UCLA begins game with four regular starters on the bench and the Bruins go on to rout an overmatched Sacramento State.
Champions Classic takeaways: Michigan State, Duke pick up top-25 wins at Madison Square Garden
Michigan State looked dominant in its win over Kentucky, while Duke was able to outlast Kansas with Darryn Peterson sidelined due to injury.
Brewers say Brandon Woodruff's return doesn't mean a Freddy Peralta trade is imminent: 'Independent decisions'
The Mets need starting pitching, and there are options this offseason, whether it's in the free agent or trade market.
However, the Brewers are making it known that ace Freddy Peralta being dealt isn't inevitable.
After Brandon Woodruff was one of just four players to accept the $22 million qualifying offer to return to Milwaukee, many believed it was a precursor to the Brewers trading Peralta -- who is on an expiring contract -- to recoup assets. ESPN's Jeff Passan cited executives with interest who believed the chance for a Peralta trade would "drastically increase" if Woodruff took the qualifying offer.
Brewers owner Mark Attanasio and president of baseball operations Matt Arnoldcommented to The Athletic late Tuesday that one decision doesn't impact the other.
“Independent decisions Matt and his group will make,” Attanasio told The Athletic. “We’re certainly excited about our rotation now.”
Peralta is set to make just $8 million in 2026, a very team-friendly deal that the Brewers could afford, but with the threat of losing their best pitcher to free agency at the end of the season, it could be the best chance to get the most back in a deal, especially after the year the 29-year-old just had. The 2025 season was arguably Peralta's best as a pro. In 33 starts, he pitched to a 17-6 record and a 2.70 ERA. He made his second All-Star team and was fifth in Cy Young voting.
Currently, the Mets' starting rotation is in a state of uncertainty. Sean Manaea, Clay Holmes, Kodai Senga and Nolan McLean are expected to be a part of the mix while Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns looks to add and remake the rotation this offseason.
What pitcher or pitchers he can obtain is not yet known as Stearns navigates the ever-evolving offseason.
"There are teams that are still feeling out where they're heading this offseason," Stearns told SNY's Andy Martino at the GM Meetings. "I have experience and recognize that positions at the GM Meetings may not always be the position a club takes at the Winter Meetings and may not be the position a club takes at the end of January. These things can evolve at the end of the offseason and be really challenging for me to predict at this point...what we try to do is stay involved in the conversations and make sure we're informed as much as possible and that allows us to make the best decisions."
Aside from Peralta, the Mets could try and pry other top-line starters like Tarik Skubal from their respective clubs. They have the young talent like Jonah Tong and Brandon Sproat that they can use as trade chips, but it's not the only avenue Stearns has to add to the Mets rotation.
Other arms like Dylan Cease, Framber Valdez and Michael King are available via free agency.
Kansas star freshman Darryn Peterson to have his hamstring injury re-evaluated
A lingering hamstring injury caused Darryn Peterson to miss a third consecutive game for Kansas, and coach Bill Self is not sure when the nation’s top recruit and potentially the top pick in next year’s NBA draft might be ready to play again. Peterson has not played since getting hurt during a pregame shootaround on Nov. 11. Self said the team feels good about how it is handling Peterson and doesn't expect the absence to be “long at all.”
Connor Bedard Scores Another Hat Trick; Blackhawks Defeat Flames 5-2
The Chicago Blackhawks took on the Calgary Flames at the United Center on Wednesday in their 19th game of the season. This is the second meeting between the two clubs.
The Blackhawks came in feeling good about themselves after a big win over the Toronto Maple Leafs over the weekend. The Flames arrived in Chicago with the worst record in the National Hockey League, so they were looking for a spark in any way they could get it.
Earlier this season, the Blackhawks and Flames met up in Calgary. It was a 4-0 shutout victory for Chicago, and it featured a lot of physical play, including multiple fights.
At 15:05 of the first period, Ryan Donato ended a little bit of a scoring slump by giving the Blackhawks a 1-0 lead. On the goal, Louis Crevier earned another assist, giving him 8 on the season. Oliver Moore also picked up an assist.
