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Four eye-popping stats that tell the story of Celtics' strong start

Four eye-popping stats that tell the story of Celtics' strong start originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

What to Know

  • Hear more from Chris Forsberg in the Celtics Talk Podcast.
  • Forsberg points out four stats that have defined the Celtics’ 3-1 start.
  • C’s will host the Bulls for an NBA Cup matchup Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Boston.

From Paul George’s defensive chaos to Jayson Tatum’s playmaking evolution, we dug up four numbers that pop off the page through Boston’s first four games.

It’s far too early to make sweeping declarations about this team, but it’s never too early to start obsessing over the analytics. Some of these numbers are undoubtedly destined to regress, but others might be early indicators of what might drive Boston’s success over the 82-game grind. 

1. Paul George is a one-man wrecking crew on defense

Remember all that talk about what a 36-year-old Paul George might have left in the tank? Well, apparently there’s still plenty of gas on both ends of the floor. 

Most notably, George is averaging a league-leading six deflections per game through Boston’s first four contests. 

And this isn’t simply a case of George getting his fingertips on passes. He’s been a legitimate turnover-inducing menace on the defensive end while disrupting passing lanes and simply making opposing ballhandlers think twice about passing in his direction.

George’s 3.5 steals per 100 possessions slot him in the 95th percentile at his position. His 2.3 steals per game ranks tied for 9th in the NBA overall. 

The most encouraging part? George doesn’t necessarily need to be the offensive superstar of his younger days to make a positive impact on this team. His defense has changed the momentum of multiple games to start his first season in green.

What’s more, George’s defensive impact is rubbing off on teammates like Sam Hauser and Jordan Walsh, who gushed after Thursday’s practice about the chance to learn from George’s elite defensive instincts.

2. The Celtics are a completely different offensive team with Sam Hauser on the floor

Every season, there’s at least one Celtics player whose on/off number makes us rub our eyes and double check the spreadsheet. Through four games, it’s Hauser.

Boston owns a staggering plus-29.8 net rating in Hauser’s 86 minutes of floor time. When he’s on the bench, that number plummets to minus-10.1.

That number should eventually come back down to earth, but Hauser’s absurd net rating is a reflection of just how good Boston’s bench lineups have been to start the season. Hauser and Neemias Queta have the best on/off splits on the team to start the season. 

Boston has produced an absurd 132.6 offensive rating with Hauser on the court through four games. Without him? Just 102.8. A 29.8 points per 100 possession swing. Hauser often gets early run alongside Jayson Tatum, which helps kick up his shot quality. 

Hauser is producing 7.5 points per game off catch-and-shoot opportunities, tied for top output on the team with George. He’s connecting on 58.8 percent of 4.3 catch-and-shoot 3s per game.

Even more impressive, Hauser’s true shooting percentage sits 13.1 percentage points above league average, ranking him in the 91st percentile for his position.

3. Payton Pritchard is making a mockery of shot-quality models

Payton Pritchard hasn’t met a deep 3 that he didn’t think he was going to make. But he’s cranked up the degree of difficulty this season. 

Through four games, Pritchard has connected on 47.6 percent of his attempts beyond the 3-point arc. That’s impressive enough on its own. But here’s the number that really popped: The expected 3-point percentage on those shots was just 34.4 percent.

That’s a 13.2-percentage-point difference between what the NBA’s shot-quality model anticipates and what Pritchard is actually producing, and it’s by far the best mark on the team among the limited number of qualifiers. 

That differential ranks 11th best in the NBA overall, and fifth among non-centers.

Pritchard’s confidence is a weapon. His third-quarter outburst against Chicago on Monday fueled Boston’s most lopsided win of the season. He’s been relatively quiet in Boston’s other three games — at least by his own lofty standards — and he’s often eased his way into new seasons before turning on the jets.

But that sort of shotmaking is going to be vital as the Celtics figure out how to replace the overall offensive production after Jaylen Brown’s departure.

4. Jayson Tatum is turning into one of the NBA’s premier playmakers

So much of the focus on Tatum entering the new season was his need to shoulder the team’s scoring load. Instead of forcing that issue, Tatum has simply given the game what it needs, and that’s made him one of the best playmakers in the league to start the new campaign. 

Through Boston’s first four games, Tatum owns a career-best 39 percent assist rate, according to Cleaning the Glass data. That number puts him in the 100th percentile at his position. For perspective, the next closest player among all wings is Dallas’ Cooper Flagg at 33.3 percent.

And when you expand the view across the entirety of the league, Tatum finds himself rubbing elbows with some of the NBA’s most gifted offensive orchestrators.

Only four players have a higher assist rate: Trae Young (40.3 percent), Nikola Jokic (39.6), Josh Giddey (39.4), and Tyrese Haliburton (39.3).

Tatum is generating 18.7 potential assists per 100 possessions, the best mark at his position. He already ranks sixth in the NBA while handing out eight assists per game, but there’s potential for that number to climb even higher if teammates maximize all the quality looks he’s creating. 

For years, the conversation around Tatum has centered on whether he could become a more complete offensive player. Could he consistently make the right read at the rim? Could he punish double teams without forcing difficult shots? Could he elevate the players around him?

Early returns this season are encouraging. Tatum’s ability to score and create for others might be the most important piece of Boston’s success. And it will be that combination that will dictate where Tatum lands in the MVP conversation this season. 

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Back-to-backs, holding Jayson Tatum out of Game 7, and sports science

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - OCTOBER 27: Jayson Tatum #0 of the Boston Celtics celebrates with fans after scoring the game winning basket in overtime to defeat the Brooklyn Nets 125-124 at TD Garden on October 27, 2026 in Boston, Massachusetts. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) | Getty Images

With a rash of injuries wiping out the superstar class of the NBA so early in the regular season, load management, style of play, and second guessing the length of training camp have become the center of NBA discussion.

