The Boston Celtics are essentially locked into the Eastern Conference’s No. 2 seed entering the final week of the season.
But there’s one interesting storyline worth monitoring over the final four games of the season.
Jaylen Brown, who’s been dealing with a nagging right knee injury and admitted he was “in some pain” during the Celtics’ win over the Miami Heat last Wednesday, has played in 62 games this season as of Monday.
If Brown wants to be eligible to earn All-NBA honors and be nominated for end-of-season awards like Defensive Player of the Year, he needs to meet the following criteria:
65 games played
At least 20 minutes played in at least 65 games
Two “near misses” allowed (games with at least 15 minutes played)
Brown insisted last week that the games-played threshold has zero impact on his decision to play or not play as he manages his knee injury. But the fact that he’s suited up in each of the last three games suggests he’ll try to reach the 65-game mark down the stretch.
Based on that criteria above, Brown can become All-NBA eligible by playing in three of Boston’s final four games. He only needs to play 20 minutes in each of those games, however, and because he’s played 20 minutes or more in every game to date this season, he still has both of his “near misses,” meaning he can be limited to 15 minutes in two of the Celtics’ final four games.
Here’s a look at Boston’s remaining schedule:
Tuesday, April 8: at New York Knicks
Wednesday, April 9: at Orlando Magic
Friday, April 11: vs. Charlotte Hornets
Sunday, April 13: vs. Hornets
If the C’s want to manage Brown’s minutes while getting him to 65 games, a logical plan would be playing him against the Knicks, resting him on the second night of a back-to-back against the Magic, and then limiting him to as close to 15 minutes as possible in each of Boston’s final two games against the Hornets.
Some Celtics fans may want to just see Brown rest down the stretch to make sure his knee gets right for the playoffs, especially since there’s no guarantee he even makes an All-NBA squad. But Brown believes there’s value in learning to play through the pain, which he suggested won’t be going away any time soon.
“Pain is definitely a physical thing, but it also is a mental thing,” Brown said last week. “So, (head coach) Joe (Mazzulla) has allowed me, even though my team visibly can see maybe I’m in a bit of pain, they trust me to go out there and I can control my body and still be able to make plays and mentally, be able to push through it.
“I think that’s going to be something I’m gonna have to have in my back pocket.”
The Celtics also will have about a week off between their season finale and the start of the first round, as the NBA play-in tournament runs from April 15-18. So, don’t be surprised if you continue to see Brown in action as the regular season wraps up.
Daniel Bochner knew of Matvei Michkov because the gaudy 2019-20 scoring totals made it impossible to miss him.
As a burgeoning star in Russia, Michkov averaged almost three points per game on the under-16 international stage. He racked up an incomprehensible 109 points (70 goals, 39 assists) in only 26 games at the Russian under-16 level. He was producing offense at a rate rarely if not ever seen in his country.
“So he was pretty well-known,” Bochner said.
Bochner was the player development coach for the Russian national teams and SKA St. Petersburg, one of the most prominent clubs in the KHL, Russia’s top pro league. He first met Michkov when the prospect was 15 years old.
“I had no doubt that he was going to come in there and, as long as he was given opportunity and ice time, he was going to be impactful scoring,” Bochner, now a player development coach for the Hurricanes, said in a mid-January phone interview with NBC Sports Philadelphia. “At the same time, I knew that there were other areas that he was going to have to get better at and I think that’s no different than any rookie coming into the NHL. It’s a big jump for anybody.”
From the start, Bochner saw special talent in Michkov. But as a development coach, his job wasn’t to pump up Michkov’s strengths; it was to identify a weakness and hope Michkov would want to attack it.
“He’s an extremely competitive person and within that competitiveness is that need to want to be better than other people,” Bochner said. “Then obviously within that is, ‘I need to get better at stuff, I’m not naturally better than everybody. I may be in some areas, but there are going to be other areas where I’ve got to outwork people.'”
Bochner approached Michkov with an area to refine.