Almost a full period later to the minute, at 15:11 of the second, Connor Bedard scored with a high-effort play. He used his newfound extra burst to reach the puck and poke it into the net through the wickets of goalie Dustin Wolf. Sam Rinzel earned the helper on the goal with his nice puck-clearing pass from the defensive zone.
Late in the second, the Calgary Flames scored their first goal of the season against the Blackhawks. It almost took them five full periods, but Matt Coronato's goal pulled them within one.
Eventually, in the third period, the Flames found a way to tie the game. Rasmus Anderson ripped one past Arvid Soderblom to even things up at two goals apiece.
Not even two minutes of game clock later, Connor Bedard scored again with a snipe of his own. Ryan Greene made a perfect pass to find him, and Bedard didn't miss.
Oliver Moore later scored his first goal at home, and second of his career. That gave the Blackhawks some insurance, which Moore made mention of after the game as a reason to be extra proud of the goal.
With the net empty for Calgary as they tried to come back, Connor Bedard launched one from his defensive zone into the vacant cage for the hat trick. It is his second hat trick of the season.
Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) on Xgood night Hawks fans❤️❤️❤️Bedard is now up to 13 goals and 29 points in 19 games played. The run that he is on is special, as he continues to make his case for Team Canada at the Olympics.
The 5-2 score following Bedard's hat trick stood as the final, and the Blackhawks are now 10-5-4 with 24 points in the standings. They are getting awfully close to being in a playoff spot on American Thanksgiving, which is a noteworthy checkpoint in the NHL.
Watch Every Blackhawks Goal
Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) on Xdelivering you this beauty🤩
Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) on Xjust tap it in, tap tap tap it in
Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) on XConnor Bedard what a shot😮💨
Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) on Xgood golly, Ollie‼️
Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) on Xsecond career hat trick✅Next Up For Chicago
The Chicago Blackhawks will return to the ice on Thursday night for a date with the Seattle Kraken, who are not off to a terrible start themselves. Earlier this month, the Blackhawks and Kraken met up in Seattle, with a 3-1 decision in favor of the home team.
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Islanders blast Mikko Rantanen for 'disrespectful' boarding penalty on Alexander Romanov
The Islanders held on for a 3-2 win over the Stars in Dallas on Tuesday night, improving their record on this hellish road trip to 5-1-0, but the first thing on the team's mind was for Alexander Romanov.
With time running out in the third period, Stars forward Mikko Rantanen hit Romanov from behind, leading to the Islanders defenseman sliding face-first into the boards behind New York's goal. Romanov was a heap on the ice as officials stopped play with just 27.3 seconds remaining and waved to the benches to get medical personnel to tend to him.
Rantanen was assessed a five-minute major penalty for boarding and a game misconduct for the hit.
Mikko Rantanen was assessed a 5 minute major penalty for boarding and a game misconduct for this hit on Alexander Romanov. pic.twitter.com/nWnQwelfOQ
— Islanders Videos (@SNY_Islanders) November 19, 2025
"I hope he's going to be ok. At this moment, I don't know exactly what it is," Islanders head coach Patrick Roy said after the game. "But all I'm going to say is, when you see the numbers, you have to lay off. Everybody knows that. I mean, you don't go through the guy. I'm proud of the way that our guys handled it afterwards. No one was happy to see someone get hurt like this. And like I said, to me, it's disrespectful for our guy."
Roy, who was the Avalanche head coach when the team drafted Rantanen 10th overall in the 2015 NHL Draft, said he knew it wasn't intentional, but that doesn't excuse the hit.
"I was in Colorado when [Rantanen] was drafted there, and it's not his style," he said. "But at the same time, that should not be part of our game."
Newsday's Andrew Gross reported from Dallas that Romanov was still in the arena at the time the game ended and did not have to be transported to another facility for examination, and that the mood with the Islanders is equal parts concern and anger.
"I hope he's doing good," said Calum Ritchie, who scored his first goal as an Islander on Tuesday. "That's a tough play there at the end and thankfully, we ended up getting the win for him."
"Hopefully he's alright," Ryan Pulock said. "Wasn't pretty from the bench."
"A lot happens. We're not happy to see one of our best defenseman. Hopefully, he's fine. It's dangerous," Jean-Gabriel Pageau said of the play. "We all saw it from the ice, I'm sure you guys have a different view and the replays and stuff, so you guys make your own statement on it. And for us, it's one of our friends, one of our teammates. Never fun to see that."