For the Celtics, the conundrum of trying to win now over prioritizing health hit in Game #4 when they had to decide whether they’d play their more vulnerable veterans in the second game of a back-to-back. After a blowout over the Bulls in which nobody played over 27 minutes, the team opted to not rest anybody against the Nets. After 48 minutes of regulation time and an overtime, the Celtics prevailed after Jayson Tatum’s game-winner capped off 40 points in 42 minutes play — not exactly an ideal outcome, but two wins nonetheless.

After the game, Joe Mazzulla said the team would treat the win as a loss when they watched film the next day. Surely, he was talking about another game plagued by turnovers and sloppy play. But in turn, it also added more mileage to the season’s running odometer.

Seven years ago, CelticsBlog’s Chris Grenham interviewed then strength coach Bryan Doo and even back then, there was an awareness that the game was changing and that sports science and the medical staff had to change with it:

As the game continues to evolve, Doo, just like the players he works with, has needed to evolve with it. It means prioritizing certain things he may not have in the past, while using his strengths to his advantage. As B-Doo put it, “pure size and mass isn’t the big thing anymore.”

“It’s a quick game,” said Doo. “It’s a game of speed and movement patterns, and luckily, that was my strength. I feel like my strength was body mechanics and movement patterns. We would pay attention to that all year, every year with the Celtics.”

BOSTON, MA – NOVEMBER 11: Rajon Rondo #9 of the Boston Celtics works out with trainer Bryan Doo before the game against the Orlando Magic on November 1, 2013 at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2013 NBAE (Photo by Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images

Today, it’s remarkable how deliberate Boston’s medical staff is with every second of playing time. To start overtime against Brooklyn, Mazzulla went with Baylor Scheierman and Payton Pritchard rather than veterans Derrick White and Paul George; after going scoreless and down four points after two minutes, they returned to the floor. It was a curious move not to just play his starters the entire OT, but it does suggest that every minute is weighed and charted. Remember: this is a medical staff that held out Jayson Tatum out of a Game 7 against the 76ers last spring.

“At the end of the day, it’s two-fold. We trust the sports science team that we have. We trust the competition of those guys,” Mazzulla said after the win. “At the same time, our locker room has been built on 1-through-15, 16, or 17 being able to impact winning. It’s just a combination of all those things. At the end of the day, we have to do what gives us the best chance to win and keep those guys healthy and evaluate the whole locker room and put guys in situations where they can win games for us.”

Medical teams have to account for at least 1,180,800 seconds of playing time and that’s only for the regular season. That doesn’t include those pesky overtimes, days plural spent on planes, back-to-backs, and injury timetables — all to be healthy at the playoffs. And with the game changing so much and the new collective bargaining agreement emphasizing going deep into your roster to find players, second and third string players are no longer developmental pieces for the future, but necessary contributors right away.

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA – OCTOBER 16: Jaylen Brown #7 of the Philadelphia 76ers guards Hugo Gonzalez #28 of the Boston Celtics in the third quarter during the preseason game at Xfinity Mobile Arena on October 16, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Celtics defeated the 76ers 125-120 in overtime. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) | Getty Images

After playing just 13 minutes in the first two games of the season, Hugo Gonzalez mopped up 24 against the Bulls and then on the following night, seemingly inexplicably just six against the Nets. It’s been a little bit of a choppy start for the sophomore, but he understands that as a member of the Stay Ready group, he’ll get his shot when he gets his shot.

“We’ve got a lot of good players that have proven that they can play at a high level and contribute to the team at any certain point,” Gonzalez said. “We’ve got a lot of guys that are ready to go and we’re trying to use as many guys as we can so that it can be easier.”

Gonzalez is one of ten players in the rotation averaging double digits in minutes. Luka Garza just barely misses the cut at 9.3 minutes per game. Of teams over .500, only the Rockets, Lakers, Thunder, Raptors, and Grizzlies can boast that depth of rotation. It’s becoming a prerequisite if you want to contend in May, June, and July. You can almost guarantee that come the dog days of the NBA schedule in December and January, you’ll see some off days for Tatum, George, and Robinson with Ron Harper Jr. getting some run and the rookies and two-ways coming up from Maine to help shoulder some of the burden of the 82-game grind.

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Bruins try to extend home win streak, face the Blackhawks

Chicago Blackhawks (4-9, in the Central Division) vs. Boston Bruins (9-4-1, in the Atlantic Division)

Boston; Saturday, 1 p.m. EDT

BOTTOM LINE: The Boston Bruins host the Chicago Blackhawks trying to extend a four-game home winning streak.

Boston has a 5-1-0 record at home and a 9-4-1 record overall. The Bruins have gone 1-1-1 in one-goal games.

Chicago has a 0-4-0 record on the road and a 4-9 record overall. The Blackhawks are 3-1-0 in games they score at least three goals.

Saturday's game is the first time these teams meet this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: James Hagens has five goals and five assists for the Bruins. David Pastrnak has seven goals and nine assists over the past 10 games.

Roman Kantserov has five goals and one assist for the Blackhawks. Connor Bedard has scored three goals and added four assists over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Bruins: 7-2-1, averaging 4.1 goals, 6.8 assists, 4.9 penalties and 12.1 penalty minutes while giving up 2.1 goals per game.

Blackhawks: 4-6-0, averaging 2.2 goals, 3.7 assists, 3.6 penalties and 8.5 penalty minutes while giving up three goals per game.

INJURIES: Bruins: None listed.

