DETROIT — Detroit Tigers general manager Scott Harris said he extended manager A.J. Hinch’s contract during the 2025 season and insisted ownership will provide the resources necessary to sign ace Tarik Skubal to a long-term deal.
Harris and Hinch had a news conference, wrapping up their season that ended with a 3-2, 15-inning loss at Seattle in Game 5 of the AL Division Series and looking ahead to next year and beyond.
“I wish we weren’t here right now,” Harris said. “I wish we were in Toronto, preparing for Game 2 of the ALCS.”
Harris said he approached Hinch during the season, his fifth in Detroit, about extending his contract for a second time and they reached a deal quickly. Harris also signed Hinch to a long-term contract in 2023.
“He’s one of the best managers in the game,” Harris said.
Harris declined to say how long Hinch is under contract.
“We want him to be here as long as he’s willing to be here,” Harris said. “I want to work with him as long as I can possibly work with him.”
The Tigers also would like to have Skubal report to work in Detroit for years to come, but know that will be costly. He won the AL Cy Young Award and was the league’s pitching Triple Crown winner in 2024. He followed that with a career-low 2.21 ERA and a career-high 241 strikeouts.
“He’s the best pitcher in baseball,” Harris said. “He’s hopefully going to win a second Cy Young.”
Skubal signed a one-year, $10.15 million contract during the last offseason — avoiding salary arbitration — and he’s set to become a free agent after the 2026 season.
To keep him off the market, team owner Chris Ilitch would have to spend many millions.
Harris insisted Ilitch will support the organization with what is needed for payroll, including what it would take to keep the 28-year-old lefty long term.
“I have no concerns about that,” Harris said.
Harris does have concerns about why the Tigers collapsed in September, when they blew the biggest lead in division or league history, and their poor performance at the plate in the postseason.
“I deserve to get those questions and we deserve the negative narrative that is swirling around this team,” he said.
Detroit had the best record in baseball for much of the season, then slumped into the trade deadline when Harris did not make a major move.
While Harris did not regret passing on pitchers he was offered, he said it is fair to question why he didn’t add a bat to the lineup.
Well before she won her third WNBA title, fourth MVP, third Defensive Player of the Year, and second Finals MVP, A’ja Wilson reminded me of the player who first made me fall in love with basketball: Michael Jordan. Like most kids who grew up in Chicago in the ‘80s and ‘90s, so many of my memories of growing up are intertwined with the Bulls winning six titles, and what I’ve seen from Wilson is reminiscent of Jordan, with one caveat: she’s done it her own way.
After the Las Vegas Aces won their third title on Friday night with a four-game sweep of the Phoenix Mercury, Wilson was asked about the comparison, and was clearly surprised.
“Wow. I still got a little bit more winning to do before you put me in that conversation with him,” Wilson said. “But when you're compared to greats, when you're compared to legends, that means you're doing something right.”
When you look at Wilson and Jordan, it’s easy to see the similarities. It starts with winning, of course. By age 29, they both had three championships, plus the Rookie of the Year award and Defensive Player of the Year (Wilson has three, Jordan had one). All-Star nods were basically yearly occurrences.
The NBA postseason is longer than the WNBA’s, and the men’s games are eight minutes longer, so it’s not totally fair to compare statistics like scoring or rebounds. (In case you’re wondering: In his postseason career, Jordan averaged 33.4 points, 6.4 rebounds and 5.7 assists in 41.8 minutes per game; Wilson has averaged 21.3 points, 9.9 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 35.2 playoff minutes per game. Jordan won 119 of 145 total career playoff games, while Wilson has won 35 of 55.)
While their stats may not be easily comparable, there’s one easy way to see how they’re similar on the court: they both want the ball in difficult situations. Finals Game 3 was a perfect snapshot of that. Aces head coach Becky Hammon went with the “Give A’ja the ball and get out of the way” offensive strategy to end the tightly contested game, and it worked. Guarded by two of the Mercury’s best defenders in Alyssa Thomas and DeWanna Bonner, Wilson stepped back, pulled up and sank the jump shot to seal the game for Las Vegas.