Pageau was asked if the play overshadowed their win on Tuesday, and the veteran center said that their thoughts are with their teammate.
"Put yourself in my shoes, one of your friends gets hurt on the ice, it's way more important than hockey to me," he said. "Obviously, we get two points... we're happy about that, but our first concern was Romy and the rest took care of itself."
Placing all 30 MLB teams in free agency tiers, from biggest spenders to 'Broke Boys'
The "Baseball Bar-B-Cast” is here to help guide you through this winter of MLB free agency, which began with a minor splash from the Seattle Mariners, who re-signed first baseman Josh Naylor to a five-year, $92.5 million deal.
On top of that, a record four players across the league agreed to qualifying offers of one year, $22.025 million. While the biggest fish in the free agency sea are still there for the taking, only a small number of teams are realistically in play for prized players like Kyle Tucker or Alex Bregman. Simply put, not many teams are willing or able to afford the mega contracts those players will demand.
That’s why, in the latest episode of “Baseball Bar-B-Cast,” Yahoo Sports’ Jordan Shusterman and Jake Mintz divided all 30 teams into nine different tiers based on how they plan to approach free agency, from the biggest spenders (Funny Money) to the most frugal franchises (Broke Boys).
Tier 1: Funny Money
Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Mets
These two teams are willing and able to spend with essentially no limit, luxury tax be damned. For the Dodgers, the strategy has already paid off massively with back-to-back World Series titles. Their enormous payroll has sparked conversations about the spending gap in baseball and could lead to heated collective bargaining negotiations and a potential lockout in 2027.
"I'm interested in how evil do they get, right?” Mintz said of the Dodgers. “They have now won two in a row. The lockout is approaching. We could be operating under a new financial system in, you know, a year's time. Does that impact the way the Dodgers approach this winter where they're like, 'This is our last chance to really go nut nut, and maybe Kyle Tucker's contract is grandfathered in, let's get him on our roster.'"
Daniel Shirey via Getty Images
The Mets, on the other hand, have spent big without much to show for it so far.
"I'm most interested in which of the two guys do they bring back: [Pete] Alonso and [Edwin] Díaz?” Mintz asked. “And beyond that, how do they seek to supplement the roster? They have some money coming off the books, but if they try and keep Alonso and Díaz, it's less money than you think.”
Tier 2: Rich Men North of Richmond
New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies, Toronto Blue Jays
While this group isn’t afraid to open up the checkbook, they’re a tier behind the Dodgers and Mets. For now.
“Let's not pretend like the Yankees are not still capable of spending more than everybody but the Dodgers and Mets, and maybe even outspend the Dodgers and Mets in some circumstances,” Shusterman said.
If the Yankees want to sign a big name in free agency, they might have to compete with a Blue Jays team that came within one win of a World Series title.
“Do they act like a behemoth?” Mintz asked of Toronto.
The Phillies, meanwhile, may have to spend all their money just to keep the band together.
“Because of the state of the roster and kind of the direction of their franchise, [the Phillies] arrive at an interesting point here where [Kyle] Schwarber is, of course, the top priority. [J.T.] Realmuto as well,” Shusterman said. “Is there another move? Is there a move on top of that other than just keeping this group together? Is it a Kyle Tucker?”
Tier 3: Have Employed or Do Employ Rafael Devers
San Francisco Giants, Boston Red Sox
By executing a massive midseason trade in June to acquire Rafael Devers from the Red Sox, the Giants showed they’re willing to make aggressive moves to get better. Yet San Francisco missed the playoffs for the fourth straight season anyway, while Boston surged to the postseason.
“The Red Sox, from a roster standpoint and a free agency standpoint, I think is more compelling because the guys they need to try and keep,” Shusterman said. “And the Giants, it's just like, what are you going to do to move this forward?”
Tier 4: You Have Spent But Where Are You?
San Diego Padres, Texas Rangers, Houston Astros, Atlanta Braves, Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Angels
This collection of clubs have handed out huge commitments to big-time players, with varying results, including San Diego’s Fernando Tatis, Texas’ Corey Seager, several extensions to Braves players or even the Angels’ deal with Anthony Rendon. But for multiple reasons, Shusterman said he’s confused and intrigued about where these teams are at.
