Updates as the Jillaroos and Wales meet at CommBank Stadium
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And the two teams are out in the glorious spring sunshine. Smiles all round as Australia prepare to fill their boots and Wales soak up the occasion.
The Jillaroos are wearing gold jerseys this afternoon, with green chevrons and shorts. Wales are in red with white and dark green accents.
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It was a night where there were more treats than tricks as the Colorado Avalanche hosted the Calgary Flames on Halloween night. The game began well after the candy was handed out but Colorado tasted the sweet 5-2 victory at the end of the night. Artturi Lehkonen continued his hot streak with two goals and Cale Makar finished with four assists.
To start this game, the Avalanche generated many shots but no goals until Nathan MacKinnon broke through with just over five minutes remaining in the first period. A rebound found it’s way right to MacKinnon in his favorite spot on the left side and he nailed the post and it bounced into the net behind Arsenii Sergeev making his second career NHL start for the Flames. Calgary got a few good looks on Mackenzie Blackwood but he shut the door especially on Matt Coronato by making a sprawling save with eight seconds to go to preserve the 1-0 lead.
On this Halloween night things got scary as the Avalanche received a power play early in the second period. As the first unit remained on the ice for nearly the full duration, Martin Nečas finally scored from the left circle and continued his hot streak of scoring on Halloween.
Minutes later, Arturri Lehkonen continued his own hot streak scoring his 11th goal on the season and Brock Nelson soon after. At that point the game entered garbage time as the clock began approaching midnight both on the evening and this game. Calgary tried to make it interesting when Joel Farabee made a spin move at the net front and finally got on the board to make it 4-1. Nothing much else happened in the period except for Brock Nelson got hit in the head on a Cale Makar shot but he returned to the bench by the start of the third period.
Speaking of the final frame, Colorado was feeling generous when a Brent Burns turnover behind the net led to a Martin Pospisil goal. Two minutes later, however, the Avalanche got it back as a Cale Makar shot was deflected by Lehkonen for his 12th goal of the season. Not much else happened other than Fedor Svechkov got chopped in the face and had to leave the ice for repairs and the Avalanche got a four-minute power play but they couldn’t cash in. Therefore the 5-2 score stood at the final horn and Colorado secured their victory.
Lehkonen is on pace for 72 goals this season after scoring his 12th in 14 games. Never mind that it’s on 28 shots on goal or what the ramifications of this will be but the Avalanche will take a hot streak to help them in the standings right now.
The four points he generated tonight is a sesson-high for Cale Makar. His high mark previous to this was a three-point effort when the Avalanche visited the Flames earlier in the month. That’s nearly half of the 15 points Makar has on the year courtesy of Calgary. The Avalanche don’t see the Flames again until April so Cale will have to find a new favorite team to play against.
The start of another quick road trip featuring a back-to-back. The fun begins on Monday, November 2nd at the Chicago Blackhawks. Puck drop is at 6 p.m. MT.
The Calgary Flames couldn’t carry their momentum from Friday night’s win into Colorado, falling 5-2 to the Avalanche on Saturday night.
Calgary was coming off a 6-2 victory over the Seattle Kraken and had won six of its previous eight games heading into the second half of a back-to-back.
Recently recalled goaltender Arsenii Sergeev got the start between the pipes for the Flames, but faced an early deficit against one of the league’s top offensive teams.
Colorado opened the scoring at the 14:13 mark of the first period. After picking up a loose puck in the high slot, Nathan MacKinnon fired a shot upstairs past Sergeev to make it 1-0.
The Avalanche added to their lead early in the second period on the power play. At 2:37, MacKinnon sent the puck to former Flame Nazem Kadri, who found Martin Necas with a perfect cross-seam pass. Necas made no mistake, beating Sergeev with a one-timer to make it 2-0.
Just over three minutes later, Colorado struck again. Cale Makar dangled around a Flames defender before sliding the puck to Artturi Lehkonen, who quickly fired it past Sergeev to extend the lead to 3-0.
The Avalanche weren’t finished. On a two-on-one rush, Gabriel Landeskog flipped a pass across to Brock Nelson, who chipped the puck out of the air and into the net to give Colorado a commanding 4-0 advantage.
Calgary finally got on the board before the end of the second period. Mikael Backlund won a battle along the boards and sent the puck out to Joel Farabee. Farabee kicked it to his stick before sliding a shot past Mackenzie Blackwood to make it 4-1.
The Flames carried some momentum into the third period, with Martin Pospisil cutting the deficit to two early in the frame.
After a strong forecheck and a turnover forced on Ryan Strome, Pospisil found himself with the puck in front of the net and buried his opportunity past Blackwood to make it 4-2.
However, any hopes of a Calgary comeback were quickly answered by Colorado.
Moments later, Makar sent a shot toward the net that Lehkonen redirected past Sergeev for his second goal of the night, restoring the Avalanche’s three-goal lead at 5-2.
1. Farabee continues to deliver offensively
Joel Farabee has been one of Calgary’s most productive forwards lately. His goal against Colorado gives him 12 points in his last seven games, with five goals and seven assists during that stretch. He’s providing consistent offence and becoming an important part of the Flames’ attack.
2. Calgary connections make an impact for Colorado
There were a couple of familiar connections on the Avalanche scoresheet. Calgary-born defenceman Cale Makar recorded four assists, while Nazem Kadri added an assist against his former team. Both played important roles in Colorado’s offensive performance.
