The Dallas Stars defeated the Colorado Avalanche in their Game 7 matchup by a 4-2 final score. With this, the Stars are moving on to the second round, and former Carolina Hurricanes forward Mikko Rantanen is the main reason for it.
After the Stars went down 2-0 early in the third period, Rantanen put Dallas on his back and simply dominated. The former Hurricanes forward recorded a hat trick and an assist in the third period, leading the Stars to their massive Game 7 comeback win.
With this dominant performance, Rantanen finished the first-round series against his former club with five goals, seven assists, and 12 points. This included posting 11 points in his final three games of the series. Needless to say, he has been simply on fire, and the Stars' playoff run is still alive because of it.
The Hurricanes traded Rantanen to the Stars in exchange for Logan Stankoven, a conditional 2026 first-round pick, a conditional 2028 first-round pick, a 2026 third-round pick, and a 2027 third-round pick at the NHL trade deadline. This was after Rantanen made it clear that he was not interested in signing an extension with the Hurricanes. Thus, Carolina moved him a little over a month after acquiring him from the Avalanche.
It will now be interesting to see if Rantanen can build on his hot streak with the Stars from here. Right now, he is showing no signs of slowing down.
The Bears and Leicestershire secured victories inside three days on another busy weekend of action
After pulling a muscle on 99, diving for the line during a quick single, Cox completes his hundred muscling a reverse-sweep before hobbling off to field concerned phonecalls from England. A fabulous hundred. Essex 251-4 and a lead of 312.
How is Warwickshire’s chase going? Pretty well, although Hamza Shaikh has just been caught by YJB off new boy Buckingham and Davies lost his off stumps to a screamer from Ben Coad. Only 125 more needed.
Zhao Xintong took a major step towards becoming China’s first world champion, taking an 11-6 overnight lead
Williams 0-0 Xintong (0-64) Email! “Battle of the dragons: Chinese v Welsh,” begins Andrew Goudie. “I hope they’ve invited Tony Drago(n) from Malta, also famous for having a dragon on its flag.” And the quickest player ever; him and Jimmy White were quite the doubles partnership. Anyroad, Zhao flukes a red, snuggles up to the brown, and Mark misses his escape … twice … thrice … before hitting. There are 85 points left on the table.
Williams 0-0 Xintong (0-51) The last qualifier to win the worlds was Shaun Murphy in 2025, but Zhao’s started like he means it. He breaks the pack nicely … then a lax positional shot means end of break; he does well not to attempt a wild pot, fired by disappointment, and to play a decent safety.
Beaten world semi-finalist unhappy with fan conduct
One spectator yelled: ‘Can’t miss that Judd’ during match
Judd Trump has urged snooker’s authorities to act immediately to stamp out rowdy fan behaviour and avoid fostering a “darts atmosphere” at the sport’s biggest events.
Trump was visibly annoyed after a spectator shouted “can’t miss that Judd” during a crucial phase of his World Snooker Championship semi-final defeat by Mark Williams at the Crucible.
Andy Pages celebrates hitting a two-run homer with Teoscar Hernández in the fifth inning of last Sunday's game against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Hernández had homered to lead off the inning, the 200th of his career. "Two hundred, that's a big one," Hernández said. "But I was more excited for him." (Robert Hanashiro / For The Times)
When the Dodgers called up Andy Pages to the majors early last season, one of the first things co-hitting coach Aaron Bates did was seek out veteran outfielder Teoscar Hernández.
That spring, Bates had watched a relationship blossom between Pages, a then 23-year-old prospect who had bounced back miraculously fast from a labrum surgery the previous season, and Hernández, an All-Star veteran who had signed with the club that winter at age 31 in search of a bounce-back performance.
All camp, Pages and Hernández were among the first to arrive at the batting cages each morning. They became almost attached at the hip in the clubhouse and on the backfields, constantly discussing the state of their games.
It was, as Bates and several others around the team have since described it, the start of a “big brother, little brother” relationship between the two sluggers.
Thus, once Pages joined the big-league roster a couple weeks into the regular season, Bates encouraged Hernández to help reinforce the coaching staff’s message to the newly recalled rookie — and to, more important, be a guiding voice as he took Pages under his wing.
“As a hitting coach, you can go to a veteran player if you want him to get a message across to a younger guy, if it’s coming off better or might land a little bit better with the veteran player telling him,” Bates said. “So as Andy was coming up to the big leagues, Teo was a big asset to us to get stuff across to Andy. And Andy is super coachable. You can tell him yourself. But Teo can see it from his vantage point.”
