The world of soccer throws up no shortage of questions. Today, Graham Ruthven endeavors to answer three of them
Pep Guardiola has done a lot with his 1,000 matches as a manager. At Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester City, he has lifted 40 trophies (including three Community Shields, because why wouldn’t you count them?), yet not even this fact quantifies the way Guardiola has defined an entire era (or two) of the sport.
Continue reading...This offseason’s message from the Mets has been largely built around run prevention.
And since David Stearns has been with the organization, center field has been the spot that he's prioritized defense the most.
In 2024, he acquired Tyrone Taylor from the Brewers and signed Harrison Bader as a free agent -- that worked out well as the Mets made a run to the NLCS.
In 2025, Bader left as a free agent and the Mets attempted to acquire a similar defense-first type of player in Jose Siri from Tampa Bay. That did not work out. He was injured for most of the year and ended up getting DFA'd before the season ended.
Now, there is another opportunity to pursue run prevention in center -- a potential trade for 28-year old White Sox center fielder Luis Robert Jr.
If you look him up on Baseball Reference, the stat line will leave plenty to be desired. He slashed .223/.297/.364 (.661 OPS) with 14 home runs, 53 RBI and 33 stolen bases in 2025. However, there is more under the hood that has Robert as a very intriguing buy-low option.
From a contractual standpoint, Robert is owed $20 million in 2026 with a $20 million club option for 2027. He would be a true year-to-year proposition.
Here are the pros and cons of trading for Robert…
Robert is an excellent athlete and has all the tools to be a special player.
In 2023 at 25-years old, Robert posted an .857 OPS with 38 home runs and looked the part of a future MVP candidate.
While he has not replicated that offensive success since, there were some intriguing things in the advanced statistics that suggest there are better offensive days ahead for the still-in-his-prime center fielder.
His 2025 season began to take a turn offensively when the calendar flipped to July, and that led to him being considered a prime trade deadline candidate. The Mets were among the teams in conversations with the White Sox, but they ultimately decided to keep Robert.
Robert hit .293/.349/.459 (.808 OPS) with six home runs, 21 RBI and 11 stolen bases from July 8 until his season ended in late-August due to a hamstring strain
Robert has the raw power you are looking for, with a max exit velocity of 115.8 mph in 2025. He also possesses elite bat speed in the 92nd percentile. His 26 percent strikeout rate is certainly below average, but he trimmed it significantly from 33 percent in 2024. Robert also posted a career best 9.3 walk percentage, which is an above average number in the 62nd percentile.
What's clear is Robert had a better approach at the plate in 2025 with perhaps some bad luck mixed in, as evidenced by a .250 expected batting average. It just did not end up showing in his end of season numbers.
Robert’s defense and speed help raise his floor as a player. He is a plus defender in center, rating at +7 OAA in range, which ranked in the 93rd percentile. His arm is more above average than plus, but it plays in center field.
From a speed standpoint, his sprint speed has made incremental growth each of the last four seasons, with his career best of 29 feet per second in 2025, which ranked in the 90th percentile.
While the advanced numbers suggest some bad luck for Robert, the reality is that he has OPS' of .661 and .657 the last two seasons. Even if there is belief in a bounce back, that's two consecutive seasons of offensive numbers that would not be ideal in an everyday lineup for a contender.
Another issue that Robert has missed significant time with injury every season of his big league career except for his breakout 2023, when he played 145 games.
Over the last two seasons he played in just 210 of 324 possible games. He also played under 100 games in both 2021 and 2022. Is he a player the Mets can rely on to take the field every day?
Robert also might block a prospect like Carson Benge or Jett Williams from getting an opportunity in center in 2026.
If the Mets were to acquire someone like Robert, it would be with the idea that he is their center fielder if he is healthy. That does go against Stearns' idea that they must leave room for young players to make an impact on the big league roster.
Since July, I have been openly in favor of acquiring Robert. The price won’t be cheap, but it also won’t be exorbitant. I don’t think the Mets would have to part with any of their very top prospects in a deal.
The White Sox could have interest in one of the Mets' potentially surplus major league infielders such as Mark Vientos, Ronny Mauricio or Luisangel Acuña. If the Mets could land Robert for one of those and a mid-level prospect, that could be considered a risk worth taking.
However, Stearns' comments at the GM meetings about Benge having the opportunity to compete for a job out of spring training has changed the dynamic.