“There was some knock on his skating early,” he said. “I never saw it as bad as other people saw it. I always thought that he was never going to be explosive with linear speed. But what I did want to improve with him was his lateral movement because I think that’s really important off the rush and it’s really important to be deceptive once you get into the offensive zone, which is sort of his bread and butter — his ability to create separation in the offensive zone, find open ice and then be able to capitalize on that with his scoring ability.
“That was really, when I first met him, something I picked up and that became a focus, retooling his crossovers, his edge work and just try to get him more comfortable in tight areas and then more comfortable with lateral movement when he has got the puck on rush offense. Making sure that he wasn’t just pushing with his outside leg, but he had that inside leg driving through, which is going to create more lateral force as he’s skating up the ice.”
Bochner worked closely with Michkov in SKA St. Petersburg’s development camps, which would run for about two and a half weeks. He was pleased with the youngster’s devotion to a monotonous and meticulous part of his game.
“Not only was he receptive, but he was also self-aware,” Bochner said. “We came up with a game plan and obviously when you try to make any adjustments with your technical skating, it’s sort of a boring process. There’s a lot of boring repetition, it’s not a ton of fun, especially with guys who want to play with the puck and shoot on goalies.
“It’s usually isolated movement patterns. So if you’re not interested and you’re not committed to making that better, you’re not going to be very receptive. And he was. We would go out there early, work on his crossovers, work on his skating. He was super receptive.”
The work wasn’t to make Michkov’s stride look more aesthetically pleasing; it was to make him stronger and more efficient in his movements.
“When you look at him, the skating technique doesn’t stand out where you’re saying, ‘Wow, what a beautiful skater,'” Bochner said. “But what he does is he’s able to skate off his check quickly, he’s agile, he can control the puck very well in tight spaces, he’s sturdy and strong on the puck. It’s not easy to take the puck off of him.”
“I am going to put that into practice because that’s what brings him joy, so you want that as a motivating factor, you want him to stay sharp there,” Bochner said. “But you want to identify the things where he’s having a low success rate. And that’s how I went about it with him.”
The Flyers have seen Michkov’s sheer competitiveness this season.
“Oh yeah, definitely,” Sean Couturier said last Friday. “Anything he does. Even in practice sometimes.”
The Flyers’ captain recalled a recent 2-on-2 drill in which Michkov thought he scored, but for some reason the goal didn’t count. As a result, Bobby Brink and Tyson Foerster ended up scoring on Couturier and Michkov.
“I think he didn’t talk to them for the next day,” Couturier said. “He’s that kind of guy, really competitive. … I think that’s what makes him special. Those elite athletes always have that competitive edge and he definitely has that.”
Despite some slumps and learning moments, Michkov has had a highly promising rookie season. The offensive gifts have been as advertised. He entered Monday leading all rookies in goals (24) and even strength points (43). He’s tied for first in power play goals (seven), second in overall points (58) and tied for second in assists (34). And he’s the only player in the NHL with both three or more overtime goals and three or more shootout goals.
Canadiens defenseman Lane Hutson is the likely front-runner for the Calder Trophy, while Sharks center Macklin Celebrini and Flames goalie Dustin Wolf also stand as Michkov’s competition.
Michkov’s 58 points are the most by a Flyers rookie since Mikael Renberg had 82 in 1993-94. Renberg’s mark is a franchise record for most points by a rookie in a season. Michkov is ninth on the Flyers’ all-time rookie single-season scoring list.
“You want to let him play his game, but once in a while, kind of remind him that there are certain things at certain times you’ve got to take care of,” Couturier said. “How to manage a game, you can’t always cheat for offense when you’re playing with a lead, sometimes it’s better off to just defend. But I don’t want to be in his ear every shift, I kind of just let him play. I try to also encourage him when I see improvement and when he’s doing the right plays. It’s definitely a balance.”
At the start of November, Brad Shaw mentioned how Michkov liked to play on the move and, because of that, he’d sometimes drift out of good position. Essentially, Michkov likes to read and react for when the play may shoot up ice. He’s thinking offense.