One year later, few Dodgers teammates are closer than Hernández and Pages.
They talk almost daily in their shared corner of the team’s clubhouse. They’ll watch one another during batting practice, and coordinate defensively in outfielders’ meetings. After most home games, they’ll leave the stadium side-by-side (more than once this year, Hernández has waited in the clubhouse hallway, playfully shouting for Pages to hurry up to leave). And the more their bond has strengthened, the more they’ve each benefited from the partnership — leaning on one another while becoming integral pieces of the Dodgers’ offense.
“We’ve always been really close,” Pages said through an interpreter. “We talked through a lot of things. We’ve been talking through a lot of difficult times. A lot of the good times. Obviously, he has a lot of experience in the big leagues, so I utilize him for some of these difficult times. But we’ve had a close relationship since the beginning.”
When Hernández first arrived in Dodgers camp last spring, Pages wasn’t the only young Latin American player that gravitated toward him.
Miguel Vargas — who, like Pages, was signed as an amateur out of Cuba — was transitioning full-time to the outfield. Jose Ramos, a double-A prospect originally signed out of Panama, had also earned an invite to big-league spring training.
“Because they were working in the outfield, we built a good relationship,” said Hernández, a Dominican native who was once in their shoes while trying to break into the majors with the Houston Astros in 2016. “I was trying to teach them some of the things I went through when I came to the big leagues. Trying to make them feel better when things are not going right.”
Teoscar Hernández congratulates Andy Pages after Pages lept at the center field wall to rob the Chicago Cubs' Michael Busch of a homer during a game at Dodger Stadium last month. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
In Pages specifically, though, Hernández found something of a kindred spirit.
Pages is not as outwardly animated as Hernández, whose “happy-go-lucky” personality, as Bates described it, is evident every time he showers his teammates with sunflower seeds to celebrate home runs. But Pages did have the same persistent work ethic, having spent the 2024 offseason making a rapid recovery from his 2023 shoulder surgery. And he had the same steady demeanor, helping him earn his first big-league promotion in mid-April of last year.
“We all knew he was gonna get to the big leagues last year,” Hernández said. “When you see a good player, you’re gonna see it right away. You’re gonna see the guy has talent. You’re gonna know right away if he can play in the big leagues.”
That’s why, once Pages did join the Dodgers, Hernández helped him hone the mental side of his game.
In the good times, like when Pages hit over .300 in his first 20 games, Hernández reinforced his confidence. In bad stretches, like when Pages was demoted after a 33-game run through July and early August in which he batted .226 with just one home run and 28 strikeouts, Hernández tried to foster positivity.
“This game is hard,” Hernández told him. “You’re gonna fail more times than you have success.”
All players know that when they arrive in the majors. But understanding it is different. And only with experience, Hernández had learned, came the ability to navigate such adversity.
“When you realize that as a player, and you get it, everything becomes easier to handle,” Hernández said.
A similar dynamic was at play early this season.
Despite returning to the majors late last year and exploding for a two-homer game in the National League Championship Series, Pages entered this season on the fringes of the Dodgers’ MLB roster. And even though he made the team coming out of camp, he felt pressure to try and entrench his place permanently in the big leagues.
That strain beget a slump, Pages batting .159 through the season’s first three weeks.
But Hernández continued to support him, both in public comments to reporters and private chats between the two, aiming to simply “keep his mind positive.”
“We’re not talking about what he’s doing wrong, or the slump he’s in,” Hernández said. “Just trying to tell him: ‘OK, let’s try this. Or that. Whatever it is for you to feel good with what you’re doing on the field.’”
Part of the slump, Pages felt, came from adjustments he had while primarily batting in the nine-hole — feeling the need to be overly selective in hopes of getting on base for leadoff man Shohei Ohtani.
So, recently, Dodgers hitting coaches encouraged Pages to get back to his typical aggressive approach at the plate. Hernández, who in another parallel to Pages is a free swinger himself, once again backed up that message.
“I think having someone like that to look up to, and model himself as far as what he wants to be, is great,” Bates said.
Pages not only heeded the advice, but has seen his results improve almost immediately. Over his last nine games entering Saturday, Pages is batting .500 with three doubles, four home runs, nine RBIs and only five strikeouts.
