Auburn football coach Hugh Freeze shared his frustration following the Tigers' loss to Oklahoma on Saturday. Here's what he said:
Observations From Blues' 2-1 Preseason Shootout Loss Vs. Stars
The St. Louis Blues opened the preseason with a 2-1 shootout loss against the Dallas Stars at American Airlines Center in Dallas on Saturday.
The Blues were 0-for-3 in the shootout (Dalibor Dvorsky, Justin Carbonneau, Dylan Holloway), and Sam Steel’s only goal in the first round proved to be the difference. Carbonneau’s power-play goal was the only goal for the Blues.
Here are some observations from the game:
* Binnington looked strong – Not that it’s any surprise, but Jordan Binnington looked like he was in mid-season form.
His save on Steel pushing from his right to left on a backdoor play in the first period was the best save of his 19 after facing 20 shots through two periods.
Jordan Binnington in mid-season form already but what else did you expect? pic.twitter.com/NI73DrRg8a
— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) September 20, 2025
He only allowed a Mavrik Bourque goal at 14:33 of the second period off a one-time slap shot from the left point and rebound in front.
His puck-handling was smooth, a strength of Blues goalies transitioning pucks to the defensemen for smoother zone exits. A good sign.
Colten Ellis, who took over for Binnington in the third, made a tremendous save on Adam Hryckowian with just over three minutes remaining to keep the game 1-1.
Colten Ellis makes the SAVE OF THE GAME!!! #stlbluespic.twitter.com/z16IZhKfIj
— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) September 21, 2025
Blues goaltending depth is anything but little.
* Carbonneau didn’t look out of place – Besides the power-play goal the 2025 first-round puck scored, the 18-year-old had some particularly good shifts in the first period with linemates Dylan Holloway and Dalibor Dvorsky, making a couple subtle plays off the walls enabling Holloway to get some strong looks at the goal.
It’ll be interesting to ask, but his goal looked like a combination look-off from the left circle after taking a point pass from Logan Mailloux 50 seconds into the second period to feeding Aleksanteri Kaskimaki, who was positioned at the left side of the post.
Justin Carbonneau was our first-round pick for a reason. #stlbluespic.twitter.com/zMX2VzqUle
— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) September 21, 2025
This kid has such a good shot that should only get better and more assertive as he matures and gets the reps at this level, but I was impressed with some of the puck-making decisions he made.
* Walker/Toropchenko still got it – Nathan Walker, who just signed a two-year extension on Thursday, and Alexey Toropchenko will – and should be – a staple on the Blues’ fourth line this season and they exhibited some of those traits in this game with good, strong sticks, breaking plays up, killing plays and at the end of the first period, drawing a penalty with an extended zone time shift.
Walker showed why again he is a fan favorite, getting into a scrap just 4:21 into the game with Hryckowian.
That line, along with 2022 third-round pick Kaskimaki, handled itself well in the small areas of the ice.
Kaskimaki did have one hiccup on an ill-advised play in overtime that was picked off in the middle of the ice on an outlet that led to Carbonneau's penalty. He will be seeing that one in video.
* Mailloux looked sharp – What I like about Mailloux is his no-hesitation putting pucks to the net from the point, and being precise. He did a solid job in that area on Saturday.
But what stood out for the 22-year-old was such a strong, defensive play he made in overtime when the Blues were killing a penalty, with Carbonneau in the box for tripping, killing a play that ended with the Stars only getting one shot during a 4-on-3, and that defensive stick was a large reason why the Blues were able to kill it off.
It shows the confidence the coaching staff has in putting the defenseman in those situations to see what he can do, and it was truly a moment that will be shown to him through video on what to do correctly, and do well.
Mailloux, who was second behind Philip Broberg (26:15) in time on ice at 25:29, didn’t have any shots on goal, but his willingness to get pucks there, whether they get knocked down or not creating rebounds, should be a benefit for the forwards when he’s on the ice to get to the front of the net.
* Broberg, Holloway were strong – Holloway made his return to the lineup for the first time since tearing the abductor muscle off his hip on April 3 against the Pittsburgh Penguins playing with Carbonneau and Dvorsky, finishing with a forward-high 22:09 of ice time and one shot on goal.
Broberg looked like he's taken his game to the next level. He looked smooth, assertive and was a great complement on a pair with Mailloux, leading the Blues with a team-high four shots on goal, including a couple of poised plays to the backhand in the middle of the ice. A strong showing.
* Some of the young guys looked the part – There were plenty of young players in this game, and there will be teaching moments off of it for the coaching staff, and the second period was a strong example of the Blues playing too much in their end, getting hemmed in and not making smarter decisions with the puck.
The Stars outshot the Blues 12-4 in the second and 13-4 in the third (34-15 for the game) in large part to the Blues not being able to manage pucks well enough at times and another reason was not being good enough on face-offs. The Blues won just 15 of 46 on the dot and were chasing the puck a lot as a result.
Shaikin: Mike Trout hit his 400th career home run. Here's an appreciation, not a lament
Mike Trout introduced himself to Angels fans at the 2010 Futures Game. In his first performance at Angel Stadium, his magic was on display: beating out an infield single, turning a routine single into a double on sheer hustle, forcing two errors with his speed on ground balls that could have been scored as hits.
He was not selected the most valuable player of the game. Fifteen years later, does he remember who was?
He thought about it for a second. Then his eyes lit up.
“Hank Conger,” Trout said.
The Angels had drafted both in the first round: Conger, a catcher, in 2006; Trout, an outfielder, in 2009. Before the 2010 season, Baseball America ranked Conger as the 84th-best prospect in baseball, Trout as the 85th.
Read more:Angels struggle at the plate against red-hot Mariners in loss
Of the 29 position players in the 2010 Futures Game, Trout is the only one still playing. Conger, now a coach for the Minnesota Twins, last played in the major leagues nine years ago.
In 2012, when he and Trout each started the season at triple-A Salt Lake, Conger realized there were top prospects, and then there was Trout.
Trout was 20. He played 20 games, batted .403, and the Angels summoned him to the major leagues for good.
“He goes off, gets called up, misses almost a month,” Conger said, “and still becomes the rookie of the year.”
That vote was unanimous. Trout also finished a close second for American League MVP to Miguel Cabrera, who won the Triple Crown. He went on to win three MVP awards — only Barry Bonds has won more — and finish in the top five in MVP voting every year for nine consecutive years.