“You might ask the coach who’s here in 10 years and [Michkov] might still have a little drift to his game,” Shaw, now the Flyers’ interim head coach, said last Friday with a laugh. “But I think it’s one of the reasons that he’s a great player, I think it’s a reason why he’s dangerous, is his ability to anticipate. And we’re just trying to get him smarter in that anticipation — ‘this one was good and this one was not so good.’ That’s all part of the process.
“He’s a very willing student of the game, which I love. He’s a guy that wants to get better as soon as possible, wants extra, not afraid of being shown mistakes. It doesn’t really affect him like some other young players. That’s a real asset to have for a guy his age, for a guy who kind of has his style of play, because he’s going to butt heads with coaches, he’s going to be stubborn in some aspects of how he would like to play.”
Bochner worked with Artemi Panarin the summer before the Rangers’ star became one of three finalists for the 2019-20 Hart Trophy (NHL’s MVP). He has also trained Canadiens prospect and 2024 fifth overall pick Ivan Demidov, Blue Jackets winger Kirill Marchenko, former Flyer and current King Andrei Kuzmenko and Oilers winger Vasily Podkolzin.
With Michkov, he could sense the clutch gene.
“He is a guy that when the game is on the line, he doesn’t run away,” Bochner said. “He’s the guy that wants the puck on his stick. There is an innate confidence that comes with that mentality. And when you have confidence and you have scoring ability, even if there are issues in other areas, you’re going to find the back of the net. Those two things combined, if you have confidence and you have scoring ability, that’s a deadly combo. And he definitely has that.”
As this season has gone on, Michkov has shown more and more of his personality.
“He’s very serious and stoic at times, but at the same time, he can quickly come out of that and make a joke or just lighten up the mood with something,” Bochner said.
Bochner will keep him in touch with Michkov through an occasional text message.
“I try not to bother him too much,” Bochner said, “but if I see him score a nice goal or something, I will send him a little note and he usually sends me back a nice emoji or a thumbs up.”
Those moments probably don’t happen without Michkov wanting to sharpen a weakness at a young age back in Russia. The boring work has made big goals and unreal highlights the expectation in Philadelphia.
“Even outside of him scoring, just his body language, you see that he wants the puck, you see that he wants to be the guy to make a difference in those situations,” Bochner said. “It’s pretty remarkable.”
President Trump congratulated the World Series champion Dodgers and offered his take on the team’s hot start Monday when staff and players visited the White House in a decades-old baseball tradition during the Los Angeles’ East Coast road trip.
After dropping two of three games in Philadelphia over the weekend, the Dodgers’ White House visit coincides with a three-game series against the Washington Nationals as they look to build on a 9-2 start. The team participated in an East Room ceremony in honor of the 2024 World Series victory, entering the room to a rendition of Randy Newman’s “I love LA.”
Pitcher Clayton Kershaw presented the president with a No. 47 Dodgers jersey with “Trump” on the back.
“After seeing how successfully you’ve begun the season, you can plan on being back here. I hope you’re going to be back here next year,” Trump said.
Kershaw, a three-time Cy Young winner, spoke on behalf of the team.
“As a spectator for a championship run, I was in awe of this group,” Kershaw, who was injured during the postseason, said. “Their unwavering confidence coupled with a selfless pursuit for team excellence was an inspiration.
“Moving forward, I hope the 2024 Dodgers can serve as an inspiration to many as they were to me, not just in sports, but in life, remembering to put others before ourselves and move the team and society forward.”
Trump called Kershaw the “heart and soul” of the pitching staff.
“Unbelievable,” Trump said. “I’m glad to meet him.”
“We’re very please to participate in the tradition of bringing champions to the White House,” team Chairman Mark Walter said Monday.
Manager Dave Roberts called the visit an honor that each World Series champion gets to experience. Roberts said the decision to go to the White House was not a formal conversation involving players and coaches.
The White House tradition dates back decades with a visit by the 1925 Washington Senators during the administration of President Calvin Coolidge, according to the nonprofit White House Historical Association. Coolidge and first lady Grace were passionate baseball fans.
Trump shook hands with several players, including superstar Shohei Ohtani after praising the National League MVP, who became the first player to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in the same season.