The team in this tier that feels like it should be a notch higher? The Cubs.
“This team should be a real behemoth with the amount of money they bring in,” Mintz said. “And until they start acting that way, they will be here grouped together with the Padres, Astros, Braves, Rangers, Angels.”
Tier 5: Why Don’t You Just Meet Me in the Middle
Seattle Mariners, Arizona Diamondbacks, Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Royals, Baltimore Orioles, Colorado Rockies
As we mentioned, the Mariners already signed Naylor to a sizable deal. But if they don’t make any other big moves beyond that this offseason, they’re still firmly in baseball’s middle class. Despite these teams slotting into roughly the same spending tier, there’s clearly a wide range of on-field performance here.
“These clubs, five of them actually are in relatively similar points where they're trying to contend and one team is the Rockies,” Mintz said. “But we feel like the Rockies had to be grouped here because if [newly hired president of baseball operations] Paul DePodesta went out and signed Dylan Cease, I would be both surprised and I would be like, ‘that's the Rockies.’”
Tier 6: Too Smart To Spend
Milwaukee Brewers, Tampa Bay Rays, Cleveland Guardians
They draft well, develop well and know how to get the most out of inexpensive rosters. But how do they get over the hump to succeed in the playoffs?
“They have earned both the benefit of the doubt and also kind of the collective frustration of, ‘Hey, you're doing a lot of these other things really well, what if you just spent some more money on, like, really good baseball players?’” Shusterman said.
Tier 7: The Reds
Cincinnati Reds
They were good enough to make the playoffs, but it ended quickly with a lopsided series sweep at the hands of the Dodgers.
“They at least have more good things going on that you can be like, ‘Maybe you are just a couple players away.’ I think that's maybe the most complimentary way I can phrase the Reds’ situation,” Shusterman said. “But also, maybe they don't want to spend any money because they're the Reds and that also happens often.”
Tier 8: Wrong Place, Wrong Time
Minnesota Twins, St. Louis Cardinals, Washington Nationals
These are teams that have spent real money at various points in their histories, but that won’t be the case this winter as they all embrace some degree of rebuilding.
“There's not going to be a whole lot of sexy stuff at the big league level this year,” Mintz said of the trio of teams. “There'll probably be some trades of veteran players away for prospects and as for that reason, anything beyond a one-year deal would surprise me.”
Tier 9: Broke Boys
Miami Marlins, Chicago White Sox, Pittsburgh Pirates, Athletics
Could one of these teams break out of the bottom tier? Maybe the A’s signing Luis Severino to a franchise-record deal of $67 million for three years last season is a sign of things to come. Or maybe it’s an anomaly.
“Until they prove us wrong the way that the A's sort of did last year with Severino, to some degree, we have to expect them to not spend money. … history tells us that they are not going to spend real money in free agency. So if they, if they want to change that, we'll talk about it,” Shusterman.
Bo Horvat nets 13th goal before ejection in Islanders' 3-2 win over Stars
DALLAS (AP) — Bo Horvat scored his 13th goal of the season in the second period before being ejected for high-sticking in the third, and the New York Islanders held on for a 3-2 victory over the Dallas Stars on Tuesday night.
Calum Ritchie and Kyle Palmieri also scored and David Rittich made 22 saves for the Islanders, who are 5-1 on their seven-game road swing.
Jason Robertson scored twice for Dallas, and Jake Oettinger finished with 19 saves.
Robertson, who has eight goals in his last four games, scored on a 6-on-5 backhander with 1:59 left to cut the deficit to one for the Stars, whose five-game winning streak ended.
The Stars, with Oettinger pulled, lost their man advantage with 28 seconds remaining when Mikko Rantanen was ejected for boarding Alexander Romanov, who was injured after going face-first into the boards and had to be helped off the ice.
Then Wyatt Johnson stunningly tied the game with 0.1 seconds, but his goal was waved off by official review for goaltender interference because Robertson collided with Rittich in the crease and knocked him over.