On Saturday night in a 3-0 win over the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field, Trout hit his 400th home run, a milestone the oft-laconic Trout readily put into perspective.
“Definitely one to sit on, just to look back and reflect how quick it’s gone,” he said last month. “It seems like yesterday I just got drafted. Now I have two kids, and I’ve been here 14 years.”
Trout is 34, deep into the second half of his major league days. The mere mention of his name commonly triggers twin laments from fans: how injuries have hampered his career, and how the Angels have hampered his career.
In the first nine seasons of his career, the Angels put Trout on the injured list twice. In the five seasons since, this one included, the Angels put Trout on the injured list six times. He has not played 130 games in a season since 2019.
“Is this our modern-day version of Mickey Mantle?” asked Tim Salmon, who ranks second on the Angels’ all-time home run list at 299. “They talk about Mickey Mantle: if he didn’t blow out his knee, what could he have been? Are we going to look back on Trout’s career and say the same things?
“He’s obviously a Hall of Famer in so many ways already, but will he get the typical benchmarks? Will he be in that category like (former Angels teammate Albert) Pujols? He could have been.”
If Trout had played as often since the pandemic as he did before it, he already would have topped 500 home runs.
He still hits for power. He still gets on base, tied for third in the AL in walks. He hits the ball hard, when he hits it.
However, of the 144 major leaguers with enough at-bats to qualify for a batting title, Trout has struck out the second-most (.320 strikeout percentage). After hitting his 398th home run on Aug. 7, he did not hit his 399th until Sept. 11.
With 400 home runs, Trout ranks among the top 60 all-time. Dan Szymborski of Fangraphs projects Trout will finish his career with 503 home runs. That would get Trout into the top 30.
With good health, Trout might well have gotten to 600. That could have put him into the top 10, ahead of Frank Robinson, looking up at the likes of Pujols, Ken Griffey Jr. and Willie Mays.
“I’ve always told myself everything happens for a reason,” Trout said. “I did everything I could to be on the field.
“If I look back, I can say, ‘It sucks I’ve been banged up,’ but I’m here now, and I’ve still got a lot of time left to enjoy.”
The first two names former Angels manager Joe Maddon dropped in a comparison with Trout: Bonds and Griffey.
“He’s just among the best athletes ever to play the game,” Maddon said. “He has strength and speed and agility and everything.
“If you’re going to scout the perfect player, it would be Mike Trout.”
Bonds did not win a World Series; the Angels denied him. Griffey did not play in a World Series.
No one denies their greatness. No one should discount Trout’s, no matter how interrupted his half-decade has been. He was the dominant player of the previous decade, all of it.
“He was the best player in the game for, what, eight, nine, 10 years?” Dodgers Hall-of-Famer-in-waiting Clayton Kershaw said. “We’re not just talking about being an all-star. It was unanimous.
“If you ever asked anybody who the best player was, they’d say Trout. It’s like right now with Shohei (Ohtani) or (Aaron) Judge. It’s pretty obvious that Trout was the best player back then, and it’s not like he’s bad right now.”
In 2018, amid questions about why baseball could not market its best player, commissioner Rob Manfred said the greatest obstacle in marketing Trout was Trout himself.
“Player marketing requires one thing for sure: the player,” Manfred said.
The Angels shot back with a scathing public rebuke of the commissioner and a hearty endorsement of Trout — crafted in part by owner Arte Moreno — that ended thusly: “We applaud him for prioritizing his personal values over commercial self-promotion. That is rare in today’s society and stands out as much as his extraordinary talent.”
The adult in the room was Trout, who followed the Angels’ statement with his own. It ended this way: "Everything is cool between the Commissioner and myself. End of story. I am ready to just play some baseball!”
The first two questions Conger always gets: You played with the Angels? What’s Mike Trout like?
Conger might not tell them about the group texts with long-ago teammates in which Trout still participates, or the random videos Trout sends, like the one of Conger breaking his bat and popping up. He will tell them about the one player that, even on a team with Pujols and Torii Hunter, got inundated with requests to go somewhere or meet someone or sign something.
“Seeing him do almost everything like that, with a smile and really making an effort, was the most impressive thing for me to see as a person,” Conger said.
“You hear the saying, ‘Don’t meet your heroes.’ He’s the complete opposite. I know he’s not outspoken or super flashy so people are like, ‘We need him to be more marketable.’ But, in this day and age, he is the role model citizen of what everybody should strive for in Major League Baseball.”
The private group chats with teammates past and present are what Trout is about, not commercial shoots or talk shows, not podcasts or YouTube channels. He’d rather be cheering on his Philadelphia Eagles.
“The story is, honestly, that he is who he is based on where he came from,” Maddon said. “He’s not been infiltrated by social media and any other new-age, new-wave method of expressing yourself.”
Trout came from Millville, N.J., a blue-collar town of not even 30,000 people, some 40 miles south of Philadelphia. His high school could have retired his uniform number, except that Trout returns to the school every year to present a jersey with his number — 1, of course — to the new team captain.
Salmon has spent his adult life around the Angels, as a player and broadcaster. Fans often press him for the scoop on Trout, he said, with some version of this line: “You guys share the same fishy last name, and he’s Mr. Angel just like you.”
Salmon would be a logical guy to ask. He chose “friendly” and “cordial” as adjectives to describe his relationship with Trout.
“Everybody expects me to know him,” Salmon said, “and I don’t, really.”
Said Kershaw: “I’ve always appreciated the way he goes about the game. There’s not a lot of flash. It’s just good baseball.”
The Angels have not played good baseball. Trout has played three postseason games, all 11 years ago, and the Angels lost them all. The Angels had Trout and Ohtani together on the roster for six years and never once managed a winning record.
That has led to a long, loud and frankly tiresome chorus of well-meaning fans across America crying to liberate Trout, so a great player could take the postseason stage. Come home and play for the Phillies! How about the Yankees? Demand a trade, at least!
“He’s never made a stink in a headline about being disgruntled,” Conger said.
“He’s never going to walk into Arte’s office and say, ‘Listen, we need to do better, what’s going on?’ ” Maddon said. “He wants to win, but he’s never going to influence or persuade anybody who is in charge, because that person is in charge, and his job is to be Mike Trout, the player.”