“He looks like a movie star,” Trump said. “An accomplishment unparalleled.”
Trump asked if Ohtani was that good, and Roberts responded, “He’s only getting better.”
Roberts said Friday he expected 100% participation at the ceremony and that it was “good we have full representation.”
Shortstop Mookie Betts told reporters Friday he would join the team on the visit. Betts declined to join the Boston Red Sox on their visit in 2018 during President Trump’s first term.
Betts was among several Dodgers, including NL MVP Shohei Ohtani, who shook hands with Trump during the ceremony.
“I’m happy he’s going,” Roberts said. “I’m happy we’re all going to go together just to celebrate our 2024 championship.”
Betts told reporters in Philadelphia that his choice to go was not political, but rather because of his desire to be there for the team. Betts said he regrets not joining the Red Sox in 2018. Boston manager Alex Cora and pitcher David Price also skipped the Red Sox visit. Betts said he felt like his absence distracted from that team’s accomplishment.
“No matter what I say or what I do, people are gonna take it as political,” Betts said. “But that’s definitely not what it is. This is about what the Dodgers were able to accomplish last year.”
The NHL’s reigning Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers became the first team to visit Trump in his second term when they were honored during a ceremony in the East Room in early February.
The White House also said recently the NFL’s Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles accepted their invitation for April 28.
“It’s a baseball thing for us,” Roberts said. “It’s tradition and we’re doing it unified. So I’m excited about it.”
Yastrzemski hit his first home run of the season Sunday, giving the Giants a 4-2 lead with a three-run opposite field shot in the bottom of the fourth.
“Today I got to give a shout-out to my daughter Quinley, honestly, because she asked for a home run and so I promised her I’d get her a home run,” Yastrzemski told Laura Britt and Rich Aurilia. “So Quinny, I love you and miss you.”
Yastrzemski is off to a solid start this season, collecting eight hits in 24 at-bats, with one homer and four RBI. He has a .942 OPS through eight games.
And if Yastrzemski keeps fulfilling Quinley’s pregame wishes, he might be headed for the best season of his MLB career.
Welcome to this edition of the Vancouver Canucks post-game analytics report. This recurring deep dive breaks down the analytics behind each Canucks game as recorded by Natural Stat Trick. In this article, we look back on Vancouver's most recent 3-2 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights.
The Canucks were outplayed in their loss to the Golden
Knights. Vegas held a 26-22 even-strength scoring chances advantage, while Vancouver also lost the even-strength high-danger scoring chances battle 10-8. While there were some positive moments in the game, the Canucks struggled to match the Golden Knights speed, which ended up costing them on Sunday night.
As for the heatmap, it is a good illustration of how Vancouver's defence struggled against Vegas. The Golden Knights generated shots from all over the zone and were able to get 35 shots on Kevin Lankinen. Yes, it is a positive that the Canucks were able to limit Vegas to just eight high-danger shots, but overall, they struggled defensively as the Golden Knights held most of the possession.
Looking at the forward lines, Vancouver's top trio was Nils Höglander, Pius Suter and Brock Boeser. During their 11:19 of ice time, the Canucks held a 9-6 scoring chances advantage, while also outscoring their opposition 1-0. Overall, this line was impressive as each member was able to generate an individual high-danger chance at even strength.
To wrap things up, Aatu Räty also had a strong night. During his 11:10 of even-strength ice time, Vancouver finished with a 6-5 scoring chances advantage, while Räty led the team with two individual even-strength high-danger chances created. Räty also won six of nine faceoffs and showed once again why he deserves a full-time spot in the NHL.