He said at his end-of-season news conference that he needed to be more aggressive. At the time, that was considered to be talking about calling up young pitchers like Nolan McLean, Brandon Sproat or Jonah Tong earlier than he did.
He may have meant being more aggressive with prospects in general, which has become more of the norm in baseball over the last couple of years.
Benge was on the fast track, making it to Triple-A in his first professional season after being a first round pick. If the Mets are planning to have Benge compete for center field out of camp, getting Robert -- or really any other full-time locked-in center fielder -- does not make a lot of sense. They’d be better suited using their assets to acquire pitching or help at a different position on the diamond.
LAS VEGAS -- To challenge for goaltender interference or not to challenge for goaltender interference -- that is the question that the New York Islanders faced twice on Thursday night against the Vegas Golden Knights.
At 18:56 of the second, Vegas defenseman Shea Theodore shimmied to the front of the net before pushing the puck and Ilya Sorokin's right pad into the goal:
Really surprised they didn’t challenge, thought for sure this was interference. https://t.co/DEf2Coddsipic.twitter.com/4h5qxAtrrM
— Jonny Lazarus (@JLazzy23) November 14, 2025
The Islanders took a good-hard look at it, but chose not to challenge.
"It was a tough call," Islanders head coach Patrick Roy said postgame. "I mean, I think part of us wanted to challenge it, but at the same time, I mean, we felt like the puck was loose, and it was like a loose puck. He definitely pushed the pad. There's no doubt about that, but we thought it was a loose puck, so that's why we didn't do it."
Here's what Sorokin said postgame:
"Yeah, I feel [my pad was pushed in there]. I think it was 50/50," Sorokin said. "Because I watched the review in the game, and I feel it's an insane moment, puck goes in the net."
Later on in the game, at the 10:45 mark of the third period, Reilly Smith buried the 3-2 go-ahead goal. But, the Islanders did in fact challenge for goaltender interference as Brett Howden pushed Kyle Palmieri into Sorokin, limiting the ability for the star netminder to make a play on the shot.
21 ➡️ 20 ➡️ 19 ➡️ 🥅 pic.twitter.com/jU85Zuvtr8
— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) November 14, 2025
"I mean, the Hawkeye went down, and I thought the league should have done something about this, and then they should have reviewed themselves and decided if it was a good goal or not," Roy said. "Rule 69.1 says that when the player pushes an opponent into the goalie...So I don't know if the writing is it means something anymore, you know, and if doesn't, if it's not the case, they have to redo the rule book."
One thing about this last challenge is Roy's confidence in the penalty kill, which is now 10-for-11 on this road trip and 23 for their last 25.
“We have a lot of trust in the way we’re killing the penalties right now, and Boughner deserves a lot of credit for working so hard with our guys, and our guys deserve a lot of credit to put a lot of pride into it,” Roy said. “But at the same time, it allows you to take chances. Example, on that challenge call. I mean, if you didn’t trust, you would not challenge, but you believe that you’re going to kill it.”
The Islanders ultimately overcame their non-challenge and challenge, winning 4-3 in overtime courtesy of a Jean-Gabriel Pageau shorthanded goal.
They play game five of a seven-game road trip on Friday night against the Utah Mammoth. Puck drop is at 9 PM ET.
Is it time to panic, yet?
That was the question following the fourth straight loss by the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday.
Eighteen games in, the Leafs have won eight games, which matches their fewest number of wins to start a season since drafting Auston Matthews in 2016. That they accomplished this unflattering feat with one of the most favourable schedules in NHL has to be concerning.
After all, 13 of Toronto’s 18 games have been played at home. Only four of their opponents so far this season (Montreal, New Jersey, Carolina and Los Angeles) made the playoffs last year. And yet, following Thursday’s 4-3 overtime loss to the Kings, the Leafs find themselves in 14th place in the Eastern Conference standings.
That’s the bad news.
The good news is that even with Matthews out of the lineup with a lower-body injury and both of their goalies currently unavailable, the Leafs are only four points out of first place.
In other words, there's no reason to panic — yet.
“Panic’s never going to help,” said coach Craig Berube. “But there is a level of urgency, for sure. It’s been there for a minutes. But I’m not going to panic. That doesn’t help anything or anybody.”
Give it a couple of more weeks and Berube might feel different.
'Maybe End The Season': Maple Leafs Fans Sound The Alarm After Matthews' Injury And Another LossThe Toronto Maple Leafs allowed 15 goals in their last three games, and Auston Matthews' status is uncertain after suffering a lower-body injury. Some fans are already bringing up tanking.After all, U.S. Thanksgiving (Nov. 27) has long been the barometer for predicting whether teams will make the playoffs. Last year, only three teams that were out of a playoff spot by the holiday weekend ended up qualifying for the post-season.
