NHL

Conor McGregor provided inspiration to the Boston Bruins by giving a thunderous pep talk before Saturday night's game against the Columbus Blue Jackets ... kinda surprising given his felony robbery arrest just days before.

Conor was the guest of honor at TD Garden ... check out his roaring speech to the Bruins in the locker room.

The crowd went crazy when Conor came out for a ceremonial puck drop.

During the game, he went crazy with fans and went back into the locker room to congratulate the Bruins on their win.

Earlier in the day, Conor was in Chicago leading the St. Patrick's Day Parade.

As we reported, Conor was arrested for robbery/strong-arm and criminal mischief over $1,000 in Miami Monday morning for smashing a fan's cellphone and then taking it.

The fan, Ahmed Abdirzak, is suing Conor, claiming battery, assault and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

10:16 AM PT -- The NHL has concluded its investigation and has determined Rielly did NOT use homophobic language ... although it was not revealed what he DID say.

"Following a thorough investigation, the National Hockey League has determined that Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly did not direct a homophobic slur at referee Brad Meier during last night's game with the Tampa Bay Lightning at Scotiabank Arena," Colin Campbell, Senior EVP of Operations said in a statement.

"League officials interviewed several of the participants in the game - including Rielly and Meier - and reviewed audio of the alleged incident. All of those interviewed adamantly denied that Rielly uttered a slur and the audio supported their statements.

The National Hockey League does not tolerate language or gestures that disparage anyone based upon their race, creed or sexual orientation and continues to work to ensure that our games are played in a welcoming atmosphere for all of our players, coaches, officials and fans."

The NHL has launched an investigation into Morgan Rielly -- after a hot mic seems to have captured the Maple Leafs star calling a referee a "f*cking f***ot" ... but there's a twist.

It all went down during Monday's Leafs vs. Tampa Bay Lightning game -- when Rielly got into a heated exchange with a ref ... and people watching on TV claim they heard the homophobic slur.

There's a debate over whether Rielly used the homophobic f-word or if he said, "F*cking rag it" ... a hockey term that essentially means to freeze the puck and waste time.

Either way, the NHL says it's investigating -- "The NHL is aware of reports that a homophobic slur was used during the Maple Leafs-Lightning game," the league announced Monday.

"The League is investigating the incident and will have no further comment until this investigation is completed."

Leafs GM Kyle Dubas also addressed the alleged slur, saying "The issue of homophobia is one the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club strongly condems and takes very seriously. We are in communication with the NHL and are cooperating fully with their office."

The 25-year-old was NOT penalized during the game for whatever he said ... but the league has handed down punishments from game suspensions to fines in recent incidents.

Rielly -- the 5th overall pick to the Leafs in the 2012 draft and one of the top scoring defensemen in the league this season -- has yet to address the incident.

Rielly seems to be a support of the LBGTQ community -- and famously posted a pro-gay rights tweet in August saying, "Happy pride day Vancouver."

NHL Hall of Famer Ted Lindsay -- who was instrumental in founding the NHL Player's Association -- died Monday. He was 93.

Lindsay had been in hospice care toward the end of his life. And, that's all the family is saying right now.

Lindsay is a hockey legend -- he scored 851 points in his 17-year NHL career and raised the Stanley Cup on 4 different occasions with the Detroit Red Wings, alongside teammates Gordie Howe and Sid Abel.

In fact, it was Lindsay who started the tradition of hoisting the Cup and skating it around the ice after winning the championship. How cool is that?!

He was also such a stud, the NHLPA named the annual MVP Award after Lindsay.

"Terrible Ted" lit up the NHL during the 1949-50 season when he won the Art Ross Trophy as the league's leading scorer with 78 points in 69 games. He also racked up 141 penalty minutes that season.

While still a force on the ice in 1957, Lindsay was also a key figure in establishing the original NHLPA -- teaming up with other players like Bill Gadsby, Doug Harvey, Fern Flaman, Gus Mortson and Jim Thomson.

After he retired in 1965, Lindsay went on to start the Ted Lindsay Foundation -- which raises money to autism-related causes. So far, the TLF has raised more than $4 million.

Lindsay was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1966 -- with the following stat line: 379 goals, 472 assists and 851 points in 1,068 games.

Nobody in the history of dating has ever screwed up THIS badly ...

A man at a Colorado Avalanche game elbowed his girlfriend in the head trying to catch a puck ... and then gave the souvenir to another woman -- and his GF was PISSSSSEEDDD!!!!