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This was a deeply forgettable derby, but it was Manchester United who looked the more likely to get a winner as time ticked down. Ruben Amorim spoke afterwards of using pace in transitions to try and carve out chances – and with a little more composure in the penalty area, it might have worked. Bruno Fernandes was the game’s standout player but Patrick Dorgu also caught the eye in just his fifth Premier League start. Signed from Lecce in January, the Danish wing-back is the first player Amorim has brought in that fits his system. Freed up by City’s narrow formation, Dorgu was able to get forward and test City’s backline at will. The 20-year-old’s red card at Ipswich sparked fears that, like some other young United recruits, he was too raw for regular Premier League football. Sunday’s performance should ensure he holds down the left-sided spot in Amorim’s 3-4-3 setup for the rest of this season, even with Luke Shaw nearing a return to fitness. Niall McVeigh
Hours before college basketball crowns its next champion, the future of college sports will be hanging in the balance in a California courtroom. U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken's scheduled hearing Monday in a courtroom in Oakland is expected to be the last one before the changes will truly begin under an industry-changing, $2.8 billion settlement of a five-year-old lawsuit against the NCAA and the nation's largest conferences. Among other things, it will clear the way for schools to pay up to $20.5 million each with their athletes.
The Calgary Flames (36-27-13, fourth in the Pacific
Division, four points away from the second wild-card spot) will travel to the
Bay Area to play the San Jose Sharks (20-46-10, last in the Pacific Division, 23.1%
to win first overall pick).
This will be the third of four meetings between the two
teams. Calgary won both previous matchups.
Despite being dominated offensively by the Golden Knights, the
Flames came away with one point thanks to a First-Star performance by goalie
Dustin Wolf. Calgary will now face off against a San Jose team that was the
first team eliminated from play-off contention, and are favorites to pick up
the first overall pick for the second year in a row. But this team consists of
exciting and talented first rounders like William Eklund, Will Smith
and rookie of the year favorite Macklin Celebrini, alongside veterans like
Alexander Wennberg and Tyler Toffoli. They are certainly not a bunch to take casually.
But for Calgary, with Vancouver and Utah hot on their tail in the standings, a win will keep their playoff hopes alive as they trail the
current second wild-card spot holders Minnesota by four points. It goes
without saying: this game is a MUST WIN.
HEAD 2 HEAD
Based on both prior games this season, the Calgary Flames
have the fifth-best save percentage against the San Jose Sharks at even-strength
situations. It is expected that Wolf will make his fourth consecutive
start in net. This should be a relatively easier night compared to Saturday, as
the San Jose offense have belted just 25.5 shots on goal against the Wolf (who was goaltender
in both previous games), which is 18th against any team by San Jose this
season.
In 4-on-5 penalty
kill situations, the Flames are 4-for-5 against the Sharks. After going 2-for-2
in the PK against the Knights, along with a string of good performances highlighted
in this article, I have no doubt the PK unit will continue their great form in
this upcoming game. It also helps that the Sharks power play is the sixth-worst
in the league. Still, it’s probably best
not take a hungry young team, one with the Calder Trophy front-runner, lightly
considering their power play percentage of 20.0 against Calgary is a modest 16th
amongst all teams.
On the offensive end, the Flames have enjoyed showering Sharks
goalies with shots on goal, putting up 34.5 per game, the third-most against any team.
However, the Flames powerplay unit has gone 2-for-9 on the
man-advantage against San Jose.
After Saturday’s embarrassing powerplay showing, Calgary needs
a comeback, and an emphatic one at that.
TALE OF THE TAPE (SKATERS)
TALE OF THE TAPE (GOALIES)
PLAYOFF ODDS
As San Jose has been eliminated from playoff contention, this
game has no impact on the Sharks’ playoff odds.
For the Flames, the playoff odds are as follows depending on the outcome of the game:
The Calgary Flames take on the San Jose Sharks at the SAP Center in San Jose tonight at 8:30 MDT/10:30 EDT
NEW YORK — Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and the Toronto Blue Jays agreed to a 14-year, $500 million contract that starts in 2026, according to a person familiar with the negotiations, a deal that removes what would have been the biggest star from next offseason’s free-agent market.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity early Monday because the agreement had not been announced.
Guerrero’s deal does not include any deferred money, the person said.
Guerrero agreed in January to a one-year, $28.5 million contract that avoided arbitration and the four-time All-Star first baseman had said he wouldn’t negotiate after he reported to spring training in mid-February. Still, talks with his agent continued well into the regular season.
