NHL

Things got nice and sloshy in Pittsburgh Wednesday -- where Penguins players and fans teamed up to chug beers right on the street during the Stanley Cup victory parade!

Players like Trevor Daley and Ian Cole slammed brews on their pickup truck -- while Jake Guentzel made a beer-swiggin' deal with fans ... I'll sign your can, if you chug the brew.

Shocker, the fan agreed to the terms of the deal.

Congrats!

AWESOME ... and also ... GROSS!!!

After the Pittsburgh Penguins won Lord Stanley's Cup on Sunday, fans took to the streets and celebrated by EATING RAW DEAD CATFISH!

Why, you ask?

The Penguins beat the Nashville Predators -- whose fans often throw dead catfish on the ice during games.

The eating of the dead, raw catfish is obviously symbolic -- then again, so is buying one of those fake mini-Stanley Cups and running around with that instead.

Pittsburgh PD tells us they had no arrests related to the celebration and 1 medical transport for someone who fell and hit their head.

Congrats! (And also, good luck to your toilets).

The Nashville Predators fan who chucked a DEAD CATFISH on the ice during game 1 of the Stanley Cup finals has been hit with criminal charges ... officials say.

Officials say 36-year-old Jacob Waddell smuggled the dead fish into PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh on Monday -- and flung it onto the ice as the Preds took on the Pittsburgh Penguins.

FYI, the catfish toss has become a tradition at Predators home games ... so doing it on the road is really like a slap in the face to the opposing team.

Waddell has bragged online that he snuck the fish into the arena by vacuum sealing it and stuffing it into his shorts ... then unwrapping it in a bathroom once inside.

He unleashed the fish in the 2nd period.

Waddell was immediately escorted out of the building -- and now, prosecutors in Pittsburgh have charged him with disorderly conduct, possessing instruments of crime and disrupting meetings/processions.

It's kind of a big deal -- if convicted on all counts he could face around 6 years behind bars.

The Preds lost the game 5-3, but Waddell is being hailed as a hero in Nashville ... just ask Carrie Underwood, who tweeted, "My hero."

Ex-NHL player Dave Gove -- a member of the Carolina Hurricanes 2006 Stanley Cup team -- died this week and officials believe a heroin overdose is to blame.

Gove struggled with addiction and had entered a rehab facility in Pittsburgh. He was reportedly found dead at the treatment center on Wednesday with bags of heroin near his body, according to KDKA.

Gove only played briefly in the NHL before becoming a coach for the Pittsburgh Penguins minor league hockey team in West Virginia.

While Gove wasn't a star on the Hurricanes, he did get a Stanley Cup ring -- which he eventually auctioned off in 2015.

Former NHL star Mike Comrie -- once married to Hilary Duff -- is under investigation by the LAPD for allegedly raping a woman at his L.A. home, but he claims it was consensual ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell us the woman claims she met up with Comrie at a bar Saturday night and went back to his West L.A. condo. She claims he raped her multiple times.

The woman says she almost immediately went to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center nearby, and a rape kit was administered.

Sources connected with Comrie say he's known the woman for a long time and acknowledges he had sex with her, but insists she gave full consent. The sources also say the encounter was a 3-way and the other woman has not filed any complaint.

We're told so far Comrie has not spoken to cops.

How good is Justin Bieber at hockey? So good that an NHL goalie thinks he'd be helpless to stop the scoring machine from Toronto.

Bieber again showed his ice skills this past weekend ... scoring a pretty sick goal in the celebrity game during the NHL's All-Star festivities ... and getting roughed up a little too.

We got Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford -- an All-Star himself -- out at LAX and asked him if Justin would've gotten his point had Crawford been in goal.

If you thought he was gonna diss Bieber ... it's not too late to say you're sorry.

Fifth Harmony canceled their singing gig at the NHL All-Star game after Dinah became sick and had to be treated by paramedics ... TMZ has learned.

Sources at The Staples Center tell us the girls were prepping to sing the National Anthem at Saturday's game when Dinah fell physically ill. We're told someone from the dressing room asked for paramedics who put Dinah on a stretcher.

Our sources say Dinah was evaluated by EMTs but the decision was ultimately made not to transport her to a hospital.

Listen up, ladies ... Erin Andrews is about to tell you how she almost messed up one of the sweetest storybook proposals of all time ... and the culprit was HER FEAR.

Stanley Panther says he was BETRAYED by his own NHL team -- claiming he was unfairly fired as the team mascot after a serious bout with depression because the honchos didn't like his attitude.