Hernández has been almost as good in that same stretch, snapping out of an early slump by batting .410 with five doubles, four home runs and 15 RBIs (giving him an MLB-high 32 runs driven in on the season) since April 22.
Manager Dave Roberts doesn’t believe it’s a coincidence.
“I think that there is some type of commonality to Andy and Teo’s success [happening] together,” Roberts said this week. “They certainly have a big brother, little brother relationship. And Teo obviously has established himself as an All-Star and has been a mentor to Andy … But I do think that those guys are continuing to push each other, which is fun to watch.”
No sequence was more joyful than last week’s series finale against the Pittsburgh Pirates, when both Hernández and Pages homered in the same inning.
Hernández’s long ball was a milestone moment, marking the 200th home run of his MLB career.
But his reaction to Pages’ big fly later in the inning was noticeably more gleeful, with Hernández flying out of the dugout and pelting Pages with an overhand chuck of sunflower seeds at the top step.
“I was happy, yes. Two hundred, that’s a big one,” Hernández said. “But I was more excited for him.”
To those who have watched Hernández and Pages up close over the last year, that was hardly surprising to hear.
“Teo, he likes those numbers, but I don’t think he plays for that reason,” Bates said. “He just plays to love the game. And I think he’s happier when he sees a younger player like that, that he can help.”
It’s rare that Draymond Green gets melancholy in the wake of defeat. But there he was Friday night, after the Warriors’ Game 6 loss to the Houston Rockets, issuing 14 atypically brief responses until the 15th question put a lump in his throat.
Asked about the retirement of legendary San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, Green spent a full three minutes reminiscing about Popovich’s career. Draymond played for Pop, winning a gold medal at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. The two shared a mutual respect. A kinship.
“I just wish,” Green said, near the end of his remarks, “I had one last time to go hug him on the sideline before a game.”
This moment, rich with warm sadness, with Green barely able to subdue his emotions, was an ode to the end of one man’s era coming from the heart of a man who knows his own era is turning down that same road.
Through the first six games of this first-round Western Conference playoff series, there has not been much of the Draymond whose dynamic activity altered the balance of games, even if statistics didn’t always reflect it. He has had moments of brilliance, most notably his game-saving stop of Alperen Şengün in the final seconds of Game 4. There also have been long stretches when Green’s offensive impact is neutralized by burly point guard Fred VanVleet and Houston’s lengthy, athletic wings.
Green’s defense on Şengün – five inches taller, 20 pounds heavier, 12 years younger – has been a fascinating game-by-game skirmish, with each winning his share of battles. Şengün is averaging 20.8 points, on 46.3 percent shooting from the field, and 5.3 assists per game, averages slightly higher than his regular season statistics.
When the Warriors step onto the court Sunday at Toyota Center in Houston for Game 7 against the Rockets, it won’t take long to discover if Draymond still can be that firebrand who can moderate his passion while pushing himself and his teammates to levels beyond imagination.
If he is that dude, the Warriors have a very good chance to beat the odds.
If he is not, the Warriors will need magnificent performances, beginning with Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler III, to have a chance.
“He’s our key in terms of what that emotion looks like,” coach Steve Kerr said Saturday. “He’s been in a bunch of Game 7s. He’s had monster Game 7s.”
Green’s last Game 7 was two years ago as a power forward in a first-round series against the Kings in Sacramento. He finished with eight points, eight assists, six rebounds and two steals. Matching up against Harrison Barnes, Green was plus-25 over 38 minutes, and the Warriors followed Curry’s 50 points to a 120-100 victory.
This time around, Green is at center, wrestling with the considerably more imposing Şengün.
Just as two years ago, it’s win or go home.
“Just got to meet force with force, execute the game plan,” Green said after the Game 6 loss on Friday. “Everybody will be excited. It will be hyped in there. It will be loud.
“Then the game starts and there’s just basketball. You got to execute your game plan, stay the course. They’re going to make runs. Stay the course. Continue to fight. But got to execute.”
There is no question Draymond, one of the game’s biggest brains, knows the way. The first six games of the series, however, have left open the question of whether his body still has the ability to achieve the commands coming from his mind.
He’s averaging 6.6 points per game, shooting 36.6 percent from the field, 26.1 percent from distance, 57.1 percent from the line. While it’s true Draymond’s value defies simple statistics, it’s striking that he’s averaging 5.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game.