Guerrero got the third-largest contract in total dollars behind outfielder Juan Soto’s 15-year, $765 million contract with the New York Mets that started this season and two-way star Shohei Ohtani’s 10-year, $700 million agreement with the Los Angeles Dodgers that began last year and is heavily deferred.
Guerrero’s $35.71 million average annual value under the new deal ranks eighth among current contracts behind the agreements of Ohtani ($70 million), Soto ($51 million), Philadelphia pitcher Zack Wheeler ($42 million), Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge ($40 million), Texas pitcher Jacob deGrom ($37 million), Dodgers pitcher Blake Snell ($36.4 million) and Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole ($36 million).
A son of Hall of Famer Vladimir Guerrero, the Blue Jays star turned 26 last month and would have been a free agent this fall at a relatively young age.
Guerrero is a .277 career hitter with 160 homers and 511 RBIs. He’s batting .256 with no homers and four RBIs in the first 10 games this season.
Seeking its first World Series title since winning championships in 1992 and 1993, Toronto notably failed to land Ohtani, Soto and Roki Sasaki. The Blue Jays agreed to a five-year, $92.5 million contract with outfielder Anthony Santander, a one-year, $15.5 million contract with right-hander Max Scherzer and a three-year, $33 million contract with reliever Jeff Hoffman.
Toronto shortstop Bo Bichette, a two-time All-Star, remains eligible for free agency after this year’s World Series.
The Vancouver Canucks have lost yet another important game for their playoff hopes. Despite coming close, they lost 3–2 to the Vegas Golden Knights, marking their eighth loss in the second-half of back-to-backs this season. Nils Höglander and Aatu Räty scored for the Canucks, while Kevin Lankinen made 32 saves on 35 shots against.
Höglander made his return to the lineup tonight, starting on a line with Brock Boeser and Pius Suter. This was his first taste of in-game action since leaving the match on March 22 against the New York Rangers, though he joined the team for a regular practice on Friday. He tallied the opening goal off a solid offensive effort from Vancouver, grabbing a rebound after the Canucks sent a flurry of shots at Vegas goaltender Adin Hill. Prior to tonight’s game, he had five points in his previous five games. In his return to the lineup, he put up two shots and two hits in 16:20 minutes on the ice.
“It felt good to get the goal there in the first period,” Höglander said after the game. “Feels good to get it over and just keep going from this.”
“I think a lot of guys can learn from Höggy," Canucks Head Coach Rick Tocchet added on Höglander's performance tonight. "You’ve got to move your feet and go to where the puck is going to be.”
The chances didn’t stop for Vancouver after Höglander’s goal, as each line contributed to generating the team’s seven shots produced within the first half of the first period. By the end of the first frame, despite the 2–1 score, the Canucks put up 12 shots and a corsi-for of 17. As well, the night after scoring his first career NHL goal, Elias Pettersson (D) put up three hits in the first period.
“I think the first period was pretty good. We got some good forecheck and good looks. So, yeah, that's the goal. We’ve gotta score,” Höglander added.
For Vegas, the first period was extremely lucky. Their first goal could have been challenged for being offside, as Barbashev seemed to enter the Canucks’ zone only inches before Mark Stone carried the puck in. However, Vancouver decided not to challenge it despite it looking pretty close. This is assumedly due to Vegas’ status as the top power play team in the NHL. The second Vegas goal bounced off of Victor Mancini’s skate and flew into the net before Lankinen could slide to the other side of his crease to stop it.
Lankinen made his first start since the team’s 7–6 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on March 28. The Finnish goaltender’s playing time has decreased significantly since Thatcher Demko returned to the lineup on March 24 against the New Jersey Devils, giving him ample rest after starting nearly 50 games this season. Despite letting two in during the first period, he settled into the game and made a great slew of saves in the second frame.
Räty, who has been fantastic since being called up on March 23, scored his sixth goal of the season to tie the game up at 2–2. He now has four goals in his last six games. He was the team’s best regular faceoff man by a mile today, winning seven of 10 draws (though Jake DeBrusk won all three that he took). Räty also had three shots and four hits in 11:35 minutes played.