It all went down at the Avs-Jets game in Denver on Wednesday night ... when Colorado star Gabriel Landeskog flipped a puck in the stands to give fans a shot at some memorabilia.

That's when a guy committed the ultimate dating foul -- not only catching his GF with a flying 'bow ... but GIVING AWAY the prize to another woman!!

His date could not have been any less pleased with him ... but there was some good news -- the Avs went on to win 7-1!!

“I think, total, that thing has seen 33 countries, four IEDs, and two combat zones.”

That's Ken Brasington -- a Washington superfan and Marine Corps veteran -- describing his beloved Nationals cap that he nearly lost ... and yeah, the story of him getting it back is incredible.

Ken was at the Caps-Hurricanes game in Raleigh last Friday ... when his favorite hat -- that he had worn during his tours of duty across the world since he bought it back in 2004 -- was snatched off his head and thrown onto the ice in celebration of Alex Ovechkin's hat trick.

Brasington says he watched the beat-up headwear hit the ice in horror ... and described the ensuing panic to get the cap back as "a nightmare."

"Everybody that knows me knows me for wearing that Nationals hat," Brasington told The Washington Post, who first reported the unbelievable story.

"It’s the ugliest. It probably has to be washed once a week because it ends up smelling so bad. It’s a special piece of where I’ve been and it kind of describes me."

Ken says he immediately tried after the game to get the cap back from Hurricanes officials ... but was told it couldn't happen -- even after he described where the hat had been and how much it meant to him.

But, Brasington didn't give up ... and thanks to the help of a Hurricanes beat writer -- Ken got in touch with the Hurricanes' manager of communications and team services, who helped get the hat back.

"There was a good amount of hats in the bag, but his hat was right on top," Pace Sagester said ... “From the way that he had described it to us, we pretty much knew right away that that was the hat."

"It’s super beat up; the bill has, like, chunks missing out of it. It’s almost pink it’s so faded. It’s not something I would want to put on my head, but it’s special to him."

Pace was able to ship the cap from Carolina back to Brasington in Washington ... and even sent him a brand-new Hurricanes one in case Ken wanted to officially retire the Nats cap.

As for the hat's future ... Brasington says after the close call -- he might consider hanging it up, or even putting it on display in a shadow box.

"That way, everybody wins," Brasington says ... “I keep my hat, and [my wife] doesn’t have to see me wearing it."

"Why would you wanna watch someone play a video game?!"

Ninja's heard that question a lot recently ... and the eSports legend says his answer to his hating-ass haters is simple -- 'cause he's really freakin' good at it.

In fact ... the Fortnite prodigy says it's actually similar to why people watch NFL, MLB or NHL players!!!

"There's so many people like, 'Well, why do you watch people play video games when you can go play video games yourself?' And, it's like, can you do that? Can you compete at that high of level and be entertaining?"

"You watch the NFL and things like that because you want to watch people do things that you know you can't. It's the same thing with gaming and streaming."

Ninja made the statements Monday night on 'The Tonight Show' to Jimmy Fallon ... and it's pretty clear he's growing tired of people questioning his insane online popularity.

"Dude, it's so funny, man. Why would you want to watch the best of the best play football, soccer, hockey??"

It's a great point ... and Ninja's clearly proving it every day -- the guy has 12.5 MILLION followers on Twitch, AND over 20 MILLION subscribers on YouTube!!!

NHL star Evander Kane is calling out "Jane Doe" -- claiming the woman accusing him of stiffing her out of $3 MILLION for aborting his child must reveal her REAL NAME if she's gonna proceed with her lawsuit.

TMZ Sports broke the story ... the accuser filed a lawsuit against Kane claiming she's been dating the 27-year-old on-and-off since 2015 and had 2 abortions during their relationship.

But, in May 2018, the woman claims she got pregnant for the 3rd time -- but decided she wanted to keep the baby. It wasn't until Kane offered a $3 million check that she agreed to terminate.

In her suit, Doe claims she went through with the procedure but Kane never ponied up the dough -- so she sued.

Kane has previously denied the allegations -- and now he's filed new legal docs asking the judge to throw out the case.

In his papers, Kane argues that even if he did agree to the $3 million deal, it was made in a private, consensual sexual setting and the court has no authority to enforce it.

He also argues that since he's not accused of committing a crime, the accuser should not be able to hide behind an alias -- and if the case moves forward, she should use her real name instead of Jane Doe.