Toronto was not one of those teams. By Thanksgiving last year, the team was in first place in the Atlantic Division with a 13-7-2 record. The Leafs ended up winning their division. But that team had Mitch Marner. That team also had a defensive identity, which along with their 100-point winger, who was traded to Vegas in the summer, appears to have vanished this season.
This year’s Leafs lack confidence and structure. They turnover too many pucks. They give up too many shots, too many odd-man rushes and far too many goals — especially in the second period, where Toronto has now given up 27 goals this season, the second most behind the Edmonton Oilers, who've given up 29.
It’s their second year playing under Berube, but it looks like he and his system were implemented less than a month ago.
The Leafs' offense is ranked fourth with 3.61 goals per game, which according to William Nylander is a positive because "scoring goals (is) that's harder." But they're also averaging the most goals-against (3.83 per game) and the fifth-most shots (31.2 per game). On Thursday, Toronto gave up a 2-0 lead in the second period, and a 3-2 lead in the third period, after being outshot 37-15 in a game that they never deserved to be leading in the first place.
'That Doesn't Help Anything Or Anybody': Maple Leafs Not Hitting The Panic Button Yet Despite Four Straight LossesThe <a href="https://www.nhl.com/gamecenter/lak-vs-tor/2025/11/13/2025020269">Toronto Maple Leafs got ahead of the L.A. Kings</a> early on Thursday night, yet they didn't finish the game on the winning end.
"We got the lead in the third and I thought we sat back a little too much," said Berube. "You know, again, just advancing that puck up the ice with speed, jumping, getting the holes. It's confidence for me a little bit, and puck play. Like, you know, the plays are there. We're just not making them and just not seeing it well enough right now, but we've got to pick up our pace. We've got to be more confident in those plays. To me, that's the difference in the game."
One month in, Toronto, which has made the playoffs in each of the past nine seasons, doesn’t look like a playoff team. Instead, they look like that team that won eight games in 2016-17, back when Matthews, Marner and William Nylander were rookies and the Leafs hadn't figured out how good they were supposed to be.
Why this team, which is older and more experienced, hasn't figured that part is might be the most confusing aspect of this season so far.
“I don’t think you go out and expect anything,” said John Tavares, who had a pair of goals against the Kings on Thursday. “I think you have to go out there and earn it. I think with the team we have, a veteran team, we know we haven’t been to the level that we expect on a consistent basis. We have to work our way through it. Obviously, it’s been a battle for us … things are only getting tougher and tougher within our own division, within the league.”
Well, before things get tougher, they get easier. Or, at least, it should be easier.
The Leafs have five more games before U.S. Thanksgiving. Three of them are against teams that did not make the playoffs last year.
If that's not enough to get the Leafs into a temporary playoff spot, then they probably don't deserve to be in one in the first place.
“There’s lots of hockey left,” said Tavares. “But that doesn’t mean that you don’t take any game for granted. They all mean the same. But obviously, the more games that go by there’s less runway.
“We still have more than half the season to go — we’re not even at the quarter mark yet.”
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.
Tip-off for La Salle vs Penn State is at 1 PM ET on Peacock.
Purdue point guard Braden Smith scored 21 of his 29 points in the second half to lead the top-ranked Boilermakers over Alabama in a top-10 showdown.
The Big Ten meets the Big East in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
New Zealander lost high-profile bout in London
Fight could prove his last one for a lengthy period
Joseph Parker failed a drugs test on the day of his 11th-round stoppage to British heavyweight Fabio Wardley.
Ipswich-born Wardley and New Zealander Parker produced a pulsating encounter in London on 25 October to determine who would become WBO mandatory challenger to undisputed world heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk.
Continue reading...Jonathan Kuminga ruled out for Warriors vs. Spurs with bilateral knee tendonitis originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
After missing the second half of Wednesday’s game, Jonathan Kuminga has been ruled out of the Warriors’ second consecutive game against the Spurs in San Antonio on Friday at Frost Bank Center.
Kuminga is dealing with bilateral patellar (knee) tendonitis, and while he could miss some time, the Warriors aren’t worried about it being a structural issue.
The 23-year-old forward isn’t expected to miss an extended period of time, but the Warriors want to be cautious with their young wing who’s been dealing with some recent soreness in his knees.