Despite their impressive start to the game, by the third period, play fell dramatically into Vegas’ favour. In this frame, the Golden Knights piled 12 shots onto the Canucks in an attempt to break the tie and finally beat Lankinen near the 17-minute mark of the third period.
"Obviously we didn't have the puck enough the second half of the game. They controlled the play, so we're kind of hanging in there. So it's tough when you're you don't have the puck a lot, but there's some effort from a lot of guys out there," Tocchet noted.
“I think we’ve just got to keep building, keep believing here,” Lankinen said of what the team can take from the loss.
While their postseason hopes will depend on other teams in their conference, Vancouver can’t afford to lose any more games if they want a shot at playoff hockey.
Stats and Facts:
With the win, Vegas’s record at Rogers Arena is now 9–1–2
Canucks playoff odds now sit at 0.2%, as per MoneyPuck.com
Boeser tallies his 11th point in the last 10 games
Scoring Summary:
1st Period:
4:46 - VAN: Nils Höglander (7) from Pius Suter and Brock Boeser
8:36 - VGK: Ivan Barbashev (21) from Mark Stone
13:15 - VGK: Nicolas Roy (13) from Tanner Pearson and Keegan Kolesar
2nd Period:
8:03 - VAN: Aatu Räty (6) from Filip Hronek and Kiefer Sherwood
3rd Period:
16:46 - VGK: Victor Olofsson (14) from William Karlsson and Alex Pietrangelo
Up Next:
With the conclusion of their final back-to-back of the season, Vancouver’s next game will come against the Dallas Stars on Tuesday in the first of a two-game road trip. This will be the second game they play against four straight playoff-contending teams. Puck drop is scheduled for 5:00 pm PT.
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Jalen Brunson played in an NBA basketball game for the first time in four weeks on Sunday -- as you’d expect, his rhythm was a little off, his conditioning was less than 100 percent.
Those things will come back with time.
The best sign for the Knicks on Sunday? Brunson didn’t hesitate in any of his movement on the court.
“Everyone always talks about the physical part about how you’re feeling. But mentally it’s just trusting (the ankle). Trusting your movement. Trusting the way you play and not second-guessing yourself,” Brunson said. “That was an adjustment, but I’m feeling a lot better.”
Brunson logged 34 minutes on Sunday -- it was his first game since March 6, when he suffered a significant ankle sprain.
He didn’t have a hard minutes limit against Phoenix.
“With Jalen and (associate athletic trainer Anthony Goenaga), if there’s fatigue, he’ll tell us. And they’re watching him pretty closely,” Thibodeau said.
Brunson said his conditioning was better than anticipated. That’s probably because he was diligent in his conditioning during rehab.
“Right now, it’s more his timing,” Thibodeau said. “He’s got to play. There’s no way around that. He practiced well the other day but the intensity of practice can never be replicated to what the game is.”
Brunson will have four more games before the postseason. If he plays in three of those games, he will be eligible for end-of-season awards.
PLAYING UNTIL THE END
The Knicks need one win -- or one Pacers loss -- to clinch the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference.
IF and when they clinch the third seed, don’t expect them to rest in the final games of the season.
“As you head down the stretch, you want to check boxes,” Tom Thibodeau said after Sunday's win over the Suns. “You want a winning record at home, a winning record on the road. Fifty wins is good. You want the highest seed possible. And then you want to be playing well. So you go step by step. We’re not skipping over anything. And this is the approach we’ve taken all season long. We’re not going to change now so we think this’ll help prepare us for what’s down the road.”
Is this the right approach? Or is it better to rest players after the Knicks clinch the third seed?
The answer to those questions will reveal themselves in the playoffs.
Minutes have been -- and will be -- a topic of public debate around Thibodeau until he retires. Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart rank first and second in the NBA in overall minutes played. OG Anunoby entered play Sunday ranked 11th in total minutes.
To some, this is a sign that the players should sit once the Knicks clinch the No. 3 seed. But Thibodeau doesn’t see it that way.