Blackhawks: Ryan Ellis: out for season (back), Bowen Byram: day to day (upper-body).

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

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Beach volleyball in Morecambe Bay? An Olympics of the north sounds like a winner | Emma John

Our sport-loving PM is willing to risk a bitter north v south furore, all for the sake of table tennis in Teesside

As someone who barely understands their own finances, let alone the country’s, I will admit that budget day doesn’t always register with me. Perhaps if there were outre outfits or horse-drawn carriages involved, like there are at the state opening of parliament, I’d get into it, but the only accessory of note is a briefcase and it doesn’t even glow mysteriously when you open it.

This week, however, the chancellor of the exchequer did manage to catch my attention. Somewhere amid the household energy payments and defence spending, he slipped in a cheeky £7m to assess a possible Olympic bid for the north of England. That’s only a preliminary step and a fraction of the cost of any actual bid – Tokyo and Paris spent more than £50m on theirs. Still, it’s enough to put thoughts in people’s heads of beach volleyball in Morecambe Bay or a British eight rowing to victory along the Tyne.

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Here comes Luka Dončić, and Warriors rookie Yaxel Lendeborg won't flinch

Here comes Luka Dončić, and Warriors rookie Yaxel Lendeborg won't flinch originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

It took Yaxel Lendeborg only 10 days to climb to a place most NBA players can’t get to in 10 years.

He already is a marked man – by opposing coaches and opposing players.

He has zoomed up the scouting report on Golden State’s offense as the No. 2 concern. As the Los Angeles Lakers prepare to face the Warriors on Friday night, Yaxel’s name will be high on the board, right behind that of two-time NBA MVP Stephen Curry.

Lendeborg most assuredly will be No. 1 in the mind of LA star Luka Dončić.

Lendeborg’s in-game conduct and postgame comments last week in the wake of Golden State’s opening-night loss to the Lakers in Los Angeles added spice to future meetings between him and Dončić. The rook didn’t flinch during or after, and the vet led his team to victory.

When they meet again Friday night at Chase Center, the usual sellout crowd will be casting curious eyes toward Lendeborg and Dončić. Will there be any heat between them? Will Luka hunt the rookie? Will Lendeborg – with his image already alongside Curry in promotional graphics – try to make a statement?

We hope that “yes” is the answer to all three questions.

Without referencing Dončić, Lendeborg made it apparent late Wednesday night that he is anticipating coming home for a rematch against the Lakers.

“I’m looking forward to the matchup,” Lendeborg told Tim Roye on postgame Warriors Radio. “I need that day off; it’s very much needed. But I’ll be ready to kill on Friday, or whatever day it is. I’m just trying to make sure that we get that win and continue to keep rolling.”

After losing their first three games, the Warriors are coming off back-to-back wins at Denver and Minnesota. Lendeborg shined against the Nuggets, producing game-highs in points (31) and rebounds (12) while adding six assists. The rook put up 26 points and eight rebounds against the Timberwolves but also acknowledged the worst part of his performance.

On a night when the Warriors led by as much as 24, he committed seven turnovers – six of which came in the second half to nourish Minnesota’s late comeback.

“That started with me,” Lendeborg said. “I was being way too sloppy with the ball. I had no control over it, and pretty much all those turnovers kind of gave them a little run. The crowd got into it, so they started feeling a little bit more confident, seeing a bunch of shots go in that weren’t falling in the first half.”

That instant self-reflection is among the many of Lendeborg’s encouraging traits. He knows he’s learning but makes no attempt to overlook the lessons.

“He feels terrible in there,” coach Steve Kerr told reporters at Target Center. “He’s not happy at all. And yet, he had 26 points and eight boards in his fifth NBA game.

“So, it’s a great lesson for him.”

The weakest component of Lendeborg’s game is his defense. His footwork is awkward, his rotations can be a beat late and he’s still calculating the timing and nuances of operating as the helper. He didn’t do much of that last year at the University of Michigan, largely because his 6-foot-9 body was on the wing while 7-foot-3 Aday Mara and 6-foot-10 Morez Johnson Jr. roamed the paint.

Lendeborg is, however, decent on the ball for someone with such a massive physique. That’s why he saw plenty of Dončić last week and can expect more on Friday.

Dončić, during his eight seasons in the league, has developed a reputation for being a brilliant offensive machine, frequent dialogue with officials and seeking to attack opponents who become irritants. His 36.0 points per game lead the league and his shooting percentages are more than respectable.

At the sight of Lendeborg, Luka will want to drop 40. 

The fun of the matchup is that Yaxel would want nothing less than another round of spirited competition with a star for whom he says he “has lost all respect.”

Nothing Lendeborg has said or done in his first 10 days suggests any back-and-forth will have any effect. He has a high level of skill, but we’ve seen enough of his personality to realize he possesses the ancillary elements required for stardom. He’s not ducking the smoke and he absorbs critiques and advice from his NBA elders.

Let the challenges come. Game after game, throughout the season. A rookie needs barriers to clear, especially those with star quality. 

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Sixers-Knicks NBA Cup primer: What's at stake in Friday's rematch

Sixers-Knicks NBA Cup primer: What's at stake in Friday's rematch originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

The Sixers’ second meeting with the Knicks in 10 days will count in two places.

Friday night’s game at Xfinity Mobile Arena is part of the regular-season schedule, but it will also open Group Play in the fourth annual NBA Cup.

The Knicks enter as defending champions twice over. They won last season’s NBA Cup before completing their run to the NBA championship. The Sixers, meanwhile, will attempt to advance beyond the Cup’s opening stage for the first time.

Here is how the tournament works, what Philadelphia faces in East Group B and what has changed since the Sixers spoiled the Knicks’ banner night.