Even if Trout ever did ask to be traded, at this point Moreno might have to throw in $100 million or so to induce another team to assume the contract, and Moreno isn’t about to pay Trout to play elsewhere when the home fans still love him. And, really, should we not celebrate a star who honors his commitment rather than lobbies to escape it?
Trout has expressed measured frustration over the Angels’ poor performance, but loyalty is his north star. The Angels have treated him well, and he has returned the favor.
One year, the Angels gave every kid at their game a Trout T-shirt — every Sunday, all summer long.
He, not Salmon, is Mr. Angel now. I asked what being an Angel means to him.
“There’s a lot of teams that had a chance to get me, and a lot of teams passed on me,” Trout said. That draft was 16 years ago, and still it was the first thing he mentioned in his answer.
“The Angels took a chance on a kid from a little town in southern New Jersey. I enjoy putting the uniform on. I don’t take it for granted.
“They trusted me when they offered the deal — two of them.”
Trout twice passed up free agency to stay with the Angels. In 2014, three years before he could try free agency, the Angels guaranteed him $144.5 million. In 2019, two years before he could try free agency, they tore up the final years of the first big deal and guaranteed him a then-record $426.5 million through 2030.
Moreno celebrated that deal with more of a pep rally than a news conference, in front of a giddy gathering of fans, with Trout and his wife on a dais beneath an enormous red banner that said “LOYALTY,” with a halo adorning the A.
Tony Gwynn never won a World Series, but no one discounts his greatness, or his loyalty to the Padres. His statue, with the inscription “Mr. Padre,” looms beyond right field at Petco Park.
Read more:Royce Lewis homers twice as Twins blow out error-prone Angels
To the loyal and long-suffering fans of Orange County, Trout is their Gwynn.
The Angels have put up two statues at Angel Stadium: one in honor of founding owner Gene Autry, the other in memory of Michelle Carew, the daughter of Hall of Famer Rod Carew, who lost her life to leukemia at 18.
Trout has five years left on his contract. Even so: The first player in the history of a 65-year-old franchise to earn a ballpark statue is Mike Trout.
Times staff writer Jack Harris contributed to this column.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Giancarlo Stanton blasts 450th career homer in Yankees' 6-1 win over Orioles
The Yankees wasted no time generating offense on Saturday night, as a three-run rally in the first inning was ample damage to defeat the division-rival Orioles, 6-1, at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.
While the magic number to clinch a postseason berth is now down to five, the chase for a division crown hasn't ended just yet. The Blue Jays fell to the Royals on Saturday, narrowing their first-place lead over the Yankees in the AL East standings to a mere two games. Two back with seven to go.
Here are the takeaways...
-- Giancarlo Stanton's hopes of producing the 450th home run of his career were spoiled on Friday, as his deep flyout in the second inning landed a few feet shy of the left field wall. But the veteran slugger summoned just enough muscle to achieve the milestone in his first at-bat on Saturday, connecting on a two-out sweeper from Orioles starter Tomoyuki Sugano that traveled just over the elevated wall in right for a three-run shot. The Yankees' first-inning rally was sparked by a pair of two-out singles from Aaron Judge and Cody Bellinger.
-- Stanton became the 41st player in MLB history to register 450 career homers, and the fifth-fastest player to accomplish the feat (1,719 games). If the 500-homer mark still separates Hall of Fame contenders from pretenders, there's a chance that a healthy Stanton flirts with a legitimate pursuit over the next few seasons. Again, call it a chance. The historic blast was No. 21 on the year for Stanton, who's now hitting a respectable .269 with a .920 OPS.
-- Stanton's behemoth teammate showed off his esteemed power two innings later. Facing a full count, Judge won an eight-pitch leadoff matchup with Sugano by demolishing a sweeper down the right-field line for a leadoff solo homer. The 370-foot blast was No. 49 for the Yankees' captain, and he's now one homer shy of producing the fourth 50-homer season of his career. The Orioles trailed 4-0 after three, and didn't allow Sugano to return for a fourth inning of work. The Yankees roughed the right-hander up -- he threw a whopping 87 pitches and allowed six hits and one walk.
-- Carlos Rodón reached 87 pitches, too... but not until recording one out in the seventh inning. The Yankees' southpaw resembled an ace, lowering his season ERA from 3.11 to 3.04 with seven stellar frames of one-run ball. He retired 10 straight at one point, struck out eight for the first time since Aug. 1, and logged 18 first-pitch strikes to 26 total batters. Rodón's lone blemish came in the seventh, when he allowed an RBI double to Coby Mayo that cut the Yankees' lead to 6-1. The sharp performance was acknowledged by his teammates in the dugout -- he now has a career-high 17 wins.
-- Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Trent Grisham provided Rodón with more breathing room during the fifth and sixth innings by collecting RBI singles against Orioles relievers Jose Castillo and Yennier Cano. The eighth inning belonged to Luke Weaver, aiming to regain further confidence after an ugly relief appearance on Monday. Much to the Yankees' delight, the veteran right-hander looked sharp for a second straight game, inducing a pair of swinging strikeouts (Jackson Holliday and Jordan Westburg) on 15 pitches. David Bednar took over the ninth, and needed just six pitches to retire the side.
Game MVP: Giancarlo Stanton
Stanton's momentous three-run homer in the first inning was all that the Yankees needed. The next name to chase on MLB's all-time homers list? Carl Yastrzemski (452).
Highlights
GIANCARLO STANTON'S 450th CAREER HOME RUN! pic.twitter.com/g8sq0Kc1XH
— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) September 20, 2025
AARON JUDGE'S 49th HOME RUN! pic.twitter.com/pz8oeBW1T6
— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) September 20, 2025
Jazz Chisholm Jr. makes it 5-0 🎷 pic.twitter.com/Xjn0rPbkSD
— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) September 21, 2025
Trent Grisham with an RBI single! pic.twitter.com/LFwodDtm8B
— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) September 21, 2025
What's next
The Yankees (87-68) will look for a series win over the Orioles on Sunday afternoon, with first pitch scheduled for 1:35 p.m.
RHP Cam Schlittler (3-3, 3.41 ERA) is slated to take the mound, opposite RHP Kyle Bradish (1-1, 2.45 ERA).
