It was an active offseason for Detroit Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman, who not only traded the disappointing Vladimir Tarasenko and his $4.75 million cap hit to the Minnesota Wild but also signed several new players.
In addition to the free agent signings of James van Riemsdyk, Mason Appleton and Ian Mitchell, along with the acquisition via trade of John Gibson, the Red Wings also signed defenseman Jacob Bernard-Docker.
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) July 1, 2025
Bernard-Docker, who split last season between the Ottawa Senators and the Buffalo Sabres, feels that the Red Wings are the perfect fit for himself as a team on the rise.
Originally a first round selection of the Ottawa Senators in the 2018 NHL Draft, Bernard-Docker would play the first several seasons of his career in the Canadian capital city before being dealt this past March to the Buffalo Sabres along with Josh Norris in exchange for Dylan Cozens, Dennis Gilbert, and a 2026 second-round pick.
Having played for both teams, who are in the Atlantic Division along with the Red Wings, Bernard-Docker seems similarities between all three clubs.
"In a way it's a similar group to where I was in Ottawa, with a real good young core,” Bernard-Docker said. “Buffalo had a real good core. [Detroit is] on that edge of breaking out. There’s a lot of real good players on the team.”
In addition to his time in the NHL, Bernard-Docker has also represented Canada on the international stage, winning a gold medal in the 2021 IHF World Junior Championship.
He arrives in Detroit with 144 games of NHL experience, and already can see himself contributing to Detroit's penalty killing, which was dangerously close to being ranked the worst in NHL history at various points last season.
"That's one area where I was really looking to develop and show how I played in the minors and maybe I haven't shown as much as I'd like to in the NHL yet," Bernard-Docker said. "It's an area that I think is a strong part of my game. I'm willing to block shots and I'm pretty good on my stick.”
The Red Wings will open Training Camp in Traverse City, Mich. on September 18, which will be followed by their first exhibition matchup against the Chicago Blackhawks on September 23.
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The Buffalo Sabres are preparing to kick off a hugely-important season for them. The Sabres haven't made the Stanley Cup playoffs in 14 years, and to say there's a massive amount of pressure on them to get into the post-season in 2025-26 would be a massive understatement.
So, every game Buffalo plays this season will be extremely important to its bottom line. And that's why THN.com's Sabres site has been examining the Sabres' chances against each opponent this year. We've moved our way through three NHL divisions, and today, we began our analysis of Buffalo's first Pacific Division rival -- the Anaheim Ducks.
You can read that "Know Your Enemy" series file by clicking here. But we also want to hear from our readers. What do you think of the Sabres' chances against the Ducks next season? Do you agree with our evaluation that, on paper, Buffalo should beat Anaheim in both games for the second consecutive season? Or do you like the Ducks to punch back and at least even out this series?
Be sure to let us know your opinion. And feel free to sign up as a community member of our Sabres site. Tell us how you see things in the hockey world, and grow your connection to the game.
The Buffalo Sabres have failed in one consistent way in recent years -- namely, that they haven't played Stanley Cup playoff hockey in nearly a decade-and-a-half. Thus, there's an inordinate amount of pressure on the Sabres to be a playoff team this year. And as we've seen in the NHL's overtime/shootout era, teams can make or miss the playoffs by only one or two standings points, so it's not an exaggeration to say that just about every game is going to be important to Buffalo's playoff hopes.
That's why we here at THN.com's Sabres site believed it worthwhile to examine each of the Buffalo's 31 opponents next season, and see if we can't make a solid guesstimate as to how the Sabres will fare against each of them. And after moving our way through the Atlantic, Metropolitan and Central Divisions, we're now starting our look at Pacific Division teams with a breakdown of Buffalo's chances against the Anaheim Ducks.
The Ducks missed the playoffs by 16 points last season, so they have a long road back to being true Cup threats. But Anaheim made some smart additions this summer, and they're going to be a tougher team to play against. How much tougher? Our best answer to that question is below.
BUFFALO SABRES VS. ANAHEIM DUCKS
NEW DUCKS PLAYERS: Mikael Granlund, C; Chris Kreider, LW; Ryan Poehling, C; Petr Mrazek, G
2024-25 SERIES: Sabres 2-0-0, Ducks 0-1-1
2025-26 GAMES AGAINST EACH OTHER: January 10 at Buffalo; March 22 at Anaheim
CAN THE SABRES BEAT THIS TEAM? The Ducks have slowly been building their core for years now. Anaheim GM Pat Verbeek has been meticulously adding young talent to the group, and the Ducks now have a semblance of a winner. But clearly, Verbeek believes his team needed an influx of experienced players, as that's been happening a lot in Anaheim of late.