In one of many Jordan examples, the Bulls faced the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round of the 1989 playoffs. With time about to expire in the decisive Game 5, Jordan made his iconic, buzzer-beating jump shot over Craig Ehlo to get the win. Afterward, Bulls coach Doug Collins said his plan was, “Give the ball to Michael, everybody get the f*** out of the way.”
Michael Jordan reacts after hitting the game-winning basket over Cleveland's Craig Ehlo in Game 5 of the NBA playoffs on May 7, 1989. (Ed Wagner Jr./Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
Chicago Tribune via Getty Images
Both Wilson and Jordan are also known for holding themselves and their teammates accountable. As we learned from the documentary “The Last Dance,” Jordan’s methods were less than kind.
“Man, I see a screaming devil. You make a mistake, he’s gonna scream at you, he’s gonna belittle you. He demands almost perfection,” Horace Grant, Jordan’s teammate through three of the Bulls’ championships, said. “Man, when you see your leader working extremely hard in practice, you feel like, ‘Oh, man, if I don’t give it my all, I shouldn’t be here.’”
Wilson has created a similar kind of accountability within the Aces. Las Vegas struggled for much of the 2025 season, the low point being a 53-point loss to the Lynx in early August. She sent a text to her teammates, according to ESPN’s Michael Voepel:
"If you weren't embarrassed from yesterday, then don't come into this gym. You're not needed or wanted here. We need the mindset to shift, because that was embarrassing."
It worked, as the next game marked the start of a 16-game win streak that gave the Aces the No. 2 in the playoffs, setting the table for this year’s championship.
“We just continue to understand and hold each other accountable for big moments and don't hang our heads on the mistake, maybe in the moment, but just keep encouraging each other,” Wilson said after Game 3. “And I think that just blind trust comes from just understanding that your teammate is going to hold you accountable, but they're also going to be there for you, and they're going to be the first one to root you on in these moments.”
Wilson’s approach to accountability comes with a kindness that may not have been present in Jordan’s gyms. She said the Aces spent time together off the court as much as possible throughout the season, which helped build the strong relationships that became the foundation of their championship run.
For Jordan’s Bulls, that team bonding time was often spent together on golf courses and in high-stakes poker games on the team plane. For Wilson’s’ Aces, it was movie nights and escape rooms.
“It's just banking equity,” she said. “That's the huge thing, is making sure that they understand that I trust them, but I know that they're going to trust me as well. And so when it comes to just them trusting me with the basketball and getting them to their spots, it's the same thing they do for me. I want to make sure that I can kind of show that to them as well. And so when it shows up in assists, great, but if it shows up in just cheering for each other and uplifting each other, that's what it really is all about. And it's been a long, long year, and we've done tons of things to get close to each other, to have that trust. So it's good that it's showing now here in the Finals.”
As Wilson said, she has much more basketball to play, and probably more championships and MVPs to win. But it’s easy to see just how close 22 on the Aces is to 23 on the Bulls.
MONTREAL — The Montreal Canadiens signed last season’s NHL rookie of the year, defenseman Lane Hutson, to an eight-year, $70.8 million contract extension.
The extension kicks in for the 2026-27 season after Hutson’s rookie contract expires and runs through 2033-34. The 21-year-old is from Michigan and was selected in the second round of the 2022 draft out of Boston University.
In his first full NHL season, Hutson set a franchise single-season rookie record with 66 points and tied the franchise mark with a team-leading 60 assists. He led all rookies in points as well as 26 power-play points and by averaging 22 minutes and 44 seconds of ice time over 82 games.
Hutson played a role in helping the young, rebuilding Canadiens qualify for the playoffs last season for the first time in four years.
He became the Canadiens’ seventh player to win the Calder Trophy and first since goalie Ken Dryden in 1971-72.
The Dodgers last season took down the New York Yankees to win the franchise’s second World Series title in five years and first in a full season since 1988. Los Angeles’ 2020 championship triumph came in a COVID-shortened campaign.
And Dave Roberts’ club has a chance this postseason to snap MLB‘s decades-long drought without a back-to-back World Series winner.
Has an MLB team won back-to-back World Series?
There have been several repeat champions in MLB history, but it’s been over two decades since the last one.