Cal Raleigh breaks Ken Griffey Jr.'s single-season home run record for Mariners
HOUSTON — Seattle’s Cal Raleigh hit his 57th home run of the season Saturday night against the Houston Astros to pass Ken Griffey Jr. for the single-season franchise record.
The Mariners led 2-0 in the third inning when Raleigh smacked a 95.5 mph sinker from lefty Framber Valdez into the bullpen in right-center field to make it 3-0 and pass the mark Griffey reached in both 1997 and 1998.
Raleigh lifted his right arm in celebration as he rounded second base and raised the trident the Mariners use for their home run celebration skyward after J.P. Crawford handed it to him just before he entered the dugout.
Raleigh, who leads the majors in home runs, has already surpassed Mickey Mantle’s MLB record for home runs by a switch-hitter of 54 that had stood since 1961. He’s also set the MLB record for homers by a catcher this season, eclipsing the 48 Salvador Perez hit in 2021.
Mets Notes: Why Edwin Diaz wasn't used for a second inning; defensive inconsistencies
The Mets did a great job of plating two runs in the ninth to send Saturday's matchup with the Washington Nationals into extra innings, but could the outcome have changed if manager Carlos Mendoza had left Edwin Diaz for a second inning?
Diaz pitched a seven-pitch, scoreless 10th inning, but Mendoza went with Tyler Rogers -- pitching for the third straight day -- to handle the 11th. While Rogers was close to pitching a clean inning, Daylen Lile hit a two-run, inside-the-park homer to put the Nationals ahead. We'll never know if Diaz being on the mound would have changed the outcome, but it's a fair question to ask the Mets skipper.
So when Mendoza was asked if he considered using Diaz for a second inning, the second-year manager said he didn't.
"He pitched two nights ago, got hot yesterday," Mendoza explained. "We're only tied. One inning today."
Diaz tossed 15 pitches, striking out two batters, on Thursday to finish off the Padres and pick up the series win. He was warming up in the ninth inning of Friday's series opener against the Nats when Chris Devenski started to pitch into trouble. Diaz did sit back down once Devenski righted the ship.
After pitching 53.2 innings in 54 games last season -- the first since returning from knee surgery -- Diaz has eclipsed that, tossing 59.1 innings across 57 games.
Mets spoil chances to win
In the ninth, the Mets were in prime position to walk off the Nats and their closer, Jose Ferrer.
Ferrer had allowed two runs to allow the Mets to cut their deficit to 3-2 in the eighth inning, but Nationals interim manager Miguel Cairo asked his closer to try and get three more outs in the ninth and couldn't.
The Mets had bases loaded with one out when Brandon Nimmo came to the plate. The lefty Ferrer got Nimmo down swinging on a 1-2 slider in the dirt to pick up the important second out. Starling Marte followed, striking out swinging on a 1-2 sinker that went 100 mph away from the veteran slugger, stranding the winning run at third.
"He made pitches, we had some really good at-bats, had the bases loaded with a guy up, you feel good about your chances, even though Ferrer can be tough left on left, you take your chances with Nim putting the ball in play," Mendoza said of the situation in the ninth. "He got him that time. He executed, then he got Marte with two outs. All the way to that point, the guys took some really good at-bats there."
The Mets would have another chance to win in the 10th with runners on first and second and no out, but Francisco Alvarez grounded into a double play and Ronny Mauricio lined out to left field with the winning run again at third base.
New York finished the game 3-for-16 with runners in scoring position and left 13 on base.
Defensive inconsistencies
After officially making an error with a few defensive miscues mixed in during Friday's win, the Mets batted the ball around again during Saturday's game.
The biggest miscues came in the third inning. Down 1-0, Riley Adams hit a bloop single to left field that Juan Soto tried to play on a bounce, but it skipped over his glove and rolled to the wall, allowing one run to score. The next batter, Pete Alonso threw the ball high to Nolan McLean, giving the Nats an extra out and the team's second error of the inning. With two outs, McLean threw a wild pitch, allowing an unearned run to score from third base.
"We’ve been inconsistent," Mendoza said of the team's defense. "We go through stretches where we play clean and then go through stretches where that happens. We don’t have too much time, but the one thing we can do here is turn the page because we have a 1 o’clock tomorrow. Even though we didn’t play a clean game early, guys battled back and we were in the position to win that game, just didn’t do it."
Blackhawks Goalie Prospect Is Player To Watch
The Chicago Blackhawks have some interesting prospects to watch this season. One of them is goaltender Drew Commesso, as the 23-year-old will be looking to take another step forward in his development.
Commesso just completed his second season in the American Hockey League (AHL) with the Rockford Ice Hogs, and it was a solid year for the Norwell, Massachusetts native. In 39 games for the AHL squad on the year, he posted an 18-15-4 record, a .911 save percentage, and a 2.54 goals-against average. He then followed that up with a 4-3 record, a 2.35 goals-against average, and a .926 save percentage in seven playoff games for Rockford this spring.
With numbers like these, there is no question that Commesso demonstrated good promise this past campaign. Now, he will be looking to build off that during the 2025-26 season.
Right now, the Blackhawks currently have Spencer Knight and Arvid Soderblom as their NHL goaltenders. While this is the case, it would still be significant if Commesso can take that next step and give the Blackhawks another solid option to consider for their NHL roster. This is especially so if the Blackhawks end up dealing with more injury trouble between the pipes at all this campaign.
Ottawa Senators Winger Fabian Zetterlund Ready To Prove Himself This Season
Of all the players on the ice for the first on-ice session of the Senators' training camp, few players have more to prove than Fabian Zetterlund.
The Swedish winger arrived at the 2025 NHL trade deadline for Zack Ostapchuk and a 2025 second-round pick, carrying expectations to provide quality depth and secondary scoring for one of the lowest-scoring five-on-five teams in the league.
Unfortunately, that production failed to materialize.
Zetterlund's two goals and five points in 20 games are well-documented. His numbers were a constant source of messageboard and talk radio fodder over the offseason.
General manager Steve Staios and the organization were certainly unfazed by Zetterlund's surface stats, rewarding the 26-year-old with a three-year contract carrying an average annual value of $4.25 million.
If Zetterlund was concerned about the pressures placed on him, he refused to let it show. When he arrived for a one-on-one interview following his group's gruelling on-ice skating session on the second day of training camp, Zetterlund was all smiles.
