NEW YORK (AP) — Alexis Lafreniere scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period and Igor Shesterkin made 20 saves as the New York Rangers snapped a four-game skid with a 3-2 win over the St. Louis Blues on Monday night.
Lafreniere put the puck past Blues netminder Joel Hofer 40 seconds into the final period for his fifth goal this season.
Vincent Trocheck and Adam Edstrom also scored for the Rangers, who won for just the second time in 10 home games. New York is 2-7-1 at Madison Square Garden. Vladislav Gavrikov and Adam Fox each had two assists.
Dylan Holloway and Brayden Schenn scored for St. Louis, and Hofer made 17 saves.
Holloway opening the scoring late in the first period.
Trocheck tied it midway through the second, taking a pass from Jonny Brodzinski and firing the puck past Hofer for his fourth goal.
After Lafreniere made it 2-1, Edstrom increased the lead with 11:04 left in the third. Schenn got the Blues within 3-2 with 1:15 remaining.
The Rangers had to kill off a four-minute high-sticking penalty assessed to Brett Berard in the third. Berard made his season debut following his recall from Hartford of the AHL.
The Rangers (11-12-2) — who played without injured captain J.T. Miller for the second straight game — are still last in the Metropolitan Division.
Up next
Blues: At New Jersey on Wednesday to conclude a five-game trip.
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Nico Hischier, Timo Meier and Connor Brown had a goal and an assist each and the New Jersey Devils beat the Detroit Red Wings 4-3 on Monday night in a matchup of two of the top four teams in the Eastern Conference.
Alex DeBrincat, James van Riemsdyk and Dylan Larkin scored for Detroit.
New Jersey scored three goals in the first period on just eight shots for a 3-1 lead after one, snapped a three-game losing streak, and got its first win in regulation since beating the Los Angeles Kings 4-1 on Nov. 1.
The Devils’ previous four wins occurred in either overtime or the shootout.
New Jersey’s Jacob Markstrom made 32 saves, 13 in the third period.
Hischier scored his fourth goal in five games and added an assist on Meier’s first-period goal for the 102nd multipoint game of his Devils’ career.
Cody Glass snapped a 1-1 tie for New Jersey in his first game back after missing the previous four games with an upper-body injury. He replaced Juho Lammikko on the Devils third line.
Van Riemsdyk, who grew up in New Jersey, scored a power-play goal in his 1,100th game that got the Red Wings to within 3-2 in the second period.
Moritz Seider added two assists for Detroit, who lost for just the second time in its last seven games.
Brown moved the Devils’ lead to 4-2 from Dawson Mercer later in the second period before Larkin scored his 13th goal in the third period.
Dodgers pitcher Shohei Ohtani delivers during Game 7 of the World Series against the Toronto Blue Jays on Nov. 1. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Whether or not he pitches in the international tournament, however, remains unclear.
On Monday, Ohtani announced on Instagram he is planning to participate in the WBC for the second time in his career.
In the 2023 WBC, he won tournament MVP with a .435 batting average and 1.86 pitching ERA, helping Japan to that year’s title. He punctuated the event with his memorable strikeout of Mike Trout for the final out in the championship game.
“I’m happy to play again representing Japan,” Ohtani wrote in Japanese on Monday.
The question now is whether Ohtani will pitch in the event, which takes place in March, just five months removed from his heavy postseason workload during the Dodgers’ run to a second-consecutive World Series title.
At this point, no decision on that front has seemingly been made.
After spending the first half of the 2025 season limited only to designated hitting duties while completing his recovery from a 2023 Tommy John procedure, the 31-year-old Ohtani resumed his two-way role over the second half, making 14 pitching starts for the Dodgers from June to September while increasing his workload one inning at a time.
By the postseason, he was fully built up for full-length starts, and went on to throw 20⅓ innings over four playoff outings — including a 2⅓ inning appearance on shortened three days’ rest in Game 7 of the World Series.