Who was the last MLB team to win back-to-back World Series?
The Yankees won three straight World Series titles from 1998-2000, standing as the most recent team to win consecutive championships.
How many MLB teams have won back-to-back World Series?
Since the Fall Classic debuted in 1903, there have been 14 instances of a team winning at least two straight World Series.
What are the most World Series won in a row?
The longest championship streak belongs to the Yankees, who won five straight World Series from 1949-53. The Yankees also own the second-longest World Series title streak, winning four straight from 1936-39.
List of back-to-back World Series champions
Here’s a full look at all of the World Series championship streaks in MLB history:
New York Yankees: 3 straight from 1998-2000
Toronto Blue Jays: 2 straight from 1992-93
New York Yankees: 2 straight from 1977-78
Cincinnati Reds: 2 straight from 1975-76
Oakland Athletics: 3 straight from 1972-74
New York Yankees: 2 straight from 1961-62
New York Yankees: 5 straight from 1949-53
New York Yankees: 4 straight from 1936-39
Philadelphia Athletics: 2 straight from 1929-30
New York Yankees: 2 straight from 1927-28
New York Giants: 2 straight from 1921-22
Boston Red Sox: 2 straight from 1915-16
Philadelphia Athletics: 2 straight from 1910-11
Chicago Cubs: 2 straight from 1907-08
How many World Series have the Dodgers won?
The Dodgers own eight World Series titles: 1955, 1959, 1963, 1965, 1981, 1988, 2020 and 2024.
Daniil Tarasov will make his Florida Panthers and 2025-26 season debut today against the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Panthers are set to embark on a five-game road trip after sweeping a three-game homestand to start the season. Sergei Bobrovsky was in between the pipes for the first three games, posting a .925 save percentage and a 1.68 goals against average.
Tarasov will likely play twice this week, as the Panthers play a back-to-back against the Detroit Red Wings on Wednesday and the New Jersey Devils on Thursday.
The 26-year-old recorded an. 881 SP and 3.55 GAA last season with the Columbus Blue Jackets, but the Panthers are hoping to get the 2023-24 version of Tarasov, who posted a .908 SP and 3.18 GAA.
The Panthers and Flyers met this season already, with the Panthers defeating the Flyers 2-1 in the second game of the season. Bobrovsky wasn't a busy man in that game, turning 19 of the 20 shots he faced. Anton Lundell opened the scoring in the second period before Noah Cates tied the game later in the frame. Brad Marchand scored early in the third period, and the Panthers locked the game down, allowing just five shots on net in the final stanza.
The Panthers are hoping for a similar end result, the two points, but are probably hoping for a bigger score line.
First Test against Australia at Wembley on 25 October
The England head coach, Shaun Wane, has said the decision to leave Super League’s Man of Steel, Jake Connor, out of his squad for the Ashes was “not really difficult”. He added that he does not understand the obsession surrounding the exile of the Leeds Rhinos half-back.
Connor is by far the most notable omission from the 24-man squad to take on Australia in the first Ashes series since 2003. It begins on 25 October at Wembley, with Tests at Everton and Headingley to follow on successive Saturdays. There are a number of surprise inclusions, including a returnfor Hull KR’s Joe Burgess after his two-try performance in the Super League Grand Final on Saturday. The winger has been out of the national side for a decade.
MILWAUKEE — Pat Murphy and his Milwaukee Brewers adopted an underdog mentality even as they produced the best regular-season record in the major leagues this year.
Their NL Championship Series matchup with the reigning World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers enables them to embrace that approach even more. The series starts with Game 1 in Milwaukee.
The Dodgers are seeking their third World Series title in six years, boast the game’s biggest star in three-time MVP Shohei Ohtani and have a record spend of payroll and luxury tax totaling $509.5 million. The Brewers play in the smallest market in the major leagues, have never won a title and made their lone World Series appearance in 1982.
One more indication of the contrast between these teams: The Dodgers’ projected luxury tax bill of nearly $168 million exceeds Milwaukee’s entire payroll of $124.8 million.
“The Dodgers are a powerhouse. What can you say?” Murphy said.