Golden State is in the midst of a six-game road trip, which it’s gone 1-1 so far.
After San Antonio, the Warriors will face the New Orleans Pelicans, Orlando Magic and then close out the road trip in Miami against the Heat.
In 13 games (12 starts) this season, Kuminga is averaging 13.8 points on 47.8 percent shooting, with 6.6 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 27.7 minutes.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr experimented with a new starting lineup in Wednesday’s win that moved Kuminga to the bench after he had started the previous dozen contests.
Kuminga played just 12 minutes and went scoreless before being pulled for good at the half.
It's a matchup of two 3-0 teams in Washington, D.C.
Very quietly, the fourth line of the Philadelphia Flyers has not been good for much of anything this season, but, fortunately for them, reinforcements are now expected to become available.
On Thursday afternoon, Toronto Maple Leafs forward David Kampf, who was previously suspended without pay for not playing for the AHL Toronto Marlies, was placed on waivers for the purpose of terminating his contract with the team.
The two sides ultimately reached an amicable agreement, and Kampf, 30, is expected to become a free agent after clearing waivers at 2 p.m. EST on Friday.
Kampf's $2.4 million cap hit for two more seasons, on top of not being on the Maple Leafs' NHL roster, likely put teams off from making a trade offer for his services, but, assuming he signs a minimum contract somewhere for one season, that issue is gone at the snap of a finger.
As for the Flyers, they have not gotten much from centers Jacob Gaucher and Rodrigo Abols this season, and Abols, in his most recent game for the team against the Edmonton Oilers, lost all five of his faceoffs and played just 6:21.
Flyers Player Development Taking Sour Turn, Sluggish Performances Piling UpThe Philadelphia Flyers must find more ways to put their core players in positions to succeed now and in the future.It has become clear that Flyers head coach Rick Tocchet has little faith in this particular unit, which makes it an equally unfit environment to throw a young player, like Nikita Grebenkin, into.
The good news is that, according to Daily Faceoff NHL insider Anthony Di Marco "it sounds like" the Flyers have interest in a terminated Kampf at a "low-dollar value."
"Wonder about PHI here. They could use an upgrade at 4C and it sounds like they have interest in Kampf at a low dollar value," Di Marco posted on his X account in response to Kampf's placement on waivers Thursday.
As for the kind of player the 6-foot-2 center is, he has historically been a reliable fourth-line pivot who has shown capable of scoring an appropriate amount of points relative to his role.
For instance, in the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons, Kampf scored 11 and seven goals and 26 and 27 points, respectively.
In addition to just the raw stats, Kampf is, according to last season's NHL EDGE data, a slightly above-average skater, ranking in the 57th percentile for max skating speed, and that comes while spending 5% more time in the defensive zone than league average.
Oh, and the majority of Kampf's shots on goal came from the low slot. The dirty areas are key for Tocchet, and that will do it.
At his very best, in the aforementioned 2021-22 season, Kampf's defensive metrics ranked towards the top of the NHL at his position.
The Czech forward was, and still is, a stout penalty-killer, reliable at even strength in matchup situations, and even got some bounces offensively, scoring and generating more than what was expected.
While the last two seasons, of course, have not gone according to plan for Kampf and the Maple Leafs, the veteran center still represents an obvious and sizeable upgrade down the middle for the Flyers.
Free agent addition Christian Dvorak was widely expected to fill that role, but, to this point, is playing more positionally-versatile minutes in the top-nine forward group than just about anybody thought.
Of course, Jett Luchanko's objective regression from last season did not help matters, so the Flyers were left with Abols, Gaucher, and a seemingly never-ending puzzle.
Kampf is sure to have offers from plenty of Stanley Cup contenders, but the Flyers would be foolish not to at least buy a ticket to the raffle.
After a 5-1 loss to the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday night, the Montreal Canadiens were hoping to bounce back with a win against the Dallas Stars, but Glenn Gulutzan’s men had other plans. The Habs played a good first frame and put plenty of shots on net in the first 20 minutes, but things unravelled afterwards.
More than the outcome, though, what this game is likely to be remembered for is the gruesome injury sustained by Alex Newhook and how it became a turning point in this tilt. Hopefully, for Martin St-Louis and his men, it doesn’t become a turning point for the season.