How does the NBA Cup work?

All 30 teams participate and are divided into six five-team groups — three from each conference. The groups were determined through a drawing based on last season’s standings.

Each team plays four Group Play games, facing every other member of its group once. Two are played at home and two are played on the road.

The Sixers share East Group B with New York, Cleveland, Miami and Indiana. Their schedule is:

  • Friday, Oct. 30: vs. Knicks
  • Friday, Nov. 6: at Cavaliers
  • Wednesday, Nov. 25: vs. Heat
  • Friday, Nov. 27: at Pacers

The three group winners from each conference advance to the eight-team Knockout Rounds. One wild card from each conference — the second-place team with the best Group Play record — also moves on.

Because each team only gets four Group Play games, there is little room for an off night. Head-to-head record is the first tiebreaker, followed by point differential and total points scored. That is why teams may continue attacking late in games that appear decided.

There is one new wrinkle involving overtime. If a Group Play game goes beyond regulation, the result still counts, but the teams receive a point differential of zero for tiebreaking purposes. Points scored in overtime are also removed from the total-points tiebreaker.

The Quarterfinals will be held Dec. 4 and 5, followed by the Semifinals on Dec. 8 and 9. Those games will be played at the higher seed’s home arena. The championship is scheduled for Dec. 11 at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

Every Cup game also counts toward the regular-season standings except the championship. Players on teams that reach the Knockout Rounds receive prize money, with the amount increasing through each round. The league will also select a Cup MVP and an All-Tournament Team. 

How have the Sixers fared?

The Sixers have gone 5-7 across the first three editions of the tournament and have never advanced beyond Group Play.

They finished 2-2 in both 2023 and 2024, then went 1-3 last season. Their only Cup victory in 2025 came in their final Group Play game against Brooklyn, after they had already dropped games to Boston, Detroit and Orlando.

New York experienced the other end of the tournament last season.

The Knicks defeated the Spurs, 124-113, in the championship game. Jalen Brunson was named Cup MVP after averaging 33.2 points across his six tournament appearances. The Cup became the Knicks’ first NBA trophy since 1973, several months before they added another.

Brunson is not the only former Cup MVP in East Group B. Every player to win the award is in the group: LeBron James won with the Lakers in 2023, Giannis Antetokounmpo won with the Bucks in 2024 and Brunson claimed it last year.

What worked for the Sixers in New York?

The Sixers beat the Knicks, 106-100, on opening night despite trailing by four at halftime.

Their defense shifted the game. New York shot 37 percent from the field, and Brunson finished with 21 points on 6-for-19 shooting.

The Sixers were especially effective when the Knicks tried to involve Joel Embiid in ball screens with Brunson. Philadelphia switched certain matchups before the screen arrived, sent extra pressure at Brunson when necessary and relied on James to rotate behind the play.

Philadelphia also created the kind of open-floor opportunities it wants this season. The Sixers scored 24 fast-break points and converted 14 New York turnovers into 22 points. Tyrese Maxey accounted for 12 of their fast-break points and finished with a team-high 28.

The Sixers did not shoot especially well, but their defense allowed them to attack before New York could get organized.

What has changed since the opener?

The Knicks’ season initially continued in the wrong direction.

New York followed its loss to Philadelphia with defeats against Boston and Orlando, opening 0-3. It has since responded with consecutive wins over Detroit and Chicago.

Brunson appears to have found his shot during that turnaround. He went 4 for 20 from three-point range over New York’s first four games before making six of his 10 attempts Wednesday against the Bulls. He finished with 38 points and seven assists in a 133-127 victory.

The Sixers have also changed since their first trip to Madison Square Garden. They enter Friday at 4-1 after Wednesday’s 114-109 win over the Pacers, when four players scored at least 20 points and three recorded double-doubles.

Availability could alter the rematch. Jaylen Brown is questionable with left knee soreness after playing in each of the Sixers’ first five games. James and Embiid are not listed on the injury report for the first leg of a back-to-back, while Dominick Barlow, Jabari Walker, Tacko Fall and Ariel Hukporti remain out. New York backup guard Jose Alvarado is out with a left ankle sprain.

A victory Friday would count the same as any other in the Sixers’ pursuit of a playoff spot. It would also give them the head-to-head advantage over the defending Cup champions in a four-game race where every result — and possibly every point — carries additional weight.

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Les Kiss backs Beale to ‘compete’ for Wallabies’ World Cup spot: ‘He’s in there to perform’

  • Australia coach says recalled 37-year-old adds depth to tour squad

  • Tom Hooper overcomes injury to be available for Nations Championship

Coach Les Kiss says veteran playmaker Kurtley Beale is in consideration for Australia’s Rugby World Cup squad after his shock recall for the Wallabies’ spring tour of the UK.

Beale answered Kiss’s SOS call for next month’s three Tests against England, Scotland and Wales, before the inaugural Nations Championship finals from November 21-23.

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Senators Erase Late Four-Goal Deficit In Wild Comeback, Fall 6-5 to Kings in Overtime

The Los Angeles Kings have had their struggles this season, but they always seem to save their best for the Ottawa Senators.

But on Thursday night, they nearly let a sure victory slip through their fingers.

Quinton Byfield scored in overtime to give the Kings a 6-5 victory, rescuing Los Angeles from a stunning collapse after the Senators scored four unanswered goals in the third period to erase a 5-1 deficit.

It was shaping up to be a disastrous evening for the Senators.

After giving up four unanswered goals in the second period, they trailed 5-1 with less than 13 minutes remaining in regulation. They had gone an incredible 25 minutes without registering a shot on goal and were down to just nine forwards.