Oftentimes, pitchers who are that heavily taxed during a deep playoff run will consider sitting out a WBC the following year because of the early ramp-up required to throw in the tournament takes place during spring training.
However, the WBC is of supreme importance in the Japanese baseball community; more significant even than the World Series. And Ohtani is the face of the county’s iconic Samurai Japan national team, which will be trying to win its fourth WBC title.
Shohei Ohtani celebrates with his teammates after striking out Mike Trout to secure Japan's World Baseball Classic championship win over the United States in 2023. (Wilfredo Lee / Associated Press)
Ohtani is expected to hit in the event, coming off a career-high 55-homer season that helped him earn a third-consecutive MVP Award and the fourth of his MLB career.
But there remains no indication about whether he will pitch, nor if such a decision has been made between him and the Dodgers (who can’t block Ohtani from participating in the event, but could request he either not pitch or follow strict usage rules given he missed the first half of last season on the mound).
It is unlikely that decision will be made until closer to the tournament.
The Dodgers’ two other Japanese pitchers, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki, face a similar dynamic leading into next year’s WBC.
Yamamoto made 30 starts in the 2025 regular season, the most of his MLB or Japanese career, then threw 37⅓ more innings in six outings during the playoffs — including his heroic back-to-back victories in Games 6 and 7 of the World Series.
Sasaki missed most of his rookie MLB season with a shoulder injury, but returned late in the year and became the team’s de facto closer in the playoffs. Next year, he is slated to return to the starting rotation.
Like Ohtani, they are both key cogs in the Dodgers’ 2026 pitching plans, which, as manager Dave Roberts alluded to during a promotional tour in Japan last week, could make the WBC something of a potential complication.
“We’ll support them,” Roberts told the Japanese media. “But I do think that the pitching, it’s a lot on the body, the arm. The rest will be beneficial for next year, for our season. But we understand how important the WBC is for these individual players and for the country of Japan.”
The Dodgers could choose to block Sasaki’s participation in the WBC, since he spent much of last year on the 60-day injured list, but have not yet given any indication about whether they would do so.
The club can’t do the same with Yamamoto, but could still try advocating for him to be used more conservatively in the tournament coming off his especially burdensome October performance.
For now, at least, what is known is that Ohtani will participate in some capacity.
But whether he, or his Japanese Dodgers teammates, will pitch in the tournament will remain a subplot as the offseason progresses.
The Knicks picked up their 12th consecutive win over the Nets, 113-110, on Monday night at Barclays Center.
Here are some takeaways...
- Mike Brown turned to a smaller lineup with Mitchell Robinson (illness) and OG Anunoby (hamstring) sidelined, as Josh Hart received his first start of the season alongside Jalen Brunson, Miles McBride, Mikal Bridges, and Karl-Anthony Towns.
- That group got off to an extremely sloppy start on both ends of the floor. The Knicks shot 4-of-14 from the field over the opening few minutes and continued giving up open looks from downtown, allowing Brooklyn to hold a slim two-point advantage when the first quarter came to a close (26-24).
Noah Clowney got off to a strong start for the Nets, leading the team with eight points on 3-of-4 shooting.
- New York's second unit of Hart, Towns, Tyler Kolek, Jordan Clarkson, and Ariel Hukporti got them going early in the second. Even with Brunson resting on the bench, they were able to put together a commanding 11-0 run to open their largest lead of the first half, at the time (eight).
The Knicks looked like they were ready to put this one away as they pushed the advantage out to as many as a dozen, but Brooklyn answered back with a late first-half surge, and they were able to cut it all the way back down to a one-possession game heading into the break (51-48).
Both teams shot a combined 25 percent from behind the arc over the first two quarters (NY 3/14, BKN 7/26).
- Things were back-and-forth coming out of the break before the Knicks took over and opened a comfortable double-digit advantage that they never looked back from. New York scored a game-high 38 points in the third quarter while shooting 64 percent from the field, including 5-of-9 from behind the arc.