3. Frost closing in on career milestone
Morgan Frost is now just one point away from reaching 200 career NHL points. The Flames forward is approaching another personal milestone as he continues to establish himself in Calgary’s lineup.
Tampa Bay Lightning star Nikita Kucherov did his part in his first game after telling his teammates he had requested a trade from the team he led to two championships.
The NHL's reigning MVP set up the first three Lightning goals for a 3-2 lead against the Nashville Predators on Saturday, Oct. 31. Nashville, however, rallied to win the game 5-4 in a shootout.
"He's going to play hard and we can't look into the future," teammate Brayden Point told reporters. "Right now, he's a Bolt."
Connor Hellebuyck sat out before his trade to the New Jersey Devils, and Detroit Red Wings center Dylan Larkin did the same on Oct. 29 after getting frustrated with the lack of progress on his trade request. But Kucherov plans to keep playing.
When NHL insider Pierre LeBrun wondered on social media whether Kucherov eventually would sit out to pressure the team, agent Dan Milstein replied, "Unlikely."
Kucherov is the final year of a contract that has a $9.5 million cap hit. After some negotiations for an extension, the Lightning were informed that he wouldn't re-sign with the team and wanted to be traded. According to puckpedia.com, he has a modified trade clause in which he submits 10 teams.
General manager Julien BriseBois said in a statement on Oct. 30 that the Lightning "unequivocally" have no intention to trade the franchise's all-time leading scorer.
Lightning captain Victor Hedman: "It was a tough day."
Point: "That's his business. He's my teammate. He's my friend. That's how I'll treat him."
Lightning defenseman John Carlson: "I think it was surprising to everyone."
He added that the trade request wasn't a distraction.
"Once you get on the ice, there's only so many things you can worry about," he said. "I think we're focused on what I can do on the ice."
Jon Cooper on the Nikita Kucherov situation: "I will sit here and tell you nothing has changed in what our goals are this year just, maybe, the context of how it is going to go about. Kuch is 100% a part of this team. He wants to be a part of this team for this season and he is…
— Gabby Shirley (@Gabby_Shirley_) October 31, 2026
Lightning coach Jon Cooper on Kucherov's night: “He's a proud Bolt and he came in tonight to help us win a hockey game as he’s done his whole career here and he gave us a hell of a chance. It's too bad we couldn't pull that one out."
Kucherov did not talk to media after the game.
Sportsnet insider Elliotte Friedman said he believes that Larkin's camp could make revisions to his current 10-team trade list.
"I think over the next 24-48 hours it's possible we see that trade list altered."
— The Sabre Report (@TheSabreReport) November 1, 2026
- Elliotte Friedman on Dylan Larkin pic.twitter.com/6idZBZjIFE
His list, according to reports, are the Minnesota Wild, Vegas Golden Knights, Florida Panthers, New Jersey Devils, Tampa Bay Lightning, Colorado Avalanche, Utah Mammoth, Washington Capitals, Dallas Stars and Carolina Hurricanes.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Lightning teammates address Nikita Kucherov trade request: 'Tough day'
On the eighth anniversary of Derrick Rose’s 50 point game, your Minnesota Timberwolves fell victim to a Halloween monster performance by alien Victor Wembanyama, losing to the San Antonio Spurs by a score of 121-111.
With this being a second night of a set of back-to-back games and playing without Anthony Edwards and Rudy Gobert (back spasms), many fans may have expected tonight’s result.
What they may not have expected, however, was the amount of fight the Wolves had in them even if it was not enough for the victory.
A performance I really want to highlight was that of Joan Beringer. Starting tonight in place of Rudy Gobert, Joan poured in 12 points, grabbed six rebounds, and committed five fouls in 34 minutes of play.
On paper, his French counterpart completely eviscerated him, with Wemby scoring an otherworldly 43 points on 17-34 shooting.
Looks like Wemby dominated him, right? It did feel like that at times, because Victor is such a freak. Every time Wemby came at Joan with something ridiculous, Joan just kept battling.
It was amazing growth to see, because at age 34 Rudy Gobert is going to miss games. Joan Beringer needs to be effective in those games, and although the stats didn’t show it tonight, he was able to hold his own.
Ayo Dosunmu continues to fill in admirably in the absence of Anthony Edwards, scoring 27 points on 11-15 shooting, splashing two threes, and even grabbing nine boards.
These types of performances are exactly why he was paid all that money to come back.
His speed in the open floor is outrageous, his willingness to defend, and his overall tenacity is exactly what this team will need come playoff time, but they need it even more now that Ant remains sidelined.
Unfortunately, LaMelo Ball had a rough night. He had just 10 points, 2/10 shooting overall, and didn’t make a three. He spent much of the game on the bench due to foul trouble, and even fouled out at the end of the game when the Wolves were attempting to make a final push at victory.
It’s becoming a pattern now where LaMelo puts himself in these disadvantageous situations and it’s not something the Wolves can afford, especially on a back-to-back in San Antonio. He looks sped up, can’t find any rhythm with his shot, and is playing with his hands too much on the defensive end.
You maybe can get away with a performance like this against the NBA’s cellar dwellers, but not against the reigning Western Conference champions.
Moving forward, I would like to see LaMelo get himself going by attacking the paint and maybe getting to the free throw line or making easy dump offs for his teammates. Finding a rhythm isn’t just about making shots, it’s about finding your place in an offense on game in,, game out basis. The shots will start falling, just not if you force the issue too much.