Canadiens: Kent Hughes Inquires About Big Forward
Canadiens: Dobes Speaks To The Media
Ex-Canadiens Goalie Having Good Start To Season
It was 2-0 early in the second frame when Newhook fell feet-first into the board, making his knee bend in a way no knee should ever bend. This is a really tough break for the Newfoundlander, who was easily playing his best hockey since being acquired by the Canadiens. In 16 games, he had racked up six goals and six assists.
If the Canadiens haven’t suffered too much from injuries since the start of the season, this one is likely to hurt. Not just because of Newhook’s production, but also because he had become an essential member of the team’s penalty kill. Of course, sniper Patrik Laine was also injured just five games in, but he was only playing on the fourth line and the second power-play unit. Newhook had started to develop an excellent chemistry with linemates Oliver Kapanen and Ivan Demidov.
If the start of the season had made it seem like Kent Hughes might not have needed to get a center as a matter of urgency, this injury is likely to change that state of affairs. Don’t expect the Canadiens’ GM to pull the trigger on a deal in a panic, though; that’s not his type.
#Habs Alex Newhook injury - Nov 13 - YouTube
After 40 minutes, the Stars had a 5-0 lead after taking just 13 shots, but it should be noted that they were slicing the Canadiens’ defence left, right and center, creating many odd-man opportunities for themselves.
The most blatant example came on Dallas’ third goal, when Lane Hutson pinched to create some attack, and nobody covered for him. Juraj Slafkovsky skated to the bench for a change while Tyler Seguin was skating away to face Jakub Dobes on a breakaway, and a second later it was 3-0.
It’s also fair to say that Dobes wasn’t playing his best hockey either, and it wasn’t shocking to see Samuel Montembeault turn up to start the third frame. Nor was it that Dallas scored on its first shot against him; things weren’t going well for the Canadiens. Asked about why he replaced Dobes to start the third, St-Louis replied:
I mean, you always worry when you pull, but I felt it was the right thing to do at the time, you know, but I’m not worried about their confidence [the goalies], they’ll be fine.-
Interestingly, St-Louis went from talking about Dobes to both of his goaltenders there, without anyone even mentioning Montembeault. As things stand, it looks like the Canadiens now have two goaltenders struggling to find their game, rather than just one. Putting Dobes on the shelf when he was playing lights-out might have been an error.
It took some time for the bench boss to appear before the press tonight, but it wasn’t because he needed to calm down. St-Louis explained that, with Newhook still being evaluated, they needed to make some decisions. While nothing has been confirmed yet, it’s clear the Habs will be recalling someone from the Laval Rocket, and that Newhook will miss some time.
What’s worse, though, is the fact that it won’t just be a matter of recalling a player and having him take Newhook’s spot; the coaches will need to go back to the drawing board to find some new working combinations.
Watch this space later today to know who’s practicing with the team in Brossard and if we get some clues about some potential new lines.
The Habs will now need to swiftly move on and prepare to host the Boston Bruins on Saturday night at the Bell Centre before heading to Columbus for an away game on Monday. It would certainly help matters if the power play could start clicking again. The man-advantage has failed to score in its last 10 opportunities, and the Canadiens have now been scored on 12 times without being able to answer. There’s plenty of work ahead for St-Louis and co.
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It was a fun Thursday night at the local hockey barn in Sunrise.
Playing their first home game in several weeks, the Florida Panthers put up a six-spot on the Washington Capitals, skating to a resounding 6-3 win on a night full of milestones.
Usually, when a team returns from a long road trip, the first game on home ice can be a difficult one to win.
Despite Florida falling behind during the first period, they were quick to bounce back, and once they did, they never looked back.
It was a great way for the Cats to kick off their extended stretch in South Florida, where they will play 11 of 12 at Amerant Bank Arena over the next few weeks.
Let’s get to Thursday’s takeaways:
POWER PLAY HEATING UP
When the Panthers wrapped up their recent road trip with a big victory in Las Vegas, it was a power play goal by Sam Reinhart that served as the game-winner.
Afterwards, Maurice said that it was an important goal for the power play, as the unit could use some good fortune to hopefully get it going.
Well, for at least one more game, the Cats are in fact building on their success.
They scored twice more on the man advantage during Thursday’s win over the Capitals, logging eight shots while on the power play.
“The last couple of games look quite a bit different,” said Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice. “It feels different. It's faster, and because it's faster, there's more options, so we're working off both sides. It's trending in the right way.”
FIRST WIN FOR TARASOV
It took a few starts, but Florida’s new goaltender Daniil Tarasov finally picked up his first victory in a Panthers sweater.