It is the most engaging and comfortable that I have seen him be since arriving last March.
"The body is fresh. (My mind) is fresh," said Zetterlund enthusiastically. "I want to start the season well, and that's been one of my main focuses the whole summer. Now I'm here, and I feel ready."
During his exit interviews with the coach and general manager, Zetterlund listened to their feedback and constructive criticism before acknowledging that their respective sentiments aligned with his own.
"I know what I want to do better, and they pointed out the same things," Zetterlund remarked. "So, that's what I've been working on. I feel fresh, ready, and quick out there. Strong and hungry.
"Overall, (I need to) be a prick out there," the winger said while outlining what the organization asked him to work on. "I need to be hard to play against every day, and be strong on the puck. I need to hold on to it, use my shot, and hit the net more."
Zetterlund's preparations for the 2025-26 campaign began back home in Sweden, where he trained and spent most of his free time enjoying the company of friends and family.
The winger returned to Ottawa on September 1st to participate in Brady Tkachuk's organized 'Captain's Skates', providing himself with an extra three weeks to skate and build chemistry and camaraderie with his teammates ahead of the opening of camp.
The hope is that the experience will benefit Zetterlund this season, but what should really help him is his familiarity with the coaching staff and the team's systems and structure.
"I know exactly what to do out there," Zetterlund stated. " Structurally, our system is easy, and I've been playing for (26 games, including the postseason) now.
"I know exactly where to go and how to handle things out there. Now it's just up to me to do it."
What may also help Zetterlund is that he experienced a similar stretch of poor production after being dealt from New Jersey to San Jose at the 2023 trade deadline. Zetterlund was a younger player trying to establish himself as an NHL regular at the time. Nonetheless, in the 22 games after the deadline, he was held goalless while adding only three assists.
The winger followed that stretch up by having the most productive campaign of his NHL career in 2023-24. Zetterlund played in each of San Jose's 82 games and led the team with 24 goals and 204 shots. His 44 points trailed only Mikael Granlund (60) and William Eklund (45).
When asked whether he could draw any parallels between his two post-trade deadline stretches, or whether the experience and success of his first full season in San Jose could serve him well now, Zetterlund expressed a preference to focus on the future.
"That's the past," the winger affirmed. "I forgot about that, but I'm just looking forward to a new season and being with the Ottawa Senators from the start. It's gonna be fun."
When Zetterlund joined the Senators, it was obviously exciting to join a team that was on the verge of clinching its first postseason berth in eight years. Under the surface, however, the Swede arrived at a challenging time.
At the time of the trade, the collection of forwards playing in the Senators' top nine was playing really well, relegating Zetterlund to a fourth line role that afforded him time to acclimatize to his new surroundings.
He would eventually get opportunities on the power play and to play with the team's more skilled players, but the goals and points did not come.
The encouraging part is that Zetterlund's underlying numbers were incredibly strong.
Of the forwards on the team who logged more than 200 five-on-five minutes, only Brady Tkachuk, a noted volume-producing machine, generated a higher rate of shots (iCF/60), shots on goal (shots/60), and individual expected goals (ixG/60) than Zetterlund per NaturalStatTrick. The problem was that his five-on-five shooting percentage (3.13%) was the fifth-lowest on the team, ahead of defencemen like Nik Matinpalo, Nick Jensen, Artem Zub and Travis Hamonic.
When I told Zetterlund about how strong some of his analytics were and whether he felt like he was creating a high volume of chances, he deflected and expressed a desire for the team's success.
"I don't know what to say," he admitted. "I try to work hard every shift out there. It doesn't matter if the puck goes in or not.
"I still want to help the team win. That's the most important thing. We had a good stretch last year, and we want more (success) this year for sure. I want to produce. I want to be a goal scorer, of course. But when the puck doesn't go in, you're going to do other stuff out there to help the team, and that's what I'm trying to bring every day. It's just a bonus if the puck goes in."
As a career 9.6 percent shooter, it is reasonable to believe that Zetterlund's shooting percentage will normalize. When it does, it will provide some of the incremental gains this organization is looking for to help this team rise in the Atlantic Division.
By Graeme Nichols
The Hockey News Ottawa
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Mets, Cedric Mullins discuss 'tough' play in outfield that led to Daylen Lile's go-ahead inside-the-park home run
The Mets had done everything they could to come back and force extra innings against the Nationals on Saturday, but it wasn't enough after an unbelievable inside-the-park home run decided the game.
With one out in the 11th inning and a runner on first, Tyler Rogers threw a 2-2 sinker to Lile, who launched it deep to center field. Cedric Mullins raced back, but it went over his head and off the wall, allowing the speedy Lile to scamper all the way home and give the Nationals a two-run lead. The home run was enough for Washington to hold on for the win and even the series.
"It’s a tough one there, but once you realize that you have no chance on that play, maybe you give yourself a better chance to play it off the wall," Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said of the play after the game. "But if [Mullins] stops, once it hits that part of the wall with the angle like that and bounces toward right field, there’s not much he could do there. Maybe he stops earlier, plays it off the way, but still, he’s not going to have a chance there."
"First thought was make a play on the ball," Mullins said. "Little shifted over because Rogers is a unique pitcher, defensive alignment is a little different, [Lile] got a good swing on it, thought I got a decent jump. Once I realized I wasn’t going to have a play, tried to stop myself to read it off the wall, but just got on me pretty quick."
Mullins added, "More or less an instinctive type play. Just do what you can. I knew what I was trying to do there, just didn’t execute."
The Mets still had a chance to extend or win the game in the bottom half of the inning, but Mullins popped up to lead off before Francisco Lindor lined out and Juan Soto struck out looking to end the contest.
Lile's inside-the-park homer was the first at Citi Field in eight years and snapped Washington's 11-game losing streak in Flushing. But more importantly, it stopped the Mets' momentum. They entered Saturday winners of four of five games and two games up on the Reds for the final wild card spot.
However the standings bear out when play starts Sunday, the Mets continue to control their own destiny. With seven games remaining, they'll look to take the rubber game of their series with the Nationals before hitting the road to end the season.