But instead of folding up shop, the Senators somehow found another gear, scoring four straight goals to force overtime and salvage a valuable point from a game that appeared hopelessly out of reach.

Dylan Cozens led the comeback with two goals and an assist, while Drake Batherson had a goal and two helpers.

The rally began at 7:18 of the third period when Cozens scored his second goal of the season.

Just 33 seconds later, Batherson ripped one in off the crossbar to make it 5-3, suddenly giving the Senators some hope.

The comeback continued at 12:34 when Cozens scored his second of the night on the power play, poking the puck home to pull the Senators within one.

And with time running out, Shane Pinto completed the comeback. With just 1:40 remaining in regulation, Pinto redirected a hard pass from Batherson to tie the game at 5.

Somehow, a blowout had turned into a thriller.

Yes, Byfield's overtime winner denied the Senators the extra point, but it couldn't erase what they had accomplished in the final 13 minutes of regulation.

The overtime loss extended the Kings' unbeaten streak against the Senators to 13 games (10-0-3). It also marked the first time this season that the Sens have lost consecutive games, though not in regulation.

The game started well enough for the Senators, who opened the scoring on a goal by Tyler Kleven. The young defenceman jumped into the play and buried a rebound off a Fabian Zetterlund shot to give the Senators a 1-0 lead.

But things went downhill quickly from there.

After a questionable interference penalty against Artem Zub, the Kings took advantage on a deflection by Erik Haula. Corey Perry was perfectly positioned in front of Jonas Johansson, screening the Senators goaltender on the tying goal.

Perry seemed to be in the middle of everything the Kings did offensively.

Trevor Moore gave Los Angeles a 2-1 lead before Mikey Anderson scored from distance to make it 3-1, once again with Perry providing the screen in front.

By that point, the Senators were completely flat-footed. They eventually went 25 straight minutes without registering a shot on goal, and things only got worse when Joel Armia spun and fired a shot past Johansson to make it 4-1.

That ended Johansson's evening. After getting the start for a third consecutive game, the Belleville call-up was pulled in favour of Sam Ersson.

But the goaltending change did little to immediately spark the Sens.

Artemi Panarin ripped a shot off the post and in to give Los Angeles a commanding 5-1 lead. Once again, Perry was screening the Senators goaltender.

The Senators were also running out of healthy bodies.

Hayden Hodgson was assessed a five-minute major and ejected for a hit on Brandt Clarke. Andre Burakovsky left the game with a lower-body injury, while Nick Cousins was handed a misconduct, leaving the Senators to try and stage their come back with just nine available forwards.

With a four-goal deficit, a depleted forward group and virtually no offensive momentum, there was little reason to believe the Senators had a comeback in them. There were probably a lot of fans back home in Ottawa who opted for sleep over what seemed to be a beatdown.

But the Sens somehow turned what was shaping up to be their worst performance of the season into what will go down as one of their most memorable comebacks.

There will certainly be plenty for Travis Green and his coaching staff to address after an awful second period and that long, ugly stretch where the Senators could barely generate a shot.

But considering where they stood midway through the third period, that point must feel an awful lot like a victory.

By Steve Warne
The Hockey News Ottawa

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Instant Analysis: Blues Stick To Game Plan, Use Power Play Boost To Dispose of Bruins, 4-1

ST. LOUIS – The St. Louis Blues felt the results would change if they stuck with their process and identity.

It didn’t happen Tuesday against the Montreal Canadiens, but on Thursday against one of the league’s hottest teams in the Boston Bruins, at least for one night, fortunes changed.

Robert Thomas and Philip Broberg each had a goal and two assists, and the Blues ended a two-game scoring drought in a 4-1 win against the Bruins at Enterprise Center to conclude an arduous five-game homestand against some of the top teams at 3-2-0.

“That’s one of the hottest teams in the League,” Thomas said of the Bruins. “I thought we played them really well all game. It feels great.”

Blues coach Jim Montgomery added, “What we want to take away from it is 3-2, but we probably should have been 4-1, and we played the elite in the League. All five teams that came in here. … We played really good teams, we matched up well and three of the last four games playing to what I believe is our identity. You can see the process starting to come and that we’re playing real good hockey. In three of those games, we outplayed really good hockey teams.”

The Blues (6-6-1) also got power-play goals from Jimmy Snuggerud and Jake Neighbours, and Joel Hofer, despite some risky but standard – for him – plays, was rock solid in goal with 31 saves, including 14 in the third period.

About the game …

* Stick with the process – Those that felt the doom and gloom of losing via shutout on Tuesday for the second straight game, 2-0, weren’t feeling the same way as the coaches and players felt, and they felt other than the score, which obviously matters, the parts to the game were played the right way and if they stuck to that similar process, the results would eventually follow.

The Blues pumped 46 shots and 80 attempts at Jacob Fowler on Tuesday but couldn’t solve the Canadiens goalie. They were able to beat the quality of a Jeremy Swayman on Thursday with four goals on 18 shots, and they broke their goal drought at 139:38.

“Montreal, I thought we played a strong game,” Snuggerud said. “I thought we honestly did tonight. Shots didn’t necessarily show that, but I thought we competed hard and brought the energy.

“… The message was this is the NHL and you’re going to face some really good goaltenders. I thought Fowler was really good a couple nights ago and that happens, but just stick with our game of how we finished in the third against Montreal and I thought we brought it tonight.”

* Getting two key power-play goals and quickly – The Blues were down 1-0 in the game on a James Hagens goal, and with the Bruins, who fell to 9-4-1, having been on a 7-0-1 run prior to their 2-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday, they were looking at a great challenge having to come back.