Among the positives, Jonathan Kuminga I thought had a really nice game. He logged 40 minutes, which was good to see after only 22 last night, scoring 19 points, hitting two threes, and really helping defend the powerhouse San Antonio guards on the perimeter. Performances like these are why people keep falling in love with this man’s game. It wasn’t totally flashy, either, save for this dunk on Victor Wembanyama.
For some reason, I feel like we’re on borrowed time with Kuminga. It’s his reputation, based on his last two stops. Chris Finch is really good at defining roles for his players, and if this is the Jonathan Kuminga we’re going to see more often than not then I’m all for it.
Bench wise, there wasn’t really a ton of note that happened tonight. The presumed sixth and seventh men were starting tonight, so Finch only went nine deep.
Outside of some Jaylen Clark made threes, there wasn’t a ton of production. TJ Shannon had a game he’d like to forget, making only one field goal and failing to draw iron on a couple threes. Trey Lyles made some nice plays, but also looked lost at times.
I was a little shocked that we didn’t see Cody Williams tonight. Without a true center coming off the bench, he’s someone with some size that I thought he could go throw his body around and battle among the tree that is Wemby.
Another head scratcher was the lack of Bones Hyland out there. With LaMelo down in foul trouble early, he came into the game and got six pretty quick points, but wasn’t really effective in his second stint and we didn’t really see him again. That could be a product of Ayo having a nice night, but it seemed as if he could’ve helped settle the offense down and there were times tonight where that was sorely needed.
One last quick thing before we flush this one and move on to the next game: The way this team gets officiated is mind-boggling at times. I’m not saying that the majority of the fouls that were called on Minnesota tonight were bad calls, but a lot of the touchy calls that they get called on them don’t seem to go the other way when they happen to the Timberwolves.
Case in point, there was a sequence when Joan Beringer made an effort play on Victor Wembanyama to get a putback and keep the game tight and got a foul for going over the back of Wembanyama.
It’s totally fine if that’s the level of contact the officials want to whistle for. The ensuing possession down the floor, Wemby gets quite physical with Beringer in order to make himself available down low (a level of physicality you wouldn’t know Wemby had if you watched him drive to the hoop, just saying) and there was nothing called as Wemby almost put Joan in the rim. Add that on to the lack of calls Anthony Edwards gets going to the hole, and it creates a discrepancy that the Wolves should take issue with.
All in all, there were plenty of positives to take away from tonight’s game in San Antonio. The Timberwolves fought valiantly to keep themselves in the game, but just couldn’t quite get over the hump.
Your Minnesota Timberwolves are back in action on Monday, November 2nd, when they play host to the Milwaukee Bucks at 7:00pm CT. That game will be streaming on DAZN-MIN for in-market fans, and on NBA League Pass for out-of-market fans.
Dana Brown is reportedly returning to the Braves’ organization and the Alex Anthopoulos front office. Brown was a big part of the draft side of things for a while and highly respected in that role before joining the Astros as their top executive. His stint in Houston was a mixed bag and seemingly filled with owner meddling. He now rejoins the Braves on the amateur scouting side once again. I have heard a mixed bag of stories about Brown from the Braves’ prospect community, but clearly smart people in the Braves’ front office and around baseball value him highly enough to put him in important spots, so it seems like a good thing to add someone like that back into the fold.
Executive Dana Brown is returning to the Braves, after a stint as the Astros’ top decision-maker.
Organizational depth utilityman and once top prospect Vidal Brujan returned to the Braves’ organization on a minor league deal.
We reviewed Carlos Carrasco’s 2026 season for the Braves, a potential swan song for his career.
The Rays kicked off their annual 40-man roster purge, trading a promising triple-A reliever to the Astros for cash.
The Padres declined their option on Nick Pivetta’s contract, making him a free agent.
The Rays exercised the club option on Drew Rasmussen for next season, an obvious move for the star pitcher.
Two nights after a gut-wrenching loss to the Utah Mammoth, the Pittsburgh Penguins traveled to Montreal to take on the Canadiens in a Halloween matchup.
And, unlike their Mammoth counterparts on Thursday, they were unable to play late-game heroics.
Despite a commendable effort in the third period by the Penguins, they were unable to muster enough to tie the game in the final minutes, losing by a score of 5-4. Sergei Murashov, who got his first start between the pipes in two weeks, surrendered five goals on 27 shots, while the Penguins put 29 shots on young Habs' netminder Jacob Fowler - most of which came in the final frame.
The Penguins were actually the first to get on the board in this one, as they cashed in on an early power play opportunity. Sidney Crosby set up Erik Karlsson for a one-time shot, and he buried it, giving Crosby his 1,112th career helper to break the NHL record for most assists with a single franchise.
However, the Penguins' only lead in this game didn't last long because, just 33 seconds later, Canadiens' forward Oliver Kapanen put one past Murashov for a bit of a shaky goal to tie the game. Then, only 24 seconds after that, yet another egregious defensive zone giveaway by the Penguins - this time, by forward Hendrix Lapierre - led directly to a goal against by Josh Anderson to make it 2-1.
A few minutes later, the Penguins' first line broke into the offensive zone on a 3-on-2. Crosby came down the right side and dropped it Rickard Rakell down the middle, and Rakell quickly put the puck on the tape of Tommy Novak coming down the left side. Novak cut across the net-front and went five-hole to beat Fowler and tie the game at 2-2.