Kane's strategy is obvious -- if the judge forces her to reveal her name, Kane believes she would be more likely to drop the suit out of fear of embarrassment.

What's cuter than a puppy playing hockey with the St. Louis Blues??

ABSOLUTELY NOTHING ... 'cause this is the most freakin' adorable thing you'll ever see!!!

The Blues adopted a Labrador Retriever just a few weeks ago ... and they finally let him hit the ice with the squad Thursday -- and the ensuing cuteness was uncontrollable.

The pup -- named Barclay, or Barc for short -- showed off his speed AND his stick-handling skills ... all while his ears flopped in the chill and his big paws tore up the ice.

LOOK AT HIM!!!!!!!

The Blues have big plans for the pup -- who was named after legendary Blues defenseman Barclay Plager -- 'cause the squad says they're going to train him to be a future assistance dog.

In the meantime ... he'll forever remain the cutest member of the Blues.

Eat your heart out, Alex Pietrangelo.

Former NHL star Sheldon Souray's dog allegedly bit a young girl -- injuring her -- and now the stud defenseman is facing a lawsuit.

Souray played 13 seasons in the NHL -- for the Devils, Canadiens, Oilers, Stars and Ducks -- and was known for his ridiculously hard slap shot.

In the civil suit -- filed last week in L.A. County Court -- Souray is accused of failing to control his dog ... and as a result, the animal allegedly bit the kid in the hallway of her Beverly Hills apartment building in October 2017.

According to the lawsuit, Souray should've known about his dog's "unpredictable and violent/dangerous propensities."

Interesting to note ... 2 months after the alleged incident, Souray posted a picture of his dog on Instagram, with the caption ... "Dougie’s been in bad boy school for 6 weeks. Comes home next week. Gonna be a party."

It's unclear if Dougie is the dog involved in the alleged incident ... or if the alleged incident had anything to do with him being sent to "bad boy school."

The alleged victim is asking for over $25k from Souray ... but the exact amount is unclear.

10:56 AM PT -- Evander Kane and his attorney have issued a statement adamantly denying the allegations in the suit.

"We’ve received notice of the filing of a lawsuit by someone referred to as Jane Doe alleging a breach of contract against Evander Kane," the statement reads.

"We firmly believe that this lawsuit is baseless both factually and legally. We will aggressively defend this claim in court on Evander’s behalf and assert all applicable counterclaims."

NHL superstar Evander Kane is being sued by a woman who claims he promised to pay her $3 MILLION to abort their child ... so she did ... but he never ponied up the dough.

It's all in a lawsuit filed by a woman using the alias "Jane Doe" to protect her identity. In the suit, the woman claims she started dating Kane in 2015.

Doe claims Kane got her pregnant in 2016 -- but they both agreed to get an abortion.

They continued to have a sexual relationship and he knocked her up again in 2017. Doe claims Kane pressured her to abort again because a baby would damage his hockey career ... and also ruin the relationship he had with his official "girlfriend."

The woman ultimately agreed to a 2nd abortion.

Then in May 2018, Doe claims Kane got her pregnant for a 3rd time -- even though she had used Plan B as a last-ditch attempt at birth control.

But, this time, Doe claims she did not want to abort -- which caused problems with Kane.

In her suit, Doe claims Kane told her proceeding with the pregnancy would be a "huge mistake" so he started "bullying" her into seeking a 3rd abortion.

When she refused, Doe claims Kane offered her $1 million to change her mind. She told him no. So, Kane came back with a $3 million offer ... and it was an offer Doe admits she couldn't refuse.

Doe claims she had the abortion in June 2018 -- but Kane never made good on the $3 million payment.

When she followed up with him, Doe claims Kane strung her along ... until finally telling her he wasn't going to make the payment.

She claims Kane tried to turn the tables and accused her of extortion -- and ultimately instructed her to solely deal with his attorney.

The woman is suing for more than $6 MILLION for the $3 million payment -- AND other damages including intentional infliction of emotional distress.

We've reached out to Kane's attorney for comment -- so far, no word back.

27-year-old Kane is one of the best hockey players in the NHL -- and recently signed a 7-year, $49 million contract extension.

Kane was the 4th overall pick in the 2009 NHL Draft and went on to score 190 goals in his career ever since.

The Pittsburgh Penguins will honor the victims and families of those affected by this weekend's Synagogue shooting by wearing a special "Stronger Than Hate" patch on their jerseys Tuesday night.