But using their special teams offensively fueled a turnaround, and it started with a set play off the face-off with Thomas winning a draw, Broberg attacking the middle of the ice and feeding Snuggerud for a one-timer to tie the game 1-1 at 15:43 of the first period:

“It’s a play we’ve been working on,” Snuggerud said. “I think the puck kind of ended up in a really good spot where he was able to sink down and kind of find me on that one-timer there. I didn’t get a hold of it really well, but fortunately it went in.”

The key was winning the face-off, which Thomas did.

“Great vision by ‘Broby,’” Thomas said. “We talked about attacking a little bit more. He came flying off the wall and made two great plays. Especially scoring really early on the power play I feel like gives your team a lot of momentum. It was really good.

“There’s a lot of things going on. ‘Jakey’ jumping off the wall. ‘MacT’ creating the space. Their winger comes flying out and he’s getting in the lane and getting to the net. There’s a lot of stuff that’s going on that isn’t really noticed. But they make the play happen.”

Then there’s the put-away goal that Neighbours scored to make it 4-1 at 12:42 of the third period off another face-off win by Thomas, Broberg driving the middle of the ice, shooting it, Neighbours knocking it down and backhanding the puck past Swayman:

“’Tommer’ was great on face-offs tonight and the intensity of the guys helping, 83 and 63 on the line, allowed us to win it back, and 6 and 21 on the second goal was just real good net conversion which is something that Vinny Prospal’s been harping on since the beginning of the year and that’s the best we’ve executed,” Montgomery said. “Obviously the goals went in, that’s nice. Big momentum swings for us.”

Snuggerud added, “’Broby’ brings that energy and that shooting mentality, which is nice to have, especially with different guys in front of the net there. It’s nice. Jakey’s really good there. It was a nice tip and a nice play. I think kind of emphasizing scoring within the first 5-10 seconds of the power play. I thought we executed that tonight.”

With Broberg and Adam Jiricek manning the points on the power play, the Blues were 2-for-3 and 25.7 percent on the season, good for sixth in the NHL.

“I thought it was a shooting mentality,” Broberg said. “Take it to the net. It was nice to see those two goals go in.

“Usually if you win the face-off, you get a little advantage. You try to take advantage of it. I think we made two good plays there. You just want to keep building on that.”

* Line changes pay dividends – Despite playing well Tuesday, the bottom line is the Blues didn’t score for a second straight game, and the coaching staff wanted a different, fresh look.

Montgomery played Neighbours with Thomas and Snuggerud, moved Pavel Buchnevich with Mason McTavish and Jonatan Berggren and flanked Dalibor Dvorsky with Dylan Holloway and Connor McMichael.

“Obviously we get shut out twice in a row. You’ve got to kind of switch some things up, but I think over the lats couple games, we started playing consistently the same way,” Thomas said. “It was nice to get rewarded tonight from that.”

That top line needed a boost and Neighbours provided a different perspective.

“They’re both such skilled players. Jake and ‘Holly’ both work hard, extremely hard in the corners,” Snuggerud said. “They’re both very smart hockey players. It’s fun to be able to play with them both in different scenarios.”

And the results as far as the coaches were concerned?

“I thought our work ratio together, people playing off each other was quicker and faster, especially on the forecheck,” Montgomery said. “I thought Jake Neighbours did a really good job of bringing some net front presence and below the tops, grinding it out on that line. I thought that the Dvorsky line had a lot of intelligent shifts for us, which was nice to see and I thought the (Pius) Suter line had a great game. I matched them up a lot against whenever (David) Pastrnak was on the ice and they did a really good job for us which enables me to free up our offensive lines against other lines.”

* Broberg continues to impact games – Broberg continues to impact the game at both ends of the ice and Thursday was no exception.

Along with the three-point game, he played 25:55 and affected the game with his speed and ability to jump into the offense after being a part of the group that had good defensive sticks breaking up plays.

“Anyone who can attack the middle of the ice, it creates all the offense (and) it opens everything up, especially from a defenseman,” Thomas said of Broberg. “The more they can get in the middle, and he obviously skates really well. He creates a lot of time and space for everyone out there. It’s great to see his confidence just grow and grow every game, especially shooting the puck and really attacking that middle. It takes some confidence to walk the blue line like that to make moves up there. He’s only going to get better. It’s really exciting for all of us to watch.”

Broberg’s fastest speed recorded this season has been 24.26 on Oct. 17 against the Nashville Predators, and his confidence with the puck continues to rise.

Just look at the goal he scored at 5:17 of the second period to make it a 2-1 game when he jumped into the play and took advantage of McMichael’s pass from behind the net to the high slot after a really good keep along the wall from Holloway:

“I try to join the rush with my speed and my skating and help the team offensively and get back on ‘D,’” Broberg said. “You see open space and ‘Mikey’ made a great play there finding me. It was nice to see it go in.”

* Stick play was essential – Early in the game, Boston was taking advantage of the Blues going through the neutral zone and executing breakouts.

As the game wore on, you could see responsible sticks breaking up plays and turning the puck back the other way.

“There’s a lot of guys that had good sticks tonight,” Thomas said. “Super-important, especially through the neutral zone and on the track. You can create a lot off it by breaking up plays. I think a lot of guys did a good job of that.”

It was essential in the second period when the Blues took the game over on the scoreboard. It led directly to Thomas’ goal that made it 3-1 at 12:08:

“Our sticks were really good, especially the second period,” Montgomery said. “I thought that was a clinic in how we need to play defensively. In all three zones but neutral zone was really important because we thought the first 10 minutes, they were picking us apart in the neutral zone and we were disjointed. Forwards weren’t holding the red line, which made defensemen back off and that’s why they can go east-west on us and they can make some high-end plays in the first 10.”