Verbeek picked up former New York Rangers captain Jacob Trouba last season, and this summer, he's added Trouba's Rangers teammate Chris Kreider to the mix. Kreider had a sub-par year in Manhattan last year, but he was hardly the only Blueshirts player in that department. And now, at age 34, Kreider has a fresh start with the Ducks.
Similarly, signing veteran center Michael Granlund is also going to help Anaheim's bottom line. Granlund has bounced around more than a little -- the Ducks are the fifth team he's played on since 2022-23 -- but Granlund quietly had 22 goals and 66 points last season. He's 33 years old, but Granlund has enough left in the tank to help Anaheim's cause.
Given that Buffalo beat the Ducks in both games last season, you'd have to say that the Sabres can't afford to take a step back and allow Anaheim to win either game they have against them this coming year. The Ducks want to completely close the gap separating them from a playoff spot, but to do so, they'll have to be focused and motivated all season long, and new coach Joel Quenneville has his work cut out for him in maintaining a consistent standard of play for his new team.
That said, if the Sabres can round into form in the later part of the season, they're going to be a challenge for any team, the Ducks included. And the latter part of the year is when both games against the Ducks will be played.
In any case, Anaheim's fast, skilled core is going to pressure Buffalo's defense corps and goaltending, and the Sabres will run into one of the NHL's better young goalies in Lukas Dostal. The Ducks aren't going to be anybody's pushover next year, but the Sabres can't afford a letdown against a team they're deeper than -- at least, on paper.
Anaheim still has some serious flaws. Their defense corps isn't going to be known as a shutdown crew anytime soon, and they're still going to have lessons to learn as is natural for a young group like theirs. So Buffalo has to show the Ducks they're a team that isn't going to let up out of overconfidence.
There's pressure on both teams, but the Sabres have more pressure on them than any other NHL team. And if Anaheim doesn't put its best foot forward, their games against Buffalo could once again see the Ducks in the loss column both times.
When the Ottawa Senators selected Victoriaville Tigres star Alexandre Daigle first overall in the 1993 NHL Draft, most people believed the team had landed a generational superstar. In his rookie season, Daigle scored 20 goals and 51 points, and while he didn't thrive the way the team had hoped, he was second in scoring behind fellow rookie Alexei Yashin, who notched 30 goals and 79 points.
The two “Alexes” were expected to become foundational pieces for the franchise once it freed itself from the struggles of expansion.
What’s often forgotten is that after Daigle's rookie campaign, he returned to junior to rejoin Victoriaville in 1994-95. That also gave him another chance to represent Canada at the World Junior Hockey Championship, and his performance briefly reignited the Senators’ confidence in him.
It wasn't a bold move by the Sens, intentionally sending him back to junior for more development. The NHL was hit by a lockout that season, so there was nowhere else for him to keep playing.
When the NHL finally resumed play in January, Daigle was just back from a Canadian gold medal performance and posted 37 points in the remaining 47 games. However, over the next two and a half seasons, he simply couldn't get anywhere near the level everyone expected.
Ultimately, he was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers during the 1997–98 season.
As noted in now 30-year-old pieces from Chris Stevenson and Ken Campbell, pulled from The Hockey News Archive, Daigle’s return from the World Juniors once brought renewed hope within the Senators organization—though it would prove to be short-lived.
Jan 20, 1995/vol. 48, issue 18
Daigle Shows True Colours With Canada’s Golden Boys
By Chris Stevenson
Alexandre Daigle won gold with Canada’s national junior team, making him something he hasn’t been with the Ottawa Senators yet – a winner.
Daigle’s 51-point regular season last year and $12.25-million contract for five years have made the Senators a lightning rod for criticism. His contract has caused envy and has even been blamed for the current lockout.
Senators’ general manager Randy Sexton chooses not to evaluate the deal until after the five years.
But Daigle’s performance at the World Junior Championship has given Sexton and director of player personnel John Ferguson a reason-if they needed it-to sleep easier.
Playing on Team Canada’s top line, Daigle was everything he wasn’t with the Senators-inspired, confident, creative and unafraid to get involved in the physical game.
“I’m totally thrilled with Daigle.” Ferguson said. “I feel this is the greatest tonic for him. It’s going to bring his confidence back.”
Senators’ coach Rick Bowness felt the same way.
“It was great to see him carrying the puck, putting on the brakes and hitting the late man,” Bowness said. “That was a play he would try last year and it didn’t always click. It was good to see him setting up behind the net, hanging onto the puck.