BetMGM has established the Dodgers as minus-220 favorites, meaning it gives the Dodgers a 68.8% chance of winning the series. Someone would have to bet $220 on the Dodgers to win $100 if they take the series.
“It doesn’t matter what people say,” Brewers second baseman Brice Turang explained. “It matters what we believe in here.”
There’s one problem with the Brewers’ underdog narrative. They won all six of their regular-season meetings with the Dodgers.
No wonder Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts takes umbrage with the notion that this is a David vs. Goliath matchup.
“They’re just gritty,” Roberts said. “They’re tough. And they take on Murph’s personality. They’ve got some guys that can slug. They’ve got some athleticism. They really defend well. They can pitch well. So it’s like they’re going to be in every game. They’ve got complete buy-in, and so they’re hungry. So those things are components that are scary.”
When teams meet in postseason after sweep
The 2003 New York Yankees went 7-0 against Minnesota in the regular season and 3-1 against the Twins in the ALDS. Six years later, the Yankees went 7-0 against the Twins again in the regular season and swept them in the ALDS.
But the New York Mets swept the Chicago Cubs 4-0 in the 2015 NLCS despite going 0-7 against them during the regular season. And the 2007 Yankees went 6-0 in the regular season against Cleveland, which won their ALDS matchup 3-1.
San Francisco beat Kansas City in a seven-game 2014 World Series after going 0-3 again the Royals in the regular season. Detroit swept St. Louis in the 2006 regular season before getting swept by the Cardinals in the World Series.
Who’s pitching?
Roberts said the Dodgers plan to start Blake Snell in the opener. Murphy didn’t announce a Game 1 starter but mentioned the possibility of using an opener.
Milwaukee’s Freddy Peralta and Los Angeles’ Yoshinobu Yamamoto will start Game 2.
Ohtani’s hitting slump
Ohtani is expected to win his fourth MVP award after batting .282 with 55 homers and 102 RBIs in the regular season, but he went 1 for 18 with nine strikeouts in the Dodgers’ NL Division Series win over Philadelphia.
He homered three times in the Dodgers’ six meetings with the Brewers.
Roberts said he plans to have Ohtani pitch in one game this series. He added that Ohtani’s hitting slump isn’t the reason the Dodgers opted against having him pitch Game 1.
“I expect a different output from Shohei on the offensive side this series,” Roberts said. “But, yeah, pushing him back was no bearing on the offensive performance.”
Sasaki’s surge
The Brewers will be getting their first look at Dodgers rookie pitcher Roki Sasaki, who was injured for both of Los Angeles’ regular-season series with Milwaukee.
Sasaki has been spectacular in a bullpen role during the postseason. He has struck out five while allowing one hit and no walks in 5 1/3 shutout innings.
Brewers’ shot at revenge
Milwaukee was a win from a World Series appearance in 2018 before losing 5-1 at home to the Dodgers in Game 7 of the 2018 NLCS. This marks Milwaukee’s first NLCS berth since.
Brewers outfielder Christian Yelich was the NL MVP during that 2018 season. The only other Brewers remaining from 2018 are pitchers Brandon Woodruff and Peralta. Woodruff isn’t expected to pitch in the NLCS as he deals with a right lat strain.
Who’s hot, who’s not
Jackson Chourio batted .389 with six RBIs in Milwaukee’s NLDS win over the Cubs, though he did much of his damage early in that series. Andrew Vaughn and William Contreras homered twice in the NLDS. Chad Patrick threw 4 2/3 shutout innings, while Jacob Misiorowski allowed one run over seven innings.
Milwaukee’s Joey Ortiz batted .154. Turang homered in Game 5 but went 3 of 20 in the series.
Dodgers outfielder Teoscar Hernández has hit .308 with three homers and nine RBIs in six playoff games. Mookie Betts is hitting .385 during the postseason. Snell is 2-0 and has allowed just two runs over 13 postseason innings. Tyler Glasnow threw 7 2/3 shutout innings in the NLDS.
Will Smith has gone 2 for 13 and Andy Pages is 1 of 24 in the playoffs.
This season, there has been a notable number of young, talented players who are entering their rookie season.
