Nick Faris

Toronto

Features Writer at TheScore

Features writer, @theScore | [email protected] | he/him

Articles

What Canadiens, Leafs, Senators need from the draft

1 week ago | thescore.com | Nick Faris

While it's wise to draft the best player available, every NHL team's roster and prospect pipeline has certain distinct needs. Starting with the Eastern Conference, we assess what the Canadian franchises should prioritize adding June 27-28. Check back Friday for our evaluation of the Western teams.
How the NHL's 2020 draft class took a major leap

1 week ago | thescore.com | Nick Faris

It can take five years and a few hundred games to properly assess the strength, depth, and potential of an NHL draft class. A unique and exciting cohort just crossed that threshold. Players in the class of 2020 were drafted virtually during the thick of the pandemic and made their earliest NHL debuts in empty rinks. They used the 2024-25 season as a launchpad to prominence. It's still a little early to tell if the class boasts a future Hall of Famer.
Projecting the PWHL expansion draft

2 weeks ago | thescore.com | Nick Faris

The 2025 PWHL Expansion Draft will fill out the rosters for Seattle and Vancouver, but each team already has a foundation. The 10 players inked during the league's exclusive signing window are officially the first faces of the new franchises. "I'm extremely excited about the opportunity for pro hockey in Seattle," said forward Hilary Knight. "I'd like to think that we do things right when we bet on ourselves.
Connor McDavid has history at his fingertips

3 weeks ago | thescore.com | Nick Faris

Many Connor McDavid stats sound outrageous and defy belief. One of those stats spread online ahead of his return to the Stanley Cup Final: He's tallied multiple points in a majority of his career playoff games. McDavid's dominant multi-point efforts (47) outnumber his one-point games (24) and quiet scoreless outings (20) through the start of the championship series, which opened Wednesday with a 4-3 Oilers overtime win.
Expansion forces PWHL teams to make excruciating choices

3 weeks ago | thescore.com | Nick Faris

Each original PWHL franchise is about to lose a couple of cornerstone players because of the league's strict expansion rules. Here's how it works: Teams initially get to shield three top talents from being taken by Seattle or Vancouver. Once a club sacrifices two players in the expansion process, it can add a fourth to the protection list. Some marquee names will lead the West Coast entrants into battle and help them be competitive as soon as the puck drops in 2025-26.
6 players to watch as Oilers try to race away from Stars

1 month ago | thescore.com | Nick Faris

The Oilers have played eight immaculate periods and would be on the verge of winning the Western Conference Final if the Stars' power play hadn't erupted in the final frame of the opener. Instead, Dallas is reeling from two big losses but could tie the series with a strong road effort Tuesday. Keep an eye on these key players in Game 4 and beyond. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins: Headlined by Nugent-Hopkins, the top scorer in Round 3 with seven points, Edmonton's talented supporting cast is breaking out.
The long road back from Stanley Cup Final heartbreak

1 month ago | thescore.com | Nick Faris

No greater hockey heartbreak exists than losing the Stanley Cup in seven games. Battling to erase a massive series deficit, then falling one goal short of the championship is distinctly cruel. That was the fate of the 2024 Oilers, whose captain and scoring leader, Connor McDavid, sat in solemn silence in the visitors' dressing room in Florida as he was named the Conn Smythe Trophy winner. McDavid's 42-point postseason was supernatural. His 34 assists set a playoff record.
4 Oilers-Stars battles that'll decide huge rematch

1 month ago | thescore.com | Nick Faris

The Dallas Stars are into their third consecutive Western Conference Final. The Edmonton Oilers aim to repeat as conference champions. Below are some of the battles that'll shape their best-of-seven rematch beginning Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET in Texas. The Stars wouldn't have won a round if playoff scoring leader Mikko Rantanen still played for Colorado or Carolina.
NHL penalty calls fell, then surged. Who's capitalizing?

1 month ago | thescore.com | Nick Faris

NHL referees swallowed their whistles in the regular season and sent players to the box with historic rarity. The number of power plays in the average matchup - 2.71 per team - plunged without warning. Today's games are played at breakneck speed, but the officiating standard is pretty lenient. Refs called far more penalties in the plodding clutch-and-grab era. This season's PP attempt rate, a record low, presents a complete contrast to the obstruction crackdown that followed the 2005 lockout.
3 shutout streaks changed the course of Round 2

1 month ago | thescore.com | Nick Faris

Stuart Skinner was kneeling in no man's land on the outskirts of the crease when a superstar teammate scored on him in Game 3. Leon Draisaitl's tiebreaking deflection into his own net with 0.4 seconds on the clock turned out to be the last goal of the Golden Knights' season. Skinner crouched for a cursory faceoff, left the ice, and returned to blank Vegas for the next 127 minutes of action.