“When a player plays with emotion, his confidence will come out. He was hitting people and making things happen at both ends.”
NOTEBOOK: Senators’ fans won’t be getting a first-hand look at the first-place PEI Senators of the American League’s Atlantic Division. Plans to have a game between Ottawa’s top farm team and the Cornwall Aces at the Civic Centre fell through. The plan was to make the game free to Ottawa season ticketholders, but details couldn’t be worked out… Alexandre Daigle has grown an inch-and-a-half since the Senators drafted him in 1993, putting him over 6-foot-1, John Ferguson said. ■
RED DEER, Alta.-Randy Sexton saw something in Alexandre Daigle at the World Junior Championship he hadn’t seen in two years.
It was the same thing he saw when Daigle was getting kicked out of Quebec League games in 1992-93.
Sexton saw passion.
“I think a lot of it got zapped last year,” said the Ottawa Senators’ general manager. “The thing Alexandre has to remember sometimes, is it’s all right to play with emotion in the NHL and that people respect guys who work hard and throw their bodies in front of shots.”
Daigle, picked No. 1 overall in the 1993 entry draft, was a disappointment last year. He started the season well, winning NHL rookie-of-the-month honors in October, but collapsed in the second half.
His huge contract, with a scheduled payout of $12.25 million over five years, was a source of much controversy and blamed for adding to NHL inflation.
One year later, Daigle didn’t dominate Canada’s entry at the World Junior Championship. But he did show tremendous passing skills, blinding acceleration and a measure of courage.
Is he a $2 million-a-year a player? Not yet, if ever. But there’s no reason to believe he can’t develop into a very good player, maybe even a great one.
“We think he will be a very, very good player,” Sexton said. ’‘You can’t predict who will be a great player.”
Daigle was not a great player in Canada’s evaluation camp and came close to being cut. He finished the tournament with two goals and eight points.
“We weren’t going to ask him to play the fourth line,” said Sheldon Ferguson, director of player personnel for the team.
Instead. Daigle centered the first line with Todd Harvey and Jeff Friesen. The trio was Canada’s best unit and a big part of its lethal power play, which converted a remarkable 42.8 per cent of its chances (21 of 49).
The hard times have affected Daigle’s confidence, but not his professional or personal outlook on life. “I’m a positive person.” he said. “I’m not the kind of guy who sits there and says, ‘Oh, God, we had another bad game.’ I say, ‘Well, maybe the next game will be better.’”
It is an exciting time for the Mets, as the top six prospects in their system are now all at the Triple-A level, making them just one stop away from the big leagues.
With that said, without accounting for injuries, etc., it is hard to envision the Mets carrying more than two of these prospects come Opening Day 2026. More likely just one. I look at No. 1 prospect Jett Williams and No. 2 prospect Jonah Tong as options during the 2026 season, but probably not right out of the gate.
My No. 3 prospect, Carson Benge, has had a meteoric rise through the Mets' system in his first professional season, hitting .308 with a .926 OPS with 24 doubles, 12 home runs and 60 RBI in 93 games between High-A Brooklyn, Double-A Binghamton and Triple-A Syracuse.
The Mets are continuing to develop Benge as a center fielder, and he has made strides as the season has worn on.
With center field being unsettled beyond 2025, there is at least a chance that Benge could push for an Opening Day spot if he performs both offensively and defensively at the Triple-A level and shows growth in spring training next year.
I believe the Mets would very much want one of McLean and No. 5 prospect Brandon Sproat to be a part of the Opening Day 2026 rotation. Unless their plan is to go with a six-man staff out of the gate, it may be a competition for one spot, if they don’t fill that externally via a veteran trade or the free agent market.
The Mets have Kodai Senga, Sean Manaea, David Peterson and a second year of Clay Holmes as a starter under contract.
Whether these young players are on the Opening Day roster or not, 2026 is shaping up to be a big year for the Mets, as far as invigorating high-end young talent into what is already a strong roster.
National League pitcher Jonah Tong (16) throws a pitch during the second inning against American League at Truist Park / Brett Davis - Imagn Images
From Noel Eisenberg (@NoelEisenberg on X): Marco Vargas came to the Mets as a helium prospect. How would you characterize him now? Is there anyone else in the organization you’d currently call a helium prospect?
Marco Vargas was acquired from the Marlins in the David Robertsontrade at the 2023 trade deadline, when he was one of the most impressive prospects in the Florida Complex League. He quickly rose as a top 10 prospect in the Mets' system. That’s the helium that Noel speaks of.
Since then, Vargas missed most of 2024 with injury, and 2025 has been an up-and-down season. At this point, most believe he projects as more of a backup infielder if his hit tool can carry him through the upper minors.