The team says it will also donate $50,000 to help victims -- and will give all proceeds from the evening's 50/50 raffle to the cause.

There's more ... each player -- from Sidney Crosby to Evgeni Malkin -- will sign their jerseys after the game against the New York Islanders and donate them to be auctioned off with proceeds helping the victims.

As we previously reported ... 11 people were murdered after an anti-Semitic shooter opened fire inside the Tree of Life synagogue on Saturday.

Because of Max Pacioretty's trade to Vegas ... somebody else in Florida won't have to fear 'The Purge' -- 'cause the NHL superstar just sold his safe room mansion FOR $3.1 MIL!!!

Max used to play for the Canadians up in Montreal ... and obviously needed a snow escape -- so he took off to Boca Raton to catch rays on off days.

But, with his move to the Golden Knights this offseason ... no need for a sun house anymore -- so the winger punted the palace.

It's too bad ... 'cause Max couldn't have been more protected in the mansion -- it featured smart house technology, weather resistant roofing and a freakin' SAFE ROOM!!!

The crib also had a salt water pool AND a basketball court ... obviously for use on days when the house's protection wasn't necessary.

Pierre-Edouard Bellemare won't have to worry about helmet hair when the NHL season kicks off Thursday night ... 'cause the Vegas Golden Knights star got a fresh bald haircut from some tough ladies battling cancer!!

The French winger joined a ferocious group of breast cancer patients for a head-shaving bash outside T-Mobile Arena on Tuesday ... as part of the beginning Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Not only does P.E.B. go all the way in with the fresh cut ... he returns the favor and puts his barber skills to use as well!!

Bellemare loved it. The women loved it. We're loving it.

And, if this gesture wasn't awesome enough for you ... the event raised $20,000 for the American Cancer Society (click here to donate).

The Capitals' first-ever Stanley Cup came with boobs, booze, F-bombs and even a baby for captain Alex Ovechkin ... and on Monday night -- it came with a boat-load of diamonds too!!!

Ovi, T.J. Oshie and the rest of the squad picked up their championship rings -- and yeah, they're icy.

The team says they feature 252 diamonds, 35 rubies and a big-ass sapphire ... all set into a 14-karat white and yellow gold ring.

The inside is engraved with the scores of the series that led them to the cup too. Pretty cool, right??

It's the diamond-topper to a Washington summer that kicked off with a boob flash during the cup ceremony ... followed by an F-bomb-laced parade -- and finished with LOTS of booze.

Philadelphia Flyers forward Jori Lehtera is DENYING any involvement with a suspected Finnish coke ring -- after authorities raided a cottage he owns in his home country.

Details are sketchy at this point, but Finnish news outlets say 7 people have already been locked up in connection to the suspected drug ring.

Local news outlets are saying cops are focusing on 2 kilos of cocaine (worth about $25k each). Unclear if they found the load during the raids or if that's what they suspect is being distributed.

Officials have reportedly seized more than $700,000 in jewelry and other valuables and have more than 23 persons of interest in the case.

30-year-old Jori was not at the cottage when it was raided over the summer. No charges have been filed against him and he's reportedly denied all wrongdoing.

Jori is a decent NHL player. He's in the middle of a 3-year, $14.1 million contract.

TMZ Sports has obtained police video showing a drunk Richard Panik getting arrested at an Arizona bar back in April ... and name dropping his NHL team to try to get out of trouble.

The Arizona Coyotes winger was busted for trespassing outside of Bevvy on April 8. Bar staffers told cops the 27-year-old was so intoxicated when he arrived around 8:50 PM, they wouldn't even let him inside.

Panik allegedly tried to shove his way past security -- so bar staffers called the cops. That's when the video starts.

Once the Scottsdale P.D. arrived, the video shows Panik being standoffish and refusing to leave. He also appears to be pretty hammered.

Panik tries to sass the officers saying, "I know my law" -- to which the cop responds, "You might know your law, but I'm a law enforcement officer so I think I know what I'm talking about."

The officer finally decides he's had enough and orders Panik into custody warning, "Don't fight with me me or you'll go on the ground real hard."

Panik mentions playing for the Coyotes multiple times -- but the cops don't really give a crap.

He was eventually arrested for trespassing and hauled to a nearby jail.

Panik appeared in court on Wednesday and pled guilty to criminal trespass. He's been ordered to complete a diversion program (most likely an alcohol education course).

It's a good deal for Panik considering he was facing up to 30 days in jail. He's due back in court on Sept. 5.