Shortly after that goal, Montreal appeared to have scored again, but as it turns out, Penguins' head coach Dan Muse challenged the play for goaltender interference and won to keep things knotted up.
But the Habs still managed to take the lead early in the third period on a goal by Alexandre Texier. And, once again, the Penguins surrendered another goal within the span of a minute - this one, 27 seconds later to Chris Kreider - to make the score 4-2.
Less than a minute and a half later, Karlsson made an outstanding play at the offensive blue line to keep the puck onside, and he cut across the slot. He made a no-look backhand pass to Rakell, who was cycling into the high slot area, and Rakell beat Fowler to once again cut the Penguins' deficit to one.
Unfortunately, with a little less than seven minutes to go in the second period, Anderson netted his second of the game off a fluke play. Murashov made the initial save, but the puck hit off Kris Letang's leg and went into the back of the net, giving Montreal the two-goal lead.
The Penguins pushed hard in the third period, registering 15 shots and coming to within one after Crosby scored with the extra attacker and a little more than three minutes left in regulation. However, they could not muster another tally before the clock ran out, giving them their sixth loss in the last eight games.
Here are a few takeaways from this one:
- It's easy to say Murashov had a bad night, especially after the first goal he surrendered. And, yes, he could have made a save or two extra.
But the Penguins are absolutely leaving him out to dry in every single one of his starts. And it has been that way since the beginning of the season.
Another bad defensive zone turnover led to the second goal. The third and fourth goals from the Habs were results of poor defensive zone coverage. Say all you want about Murashov needing to be better, but it's not a particularly easy ask or reasonable expectation for your 22-year-old rookie goaltender with 10 games NHL experience under his belt to have to stand on his head each and every outing.
No, the AHL won't do anything to help Murashov. He's beyond that. The Penguins having only four games in two weeks didn't help, either, especially with Arturs Silovs performing the way he is. He has to ride it out and figure it out.
And that's just something that is going to come along with the youth movement in the NHL. Folks ask for young players. Young players are not going to have it figured out right away. Murashov needs time and NHL reps, and if the expectation is for him to semi-regularly steal games for the Penguins right from the start like he stole a point for them in Columbus, that expectation needs to be taken down a few notches.
Especially with this defense.
Takeaways: Despite Late Comeback, Penguins Surrender Last-Second Goal, Fall To Utah In OTDefensive zone mistakes proved costly as the Penguins gave up the latest tying regulation goal in franchise history en route to a 4-3 overtime loss to the Mammoth Thursday.- The giveaway by Lapierre on the second goal was, again, egregious. But It's a mystery what Declan Carlile was trying to accomplish on the next two goals against.
On the third goal, he committed to coverage higher in the zone, where Egor Chinakhov was already covering his man, leaving Texier exposed. On the fourth goal, he was all the way up near the blue line in defensive zone coverage, leaving Lapierre to defend the net front.
Carlile positions himself in the defensive zone like a forward, and stuff like this simply cannot happen at the NHL level. As a general rule of thumb, it is a defenseman's job to defend the net-front and defend down low as a whole. Leaving your forwards to carry that load in those situations, especially when there was already coverage higher in the zone, is not something that should happen.
The 26-year-old has some offensive talent, but he is a minus-9. Normally, that stat is a bit arbitrary, but in this case, that minus-9 is entirely indicative of his play in his own zone. At this point, it's nearly a nightly occurrence that he makes a defensive zone gaffe that leads to a goal, or multiple goals, against.
That slight offensive upside, in no way right now, outweighs his defensive zone liability. I'm not sure how much longer a leash the Penguins can have with him.
Penguins' Captain Sidney Crosby Sets New NHL RecordPittsburgh Penguins' captain Sidney Crosby continued to build his NHL legacy Saturday with yet another notch in the record books.- On a positive note, Crosby sure looked like himself Saturday.
He was affecting the game everywhere. He was cycling and turning on the jets down low in the offensive zone. He broke an NHL record and also tied Marcel Dionne for sixth all-time in scoring by the end of the night. His chemistry with Rakell was on display. And Rakell himself scored his fourth goal in the last five games.
His line was, by far, the best line for the Penguins in that game. Novak looked far more comfortable Saturday, too, than he had in the previous games. If they can begin to gel - and the second line can continue to build - the Penguins should have no trouble scoring.
It was good to see the version of 87 that everyone knows and loves.
- Karlsson now has three goals and 16 points in 14 games. He was very, very good for the Penguins Saturday, and he was particularly good when they put Sam Girard on his left in the third period.
This pace for Karlsson is a big deal for a great many reasons. If the Penguins cannot stop the ship from sinking in the next couple of weeks, I would reasonably expect his name to pop up like crazy in trade rumors.
If he can't help the Penguins win, he could sure help another contending team win. And his value would be far higher earlier in the season at a point-per-game pace than it would be at the trade deadline, when he would be a pure rental.
There is a lot at stake for the Penguins in the next few games, even if it is early in the season. They will have some tough decisions to make regarding personnel this season, but depending on which direction their season goes quickly, that could make some decisions a whole lot easier.
'We Have To Be A Team That's Harder To Play Against': Penguins Look To Turn Page After Tough LossThe Pittsburgh Penguins are looking to regroup after their tough 4-3 overtime loss to Utah on Thursday. Bookmark THN - Pittsburgh Penguins on your Google News tab to follow the latest Penguins news, roster moves, player features, and more!