* Thomas has a really good shot, use it more – We’ve always felt like pass-first Thomas has a really nice shot and it was on display on his second goal this season when he was looking to shoot and realized the time and space he had from the blue line in after Justin Barron got him the puck.

“It was nice,” Thomas said. “I haven’t shot the puck a lot lately, so it was nice to get in a good area and rip it. Nice to see one go in. … I was looking pass, but I just kind of (kept) skating and kept skating and eventually I shot it.”

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Kings beat Senators 6-5 in OT after blowing a 4-goal lead in the 3rd period

LOS ANGLES (AP) — Quinton Byfield scored at 3:37 of overtime and the Los Angeles Kings beat the Ottawa Senators 6-5 on Thursday night after blowing a four-goal lead in the third period.

Byfield beat goalie Samuel Ersson with a snap shot from the high slot, with Drew Doughty picking up his third assist of the night on the play.

Erik Haula tied it for Los Angeles on a first-period power play and Trevor Moore, Mikey Anderson, Joel Armia and Artemi Panarin scored in the second to make it 5-1. Panarin capped the run on a power play after Ottawa's Hayden Hodgson was tossed for boarding defenseman Brandt Clarke.

Clarke missed the rest of the game because of an upper-body injury.

Ottawa roared back in the third, with Shane Pinto tying it at 5 with 1:40 left and Ersson off for an extra attacker.

Dylan Cozens scored twice in the period and Drake Batherson also connected. Cozens and Batherson struck in a 33-second span, and Cozens cut it to a goal with 7:26 remaining. Tyler Kleven opened the scoring for Ottawa in the first period.

Darcy Kuemper made 17 saves for Los Angeles.

Jonas Johansson stopped 12 of 16 shots before giving way to Ersson in the second. Ersson made 20 saves on 22 shots.

Up next

Senators: At San Jose on Saturday.

Kings: Host Buffalo on Saturday.

___

See AP’s full NHL coverage here

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Warriors rookie Yaxel Lendeborg is off to a historic start. Think Shaq-like.

The Golden State Warriors seem to have landed a gem with the No. 11 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft.

Yaxel Lendeborg has put his name among some of the greatest rookies of all-time with his first-week performance.

After an 0-3 start, the Warriors have won back-to-back games and Lendeborg has filled his role tremendously.

Yes, he's playing alongside a guy named Stephen Curry, who's been unstoppable the past two games − his 44-point night following a perfect shooting night. Still, Curry can't do it alone and with injuries to Jimmy Butler III and Moses Moody, Golden State needs players to step up. Lendeborg has so far.

The 24-year-old rookie has averaged 22.6 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 4.0 assists over his first five games.

Lendeborg is the first player since Shaquille O'Neal to average at least 20 points and nine rebounds in his first five career games.

His performances include 31 points in the Warriors' first win of the season, which came on the road against the Denver Nuggets. He added 12 rebounds and six assists. He shot 9-of-19.

He's continued to adapt to the NBA game, staying aggressive and getting easy opportunities at the free throw line. The rookie finished 12-of-13 from the charity stripe against Denver.

Lendeborg joined Hall of Famers Patrick Ewing, David Robinson and O'Neal as the only players in the draft lottery era (since 1985) to put up at least 85 points and 35 rebounds in their first four career games.

He scored 87 points in his first four career games, which is second-most for a player in Warriors history behind Wilt Chamberlain. Lendeborg is ahead of Joe Fulks (78 points in 1946-47); Paul Arizin (73 points in 1950-51); Rick Barry (71 points in 1965-66); and Chris Webber (68 points in 1993-94).

Lendeborg is still a rookie and he gets nervous out there, especially playing with Curry and Draymond Green, who have won four NBA championships together and understand what winning looks like.

Curry shot a perfect 8-for-8, scoring 24 points in their win against the Nuggets, but it was Lendeborg who led the team in scoring that night. Lendeborg is continually gaining confidence because the team leaders are encouraging it from him.

"Steph and Draymond's confidence for me," Lendeborg said after their win against the Nuggets. "After the game in Hawaii, where I think I had, like, three points, and only took three shots, I asked them just for some guidance, some advice, and they told me to just, you know, try to be confident, be aggressive, and play through mistakes. I'm gonna be in that position to do that."

The advice worked.

"Just hearing that from those two guys, I was coming into the game timid, like, I don't want to mess up what they got going on," Lendeborg said. "They pretty much just gave me free roam. So they helped me out, and from then, I just vowed to be a little more aggressive in each night."

In their 119-114 victory against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Oct. 28, Curry scored a season-high 44 points. Lendeborg was the team's secondary option with 26 points and nine rebounds. He had seven turnovers but that's a part of the opportunity for growth that Curry and Green told him about.

His next is in a rematch with the Los Angeles Lakers and their star Luka Dončić after the NBA season opener when Lendeborg had words for the Lakers guard about his play.

"I was telling (Luka) he sucks. He can’t score on me,” Lendeborg said after the game. “You talk and you can’t score on me. I said it the whole game."

Lendeborg said he "lost all respect" for Dončić after the game because the Lakers superstar was complaining to the officials for calls. Dončić scored 28 points on 7-for-18 shooting from the field and added eight rebounds and seven assists.

"It's about him complaining the entire game. And then you get foul call. Congratulations, bro," Lendeborg said.
"And then you talk to me, like you did something great, bro. Come on, now. It kind of threw me off for a little while, 'cause, you know, like I said, I had so much respect for him. Gone."

Lendeborg gets his next opportunity Friday, as the Warriors look to win their third consecutive game and get back .500 on the season as they host the Lakers at the Chase Center in San Francisco. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. PT/10 p.m. ET.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Warriors rookie Yaxel Lendeborg is off to a historic start. Think Shaq-like.