After a penalty-free first and second periods, the whistles came out in a tense third period. Islanders coach Patrick Roy was livid after the boarding by Rantanen, yelling at the officials and at the Stars bench. There were 35 penalty minutes doled out, with seven penalties in the third, including a double-minor and game misconduct for Horvat, who moved into a tie for second in the NHL in goals.
The Stars welcomed back captain Jamie Benn from lung surgery in his season debut. He played 19 shifts, with one shot and four hits.
Ritchie had his first goal and Palmieri had his first short-handed goal as members of the Islanders.
Up next
The Islanders play at Detroit on Thursday, when Dallas visits Vancouver.
Observations From Blues' 3-2 Overtime Loss To Maple Leafs
The extra session has not been kind to the St. Louis Blues this season.
That trend continued on Tuesday.
William Nylander scored at 4:06 of overtime for the shorthanded Toronto Maple Leafs, who ended a five-game losing skid with a 3-2 win over the Blues at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on Tuesday.
Nathan Walker and Dalibor Dvorsky scored for the Blues (6-9-5), who have dropped four of their past five (1-1-3). Jordan Binnington stopped 26 shots.
The Blues began a five-game road trip on Tuesday and continue Thursday against the Philadelphia Flyers.
Let’s look at Tuesday’s observations:
* Terrible sequence for Blues to end a game, highlighted by a highly-skilled goal – The goal, quite frankly, should have never been available for Nylander to begin with.
John Tavares, who was at the end of, or beyond the end of, a long shift at 1:36, goes into the right corner and the Blues converge two skaters (Philip Broberg and Pavel Buchnevich), with Dylan Holloway behind the play waiting for one of his teammates to win the puck back to him for a potential final possession.
Broberg’s shift was at 58 seconds but Buchnevich was the fresher of the players, having just stepped on for his third OT shift at 16 seconds. He comes in to really make sure they can win the puck back. But Tavares is able to kick it out to Morgan Rielly, who finds Nylander coming down the left hand side, he dangles around Holloway, who now has to scramble into position, then dangles around Binnington and tucks the puck inside the near post.
Game over:
Pure filth from Willy Nylander 🔥 pic.twitter.com/iPLWKehSdC
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) November 19, 2025
The Blues had been pretty strong on wall battles in this game, but it’s been a lingering issue in this first quarter of the season and reared its ugly head once again to cost them another point in the extra time, falling to 0-3 in OT, 0-2 in shootouts.
* Blues trying to play Buchnevich through his slumps is a problem – It’s no secret that Buchnevich is struggling and underperforming by a country mile.
We all know he has just three even-strength points (all assists) in 20 games now and just seven points (two goals, five assists) on the season. Unacceptable for an $8 million player.
But until this guy figures it out, if he figures it out, maybe it’s time in these situations for Jim Montgomery to give ice time, especially in overtime, to someone that deserves it.
Dvorsky is your future, how about him? Maybe a Pius Suter, who didn’t see the ice in OT? Maybe get Jimmy Snuggerud, also the future, back out there for another shift since he was on the bench at the 2:07 mark and rested.
But Buchnevich had a blunder of a turnover that resulted in a penalty shot in a 4-3 OT loss to the Seattle Kraken on Nov. 8 and had a chance to win it in his previous shift when Broberg found him in the slot area, only to fumble the puck at his stick and nearly losing it again.
Buchnevich was on the ice for all three goals against (minus-3 for the game) and had one shot attempt in the game (blocked), took an undisciplined penalty in the first period that didn’t cost them a goal but it came not long after in 17:19 of ice time.
He did make a good play to help with Dvorsky’s power-play goal, but the miscues and mistakes are glaring for someone who’s supposed to be a top-end player.
* Fourth line creates a break, momentum – The fourth line of Walker, Oskar Sundqvist and Alexey Toropchenko did what they are supposed to do: create momentum and hard, gritty, grinding shifts.
They did that and opened the scoring with what was the tone-setter for their game when Walker – or should I say Nylander – made it 1-0 for the Blues when the Toronto forward inadvertently batted the puck past Dardene Prairie’s Joseph Woll at 1:50 of the first period for a 1-0 lead. But it came after initial pressure below the goal line that helped fuel the fire in that situation:
that was a reaaaaallllllly favorable bounce. #stlbluespic.twitter.com/rKpdO82Pw8
— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) November 19, 2025
So think about this: Walker scored a goal but didn't have a shot on goal in the game. Pretty rare but it happens on those proverbial own goals.