“I think he recognizes that this series is not pleasant for him,” Kerr said. “He rarely gets the big on him to run, pick and roll. They’re putting VanVleet on him, trying to take him out of the offense, trying to take his rhythm away, trying to goad him into technicals and flagrants, like (Jalen Green did in Game 6). Draymond knows he cannot respond to that stuff in that way.”
If the Warriors leave the arena with a loss, they must cope with knowing that if there is a next postseason opportunity for their accomplished core – Curry, Butler and Green – will come when Curry is 38, Butler and Green each 36.
Green’s career has been among the most challenging of any player still active in the NBA. His uniqueness on defense has utilized to the max, spending nearly half his minutes bumping and banging off men as much as seven inches taller and 50 pounds heavier.
How long can Draymond reasonably be expected to excel at that? Golden State needs an elite performance, something vastly superior to that which he has delivered in any of the first six games.
“He’s just got to maintain his composure and recognize he’s the best defender in the world,” Kerr said. “If we do our jobs, and he’s guarding at his best capability, and he’s maintaining his emotion, and we’re doing our jobs, taking care of the ball, we got a great chance to win.
“And he gets the last laugh.”
That laugh that would affirm to Draymond, the Warriors and the rest of the NBA that this game-changing menace still has plenty of road ahead. And it would be heard all over Texas.
Michael Porter Jr was one of six Denver players who reached double figures for point scored [Getty Images]
The Denver Nuggets beat the Los Angeles Clippers 120-101 on Saturday to seal their passage from the first round of the NBA play-offs.
The series went to game seven, with the decider being played in Denver, and the hosts dominated to reach the Conference semi-finals.
The Nuggets are the fourth seed in the Western Conference and will next face top seeds, the Oklahoma City Thunder, who host game one on Monday.
Denver used a big third quarter to clinch victory over the Clippers, stretching their lead from 11 points up at half-time, to 93-66.
The Nuggets had six players reach double figures, with Aaron Gordon (22 points) and Christian Braun (21) leading the way for the 2023 champions, while Russell Westbrook added 16 points off the bench.
Three-time MVP Nikola Jokic finished two assists shy of a triple-double, claiming 16 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists along with three steals.
"In the play-offs, we know that everybody needs to step up," said the 30-year-old Serbian centre.
"Everybody who plays needs to contribute something - everybody did that."
Kawhi Leonard led Los Angeles with 22 points but James Harden, who had 13 assists, was held to seven points as the Clippers lost in the first round of the play-offs for the third straight season.
The Golden State Warriors visit the Houston Rockets to decide the final Conference semi-final spot on Sunday, while the Indiana Pacers hit the road to begin their semi-final series with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Celtic defender backs forward team-mate, Steven Gerrard trumpeted for Rangers return and Hamilton plan to stay full-time...
Liam Scales believes criticism of Celtic and Republic of Ireland team-mate Adam Idah is harsh and the defender backs the striker to shine against Rangers on Sunday. (Sun)
Scales, 26, enjoys fishing in Scotland as it is "good for keeping your mind clear". (Record)
James Forrest, 33, plays down the notion that he will take a penalty should Celtic be awarded one before the end of the season to maintain his streak of scoring in successive seasons dating back to the 2010-11 campaign. (Glasgow Times)
Mohamed Diomande, 23, admits there's going to be "a lot of regret" at Rangers come the end of the season. (Herald - subscription required)
Former Rangers midfielder Ryan Jack backs Steven Gerrard to return as Ibrox manager. (Record)
Gerrard, 44, is the leading candidate for the Rangers vacancy. (Football Insider)
Luka Elsner, who has managed nine clubs across Europe, emerges as a candidate for the Hearts manager's job. (Herald - subscription required)
Hamilton Academical plan to remain full-time following their relegation to Scottish League 1. (Sun)
Dodgers starting pitcher Roki Sasaki delivers in the first inning of a 10-3 win over the Atlanta Braves. Sasaki earned his first MLB win. (Mike Stewart / Associated Press)
The national anthem had been sung. A sold-out crowd was in its seats. The field was raked, chalked and ready for baseball.
More than three hours later, the first pitch was finally thrown.
What was scheduled as a 7:15 p.m. local start at Truist Park in Atlanta on Friday didn’t actually kick off until 10:21 p.m., with the Dodgers and Braves getting delayed by a thunderstorm that rolled in shortly after the game was supposed to begin.
The three-plus hour delay could have been enough to force a cancellation, and trigger a doubleheader on Sunday. But the Braves and Dodgers instead were asked to “hunker down,” as manager Dave Roberts quipped before the game, and wait.