Friday night the Warriors dressed up as a lottery team for exactly one quarter, then took the costume off and beat the Lakers by 17. They were down 38-15 after twelve minutes, watched the deficit swell to 25, tied it at 53 by halftime, and outscored LA 59-42 the rest of the way. According to the league, no team in the shot-clock era had ever trailed by 23-plus after one and tied it by the break. So the Halloween party at Chase started a day early.
Now the Clippers come to town at 1-4, losers of four straight, fresh off a 127-101 beating in Minnesota where the Wolves closed on a 23-2 run, without Anthony Edwards. This is a different Clippers team than the one you’ve been booing for a decade. Kawhi is gone, and the keys now belong to Darius Garland, Brandon Ingram and No. 5 pick Keaton Wagler.
Los Angeles Clippers at Golden State Warriors
When: November 1st, 2026 | 5:30 PM PT
Where: Chase Center
TV: NBC Sports Bay Area
Radio: 95.7 The Game
There’s also some history here that Clipper fans would rather not discuss. Last April, Steph came back from a knee issue and dragged the Warriors past the Clippers 126-121 in the play-in. That loss ended the season and, as it turned out, the whole Kawhi era. So technically the Clippers’ rebuild was built in Golden State’s backyard. Sunday is Día de los Muertos, which feels right for a franchise that’s still figuring out what came back to life and what stayed buried.
Wagler is the guy to watch on their side. He’s scored in double figures every night, and he gets to the line like he has a coupon, going 7-for-8 in Minnesota even while shooting 2-for-11 from the field. Brook Lopez gave them 13 off the bench, and Rui Hachimura is back from a quad issue. They’re also missing big man Yanic Konan Niederhauser, who’s out after Lisfranc surgery. That leaves a frontcourt that Golden State’s small-ball lineups should be able to run off the floor if the effort is there.
On the Warriors’ side, everybody’s watching the rookie. Yaxel Lendeborg spent the week in the national headlines for calling Luka a whiner after opening night, then had the kind of rematch you only have in a nightmare: six points, six fouls, five turnovers.
The bench is the other storyline worth your attention. Golden State’s reserves went for 50 against the Lakers bench’s seven, with De’Anthony Melton scoring 16, Georges Niang finishing plus-21, and Will Richard going plus-20 mostly on defense and pure nuisance. If that second unit is real, this team has a ceiling nobody gave them credit for in October.
Unfortunately the Dubs will be without Draymond and Steph; Steph is balling out of control this season.
The Warriors started 0-3, and Dub Nation was already measuring the Steph era for a coffin. Three wins later they’re back at .500, and a rookie has given everybody something to argue about besides the end of the dynasty. The Clippers are coming to Chase looking for a fresh start, and Golden State has a chance to remind them who ended the last one.
The Cleveland Cavaliers dominated the Milwaukee Bucks inside, leading to a runaway 136-111 victory.
25 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal
Allen was an absolute force to be reckoned with. He relentlessly attacked the basket by rolling hard to the rim and looking for any opening he could find to make himself available for a pass inside. Defensively, he controlled the paint and cleaned up the glass.
This was the ideal game from Allen.
27 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal
Basically everything I said about Allen could also be said of Mobley. He was aggressive offensively, attacking inside. And when the defense sagged off, he took the outside shot, going 3-for-5 from beyond the arc.
This game was the template from a process and results standpoint for Mobley.
13 points, 7 assists, 6 rebounds
Harden spread the ball around and looked to get the bigs involved. It was exactly what the Cavs needed from their starting point guard.
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15 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists
Milwaukee’s point-of-attack defense was a mess. Herro wasn’t the only reason to blame for that, but he was the most noteworthy example of someone who wasn’t upholding their end of the bargain. On top of that, Herro struggled to make anything happen as a scorer as he went just 5-for-18 from the field.
15 points, 3 assists, 4 rebounds, +31
Mitchell let the game come to him in a way that he doesn’t always do. He attacked when the moment called for it, and he deferred to his teammates when they had cleaner looks. This led to Mitchell controlling the game without controlling the ball, making room for the dominant performances from the bigs.
8 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists
Hezonja thinks the game at a high level. He does a great job of reading how the opponent is playing, and then exploiting it to the best of his ability. In this game, that weakness was rebounding.
Milwaukee had to send extra bodies to contain Mobley and Allen on both ends. Hezonja ducked inside around the help to grab 11 rebounds, including four on the offensive end.
Plays like this show how dynamic the bigs can be when you give them an opportunity to do so. Forcing a forward to chase Mobley around a screen from a guard, then around a dribble-hand-off with Allen is incredibly difficult to do. I would love to see them incorporate more actions like this that force bigger defenders to guard in space and navigate screens like a guard.
“It was part of our film session this morning, so it’s nice to see it transfer. Reward these guys, they’re both playing great. Sixteen shot attempts, we were very intentional about getting them the ball. Good job by our perimeters, finding those guys in the right spots.”
Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley led the team with 16 shot attempts each.
Allen and Mobley were aggressive in looking for opportunities to score, and their teammates were consistent in getting them the ball. That is a formula worth repeating.
Mobly and Allen were forces all night. Not just for a few minutes, not just for a quarter, but until the game was completely out of reach early in the fourth quarter. The bigs stayed aggressive inside, and their teammates kept feeding them the ball.