DAYLEN LILE, INSIDE-THE-PARK HOMER IN EXTRAS 🤯 pic.twitter.com/QUmqYNemFQ
— MLB (@MLB) September 20, 2025
Penguins' Training Camp: Observations From Day Three
Group C kicked off Saturday's training camp session, and there wasn't as much systems work compared to Friday's session. Instead, we got to see a fair amount of line rushes and a lot of odd-man rush opportunities.
Filip Hallander skated on a line with Rickard Rakell and Bryan Rust during drills and looked just as comfortable as he did on Friday. Speaking of Rakell, he had a great practice and was showcasing his one-timer throughout the 90-minute session. He was one of the only players to beat goaltender Sergei Murashov during those drills.
Rakell's hoping to have another big season after finishing with 35 goals and 70 points last year, since the 2026 Olympics are on the horizon. He wants to make Team Sweden after playing for his country during the 4 Nations Face-Off.
“It’s huge for me," Rakell said after practice. "For the Penguins, for me to have a better season than last year, it was important for me to have a good summer and just try to improve all the things I wanted to improve from last year. Obviously, getting a chance to play in the Olympics… never really had a chance before, so that would be cool for me and a great motivator for this year.”
Outside of Rakell, Murashov stood out again, which shouldn't surprise anyone. He's been a total freak in the crease and the best goaltender at camp so far. Sometimes it feels like he's not even trying when making some saves because of how natural everything looks to him.
The Penguins don't want to rush his development, which is why it's still highly likely that he starts the season in Wilkes-Barre. Getting him the bulk of the starts in WBS this year should be the goal before he's potentially NHL-ready next year.
Group A
The Sidney Crosby group was next up on Saturday, and outside of Crosby being his usual self, Owen Pickering had himself a really good day. He looks to be faster and has more command of his skating compared to last season. Pickering was paired with Harrison Brunicke again for a lot of drills, especially with Crosby and Ville Koivunen, and never looked out of place.
Speaking of Brunicke, he talked about his pairing with Pickering after practice and likes how the pair is developing.
"I think good," Brunicke said. "We are taking it each day, just learning and growing together, so it's been a lot of fun. We're creating some chemistry here and looking to keep progressing."
This is a pair that fans could see down the line in the NHL once both players are NHL-ready.
Forward Aidan McDonough has flown a little under the radar since camp started on Thursday. He has showcased some strong puck skills and has an underrated release when he has time and space to use it. He should give the WBS Penguins solid depth for the 2025-26 season after he was signed to an AHL deal. He had 10 goals and 16 points in 16 games for the Charlotte Checkers last season.
Finally, Erik Karlsson was having the time of his life on Saturday. He was into the practice like it was a regular-season game and was shouting so loud that people in the other rink could probably hear him. Karlsson was paired a lot with Parker Wotherspoon for the second straight day, which could be a sign that they will be on the top pair to start the season.
Group B
The Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang group rounded out Saturday's training camp practice, and once again, goaltender Arturs Silovs was the biggest standout. He was locked in during the 90-minute practice and made some outstanding saves during a swath of different drills. His positioning continues to really shine in this camp.
Outside of Murashov, Silovs has been the best goaltender at camp thus far and is in the driver's seat to be Tristan Jarry's backup this year. Jarry and Blomqvist have both been totally fine at camp, but the former two have been locked in since Thursday.
'There's No Place I'd Rather Be': Tomasino Eager To Prove Himself In Pittsburgh This SeasonAfter a third consecutive season of missing the playoffs, the long offseason was a grueling one for the Pittsburgh Penguins. Players were eager to get back in action, and some knew they were going to have to come into training camp this season with a purpose.
Towards the end of the session, Evgeni Malkin and Anthony Mantha took turns firing slap shots that turned into goals when the group was doing a 3v3 drill with one net set up along the left side of the boards and another on the right side. It was very fast-paced and only involved a few skaters at a time, but the shots drew some oohs and ahhs from the crowd.
The Penguins will have an off day on Sunday before playing their first game of the preseason on Monday against the Montreal Canadiens. There will be a morning skate for the players who will play in that game before they fly to Montreal.
The next training camp practice will start at 8:45 a.m. ET on Tuesday.
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Nolan McLean impresses against Nationals despite Mets' defensive miscues
Nolan McLean has opportunely carried the Mets' rotation since making his major league debut last month, but neither he nor his supporting cast helped make his latest outing blemish-free.
The lauded rookie's spotless ERA at Citi Field received its first smudges on Saturday afternoon, as a handful of second-inning defensive blunders hampered the Mets early in a frustrating 5-3 loss to the division-rival Nationals in 11 innings.
With a pristine 1.19 ERA entering the weekend -- the lowest mark through six starts in Mets history -- minor hiccups were inevitable for McLean. But only one of the three total runs that he allowed was earned, and he ultimately completed five innings with six punchouts on 92 pitches.
"I felt like my stuff felt good," McLean said. "The first couple of innings, I could've done a much better job getting ahead. Also once I got the two strikes, I could've done a better job expanding the zone and throwing a few more putaway pitches."
After allowing a leadoff infield single in the second that popped out of Francisco Lindor's glove at short, McLean saw a subsequent single trickle to the right field warning track due to a misplay from Juan Soto. The ugly error allowed a run to score, and the string of bad luck didn't end there.
Just two pitches later, a well-placed chopper toward Pete Alonso on the grass at first produced a looping underhand toss that prevented McLean from stepping on the bag in time. While the play was initially ruled an out, the Nationals challenged the call and replay showed that the runner was safe.
McLean recovered nicely after the messy sequence, inducing a pair of swinging strikeouts with runners on the corners. But before completing the inning, he sailed a two-strike fastball past catcher Francisco Alvarez that allowed another run to cross the plate. The lone earned run charged to him came in the first inning, on an RBI groundout.
"We didn't make a couple of plays behind him, but I thought stuff-wise, he was really good again," Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said of McLean. "They ran his pitch count up for five innings there. But I think other than the execution when he was ahead, he was pretty good."
McLean will have to settle with an equally sweet 1.27 ERA through seven appearances, and in spite of the few mistakes, he generated eye-popping run on his two-seamer and baffling horizontal break on his sweeper.
He also made more MLB history, becoming just the second pitcher ever to record 45-plus strikeouts with six or fewer runs allowed across their first seven big league outings. Sheer dominance from a 24-year-old with ace-level makeup and expectations.