“For us, decisiveness is probably better,” Roberts said. “Versus waiting around all night and ultimately not playing.”
The Dodgers ultimately did play, and rolled to a 10-3 win, as well, looking unfazed by the weather, the conditions or a late night that stretched into the early hours of Sunday morning before their seventh straight victory was finally complete.
Despite the long delay, Roki Sasaki survived his latest big-league test, dancing in and out of danger in a five-inning, three-run start for his first MLB win.
Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman both hit home runs; Ohtani to break an early 1-1 tie in the third, Freeman to put the game out of reach in the eighth.
Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani hits a solo home run in the third inning against the Braves on Saturday. (Mike Stewart / Associated Press)
And a Dodgers team (23-10) that spent most of the opening month trying to get synced up on the mound and at the plate — despite still posting the best record in the majors — continued to round into increasingly dominant form, inching ever closer to hitting their tantalizing top gear.
Few sequences better exemplified the Dodgers’ recently improved play than the crooked numbers they posted in the third and fourth innings.
In the third, the Dodgers played both long-ball and small-ball to produce two runs. Ohtani led off with his eighth home run, launching a towering solo blast to straightaway center field. Then, Betts hit a single, took second base on a hit-and-run play that likely would’ve resulted in a double-play grounder otherwise, and scored when Teoscar Hernández snuck a ground ball through the infield — giving Hernández his 33rd RBI to tie Aaron Judge for the MLB lead.
In the fourth, their offense went station-to-station in a four-run rally, all of the runs coming with two outs. Ohtani roped a single to center to get the threat started. Betts followed with an RBI double down the left-field line, marking his fourth-straight multi-hit game. Freeman then chased Braves starter Spencer Schwellenbach (who entered with a sub-3.00 ERA) with an RBI single to left, Betts staying on his feet all the way home to score just ahead of a tag at the plate.
With the clock ticking toward midnight, Aaron Bummer entered the game for the Braves (14-18) and immediately turned into a pumpkin.
His first batter, Hernández, hit a dribbler up the first-base line that Bummer initially fielded, but then dropped while trying to transfer the ball to his throwing hand for a flip to first base. Bummer quickly retrieved the ball again, and turned toward home with Freeman taking a wide turn around third. But his throw there was off-line, sailing over catcher Sean Murphy’s head to allow Freeman to score with ease.
Hernández also took second on the play, setting up Will Smith for an RBI single in the next at-bat.
It was late Saturday night baseball, at its sloppily, messy finest.
Sasaki didn’t make life easy on himself in the seventh start of his rookie season.
He had to strand two runners in the first, the latter of which reached on a two-out walk. He hung a slider to Ozzie Albies for a leadoff single in the second, then gave up a run when Eli White hit a half-swing double the other way to right. Another two-out walk created more stress in the third. And despite taking the mound with a 7-1 lead in the fourth, he gave up a leadoff homer to Albies and a one-out RBI double to Nick Allen, prompting a mound meeting from pitching coach Mark Prior.
But, as he has made a habit of during his up-and-down campaign, the 23-year-old right-hander managed to limit damage. Despite hitting a batter in the fourth, he escaped without yielding another run. In the fifth, he finally posted a 1-2-3 inning, having just enough gas in a season-high 98-pitch outing to qualify for his first victory.
The Western Conference First Round series concludes with a Game 7 on Sunday at 6 p.m. at Canada Life Centre (FDSNMW, TBS, MAX, CBC, TVAS, SN, ESPN 101.1-FM).
It's the 200th Game 7 in Stanley Cup playoff history and the winner advances to face the Dallas Stars in the second round after the Stars eliminated the Colorado Avalanche, 4-2 on Saturday in Game 7 of that series. The loser will have its season come to a close.
"It's about seizing an opportunity for us. We’re in Game 7 of the playoffs," Blues coach Jim Montgomery said. "It’s what we’ve all dreamed of in that organization, in that locker room together. These are the moments. You don’t think about winning Game 1 when you’re playing in your basement or you’re playing street hockey or your playing knee hockey with your best friend or your brother, whatever the case may be. It's Game 7, it’s overtime and it’s about us seizing an opportunity. It’s an opportunity that we’ve earned and now we have to go seize it."
