh U.S. title Saturday night, also will be among the Olympic favorites, as will world champion Alysa Liu and women's teammate Amber Glenn, fresh off her third consecutive national title.
U.S. Figure Skating announced its full squad of 16 athletes for the Winter Games during a made-for-TV celebration Sunday.
"I'm just so excited for the Olympic spirit, the Olympic environment," Malinin said. “Hopefully go for that Olympic gold.”
Malinin will be joined on the men's side by Andrew Torgashev, the all-or-nothing 24-year-old from Coral Springs, Florida, and Maxim Naumov, the 24-year-old from Simsbury, Connecticut, who fulfilled the hopes of his late parents by making the Olympic team.
Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova were returning from a talent camp in Kansas when their American Airlines flight collided with a military helicopter and crashed into the icy Potomac River in January 2025. One of the last conversations they had with their son was about what it would take for him to follow in their footsteps by becoming an Olympian.
“We absolutely did it,” Naumov said. “Every day, year after year, we talked about the Olympics. It means so much in our family. It's what I've been thinking about since I was 5 years old, before I even know what to think. I can't put this into words.”
Chock and Bates helped the Americans win team gold at the Beijing Games four years ago, but they finished fourth — one spot out of the medals — in the ice dance competition. They have hardly finished anywhere but first in the years since, winning three consecutive world championships and the gold medal at three straight Grand Prix Finals.
U.S. silver medalists Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik also made the dance team, as did the Canadian-born Christina Carreira, who became eligible for the Olympics in November when her American citizenship came through, and Anthony Ponomarenko.
Liu was picked for her second Olympic team after briefly retiring following the Beijing Games. She had been burned out by years of practice and competing, but stepping away seemed to rejuvenate the 20-year-old from Clovis, California, and she returned to win the first world title by an American since Kimmie Meissner stood atop the podium two decades ago.
Now, the avant-garde Liu will be trying to help the U.S. win its first women's medal since Sasha Cohen in Turin in 2006, and perhaps the first gold medal since Sarah Hughes triumphed four years earlier at the Salt Lake City Games.
Her biggest competition, besides a powerful Japanese contingent, could come from her own teammates: Glenn, a first-time Olympian, has been nearly unbeatable the past two years, while 18-year-old Isabeau Levito is a former world silver medalist.
"This was my goal and my dream and it just feels so special that it came true,” said Levito, whose mother is originally from Milan.
The two pairs spots went to Ellie Kam and Danny O'Shea, the U.S. silver medalists, and the team of Emily Chan and Spencer Howe.
The top American pairs team, two-time reigning U.S. champions Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov, were hoping that the Finnish-born Efimova would get her citizenship approved in time to compete in Italy. But despite efforts by the Skating Club of Boston, where they train, and the help of their U.S. senators, she did not receive her passport by the selection deadline.
“The importance and magnitude of selecting an Olympic team is one of the most important milestones in an athlete's life,” U.S. Figure Skating CEO Matt Farrell said, "and it has such an impact, and while there are sometimes rules, there is also a human element to this that we really have to take into account as we make decisions and what's best going forward from a selection process.
“Sometimes these aren't easy," Farrell said, “and this is not the fun part.”
The fun is just beginning, though, for the 16 athletes picked for the powerful American team.
AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
Amber Glenn competes during the women's free skating competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Alysa Liu skates during the "Making Team USA" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Maxim Naumov skates during the "Making Team USA" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Madison Chock and Evan Bates skate during the "Making the Team" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Gold medalist Ilia Malinin arrives for the metal ceremony after the men's free skate competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