While the Mets' rotation plan for a potential NL wild-card berth is anything but concrete, McLean couldn't be more valuable to the staff. He's lined up to make one last regular season start next weekend, in a road matchup against the Marlins.
Ryan O'Reilly impressed by Brady Martin's skill, delighted by his attitude during Predators training camp
Ryan O'Reilly, with one tooth missing, was grinning ear to ear when talking about what it's been like to have center Brady Martin at Nashville Predators training camp.
The 18-year-old was drafted by the Predators fifth overall in the 2025 NHL Draft, and after a busy summer, is locked in on earning a spot on the Predators roster.
O'Reilly, entering his 18th NHL season, has been enticed by Martin's skill, energy and overall positive attitude.
"It's fun getting to know him [Martin]," O'Reilly said. "It takes me back to when I was young and I was excited to be at NHL training camp. He's got a lot of energy and always has a smile on his face. It's fun to see."
O'Reilly remembers that similar excitement, but said there's a wide skill gap between Martin and himself when he was 18, in that Martin is better.
"He's a lot better than I was at that age," O'Reilly chuckled. "He skates a lot better and I kind of ran on the ice a bit."
That's been an area of Martin's game that he's been improving on over the summer. He said that he worked a lot off the ice, mainly with a track coach, to transition that explosiveness to the ice.
It was the skill that Martin believed he "sharpened" the most this offseason.
"We just did a lot of explosive exercises off the ice and worked a little bit of skating too," Martin said.
Martin's ability to battle for the puck stuck out to O'Reilly as well. His strength on the stick is what played into his draft stock. In juniors, he was a bigger player who was hard to take the puck off of.
"He's [Martin] very strong on the stick just in those little battles and pushing on him," O'Reilly said. "When I was younger, that was something that could've given me a leg [up] in being strong on pucks...you can tell he's got that strength. That farm boy strength."
Martin's abilities on the puck were put to the test in Friday's scrimmage as he went up against 6-foot-6-inch Michael McCarron.
"He's tough. He's a big boy," Martin said on facing McCarron. "It's tough to beat him, but it's just about taking little tips and seeing what he does and trying to beat him. It's a good challenge."
While Martin and McCarron faced off earlier this week, they both play a critical role in bringing up the Predators' center depth. Both likely could play significant roles down the middle in bringing up the center depth in the bottom six.
The effort is led by O'Reilly, who will likely center the first line at the start of the regular season.
However, in the first week of training camp, Martin is looking to showcase his skills and continue proving that he's deserving of a spot on this season's roster.
"I'm just going out there and working my tail off in every opportunity I get," Martin said. "I'm just trying to work hard and show the coaches what I have to bring."
Will Smith has hairline hand fracture, putting his Dodgers playoff availability in question
Dodgers catcher Will Smith has a hairline fracture in his right hand and is doubtful to return before the end of the regular season, according to manager Dave Roberts.
The Dodgers are “hopeful” Smith will be available for the postseason, but whether he will be ready for the very start of the playoffs — which likely will be Sept. 30 — remains “up in the air,” Roberts said.
Smith, the three-time All-Star catcher who led the National League in batting average in the first half of the season before slumping through August, first got hurt when a foul ball hit his dangling throwing hand behind the plate on Sept. 3 in Pittsburgh.
Read more:Shaikin: Clayton Kershaw was always at the heart of the Dodgers' franchise revival
After missing the Dodgers’ next five games, he returned to the starting lineup on Sept. 9 against the Colorado Rockies, and doubled in his first at-bat. However, the 30-year-old was a late scratch from the lineup the next day after his hand swelled up, and was placed on the injured list last weekend in San Francisco.
Initially, both an X-ray and an MRI on Smith’s hand came back clean, which is why the Dodgers allowed him to return to action as soon as they did. But his injury lingered and the Dodgers sent him back for another MRI at the end of this past week.
This time, the scan showed what both Roberts and president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman described as a “small” fracture.
"It sounds like from the doctors that it's so small and in such a small part of the hand that it didn't show up initially but did on the subsequent [scan],” Friedman said. “They seem to say [that] is common. I haven't seen it, but I also haven't seen a broken bone in that area very often. It makes sense why it was slow to rebound. I'm glad we have clarity on it. We're going to do everything we can to strengthen and heal and get it back.”
To this point, the Dodgers have managed without Smith, who was batting .296 with 17 home runs and 61 RBIs. In the 14 games he has missed since getting hurt, the team is 8-6 and averaging more than five runs per game.
A big reason why: The emergence of journeyman replacement Ben Rortvedt, a minor-league addition at the trade deadline who has come to the majors and produced capably as a fill-in for Smith and backup catcher Dalton Rushing (who missed 10 days this month after fouling a ball off his leg).
After joining the team as a career .186 hitter in four MLB seasons, Rortvedt has batted .294 in 13 games with the Dodgers with two doubles and two sacrifice bunts. Dodgers pitchers also have a 2.74 ERA with him behind the plate.
Even with Rushing healthy again, Roberts said Rortvedt will likely get the “lion’s share” of playing time in Smith’s absence.
“The way he's helped lead our pitching staff has been awesome,” Friedman said. “He really has that servant leadership mentality behind the plate, which has really ingratiated himself with a lot of our pitchers.”
Still, to be at top form, the Dodgers need Smith in the middle of the batting order.
Friedman said the team will keep giving treatment to his hand until “he gets to a point where he doesn't have symptoms, we'll re-X-ray.”
“We're optimistic that it's going to heal quickly, but we're at the mercy of how quickly that happens,” Friedman said. “We don't really know, but we're optimistic it'll be pretty fast.”
Read more:Clayton Kershaw delivers another 'perfect' L.A. moment as Dodgers clinch playoff berth
Graterol not expected back
It’s not much of a surprise at this point, but the Dodgers are not expecting reliever Brusdar Graterol to return this season.
Graterol has not pitched this year after an offseason shoulder surgery, and his recovery “hasn't gone as smoothly as he would like, as we would like,” Friedman said.
“It's been hard to kind of ramp up the volume that he would need to get back. My expectation is he will not be back this year."
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Phillies waste early lead, fall 4-3 to Diamondbacks
Phillies waste early lead, fall 4-3 to Diamondbacks originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
PHOENIX – Rob Thomson has said in the past that he is a constant scoreboard watcher for out-of-town games.