“I think both teams have proven the game that they want to play on their home ice. We’ve done it here, they’ve done it there. Now we have to go in and try to get to that game early," said Blues defenseman Cam Fowler, who leads all defensemen in scoring with 10 points (two goals, eight assists) in the playoffs and will be playing in his sixth career Game 7. "I think we can take a lot of the things that we’ve done here in our own building and transfer them to Winnipeg. But we know the situation we’re walking into, the team we’re playing against, the season they had, and they play really well on home ice. So we have to get off to a good start, stick to the things that we’ve done well in this series and look at those . Game 7, it’s a great opportunity for both teams, so we’re looking forward to the challenge.”
For the Blues, it's their first Game 7 since June 12, 2019 when they defeated the Boston Bruins 4-1 to win their first Stanley Cup in franchise history.
"'Binner' won it. 'Binner' was unreal for us in the first," said Blues captain Brayden Schenn, who was on the Cup-winning team along with Jordan Binnington, Oskar Sundqvist, Robert Thomas and Colton Parayko. "I’ve played in a couple Game 7s. You’ve got the whole hockey world glued to you and it’s going to be on us on Sunday night and I think both teams look forward to it.
"It’s what you play for. It’s one of those things where you have to have the ability to go enjoy the moment and take your work seriously but enjoy the moment while you’re there. It’s going to be a tough building to play in, we know that, but we feel like we haven’t had our best there yet and we’re looking forward (to it)."
Binnington is 2-0 in his career in Game 7s, both in the '19 Cup run when he stopped 29 of 30 in the second round against the Stars in a 2-1 double-overtime win on the memorable series-clinching goal by Oakville's Pat Maroon, and Binnington stopped 32 of 33 shots in the Cup Final against the Bruins.
His goals-against average is 0.82 in Game 7s with a .986 save percentage. Combine that with his performance in the 4 Nations Face-Off title game for Canada against the United States when he stopped 31 of 33 shots in a 3-2 overtime win, he is 3-0 with a 1.18 GAA and .958 save percentage.
"His track record speaks for itself," Fowler said of Binnington. "He was unbelievable when they won the Cup here. You saw what he could do in the 4 Nations tournament this year as a world-class goaltender, so we have all the trust and faith in him. And his demeanor, too. He’s calm, he’s collected back there.
"[Blues defenseman Philip Broberg] spoke to the way he can move the puck, and how that helps us as D-men. It puts us in a lot of good situations that help us move the puck up the ice. He’s the total package. He’s a huge reason why we are where we are and we’ll continue to lean on him because he’s shown everybody time and time again that he’s world class."
Montgomery, who was on the receiving end of the Binnington's performance against the Stars in '19 when he was coach of Dallas, knows what kind of goalie he has going in a big-stage game.
"Two words that come to mind right away is how calm he is and proven winner," Montgomery said. "He’s done it, he’s been there, he knows how to not only get himself in the right zone, but also how to give confidence to his team in front of him."
Montgomery is 1-2 career as an NHL coach in Game 7s, winning his most recent one as coach of the Bruins against the Toronto Maple Leafs in the Eastern Conference First Round last year.
"With my experience, I just think every time you go through it, the more grateful you are for the opportunity," he said. "The first time you're going through it, you're just really excited. I think the experience gives you the knowledge of what to expect, when to expect it, how to handle the peaks and the valleys that are going to naturally happen. Not only within the game but between the days leading up to the game."
What's going to be left from two teams that have slugged and slaughtered each other through six games (252 hits for Blues, 249 for Jets)? Who can reach their optimal game first? And can the Blues rattle Jets goalie and Connor Hellebuyck after he was pulled three times in Games 3, 4 and 6?
"I think definitely take momentum from this game, take it with us," said Blues forward Nathan Walker, who has three goals the past two games. "What has worked, use that to our advantage and obviously try and create our own energy there."
The Blues are 10-8 all-time in Game 7s and have won four in a row, looking to make it five straight on Sunday.
Fowler and fellow defenseman Ryan Suter lead the way each with five Game 7s played, and Schenn and older brother Luke Schenn, a defenseman for the Jets, will be the first brother combo to oppose each other in a Game 7 since Rob Niedermayer (Anaheim Ducks) and Scott Niedermayer (New Jersey Devils) in the 2003 Cup Final.
The Blues can become the fifth team in NHL history to win at least five consecutive Game 7s, following a foursome that all claimed six in a row: Carolina Hurricanes (2006-2022), New York Rangers (2012-2015), Bruins (1983-1994) and Detroit Red Wings (1949-1964).
Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets were not going to let history repeat itself.
A year after blowing a 20-point fourth quarter lead in Game 7 to the Timberwolves, the Nuggets led by up to 35 and were not going to let the Clippers make a late comeback, ultimately cruising to a 120-101 win that makes the game sound closer than it actually was.
The @nuggets tonight became the first team ever to have six players score 15+ each in a Game 7 win
"This was not the championship," Nuggets interim coach David Adelman said. "I'm sure it kind of felt like that to the fans on both sides because the series was so insane and the ups and downs were so crazy – it's one of those series you won't forget that you were a part of."
As great as Nikola Jokic was — 16 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists — what turned the game was the play of Russell Westbrook, Payton Watson, and the Nuggets' bench. The Clippers were the better team through 12 minutes and led 21-16 after one quarter, but with Jokic on the bench the Nuggets made a 7-0 run to start the second quarter. Things snowballed from there. It was a huge change for the Nuggets who have struggled with depth in this series and throughout the season.
Aaron Gordon led a balanced Nuggets attack with 22 points, while Christian Braun had 21. Westbrook came off the bench to score 16.
"In playoffs we know that everybody needs to step up, offensively, defensively, whatever, energy-wise. And everybody who plays needs to contribute something," Jokic said. "It was special today the guys did that."
Kawhi Leonard had another solid game leading the Clippers with 22 points. However, James Harden, who had faded as the series went on until he bounced back with a huge Game 6, returned to his struggles and finished with 7 points. Denver's Christian Braun had a strong night defending him.
"James is a tough cover. He is one of the best one-on-one players to play the game and I think Christian did a good job trying to make the game difficult on him," Westbrook said after the game. I thought he did an excellent job and he has been doing that all year."
It was a rough way to end the season for a Clippers team that overachieved all season, winning 50 games despite losing Paul George to Philadelphia last summer. Tyronn Lue did a brilliant coaching job this season, getting the most out of an aging roster, and they were finally healthy. Still, it was not enough for the Clippers to get out of the first round. The team has financial flexibility heading into next season, it will be interesting to see which direction they go.
Denver is going to Oklahoma City, where it will face a rested Thunder team that is deeper and better than the Clippers.
"It feels good," Adelman said of the win, "but I also know we're flying to OKC tomorrow."
Álvarez outpoints Scull to re-unify 168lb championship
Mexican announces he will fight Crawford in September
Moments after Canelo Álvarez fended off William Scull to become the undisputed super middleweight champion again, he was facing off against Terence Crawford in the same ring in Riyadh to promote a showdown in September.
Álvarez became an undisputed champion in the division for the second time when the judges scored his ho-hum bout early Sunday Saudi local time against Scull 115-113, 116-112, 119-109. The 34-year-old Mexican boxer improved to 63-2-2, with 39 knockouts, and is unbeaten in 10 fights in the super middleweight category.
The National Hockey League has officially released the full schedule dates for the Toronto Maple Leafs' second-round playoff series against the Florida Panthers.
Just one day after announcing that the series would start on Monday, May 5 at 8 p.m. ET, the league revealed more dates, including all seven games (if necessary) for Toronto's second-round series.
Only Game 2 has a start time. The league says that the game will start at 7 p.m. ET, one hour earlier than Game 1, which has an 8 p.m. ET start time, despite both teams playing in the Eastern time zone.
The order of Games 1-7 goes as follows (all times ET):
Monday, May 5 at 8p.m. Florida @ Toronto
Wednesday, May 7 at 7 p.m. Florida @ Toronto
Friday, May 9 TBD Toronto @ Florida
Sunday, May 11 TBD Toronto @ Florida
*Wednesday, May 14 TBD Florida @ Toronto
*Friday, May 16 TBD Toronto @ Florida
*Sunday, May 18 TBD Florida @ Toronto
Some notes about the schedule include a two-day breast between Games 4 and 5 and no Saturday night games on either weekend if the series goes the distance.
The Maple Leafs defeated the Ottawa Senators in six games to advance to the second round of the Stanley Cup Finals for the second time in the last three seasons.
There is one more game in the first round of the playoffs, as the Winnipeg Jets will host the St. Louis Blues in Game 7 action on Sunday. After that contest, the NHL is expected to reveal the start times for Games 3 and 4 of Toronto's series. The league will then release times for subsequent games as they become necessary.