Getting the bigs involved to this degree can destroy a defense. It’s similar to establishing the run in football. Once you control the line of scrimmage, the pass game opens up because the defense has to sell out to overload the box.
Milwaukee’s defense tried to shrink the floor to stop Mobley and Allen. Defenders crashed down from the corners in an effort to cut off the initial drive, but this opened up the floor for everyone, including whatever big wasn’t the main focus of the defense. This allowed for some of the big-to-big passes and put-back offensive rebounds.
This offense is at its best when they’re forcing the ball to the bigs, and the bigs are rolling hard and aggressively looking for openings to attack inside. Despite that, both groups have struggled to establish the bigs as consistent scoring threats for a full 48 minutes.
Far too often, the Cavs abandon this formula when things get tough. Either the guards take it upon themselves to handle the majority of the scoring load or the bigs become passive and stop looking for opportunities inside — and usually it’s both.
It’s not always this easy to establish the bigs as scorers. Milwaukee’s defense is bad and easy to exploit, but this formula should be more repeatable than it’s proven to be. Maybe this game can set them on the right path.
DALLAS (AP) — Defenseman Thomas Harley scored with 0.2 seconds left in the first period and Arttu Hyry added an empty-netter with 0.3 left in the game as the Dallas Stars beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-1 on Saturday night.
Mikko Rantanen also scored for the Stars, who broke a two-game losing streak during which they never led to finish a season-long six-game homestand 4-2-0.
Defenseman Damon Severson scored and Jet Greaves stopped 14 shots for the Blue Jackets, who dropped the last two games of a three-game road trip.
Jake Oettinger, fifth in the NHL with a 1.69 goals-against average going into play, stopped 25 of 26 shots to bounce back after allowing seven goals in his two previous outings.
Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen had two assists.
Harley whistled a shot from the left half wall into a sliver of space between Greaves’ right skate and the post for his first goal of the season to give the Stars a 2-0 lead.
Rantanen had opened the scoring 33 seconds into a power play at 2:16 of the first period after Greaves was called for delay of game. Rantanen tapped in a cross-crease, backhand pass from Wyatt Johnston for his team-high seventh goal.
Severson scored at 6:21 of the third, about four minutes after the Stars successfully challenged a Jackets goal by Valeri Nichushkin for offside.
Dallas killed Columbus’ one power play, running its top-ranked penalty kill to 28 straight successful dating to Oct. 13.
Blue Jackets defenseman Ivan Provorov made his season debut after being placed on injured reserve on Oct. 1. Columbus used 11 forwards and seven defensemen.
Two of Dallas’ wins on the homestand came against the Stars’ two previous coaches — Columbus’ Rick Bowness and Pete DeBoer of the New York Islanders.
The teams will play their other inter-conference game next Thursday at Columbus.
Blue Jackets: Host Colorado on Tuesday.
Stars: Visit Washington on Tuesday.
___
DENVER — The Colorado Avalanche turned a strong start into a statement performance Friday night at Ball Arena, overwhelming the Calgary Flames 5-2 behind two goals from Artturi Lehkonen, a four-assist performance from Cale Makar and a balanced offensive attack.
The victory came with one anxious moment, as Brock Nelson left the ice after taking a puck to the ear in the second period before returning to the bench ahead of the third.
Lehkonen scored twice to extend his team-leading goal total to 12, while Makar recorded four assists and Devon Toews added two. Nathan MacKinnon, Martin Necas and Nelson also scored for Colorado. Mackenzie Blackwood stopped 25 shots to earn the victory. For Calgary, Joel Farabee and Martin Pospisil provided the goals, while Arsenii Sergeev made 29 saves.
The opening period featured a measured pace as both teams looked to establish their offensive rhythm.
Cale Makar, affectionately known as “Slim Shimmy” here at The Hockey News, put his signature moves on display early, dancing across the ice before unleashing a wrist shot that Calgary goaltender Arsenii Sergeev gloved down.
Just past the midway point, T.J. Hughes was taken down by Calgary defenseman Yan Kuznetsov on a breakaway. Avalanche fans were left frustrated when no penalty was called. The reaction intensified after the replay showed Kuznetsov wrapping his left arm around Hughes and grabbing him before bringing him to the ice.
Nathan MacKinnon opens the scoring with his ninth of the year 🐕
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) November 1, 2026
📺: Flames vs. Avalanche LIVE on Sportsnet pic.twitter.com/RGyEEHI2g2
About a minute later, Colorado defenseman Noah Juulsen, filling in for the injured Josh Manson, delivered a thunderous hit on Calgary forward Aydar Suniev along the boards. Suniev struggled to get back to his feet and fell again while attempting to regain his balance.
Nathan MacKinnon broke the scoreless tie with 5:47 remaining in the period. After Makar and Martin Necas attempted to connect on an offensive opportunity, the puck found its way to MacKinnon, who wasted little time snapping it past Sergeev to give Colorado a 1-0 lead.
The goal was MacKinnon’s ninth of the season, his 21st career tally against Calgary and his eighth in his last eight games against the Flames.
Mackenzie Blackwood then delivered a highlight-reel save of his own. Facing a 2-on-1 rush, Blackwood sprawled across the crease, split his pads and flashed the leather to rob Matt Coronato with a spectacular glove save.
Colorado carried its 1-0 advantage into the first intermission while holding a 9-6 edge in shots on goal.
Calgary forward Ryan Strome was penalized for high-sticking less than a minute into the second period, giving Colorado its first power play of the night.