Some are fresh from the 2025 draft, which took place in late June, or had a small taste of what the NHL experience is like, making a handful of appearances last year.
This past weekend, the NHL had all 32 NHL teams play on Saturday. It would be very challenging for fans to catch every game or moment, including several rookies who scored their first NHL goals.
Matthew Schaefer, D, New York Islanders
The first overall pick from the 2025 draft, Matthew Schaefer, wasted no time getting his first career goal on the board. Schaefer’s first NHL goal was a power-play marker that came against the Washington Capitals, in unusual fashion.
The 18-year-old defenseman was standing near the offensive blueline when there was a pileup in front of goaltender Logan Thompson. Bodies were lying down everywhere as Capitals defensemen and New York Islanders forwards scrambled for the puck.
Eventually, the puck skewed free of the pile of players, and Schaefer charged from the blueline before diving and poking the puck in the net.
Schaefer spoke about his mom, who passed away in February 2024 following a battle with breast cancer.
“She’s up there with the hockey gods,” Schaefer said after the game. “Maybe (she) slipped them a little 20 (dollar bill) to get that goal. She’s definitely there to help.”
Zeev Buium, D, Minnesota Wild
Zeev Buium of the Minnesota Wild is another defenseman who scored their first NHL goal this past weekend. Buium’s was also on the power play, a little more traditional than Schaefer’s, though.
The 19-year-old blueliner scored his goal in the third period against the Columbus Blue Jackets, cutting their lead to 5-3.
Buium started the play when he received the puck at the point and rapidly inched closer to the slot before firing a wrist shot that went wide of the goal. However, Minnesota center Joel Eriksson Ek picked up the puck from behind the net and found Buium in the slot, who one-timed it home.
Buium also recorded another power-play point in that period, a secondary assist on a Kirill Kaprizov goal. The young D-man now has two points in two games this season.
Gavin Brindley, C, Colorado Avalanche
Gavin Brindley scored a big goal for the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday. His first-career marker came against the mighty Dallas Stars. The Stars have seen the Western Conference final for three straight seasons and eliminated the Avalanche in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs last year.
At any rate, Brindley’s goal put Colorado up 2-1 over Dallas at this moment. The play started as a 2-on-2 opportunity with Brindley pushing toward the slot and left winger Victor Olofsson carrying the puck on the left flank.
Olofsson made a good move in an effort to get past Stars defenseman Thomas Harley. In the process, he created a passing lane to the front of the net for Brindley, who shoved the puck through goaltender Jake Oettinger.
Sam Rinzel, D, Chicago Blackhawks
Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Sam Rinzel secured his first goal of the season against the Montreal Canadiens. His goal was the equalizer after Canadiens right winger Cole Caufield opened the scoring less than two minutes before Rinzel’s tally.
Rinzel’s goal came off a faceoff, won by center Frank Nazar. Nazar’s draw was directed toward left winger Teuvo Teravainen, who made a drop pass to Rinzel standing at the right point.
The 21-year-old blueliner galloped into the faceoff circle, where Nazar’s faceoff was won, and Rinzel whipped it past Habs goaltender Sam Montembeault for the first of his career.
Outside of this season, Rinzel played nine games with Chicago last season, recording five assists in that span. With this goal in the Blackhawks’ third game of the season, Rinzel has six points in 12 career NHL contests.
Ben Kindel, C, Pittsburgh Penguins
Ben Kindel has looked like a regular NHL pro in his first three career games this season. To back that up, he’s another player who bagged his first NHL goal on Saturday for the Pittsburgh Penguins.
His goal came off the rush in a solo fashion against the New York Rangers. The 18-year-old center picked up the puck neutral zone and carried it over the blueline on the right-hand side.
As he entered the right-sided faceoff circle in the Penguins’ offensive zone, he fired the puck on the short side of goaltender Igor Shesterkin, tying the game for Pittsburgh in the second period.
Like Schaefer, Kindel is one of the few players from the 2025 draft to play this season. Only Brady Martin of the Nashville Predators and Braeden Cootes of the Vancouver Canucks join them in that category.
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Dodgers manager Dave Roberts watches his team work out at American Family Field in Milwaukee on Sunday ahead of the NLCS against the Brewers. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts had indicated the Dodgers would likely add a pitcher for the NLCS, which is a best-of-seven round with only two off days.