He probably didn’t like what he saw Saturday. Not only did his Phillies drop a 4-3 decision to the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field, the Milwaukee Brewers won their game with the St. Louis Cardinals and pulled three games ahead of the Phillies for the top seed in the National League.
The Phillies pulled out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning when Harrison Bader walked on four pitches to start off the game and sprinted home on a double by Kyle Schwarber off Arizona starter Zac Gallen. Schwarber moved to third on a groundout by Bryce Harper then score on J.T. Realmuto’s sacrifice fly to deep center.
Arizona tied the game 2-2 with solo runs in the first and third off Nola, but he was given the lead back in the fourth when Alec Bohm homered to center for a 3-2 lead.
“I think I’m just getting through the ball better, not cutting my swing off and just kind of the way I feel. Just feels getting through the ball better,” said Bohm. “For a little while there I was just kind of stuck. Just keep building on the consistency of it. Today when I swung I put the ball in play which is more on par for what I do. When I’m good, when I decide to swing at a pitch, and make the right decision, the ball is getting put in play.”
As the manager said, a lot of good things despite a loss that dropped them to 92-63.
“It was nice to see Schwarber get a couple of hits, the double to left-center was a good sign,” said Thomson. “Bohm is swinging the bat well, Stott had a couple base hits, great at-bat in the ninth. Lot of good things today.”
But the Diamondbacks got to Nola in the sixth when, with one out, Blaze Alexander doubled off the wall in centerfield and scored a batter later when James McCann doubled to right-center. Tanner Banks relieved Nola and struck out pinch-hitter Tim Tawa, but Ildemaro Vargas blooped a single just over the head of shortstop Bryson Stott and Arizona grabbed a 4-3 lead.
An error by third baseman Alexander on a ball hit by Otto Kemp and a walk to Bryson Stott by Gallen gave the Phillies two men on with two out in the seventh, but Harrison Bader grounded into a fielder’s choice to end that threat.
The Phillies got a pair of runners on again in the eighth when Kyle Schwarber led off with a single but was forced at second on a great play by Geraldo Perdomo who dove and snagged a Bryce Harper grounder to force Schwarber at second. Harper advanced to third on a single to right by Realmuto, but Brandon Marsh struck out looking and Bohm flew out softly to center.
Should the Phillies need a fourth starter in the playoffs Nola helped himself on Saturday, if there is indeed a competition for that spot between him and Walker Buehler. Nola went 5 1/3 innings and gave up seven hits, four earned runs, a pair of walks and struck out 4 while throwing 55 of his 84 pitches for strikes.
“I could have been a little more aggressive, a lot better than last outing,” said Nola. “Body feels good. I’m 100 percent finally. I feel great. My arm feels good, so overall I feel really good. They’ve got a pretty good lineup. They’re scrappy, hit the ball both ways.”
“I thought he was pretty good,” said Thomson. “Encouraging. I thought his fastball command was good, 93, 94. Landed his curveball early in counts and behind in counts, so that was a good sign. Yeah, 65 percent strikes, got some whiffs. It was good.
“Today was really encouraging to me just because his fastball command, velocity was up and he held it for most of the game. I’m not sure if there’s not some fatigue setting in, just because he hasn’t had a full season. Sometimes that’s good. Really, with the amount of starts he’s had he’s still kind of building back. I don’t know whether there’s some fatigue setting in but I liked where he was at today.”
Gallen, the Bishop Eustace product, kept his hot pitching streak alive by picking up the win as he improved to 13-14 on the season. In his last 10 starts, he is 6-2 with a 2.82 ERA after giving up three earned runs in seven innings to the Phillies.
“His secondary pitch was really good,” said Thomson. “The changeup to lefties, the curveball to righties and lefties. Really good.”
'You Don't Always Have Control': 1-on-1 With Devils' Nico Daws
At 24 years old, Nico Daws may not have experienced it all, but he has been around long enough to have a clear understanding of the business side of hockey.
After Saturday afternoon's practice, the young goaltender spoke to The Hockey News, reflecting on this being his fifth training camp with the New Jersey Devils organization. Over the years, he played 98 American Hockey League (AHL) games and 52 NHL games.
In his second professional season, Daws was named to the 2022-23 AHL All-Star Classic. In 2024, he shined under the lights of MetLife Stadium, making 45 saves in the Devils' 6–3 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers in the NHL Stadium Series.
Looking back on his first few years, he spoke about maturity.
"I feel like my first few years, I kind of had that feeling of Do I really belong?" he explained. "You are so young, and guys are older, but now I am coming into myself more and having a lot more confidence in my game and as a person, too. It's been nice."
Daws has experienced the highs and lows that any developing player experiences throughout their career, but with age comes comfortability.
"Obviously, it takes a while to get your game comfortable at this level, and being able to do it on a consistent basis," he said. "There are so many hard lessons you have to learn. I feel like I have learned a lot of them, but obviously, there is still a lot of room to grow and areas to improve in.
"I feel really good about where I am at right now."
Daws is entering camp understanding that the Devils' goaltending tandem will be veterans Jacob Markstrom and Jake Allen. The 6-foot-4 netminder wasn't surprised to see Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald sign Allen in free agency, saying the 35-year-old is a great goalie and a great person.
This leads to an unknown for Daws and his future in New Jersey. He will require waivers to be assigned to the Utica Comets (AHL). If the Devils need Daws' services at any point during this season, there is a risk that another NHL team could claim him and take on his contract.
"Whatever happens, happens," Daws said when asked if he thinks about getting claimed off waivers. "My job stays the same. That is all I am focused on: making sure I am ready to go when the season starts."
His response aligns with his easy-going and adaptable personality, which reporters have come to appreciate.
While there were some struggles last season in Utica, Daws showed well in the four games he started for the Devils last season, earning a 3-1-0 record with a .939 save percentage and a 1.60 goals-against average. For the 2025-26 season, he is on a one-way deal at $850,000 at the NHL level.
"At the end of the day, you gotta play as good as you can," he said. "You don't always have control of where you end up or what happens. That is just the realistic side of pro hockey. You have to be able to put your head down and work through the circumstances, no matter what."
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Hischier's Manager Patrick Fischer: 'He's Driven to Succeed, but Not Easily