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Despite A Strong Effort, Canucks Suffer 3–2 Loss To The San Jose Sharks

The Vancouver Canucks looked like they might have put together one of their strongest team efforts after 40 minutes against the San Jose Sharks tonight, but three consecutive goals for the Sharks resulted in Vancouver ultimately suffering a 3–2 loss. Drew O’Connor and Liam Öhgren scored the goals for the Canucks, while Leevi Meriläinen stopped 21 of 24 shots faced. 

Vancouver faced a brief scare early in the first period when Brock Boeser blocked a shot with what appeared to be the inside of his foot. After sitting on the bench for a little after, the forward went down the tunnel and to the Canucks’ dressing room. Öhgren took Boeser’s place on a power play soon after, though Boeser returned towards the end of the period and played out the remainder of the game. 

Is Elias Pettersson back? That’s been one of the biggest topics of debate since the start of the season. Pettersson’s assist on O’Connor’s game-opening goal seems to have given many the belief that he may be back. The play started with Pettersson carrying the puck along the boards, chipping it and retrieving it after it bounced off Sharks defenceman Dmitry Orlov. He then pulled it between his skates while facing pressure from two different players to keep it in the zone before flinging it on net. O’Connor fetched the rebound and tucked it past Sharks goaltender Yaroslav Askarov. 

The second period saw Vancouver take and kill two penalties, maintain a solid presence both offensively and defensively, and even double-up their lead thanks to a sharp snipe for Öhgren. This frame also featured a three-minute shift for defenceman Tom Willander during a sequence that saw San Jose press a little harder than they had through the majority of the game. 

Vancouver has struggled significantly in the shifts following a goal allowed, and despite their strong effort tonight, this once again proved to be the case. Will Smith scored on a Sharks power play during the third period to give San Jose their first goal of the night. After that goal, Vancouver didn’t quite look the same as they did throughout the bulk of the game beforehand. San Jose was able to leverage that momentum into a sequence of strong O-zone time that left the Canucks without the same strengths they’d exhibited during the first and second periods of the game.   

Because of that momentum, San Jose was able to tie the game at two goals apiece, once again thanks to a goal by Smith. Yet again, the shift after surrendering a goal did the Canucks in, as the Sharks found the back of the net 11 seconds later to take a 3–2 lead. The shifts following San Jose’s third goal saw Vancouver look nothing like how they did for the majority of the game — scrambly, disjointed, and chaotic. A two-minute 6-on-4 advantage near the end of the game couldn’t even give Vancouver a game-tying goal. 

While Vancouver did surrender a two-goal lead and ultimately lost by a score of 3–2, by no means was this a bad game for a rebuilding team that is still learning in the early stages of their season. Before the three consecutive Sharks goals, the Canucks demonstrated a strong sense of confidence. It was clear Vancouver’s players were more eager to test out new things or try bolder plays than they have been as of late — from Pettersson’s stickhandling, to Öhgren’s hefty shot on Askarov, to Meriläinen’s steady saves after facing scoring chance after scoring chance for the Sharks while shorthanded. 

All in all, tonight’s game served as a good learning lesson for the Canucks. While they put together a very strong 40-minute effort, they were unable to seal the win in the final 20, once again suffering a downhill-slide in the shifts following a goal surrendered. 

Stats and Facts: 

  • Elias Pettersson extends his current point streak to six straight games 
  • Filip Chytil plays the second-most minutes of all Canucks skaters with 22:13 
  • Marco Rossi and Max Sasson each log a 75% faceoff win percentage  
  • Liam Öhgren scores in back-to-back games for the first time in his NHL career 

Scoring Summary: 

1st Period: 

13:21 - VAN: Drew O’Connor (2) from Elias Pettersson 

2nd Period: 

18:56 - VAN: Liam Öhgren (4) from Filip Hronek 

3rd Period: 

8:00 - SJ: Will Smith (5) from Dmitry Orlov and Mason Marchment (PPG) 

10:39 - SJ: Will Smith (6) from Macklin Celebrini and Michael Kesselring 

10:50 - SJ: Mason Marchment (4) from Kiefer Sherwood and Nolan Allan

Up Next: 

Vancouver Canucks vs. Toronto Maple Leafs, October 31, 4:00 pm PT 

Oct 29, 2026; San Jose, California, USA; Vancouver Canucks left wing Drew O'Connor (18) shoots during the first period against the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center at San Jose. Mandatory Credit: Bob Kupbens-Imagn Images
Oct 29, 2026; San Jose, California, USA; Vancouver Canucks left wing Drew O'Connor (18) shoots during the first period against the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center at San Jose. Mandatory Credit: Bob Kupbens-Imagn Images

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Cameron Boozer Just Did Something Not Many Rookies Do, And Certainly Not This Soon

PORTLAND, OR - OCTOBER 29: Cameron Boozer #27 of the Memphis Grizzlies handles the ball during the game against the Portland Trail Blazers on October 29, 2026 at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photo by Cameron Browne/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images

Getting a triple-double is not a common thing for any NBA player, and less so for rookies. Getting one this early in the season is even rarer.

The last rookie to get a triple-double by his fifth game was Lonzo Ball, who turned the trick for the Los Angeles Lakers in 2017-18.

Well, Cameron Boozer pulled it off against Portland Thursday night. The former Duke star finished with 18 points, 11 rebounds, and 12 assists against the Trail Blazers.

It’s still early, but at this point, it’s hard to argue that Boozer isn’t the leading candidate for Rookie of the Year.

More importantly, the Memphis Grizzlies are now 5-0.

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