In Casparius, they did so with a right-hander capable of pitching multiple innings at a time (he bounced between the rotation and bullpen earlier this year) and being used as an option against right-handed-heavy parts of an opposing lineup.
Casparius, a 26-year-old rookie who played a minor role in last year's postseason’s run to a World Series, became one of the Dodgers’ biggest success stories during the first half of the season. Over his first 20 appearances (all but one of which came in relief, and included 14 that went beyond one inning), he had a 2.54 ERA, a .194 batting average against, and 44 strikeouts to only seven walks.
His production was so impressive, the Dodgers eventually moved him into the rotation in early June.
From then on, however, his season started to turn.
In his five outings as a starter or bulk-man following an opener, Casparius had an 8.24 ERA and gave up six home runs 19 ⅔ innings; all while at times, the Dodgers believed, potentially tipping his pitches on the mound.
Eventually, he returned to a strictly relief role, but appeared to run out gas down the stretch, posing a 4.50 ERA from July 9 to Sept. 5 before being demoted to triple-A.
Although Casparius has not been back in the majors since then, his time in the minors seemed to help. He got back to dominating right-handed hitters. He gave just two runs in five outings. And he has been back around the Dodgers during each of the first two rounds of the playoffs, when the team carried only 11 pitchers (not including two-way player Shohei Ohtani) because of the shorter series.
Adding Casparius meant the Dodgers had to trim someone from their position player group. They did that by taking Rushing off the roster, with the team no longer needing three catchers in the NLCS thanks to Will Smith’s recovery from a fractured hand.
Rushing, a former top prospect who had a difficult rookie season, was largely a non-factor in the first two rounds of the playoffs, getting just one pinch-hit at-bat at the end of a Game 3 blowout against the Philadelphia Phillies last week.
Removing Rushing does leave the Dodgers with one less left-handed bat on the bench, especially after they elected to keep Justin Dean and Hyeseong Kim (who are defensive and base-running specialists) on the roster over outfielder Michael Conforto (who would have been a more legitimate candidate for the NLCS given the Milwaukee Brewers’ more right-handed-heavy pitching staff).
But the Dodgers decided to largely stick with the group that has gotten them this far, adding an extra arm ahead of a best-of-seven showdown that represents the next step in their World Series title defense.
Well, it's our first matinee game of the Colorado Avalanche regular season, folks!
We've got a bunch more of these morning/early afternoon games ahead of us, but let's focus on the now. The Avalanche are headed into this game in Buffalo coming off a devastating shootout loss to the Dallas Stars. Why is it devastating? Because it was easily their best game of the season, by far.
The third line continued to do good things, the first line finally got going on a higher level - heck, we even saw the best version of the power play so far.
The Buffalo Sabres have not gotten their first win of the season, and if last season's matchups between these two teams are any indication, they're gonna make the Avalanche work to get back into the win column.
What happened last time these two teams met?
Let's first go back to December, 3rd 2024. This current version of the Avalanche looked a lot different, namely due to the presence of Alexandar Georgiev. He started this game, the first of two during the 2024-25 season, and let in four goals in the span of 11 minutes and 49 seconds.
Enter new trade acquisition Scott Wedgewood, who the Avalanche traded for just two days before this game. Georgiev gets pulled and Wedgewood stands on his head to pave the way for Colorado's 5-goal comeback win.
The Avs and Scott Wedgewood shut the door on the Buffalo Sabres with an INSANE 5-4 comeback win.
Wedgewood's first look with the Avalanche was nothing short of impressive. This was easily his best save of the night.#GoAvsGopic.twitter.com/tyVHY4oUWR
Fast forward just about a month later to January 2nd, the Avalanche host the Sabres and history repeats itself. Buffalo gets off to an early 3-0 start, snapped by a Cale Makar goal. Scott Wedgewood starts this game only to get hurt early in the third period, except the officials don't blow the play dead and Colorado goes down another goal. Mackenzie Blackwood comes in as relief and the Avalanche put on a stunning performance to force overtime, and Devon Toews eventually goes on to win the game.