- Towns led the way in perhaps his best offensive showing of the season, finishing with 37 points on 14-of-20 shooting (just 3-of-4 from three) while reeling in 12 rebounds and dishing three assists. The big man did have a bit of a scare after falling hard on his hip on a drive to the basket early in the fourth, but he returned to the court after a timeout.
Brunson had 27 points, Bridges chipped in 16 points, and Hart did it all (seven points, 12 rebounds, seven assists).
- Jordi Fernandez's young and hungry squad showed much more fight this time compared to the last meeting. Clowney finished with a career-high 31 points on the night including seven threes, Drake Powell pitched in 15 on 5-of-10 shooting, and big man Nic Claxton had eight points.
New York picked up their second road win of the season in seven tries.
Game MVP: Karl-Anthony Towns
The big man dominated the paint all night, finishing with a game-high 37 points.
Highlights
KAT with the spin move and bucket to get the scoring started tonight 🌪️
The Detroit Red Wings dominated the New Jersey Devils in the shot totals on Monday evening, but unfortunately for Detroit, they didn't lead where it matters.
The Devils escaped with a 4-3 victory in regulation at Prudential Center despite a furious late-game push by the Red Wings to try and knot the score.
Following the final horn, multiple scraps broke out on the ice between the two clubs.
With the setback, the Red Wings dropped to 13-9-1 so far in their centennial campaign.
The Devils found the back of the net first thanks to a deflection goal from Timo Meier, only to have Alex DeBrincat score his second goal in as many games to tie things up.
The Devils then scored twice in short order thanks to Nico Hischier and Cody Glass, taking a 3-1 lead into the first intermission.
New Jersey native James van Riemsdyk brought the Red Wings back to within a goal with his second tally of the season in the second period, but a brutal turnover by defenseman Travis Hamonic soon afterward resulted in Connor Brown restoring New Jersey's two goal lead.
The Red Wings pressed for the equalizer, and made it a one-goal game again as Dylan Larkin buried a shot from the slot past goaltender Jacob Markstrom.
Detroit also felt they should have been on the power-play late in regulation, but Jonas Siegenthaler's blatant interference on Lucas Raymond in the neutral zone was somehow missed by both referees.
It was a rare subpar outing for goaltender Cam Talbot, who finished with 15 saves on the 19 shots he faced. Markstrom was far busier, turning aside 32 of the 35 shots Detroit fired his way.
The Red Wings will return home to face the Nashville Predators on Wednesday evening.
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Isaac McKneely scored 17 points for No. 6 Louisville, which put the defensive clamps on Eastern Michigan, holding the Eagles to 28% shooting in an 87-46 victory on Monday night. The Cardinals (6-0) jumped out to a 19-4 lead midway through the first half. The second half was a different story as the Cardinals shot 63.3% to finish at 48.4% for the game.
Emanuel Sharp and Milos Uzan each scored 26 points, teaming for all 11 of No. 3 Houston's points in overtime, in the Cougars' 78-74 victory over Syracuse on Monday in the opening round of the Players Era. Uzan, playing in his hometown, scored six points in OT and Sharp had five to keep the Cougars (6-0) undefeated. Chris Cenac Jr. scored all eight of his points after halftime and had 12 rebounds.
The Hall of Fame credentials for Detroit Red Wings forward Patrick Kane are already guaranteed, and he's added yet another impressive milestone to his resume.
With an assist on teammate Alex DeBrincat's first period goal on Monday evening against the New Jersey Devils, Kane moved past former Red Wings forward Brendan Shanahan for sole possession of 29th place in the NHL's all-time points list with 1,355.
Kane, who has 860 career assists, is just 35 shy of passing Phil Housley for the most in the career of an American born player.
Speaking of former Red Wings, he's also just 20 points away from passing Mike Modano for the most points in the history of the NHL by an American born player.
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Mikko Rantanen will miss the Dallas Stars’ upcoming road game against the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday as he serves an automatic one-game suspension.