Rick Fox is serving up a big "I Told You So" to anyone who balked at his prediction League of Legends would outgrow the NHL ... and says their recent historic sell out of Staples Center is proof he was right.

We had talked to Fox a little while ago at LAX (guy flies more than Superman) and he'd told us he thinks eSports has a chance to pass the NHL as the nation's fourth sport.

Some balked at the idea ... but that was before the recent League of Legends championships sold out Staples center in an incredible 45 minutes and drew 36 million viewers ... something that doesn't happen in the NHL.

When we got Fox -- who, of course, owns an eSports team -- at LAX ... it was time for the 3 time champion to win another ring ... at gloating.

Tampa Bay Lighting winger J.T. Brown didn't get all of his aggression out on the ice Monday night -- smashing a fan's iPhone moments after he was sent to the penalty box after an all-out brawl.

Brown went straight Conor McGregor on Nashville Predator defenseman Ryan Ellis after a blindside hit in the 3rd period.

As Brown was sent off the ice, Preds fan Brendan Johansen began to heckle him ... and that's when Brown reached up and smashed the cell phone.

We spoke with Johansen who says he's not mad and isn't taking any legal action -- but says he hopes the Lightning will spring to get him a new phone ... because his screen got shattered in the mayhem.

As for the game, the Predators won 3-1.

Wayne Gretzky isn't afraid of losing his seat at the top of the all-time regular season goals list ... matter of fact, he HOPES Alex Ovechkin passes his total of 894.

TMZ Sports ran into the Great One at LAX ... when we asked him if the Washington Capitals star could break his nearly untouchable goals record.

"I hope he does, he's a great player." Gretzky says. "Records are made to be broken."

Gretzky also shares why he doesn't golf with PGA's star son-in-law, Dustin Johnson ... and it's a pretty legitimate reason. Check it out.

NHL legend Jeremy Roenick says Colin Kaepernick's National Anthem protest is "pretty disgusting" -- and he believes coaches should be allowed to bench players who follow Colin's lead.

TMZ Sports spoke with Roenick specifically about NHL coach John Tortorella -- who's also coaching Team USA in the upcoming World Cup of Hockey.

Tortorella recently warned his players if they sit during the National Anthem, they will sit for the entire game. Some people are pissed ... Roenick is NOT one of them.

NHL legend Jeremy Roenick says he wants to personally mentor Justin Bieber on the ice -- telling TMZ Sports he GUARANTEES he can take JB's skills to the next level.

Roenick says he saw the new hockey footage Bieber posted online this week -- and was genuinely impressed ... but says the guy has serious room to grow.

"He's pretty tough up top, I don't know about the calves and the thighs though ... it's a little weak."

So, what's the plan?

Jeremy says he'll put together a REAL comprehensive hockey-based workout plan for Bieber -- noting, "I will make you a WAY better hockey player."

NHL superstar Evander Kane just pled not guilty to charges he got physical with several women at a Buffalo bikini bar back in June ... and says VIDEO evidence will prove he did nothing wrong.

The Buffalo Sabres star was arrested earlier this month -- after officials say he got violent during a night at Bottoms Up bar on June 24th.

According to media reports, Kane allegedly yanked one of the women by the hair and grabbed her throat while pushing her into his car.

The bouncer tried to break it up and Kane put his hands on him too. The entire incident was reportedly captured on security video.

But on Monday, Kane went before a judge in Buffalo City Court ... and pled NOT GUILTY to criminal trespassing, harassment and disorderly conduct.

If found guilty, Kane faces up to 90 days in jail ... however, first time offenders are rarely locked up, according to the DA.

Kane is due back in court on September 9th.

Ray Bourque's blood alcohol level was more than 3 TIMES the legal limit when the Boston Bruins legend was arrested for drunk driving this weekend ... this according to the police report.

55-year-old Bourque -- considered one of the greatest defensemen of all time -- was arrested in Andover, Mass. on Friday night after allegedly rear-ending a minivan at 11:30 PM.

Cops arrived to the scene and arrested Bourque -- who admitted to "having a few drinks" at the Andover Country Club, according to the police report obtained by the Eagle Tribune.

Bourque appeared in court earlier today and pled not guilty to OUI -- operating under the influence.

Bourque issued a statement -- saying, "For the first time in my life, I find myself in unfamiliar territory. I am not happy about the situation I put myself into on Friday night."

"I am a very proud person that accepts the responsibility of my actions and have always accepted being in the media eye."