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BOSTON (AP) — Kody Clemens hit a two-run homer in his first game at Fenway Park — with his famous father in attendance — and the Minnesota Twins beat the Boston Red Sox 4-3 on Saturday.
With former Red Sox ace Roger Clemens watching from a luxury box along the first-base line, his son drove an 0-1 slider from Hunter Dobbins (2-1) over the short wall in the right-field corner to push Minnesota ahead 3-1 in the sixth inning.
Jarren Duran had an RBI triple and a double for Boston, which has lost three of four. Romy Gonzalez, expected to get the bulk of the playing time at first base after Triston Casas ruptured a tendon in his left knee, had three singles.
Clemens’ homer came during a three-run sixth that gave the Twins a 4-1 edge.
Bailey Ober (4-1) pitched six innings, holding the Red Sox to a run and seven hits. Jhoan Duran got three outs for his third save.
Jarren Duran hit his RBI triple in the seventh before scoring on Rafael Devers’ single that sliced it to 4-3.
The game was delayed by rain for 72 minutes in the seventh.
Key moment
With runners on first and second in the ninth, Jhoan Duran retired left-handed hitter Wilyer Abreu for the final out after walking Alex Bregman intentionally.
Key stat
Ober has allowed just one run five times in his six starts since giving up eight during his first start of the season.
Up next
Twins RHP Chris Paddack (0-3, 5.60 ERA) starts the series finale Sunday against LHP Garrett Crochet (3-2, 2.05).
The series shifts to Edmonton for Games 3 and 4 on Saturday and Monday, May 12.
If necessary, Game 5 will be back in Las Vegas on Wednesday, May 14.
Game 6 would be in Edmonton on Friday, May 16.
A decisive Game 7 would return to Las Vegas on Sunday, May 18.
This marks the second time the Knights and Oilers will meet in the postseason after the teams faced one another in 2023, the year the Knights won the Stanley Cup.
Vegas won that series in six games, going 2-1 at home and 2-1 in Edmonton, including the series-clinching win on the road.
In 32 all-time meetings, the Oilers lead the series 17-13-2.
The Knights are 8-7-1 all-time against the Oilers at T-Mobile Arena.
At the Westgate Superbook in Las Vegas, the series price is a pick'em, each team priced at -110.
Vegas goes from facing Minnesota's scoring machine Kirill Kaprizov to Edmonton's double-dose of offense in Hart Trophy finalist Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid.
McDavid, who finished the regular season with the league's sixth-highest 100 points, leads all skaters in the postseason with 11 points (2 goals, 9 assists). Draisaitl is tied with three others with 10 points (3 goals, 7 assists) this postseason.
"That'll be a fun series," veteran defenseman Brayden McNabb said. "They got the two-headed monsters who are two (of the top) players in the league, top five, whatever you want to categorize it, but it'll be a challenge for sure.
"I think they're a little bit more well-rounded than we saw them (in 2023), a little bit more depth for sure in all four lines, so we're gonna have to be on our game. We're gonna have to know who's on the ice and manage pucks, and it's gonna take everyone. We're gonna need everyone, use our depth. Hopefully, that helps us in the long run."
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Hurricanes Sign Frederik Andersen To Contract ExtensionThe Carolina Hurricanes have announced that they have signed goaltender Frederik Andersen to a one-year, $2.75 million contract extension. The Canes also shared that Andersen can earn bonuses of $250,000 for 35 games played, $250,000 for 40 games played, and $250,000 if the Hurricanes make the 2026 Eastern Conference Final and Andersen makes appearances in at least half of their post-season games.
Former Hurricanes Star Has Big Playoff GameSince being traded to the Colorado Avalanche in January, former Carolina Hurricanes forward Martin Necas has undoubtedly had plenty of success. In 30 regular-season games following the trade, the 26-year-old forward recorded 11 goals, 28 points, and a plus-1 rating in 30 games. Now, he is only continuing to make a big impact during the post-season.
Hurricanes Surging Forward Is Continuing To ImpressThe Carolina Hurricanes had an excellent first-round series against the New Jersey Devils. The Hurricanes knocked the Devils out in just five games and are now set to face off against the Washington Capitals in the second round because of it.
Hurricanes' Rod Brind'Amour Makes NHL HistoryWith their 5-4 double overtime win over the New Jersey Devils on April 29, the Carolina Hurricanes have officially moved on to the second round. The Hurricanes are now set to face off against the Washington Capitals in the next round, which should be a great series between the two Metropolitan Division rivals. 