The Avalanche wasted little time capitalizing.
At 2:37, Martin Necas blasted a one-timer from the slot off a perfectly placed pass from Nazem Kadri, doubling Colorado’s advantage to 2-0.
Just over three minutes later, Lehkonen extended the lead. After evading a stick check, he received a pass from Makar at the bumper position and fired a wrist shot underneath Sergeev’s pads at 5:48. The goal was Lehkonen’s 11th of the season, moving him into the team lead.
Brock Nelson made it 4-0 with a terrific individual effort. Gabriel Landeskog initially tried to connect with Nelson, but Calgary defenseman Zach Whitecloud deflected the pass. Nelson stayed with the play, tracked the puck and managed to tip it out of midair past Sergeev.
Calgary finally broke through with 9:10 remaining in the period. A defensive-zone turnover by Kadri gave the Flames an opportunity, and Joel Farabee made Colorado pay, one-timing a pass from the bumper position past Blackwood to cut the deficit to 4-1.
The goal was followed by a frightening moment for the Avalanche.
Nelson took a shot to the ear and immediately went down to the ice. He remained on one knee for several minutes before eventually making his way off the ice and heading down the tunnel. His status was initially uncertain, leaving Colorado fans concerned about the veteran forward.
Scary moment for Brock Nelson as he takes a shot to the side of the head. He has gone down the tunnel #Avs#GoAvsGopic.twitter.com/P99WJyv9r1
— Hockey Mountain High (@HockeyMtnHighCO) November 1, 2026
The Avalanche entered the second intermission with a commanding 4-1 lead and a 24-14 advantage in shots on goal.
Nelson’s return to the bench before the start of the third period provided a welcome sight for Colorado. Although his status remained a concern, seeing him back with his teammates offered some reassurance.
Calgary wasted little time trying to make things interesting.
Martin Pospisil scored from the doorstep at 1:58 after receiving a pass from Strome, who found him alone in front of Blackwood. The goal cut Colorado’s lead to 4-2 and briefly shifted the momentum toward the Flames.
Lehkonen quickly restored order.
Just 2:10 after Pospisil’s goal, the Finnish forward redirected a point-blank shot from Makar past Sergeev to make it 5-2. It was Lehkonen’s second goal of the night and his 12th of the season, extending his team lead.
Colorado had an opportunity to add to its advantage with approximately six minutes remaining when Kuznetsov was assessed a four-minute double minor for high-sticking Fedor Svechkov. The infraction drew blood, resulting in the extended penalty.
Despite having four minutes with the man advantage, the Avalanche could not convert on the power play. Calgary successfully killed off the penalty, preventing Colorado from adding to its lead.
Blackwood and the Colorado defense held firm the rest of the way, preserving the three-goal cushion.
Well, the Milwaukee Bucks lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers 136-11 in their second straight blowout. With Tyler Herro having his first bad game of the year, the Bucks’ shining lights were rookies Brayden Burries and Nate Ament, who each notched a career-high 14 points on efficient shooting. Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen led the way for Cleveland, combining for 52 points.
Let’s just say the first quarter wasn’t exactly pretty, with both teams shooting 20/49 from the field. Jaime Jaquez Jr. got the Bucks started with two of their first three field goals, but the Cavs’ big-man duo of Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen punished Milwaukee inside to tie it at 10 after five minutes. Many bricks followed for both teams, but Kasparas Jakucionis came in and gave the home side some pace and pizzazz, nailing a driving layup and a three after his defender shot under the screen to give the Bucks a six-point edge. At that point, Kel’el Ware checked in, and the game shifted, with Ware struggling mightily to deal with the tall trees down low on both ends, missing two point-blank shots and getting put in the mixer on the block. Luckily, the Cavs gave the Bucks an easy target when they subbed in rookie Maleek Thomas; Tyler Herro scored six quick points on him, including a three at the buzzer to put the Bucks up 25-24 after one.
Although Milwaukee had some encouraging moments to start the second—including a great hustle play from Nate Ament to recover the long rebound and find Brayden Burries for three—the Cavs began to flex their muscle. Thomas may have defensive issues, but the kid can score, and he proved it with two quick threes in the opening few minutes. Donovan Mitchell also got going, dropping a transition bomb to force the Bucks to call a timeout, down 39-31 three minutes in. Milwaukee responded out of the timeout with buckets from Turner and Ament but couldn’t find a way to stop Cleveland as Mobley asserted his dominance with 10 straight points to extend the lead. Ware broke the seal from three after going 0/7 in the last two games, but other than that, the Bucks just could not get anything to go down (depsite generating decent looks), as the Cavs went on a 21-3 (!) blitz to close the quarter, leading 72-46 at the half.
Tyler Herro became the first Buck to reach double figures with a three of the chase action with Myles Turner, but the Cavs’ stout defence was yielding them easy shots on the other end as they took an 81-54 lead three minutes in. At least Kyle Kuzma gave the home fans something to cheer for, scoring a quick 10 points to keep pace with the rampaging Cavs, and a Myles Turner three to cap a 7-0 run forced the Cleveland timeout as their lead shrank to 21, 89-68. Unfortunately, two quick Cavs triples out of the timeout spoiled any momentum the Bucks had built as they reached a century with over two minutes to play. Cavs led 109-76 entering the final frame.