On November 18, with under a minute remaining in regulation, Rantanen skated through a check by New York Islanders defenseman Scott Mayfield and checked Alex Romanov from behind, propelling him violently into the end boards. Romanov was eventually assisted off the ice. Rantanen was given a five-minute major for boarding, which carries an automatic game misconduct.
The NHL did not discipline Rantanen for the hit, citing the slight contact from Mayfield, a decision that did not sit well with many fans. While Mayfield may have slowed him slightly, that hardly explains Rantanen’s forward thrust that carried him through Mayfield and into Romanov, though that was the rationale offered after the fact.
Can of Worms
In discussions with my colleagues, we reached a consensus. The NHL’s decision not to suspend Rantanen for the hit on Romanov risked setting a troubling precedent. Hockey is a contact sport, yet such leniency could encourage players to take liberties that endanger their peers. What was especially surprising, however, was that it would be Mikko Rantanen himself repeating the same behavior just days later against the Calgary Flames, charging out of the penalty box and plowing through Matt Coronato.
Mikko Rantanen receives 5 and a game for this hit, in a game he shouldn’t have been playing in because of his 5-minute boarding major on Tuesday.
"Dallas’ Mikko Rantanen has been automatically suspended for one game under Rule 23.6, Physical Infractions Category," the NHL Department of Player Safety said in a statement on X. "In regular season League games, any player who incurs a total of two (2) game misconduct penalties in the Physical Infractions Category, before playing 41 consecutive regular season League games without such penalty, shall be suspended automatically for the next League game of his team."
NHL Should Have Suspended Rantanen Longer
Revisiting the hit on Romanov, who is now sidelined for five to six months following shoulder surgery sustained in the play, it is evident that Rantanen’s intent was to deliver a forceful impact. While Mayfield’s contact may have slightly altered his trajectory, there is little doubt that his objective was to drive Romanov into the boards. Rantanen extended his arms—a motion rarely seen in the context of a conventional hockey stop, but one commonly employed to deliver a hit, which is what happened.
If the play had truly been unintentional, and Rantanen had merely “lost control” to the detriment of Romanov’s season, it seems unlikely he would engage in similarly reckless behavior just two games later. Yet he did, charging out of the penalty box and targeting Matt Coronato. This was not a simple boarding incident; Rantanen took at least five strides before reaching Coronato, meeting the criteria for charging as well. Boarding, charging, two game misconducts in less than a week—and all of it resulting in only a one-game suspension—raises serious questions about the league’s disciplinary standards.
What are we actually doing? What is the point of having a Department of Player Safety if we're not actually taking safety seriously. It's like having a department in the government dedicated to balancing the budget while consistently being in debt and not actually doing the things the people voted for you to accomplish.
The issue extends beyond setting a poor precedent, as the optics are equally troubling and demand serious scrutiny. According to NHL rules, a player must accumulate two game misconducts within a 41-game span to trigger an automatic suspension. When a player reaches that threshold in just a matter of days, it seems reasonable to question whether a more substantial penalty is warranted. The league could have easily imposed a four- or five-game suspension on Rantanen if it chose to exercise stricter judgment. It is, after all, the NHL’s prerogative, but should another player sustain a serious injury due to what appears to be leniency, the consequences for the league’s credibility could be severe.
Sports Betting
It is also important to recognize that the NHL faces a significant dilemma with sports betting. A 2018 Nielsen Sports study estimated that the league’s annual revenue could increase by at least $216 million from sports betting alone, a figure that has likely grown considerably in the years since. Suspensions can be costly for business. Much like in combat sports, where a fighter testing positive for a banned substance can disrupt events and revenue, leagues often calibrate penalties to minimize financial disruption. First-time offenders typically receive six-month suspensions, which coincides roughly with the natural cadence of a fighter’s career, thereby limiting the impact on the sport’s revenue stream.
For the NHL, however, the priority should be clear: protecting players must take precedence, regardless of the team or the business considerations involved.