Now, as much as you might love a good rollercoaster, the Avalanche could do with a straightforward game to carry on the good things they did in Saturday's game against the Stars.
When/Where/How to Find the Game
Puck Drop: 7:08 pm Mountain Time
Avalanche T.V. Broadcast: Altitude Sports Network
Avalanche Radio Broadcast: Altitude Sports Radio, 92.5 FM
Buffalo T.V. Broadcast: MSG Network
Buffalo Radio Broadcast: WGR 550 AM
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Purdue is No. 1 in the preseason Associated Press Top 25 college basketball poll for the first time. The Boilermakers earned 35 of 61 first-place votes to top Monday’s poll to begin the 2025-26 season. “We are obviously excited to get the season going and being ranked No. 1 in the preseason is a great indicator of what we feel this team can accomplish," Painter said.
The Jets look to build on Saturday's victory in tough matchup against Islanders on Canadian Thanksgiving, while preparing to counter the impact of rookie defenseman Matthew Schaefer.
The Winnipeg Jets look to build on their first victory of the season as they visit the New York Islanders for an afternoon matinee matchup at UBS Arena on Canadian Thanksgiving. Winnipeg held off a late push from Los Angeles in Saturday’s 4–2 win, powered by a perfect performance on the penalty kill and a strong defensive stand in the final minutes.
The Jets’ penalty kill has been the standout story of their first week. Winnipeg opened the season in impressive fashion, scoring two shorthanded goals against Dallas, then following it up with a flawless 5-for-5 effort on the kill versus Los Angeles.
Offensively, center Mark Scheifele has been the driving force, notching two goals on Saturday and adding three assists for a total of five points in the team’s first two games. His linemate Kyle Connor, fresh off signing the largest contract in franchise history, made an immediate impact with a hat trick in the season opener and an assist on one of Scheifele’s goals against the Kings. With several key players still sidelined by injuries, the Scheifele–Connor duo will aim to carry the load once again as Winnipeg faces an Islanders team showcasing a new wave of emerging talent.
Lineup Storylines
The Islanders dropped their home opener 4–2 to Washington on Saturday, despite outshooting the Capitals 20–6 in the third period. The biggest headline out of the game was 2025 top pick defenseman Matthew Schaefer, scored his first career goal in the loss. Not something normal for a defenseman, but the Hamilton native has proven to be a difference maker in early action with several stunning defensive efforts like multiple chasedown stops on breakaways.
Just an absolutely insane defensive backcheck from Matthew Schaefer on Matvei Michkov 😱
The Jets will need to sharpen their focus on figuring out how to break through the 18-year-old sensation, as there’s limited footage or scouting information on his game. The rookie has already led his team in ice time through the first two contests and will look to add to the scoresheet again on Monday.
Winnipeg's expected starter Connor Hellebuyck will need to elevate their play as the back-to-back Vezina Trophy winner has struggled against the Islanders, holding a 5-7-0 record with a 3.20 goals-against average and a .906 save percentage in 12 appearances, one of his toughest matchups statistically against any team in the league.
The Jets will need to generate some offense of their own, but that will be a tall order as they’re missing four key players in captain Adam Lowry, top-six winger Cole Perfetti, and defensemen Dylan Samberg and Haydn Fleury. With lineup changes in place, winger Nikita Chibrikov stepping in for Perfetti and veteran defenseman Colin Miller replacing Fleury will both need standout performances if the Jets hope to stay competitive in this matchup.
While the Jets rarely face the Islanders due to being in separate conferences, New York has consistently had the upper hand in this matchup, boasting a 9-2-0 record over the last 11 meetings since 2019. Despite Winnipeg’s rise to Stanley Cup contender status in recent seasons, the Islanders have continued to be a thorn in their side, winning two of the past three head-to-head games over the last two years.
For the Jets to stand a chance, they'll need the offense to have a big performance and that starts with points coming out of cold sources like veteran center Jonathan Toews. Winnipeg's big free agent add has yet to find the scoresheet and will need to start contributing soon. His history in this matchup is fairly decent with seven goals and ten assists for 17 points over his last 24 matchups against the Islanders.