You wouldn’t have known the Bucks were down big from the way Jakucionis was flying around on defence; the second-year guard pursued loose balls and long rebounds with vigour, which helped Milwaukee open the fourth on a 9-3 run to force a Kenny Atkinson timeout. Another major positive was Nate Ament, who scored 11 points in the opening six minutes of the fourth, including a spine-tingling cram in transition that had Fiserv jumping. Of course, it wouldn’t be a blowout without the $64m man proving his worth, as Gary Trent Jr. nailed his second three of the year to cut the deficit to 24. Then came the highlight of the night: Brayden Burries caught it in transition with one man ahead and detonated all over Tristan Enaruna for the facial—a nice finish on an otherwise rough night for Milwaukee.
The Bucks actually played OK for three of the four quarters, but their second quarter—which they lost by a staggering 27 points (48-21)—was decisive.
Brayden Burries and Nate Ament should make the NBA’s All-Rookie First Team solely for those dunks!
Another night, another loss for the Vancouver Canucks as they fell 4-2 to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday. Brock Boeser scored on the power play while Max Sasson picked up his fourth goal of the campaign in the loss. In net was Leevi Meriläinen, who stopped 24 of the 27 shots he faced.
The Canucks once again struggled to put forth a full 60-minute effort. While Vancouver had a strong first period, their play in the second was the difference as Toronto outshot them 13-6 and outscored the team 2-0. With the defeat, the Canucks are now 1-11-1 over their last 13 games and have been outscored 57-30.
"I thought the first period, we played great, and second period we defensively weren't as sharp as the first period," said Brock Boeser post-game. "They have too many good players over there. You could see them get their chances, their looks, and they tilted the ice, and they had momentum. We were kind of just sitting back and couldn't find our way out of it, and gave up a couple that cost us."
Unlike some losses this season, this game can't be blamed on a lack of effort. While Vancouver struggled in the second, they played a strong game but couldn't find a way to equalize in the third. Post-game, Head Coach Manny Malhotra spoke about where his team is in terms of playing the style of game he wants.
"Getting closer," said Malhotra. "It's not close to where we need to be or need to get to, but there is progress. And it's frustrating as we talk about these games after loss after loss. But we do see improvement in different areas of our game, and it's just tough to see those when there's no correlation to wins."
Saturday's matchup was also Jacob Quillan's first in a Canucks uniform. The 24-year-old was acquired earlier this month from the Maple Leafs and called up on Friday after Filip Chytil was placed on IR. In the end, Quillan logged 11:58 of ice time, recording one shot, one hit, and winning four of his nine faceoffs.
"It was good to get the first opportunity against them, said Quillan post-game. "Not really playing for revenge or anything. Just fresh start with this organization, and glad to be here as they wanted me here. So I'm thankful to play for them."
Finally, the biggest positive of the night was arguably the penalty kill. Vancouver went a perfect two for two and killed off 1:08 of five-on-three time. Considering all the issues the penalty kill has had this year, tonight should be viewed as a step in the right direction.
Ultimately, this loss was similar to others suffered this season. The Canucks played well for a good portion of the game, but eventually lost due to a lack of execution and a poor stretch of play. In the end, Saturday was yet another tank-friendly game at Rogers Arena as Vancouver came close, yet still skated away with a loss.
1st Period:
1:23- TOR: William Nylander (10) from Nick Paul and Jake McCabe
10:30- VAN: Brock Boeser (5) from Filip Hronek and Jonathan Lekkerimäki (PPG)
2nd Period:
3:47- TOR: Auston Matthews (11) from Darren Raddysh and Jack Roslovic
12:34- TOR: Zack MacEwen (2) from Morgan Rielly and Teddy Blueger
3rd Period:
9:27- VAN: Max Sasson (4) from Brendan Gallagher
18:23- TOR: Teddy Blueger (2) from William Nylander and Anthony Stolarz (ENG)
Up Next:
Vancouver Canucks vs Anaheim Ducks, November 3, 7:00 pm PCT
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The Penguins fell 5-4 in regulation in Montreal on Saturday night. Sidney Crosby scored a late goal, his third point of the night, late in the third period to bring the Penguins within one goal but the team couldn’t find one more goal to tie the game and fell in regulation.
Here are the highlights from the game
The Silver and Black had some impressive runs in tonight’s game, with Victor Wembanyama making some physics-defying moves that bent basketball reality into a shape that seemed impossible to comprehend. But the greatness was alternating with spells of uninspiring play and mental lapses, and the shorthanded Timberwolves kept themselves within spitting range for almost the whole game, even with Anthony Edwards and Rudy Gobert, and with Lamelo Ball being limited due to foul trouble. Asayo Dosunmo and Jaden Daniels played very well for the visitors and a well-rested Ball made some key plays in the fourth quarter, until he fouled out late.
Victor Wembanyama had 43 points and was the engine of success for the Silver and Black, while De’Aaron Fox had one of his better games of the season with 22 points and 8 big rebounds, while keeping the team organized. Dylan Harper had a great night with 25 points, while Stephon Castle didn’t score a point while he struggled with a migraine, and probably should not have been out there.
For the opponent’s perspective, visit Canis Hoopus, which has some scary good writers, and an interesting community vibe.
The Spurs play the Jazz again on Monday, this time in the Frost Bank Center. The Jazz should have Lauri Markkonnen back for that game, and that’s definitely not a game that the home team can take for granted since they required overtime to beat the Jazz in Utah on Wednesday, with the young players almost pulling off one of the biggest upsets of the early season.