And boy, did he earn it.
Tarasov finished the game with 37 saves, including on 10 of the whopping 12 high danger shots sent his way by the Capitals.
It also helps that Florida scored as many goals for Tarasov on Thursday (6) that they had in his previous four starts combined.
“I think that could be a really good thing for him, right? The adversity that you face, having to grind, winning against a real good team on a big shot night, so he didn't luck into it. It’s the first night we scored some goals for him, so we think there's more wins in him.”
A NIGHT OF MILESTONES
Brad Marchand wasn’t Florida’s only player to reach a significant milestone on Thursday night.
In addition to Marchand logging his 1,000th NHL point and Tarasov picking up his first win, Seth Jones scored his 100th goal, Evan Rodrigues scored his 100th goal and Gus Forsling picked up his 200th NHL point.
To say there was a lot of noise coming from Florida’s locker room after the game ended would be a gross understatement.
“There's a bigger cheer (after the game), everybody gets to celebrate it together on a win,” Maurice said. “I guess if you have that many guys have milestones, you're probably going to win the game.”
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Photo caption: Nov 13, 2025; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Florida Panthers players celebrate in center ice the 1000th career point by Florida Panthers left wing Brad Marchand (63) against the Washington Capitals during the third period at Amerant Bank Arena. (Sam Navarro-Imagn Images)
Simon Nemec scored his first career hat trick on Wednesday night, setting both a personal and a franchise record.
The 21-year-old, drafted second overall by the New Jersey Devils in 2022, has 35 points—9 goals, 26 assists—in 104 games.
This season, he has stepped up amid injuries. Nemec’s three goals in one game included the overtime winner, marking his first career hat trick and multi-goal performance. With these three goals on Wednesday night and one against the New York Islanders on November 10th, Nemec has now scored four goals in his last two games.
His hat trick made him the third defenseman in Devils history to score a hat trick.
Nemec became the sixth player in Devils history to finish a hat trick with an overtime game-winner.
He is the youngest defenseman in the NHL to score a hat trick and an overtime winner in the same game.
Nemec's record-setting night didn't stop there.
He's the eighth NHL defenseman to record a hat trick with an overtime goal, and the sixth Devils defenseman with a multi-goal game at 21 or younger.
He’s the youngest Devil with a hat trick since Dawson Mercer (April 4, 2023), and the youngest Devils defenseman with a multi-goal game since Damon Severson (Oct. 16, 2014).
After such a remarkable night, Nemec spoke with NHL.com.
“I was never like a shooter or a scoring guy,” Nemec said. “So, yeah, I’m glad for that. But obviously, a great team win. We were down like three times, and we won. That’s good.”
His impact did not go unnoticed by his teammates.
“He was waiting for it with his stick,” Goaltender Jacob Markstrom said to NHL.com. “He was wide open, so a little soft pass. He had to wait for it a little bit. It was his night tonight. Huge game for him, and (to) top it off with an OT hat trick is huge.”
Across three NHL seasons, Nemec has improved each year, earning a career-high four goals already in the Devils' 17 games this season.
With injuries to veteran defensemen, younger players like Nemec have stepped up to fill the void.
Head coach Sheldon Keefe praised Nemec’s performance.
“He showed the forwards how to do it,” head coach Sheldon Keefe joked to NHL.com. “All three goals he’s in forward positioning and finishing. But good on him for finding those spots and finishing. We worked this morning about activating our D and getting our defense involved, and he certainly was paying attention.”
The Devils beat the Blackhawks 4-3 in overtime, securing their seventh straight win over Chicago.
The Devils are 12-4-1, and Nemec is having his best season yet.
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Australians dominate at the very top of our list but the overall numbers are split evenly and England lead the way for all-rounders
More than 800 men have played in an Ashes Test. England picked most of them in the summer of 1989. But the process of selecting the Guardian’s Ashes Top 100 required something more scientific than that infamous shemozzle.
Let’s start with the small print. We asked 51 judges to select their top 50 men’s Ashes cricketers, from which we calculated a top 100: 50 points for No 1, 49 for No 2 and so on. The voting rules were simple. Players were assessed solely on their performances in Ashes cricket, though judges could interpret that any way they liked. (Yep, someone did vote for Gary Pratt.) The judges had to pick at least 15 players from each country and a minimum of five from each of five different eras: players who made their debut before the first world war; in the interwar years; from the second world war to 1974; from 1975 till 1999; and from 2000 onwards.
Continue reading...