* Breakdown on tying goal in first starts with undisciplined penalty – The Blues had some good mojo going, but Buchnevich takes an ill-advised offensive zone holding minor at 3:25, and although the Blues killed the play off, Jake McCabe tied the game 1-1 at 5:36 on a floater from the left point.
The Blues had a chance to clear the puck, but Justin Faulk, playing in his 1,000th game, failed to get the clear, and after McCabe’s initial shot was blocked in the slot, the puck hopped over Brayden Schenn’s stick, who thought he was going with it out of the zone, McCabe used former Blue Dakota Joshua as a screen to knuckle one into the corner:
Caber callin' Corners ⇱@OREO | #LeafsForeverpic.twitter.com/27Np4Ik0qO
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) November 19, 2025
* Special teams create life, Blues turn up shot volume from moment of tying goal – It started with a solid penalty kill for the game, going 3-for-3, including killing off Tyler Tucker’s double minor for high-sticking in the first period after his partner Matthew Kessel, who had a tough first, got walked by Max Domi.
And the power play came through when Dvorsky’s one-timer from the right circle at 13:18 of the second period tied it 2-2.
Buchnevich kept a play alive with a diving effort to keep the play alive, the Blues were able to reload the play from low to high, work it around to Robert Thomas, who found Dvorsky with a seam pass with a Toronto forward missing his stick because it was broken, and Dvorsky made no mistake with his third goal – all on the power play – of the season:
Get to know the name Dalibor Dvorsky. #stlbluespic.twitter.com/qWM4Y0jwRL
— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) November 19, 2025
* Blues found life after looking somewhat lifeless – The Maple Leafs were missing some key components (Auston Matthews, Matthew Knies, Chris Tanev) and others in this game, and the Blues at one point were being outshot 20-7 to a cast that would have resembled half of the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League.
But by getting that initial power play, created by Walker’s hustle to draw a tripping minor on McCabe at 12:06, the Blues then caught some life with 16 of the next 18 shots in the game and creating much more O-zone time. They just couldn’t find that next goal despite a plethora of opportunities.
Jordan Kyrou was part of a lot of those opportunities, and the Blues’ winger finished with six shots on goal on 12 attempts; you had to think a goal was coming but it never did.
* Missed too many nets – The Blues simply missed the net too many times, 18 of them in all.
Scoring chances were aplenty in the game, but six guys missed the net two or more times in the game, and that’s just too many in a one-shot game.
Kyrou had the best chance I could recall in the third period when he came in walking into the inner edge of the left circle and tried picking the top right corner but missed the net. That was the chance to win the game but there were others, including Buchnevich’s overtime chance.
“At the end of the day we’ve got to find a way to start putting some wins in the win column.”
— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) November 19, 2025
Cam Fowler, Dalibor Dvorsky and Jim Montgomery after Tuesday’s game in Toronto. #stlbluespic.twitter.com/8knWP8VOvV
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Golden Knights Rookie Forward Nets Second Career Goal In Fourth-Ever Game
LAS VEGAS -- Rookie Braeden Bowman gave the Golden Knights an early 1-0 lead over the New York Rangers Tuesday night with the second goal of his four-game-old career.
Bowman, who made his debut Nov. 13 against the Islanders, was in perfect position to slam home a rebound on the power play against Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin.
Sitting to the left of the goal, Bowman fed Mitch Marner at the top of the slot. Marner's shot caromed off Shesterkin's right pad to Bowman, who one-timed it in the net.
Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) on XBraeden Bowman on the power play is a cheat code 🎮On Saturday, in his second game, he scored in St. Louis, also on the power play. In doing so, he became the fourth Golden Knight to score his first NHL goal on the man advantage.
He also became Vegas' fifth skater whose goal stood as a game-winner.
An undrafted free agent, the 22-year-old earned an AHL contract with Henderson in July 2024 and later signed his entry-level contract with Vegas on March 3, 2025, during his first pro season with the Silver Knights.
PHOTO CAPTION: Vegas Golden Knights right wing Braeden Bowman (42) celebrates after scoring a goal against the New York Rangers during the first period at T-Mobile Arena.