He wants his teams to be playing their best at the end of the regular season. It’s one of his bedrock principles. That means playing regular minutes until the end – even if the games have no bearing on the standings.
(It should be noted here that the Knicks will have at least five days between the end of the regular season and the start of the postseason. So they have a built-in rest period.)
PISTONS IN FIRST ROUND?
If the season ended today, the Knicks would face the Pistons in the first round of the playoffs.
Detroit, led by Cade Cunningham, has won two games at Madison Square Garden this year. They are playing at a high level. Veteran Tobias Harris has been part of the turnaround that’s seen Detroit triple it's win total from last season.
Harris, a Long Island native, took a lot of heat in Philadelphia for the Sixers’ shortcomings. The Sixers last year won 57 percent of their games with Harris. This season, Philadelphia is winning at an abysmal 29 percent clip.
Well Mets fans, you can officially close the door on a potential Vladimir Guerrero Jr. pursuit.
According to numerous reports, the four-time All-Star first baseman reached an agreement with the Blue Jays on a 14-year, $500 million contract extension on Monday night.
Despite reports of a spring training deadline for negotiations, the two sides continued talking into this week, and now they’ve officially come to terms on a pact that will keep the slugger in Toronto for the remainder of his career.
The contract doesn't include any deferrals, according to Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic, giving Guerrero in present value the second-largest guarantee in major-league history, only behind Juan Soto's historic pact with the Mets.
The Mets, of course, engaged with the Blue Jays this offseason in talks for the 26-year-old before they decided to bring back Pete Alonso on a two-year deal with an opt-out after the 2025 season.
While those discussions went nowhere, there had been some buzz about New York giving Guerrero a look over the winter if he were to reach free agency and Alonso were to exercise that opt-out.
However, that route is no longer on the board.
Guerrero has gotten off to a bit of a slow start in the power department this season, but he's coming off one of the best years of his career in which he popped 30 homers and drove in 103 runs in the middle of Toronto's lineup.
New York's pitching staff did well to keep him in check this weekend, limiting him to just four hits and one RBI.
Torpedo bats are all the rage this season, and Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred believes all that chatter is positive for the sport.
“They’re absolutely good for baseball,” Manfred said in a Q&A published by The New York Times on Sunday. “I believe that issues like the torpedo bat and the debate around it demonstrate the fact that baseball still occupies a unique place in our culture, because people get into a complete frenzy over something that’s really nothing at the end of the day.”
The interview covered multiple topics and included Manfred praising the testing of robot umpires during spring training. He said he’d like to see their use expanded to the regular season soon.
“I hope that we bring it to the big leagues in short order,” Manfred said. “It won’t be in 2025. It’d be in 2026.”
Torpedo bats drew attention recently when the New York Yankees hit a team-record nine homers in one game. With several players using a strikingly different model in which wood is moved lower down the barrel toward the label, shaping the end a little like a bowling pin, the bat has become baseball’s latest fad.
It’s caused All-Star and even amateur players to want to take their swings with the unusual-looking bat, creating a rush of orders for Victus Sports. The company is the official bat maker of MLB and has seen sales and interest spike in the torpedo bats.
Manfred highlighted that the bat has been used for a few years now, with players such as Giancarlo Stanton and Francisco Lindor using torpedoes last season.
The odd shape of the bat — like making a sausage, the meat is simply pushed down the casing — has little to no effect at Victus on the dynamics of making a baseball bat. The cost is the same as a standard bat, with a sticker price starting at around $200. Only the slogan is punched up: Get your hands on the most talked-about bat in the game.
“Players have actually been moving the sweet spot around in bats for years,” Manfred told the Times. “But it just demonstrates that something about the game is more important than is captured by television ratings or revenue or any of those things, when you have the discussions and debates about it.”
Ovechkin's 10 Best Goals On His Record-Breaking JourneyWashington Capitals winger Alexander Ovechkin surpassed Wayne Gretzky’s career goal mark of 894 goals on Sunday against the New York Islanders after tying the Great One in a 5-3 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday.