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Tre Johnson, the rookie guard who is one of the lone bright spots in Washington's ugly start to the season, will miss multiple weeks dealing with a hip flexor issue, Varun Shankar of the Washington Post reports.
Johnson was out for the Washington on Saturday, then on Monday the team confirmed the injury but did not provide an official return timeline.
Wizards guard Tre Johnson strained his left hip flexor against the Toronto Raptors on Nov. 21. His status will be updated as appropriate.
This is the same injury that caused Johnson to miss time last season at Texas, and he had been playing through some pain there, according to Shankar at the Post.
Johnson is averaging 11.5 points a game and shooting 39.5% from 3-point range. Because of the injury, Johnson had seen his minutes drop, playing fewer than 20 in his last three before being ruled out. Look for Cam Whitmore and Corey Kispert to get more run with Johnson sidelined.
One of the biggest surprises of the early NHL season has been the rapid rise of the New York Islanders. Entering the year, expectations were modest. After holding the first overall pick along with two additional first-rounders, the franchise seemed ready to focus on long-term growth rather than immediate success.
That outlook changed quickly. Their top selection, Matthew Schaefer, has been a tremendous hit. His electric start has energized the entire organization and helped push the Islanders to a shocking 13-8-2 record that almost no one saw coming.
Schaefer’s breakout is only part of the story as several veterans have turned back the clock, led by Bo Horvat. The 30-year-old center looks like the same player who put up 68 points two seasons ago. He currently leads the team with 14 goals, 11 assists, and 25 points in 23 games. Riding alongside Horvat is Emil Heineman, formerly a depth winger in Montreal, who has flourished on the top line with nine goals and six assists.
Another key contributor is Mathew Barzal, the most recognizable Islander, who has added 17 points in 22 games while anchoring the second line. Having both Horvat and Barzal controlling the center of the ice has been an underrated advantage and a major reason behind New York’s early success.
Still, no player has changed the team’s trajectory more than Schaefer. The rookie defenseman has burst onto the scene with remarkable poise, logging heavy minutes in every situation and seeming to break a new record every night. At 18 years and 70 days old, he became the youngest player in NHL history to score an overtime goal, surpassing Sidney Crosby’s mark from 2005.
During a six-game point streak to begin his career, he put up seven points with two goals and five assists, becoming the youngest defenseman ever to accomplish that feat. His outstanding play has not only made him the clear favorite for the Calder Trophy but has also sparked early conversation about his potential spot on Team Canada for the 2026 Olympics.
The Islanders have also benefited from Ilya Sorokin regaining his form. The goaltender owns a 2.64 goals-against average, a .905 save percentage, and a 7-6-2 record, providing stability in net.
All of this raises an important question. Are the Islanders legitimate playoff contenders, or will their early momentum eventually fade? We saw a similar story last season with the Columbus Blue Jackets, who went on an emotional run in honor of the late Johnny Gaudreau before running out of steam and narrowly missing the postseason.
Sportsbooks appear cautious as well. Schaefer is the heavy Calder favorite at -238, but the Islanders' playoff odds have already tightened to +110. For believers, this may be the last chance to buy in at value.
It is hard not to believe when you look at the teams they have beaten. Some wins have been driven by energy, but others have been convincing statements. In only their fourth game, they defeated the Oilers 4-2, they beat several of the league’s best teams, including the Capitals, Devils, Golden Knights, and Stars. Their dominance over the Atlantic-leading Red Wings has been especially notable, outscoring Detroit 12 to 2 in their two meetings.
Within the Metropolitan Division, the Islanders have been just as impressive. Excluding their first two games of the season, they have gone 4-1-1 in their last six divisional matchups. With teams like the Capitals, Penguins, Blue Jackets, and Flyers still early in various stages of their rebuilds, there is little reason to think New York cannot remain in the top three.
The Islanders have quickly become one of the most entertaining teams in hockey, and they continue to show that they are worth believing in.
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