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CFP rankings: Committee chair explains Notre Dame over Miami, Tulane over James Madison, more
New College Football Playoff committee chair Hunter Yurachek went straight into the firing line after Tuesday's CFP rankings reveal.
After Earlier Warning, Ottawa Senators Forward Fined By NHL On Tuesday
Senators winger Nick Cousins has made a career out of being hard to play against, getting under people's skin, and pretty much doing whatever is required to help his team win. Opponents often don't care for his tactics, and sometimes the NHL doesn't either. So, on Tuesday, the league put its foot down. Kind of.
The NHL announced that Cousins has been fined $2,000 as supplementary discipline under NHL Rule 64 (Diving/Embellishment). He was flagged for falling to the ice a little too easily in a game against the Utah Mammoth earlier this month.
According to the league, Rule 64 is designed to bring attention to and more seriously penalize players (and teams) who repeatedly dive and embellish in an attempt to draw penalties.
In a business where even the lowest-paid employees are making close to a million dollars, it's hard not to chuckle over the notion that the league might believe there's anything "serious" about a $2000 fine. That's an amount most players can recoup from under their floor mats the next time they get their Mercedes detailed.
But the real punishment isn't financial. It's the attention and stigma of being publicly labelled a diver. To many NHL players, it's a scarlet letter. No hockey player in this country wants to be thought of as a diver. It's an incredible contrast to professional soccer, where diving and pretending to be injured to fool the referee is appreciated by most and tolerated by all.
But most North American hockey fans can't stand it. As an example, there's a popular Instagram account with almost 20K followers, entirely devoted to "exposing the divers/embellishers of the NHL."
NHL Dives invites followers to DM them with any dives they witness in the NHL, and the video of the offender's theatrics and fakery is quickly posted for all to see. They even post standings, or as they call it, "The Diving Board."
With Cousins' second infraction, that's when automatic fines start to kick in.
Cousins was issued a warning in a game at Washington on Oct. 25, though he really didn't do much embellishing. He was slashed on the back of the leg, though not very hard, and dropped briefly to one knee.
His second citation, which triggered the $2,000 fine, was issued for an incident vs. Utah on Nov. 9. Utah forward JJ Peterka was assessed a minor penalty for interference on a play where Cousins fell to the ice without taking much contact at all.
Once a team takes four diving penalties in a season, their coach is also on the hook for all future dives, starting at $2000 for a fifth dive, then escalating to a cap of $5000 for the eighth dive and every dive after that.
That can also be an effective deterrent, because no player wants to aggravate or take money away from the man who controls his ice time.
Steve Warne
The Hockey News
Cameron Boozer helps Duke past Kansas at Champions Classic
Cameron Boozer and Isaiah Evans lead the way for No. 4 Duke in its defeat of No. 23 Kansas at the Champions Classic.
Penguins' Defensive Prospect Has Surgery, Out Indefinitely
It looks like the Pittsburgh Penguins' injury woes have trickled down to their farm system.
On Tuesday, it was announced by the Kelowna Rockets of the Western Hockey League that Penguins' defensive prospect Peyton Kettles will be out indefinitely after injuring his shouler. He is scheduled to have surgery Friday in Pittsburgh.
Kettles was selected 39th overall by the Penguins in this summer's draft, and the big, 6-foot-5 defenseman has a goal and three points in five games this season split between the Swift Current Broncos and the Kelowna Rockets. He played with fellow defensive prospect Owen Pickering at Swift Current for two seasons from 2022-24.
He was traded from Swift Current to Kelowna on Oct. 30 in CHL blockbuster that included defenseman Jackson Gillespie and five draft picks - one of which is a 2027 first-round pick. Kettles had already missed Penguins' training camp due to injury and recently returned from that injury before sustaining this one.
The Rockets are 8-6-3-1 and are currently ranked eighth in the Western Conference. They will play host to the Calder Memorial Cup Final at the conclusion of the 2025-26 junior season.
Penguins' Rookie Defenseman Eligible For AHL StintIt has been exactly two weeks since <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins">Pittsburgh Penguins</a>' rookie defenseman Harrison Brunicke dressed for a game day.
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