As far as current prospects with helium, that list must be topped by outfielder A.J. Ewing, who went from unranked in the preseason top 30 to making it all the way to No. 9 in the system. Ewing was just promoted to Double-A Binghamton after he hit .288 with a .775 OPS with 44 stolen bases in 78 games for High-A Brooklyn.
He is a plus athlete who thrives in his pitch recognition skills and swing decisions. He can stand for some physical maturation to impact the baseball more, but with his speed, he can thrive as a gap-to-gap line drive hitter and utilizing his wheels.
Another name worth mentioning is No. 14 prospect, right-hander Will Watson. The Mets took Watson in the seventh round of the 2024 MLB Draft out of USC. In 93 innings to start his pro career, split between Low-A St. Lucie and High-A Brooklyn, he has a 2.71 ERA with 109 strikeouts.
Watson's velocity has ticked up in pro ball -- he’s now sitting 94-95 mph and touching 97. He will need to continue to refine his command, but this has the early signs of another Mets pitching development win.
Both times the NBA Cup has been lifted, it has been by one of the legends of the game — LeBron James in 2023 and Giannis Antetokounmpo last year.
The NBA Cup can also tell us something about teams we may want to keep an eye on in May and June. Last December, the Oklahoma City Thunder were playing in the NBA Cup Finals (but had an off night and fell to Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks; they were ready for the big stage by the time June rolled around). Two years ago, the Indiana Pacers, an up-and-coming team, reached the NBA Cup Finals, where they lost to the Lakers. However, they used the momentum from that run to reach the Eastern Conference Finals that year, then the NBA Finals this past season.
The NBA Cup opens with a Halloween night double header streamed on Prime: the Celtics at 76ers (7 p.m. ET), followed by the Lakers at Grizzlies (9:30 p.m. ET).
All 30 NBA teams will play at least four NBA Cup games within their group of five teams, then the winners of each group, as well as one wild card from each conference, will advance to a knockout round. The NBA Cup semi-finals will take place Dec. 13, with the Cup Finals on Dec. 16 in Las Vegas.
The groups are set and the schedule is OUT
Starting October 31, all 30 teams will compete for the Emirates NBA Cup with 8 teams advancing out of groups into the knockout rounds, with the semifinals and championship held in Las Vegas, December 13 and 16!
Two critical games in the final week of group play will be broadcast on NBC and streamed on Peacock on Tuesday, Nov. 25. Those games are:
• Magic at 76ers (8 p.m. ET) • Clippers at Lakers (11 p.m. ET)
Philly hosting Orlando features two East teams with high expectations entering this season after both were rocked by injuries a season ago. If everyone can stay healthy, this showdown between Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner against Paul George and Joel Embiid will be must watch.
Lakers fans like to say there is no rivalry with the Clippers, no battle for Los Angeles — until you tell them the Clippers have been the better team and the better run franchise for the past decade. These games between two teams that project to be top-six in the West are always entertaining, with LeBron and James Harden putting on a show.
Other NBA Cup games to watch
Here are a few more NBA Cup games to circle on your calendar.
Nov. 7: Rockets at Spurs Nov. 7: Warriors at Nuggets Nov. 14: Warriors at Spurs Nov. 21: Nuggets at Rockets Nov. 28: Bucks at Knicks Nov. 28: Mavericks at Lakers
The Red Sox acquired four players from the Giants when they traded Rafael Devers to the West Coast.
One of those players has already been traded away. Another one has a 6.23 ERA in 14 appearances out of Boston’s bullpen. And one is still in rookie ball.
That player would be Kyle Harrison, the left-handed starting pitcher who on Wednesday completed his sixth consecutive start allowing two or fewer runs for the Triple-A Worcester Red Sox.
Facing the Cubs’ Triple-A affiliate in Iowa on Wednesday, Harrison pitched five shutout innings, allowing just one hit with eight strikeouts and four walks in what was eventually a 1-0 loss for Worcester.
It was the latest outing in what’s been a strong turnaround following a rocky start with Worcester. After the cross-country trade, Harrison allowed 11 earned runs in 13 innings over his first three starts with the WooSox, giving him a 7.62 ERA. That came after Harrison posted a 3.46 ERA in six Triple-A starts for Sacramento this year.
Since then, though, Harrison has allowed just five earned runs over 28 1/3 innings, good for a clean 1.59 ERA over those six starts.
Harrison, who had a 4.56 ERA in eight appearances (four starts) at the major league level this season with San Francisco, is now 4-2 with a 3.48 ERA in 15 starts in Triple-A this year. He has not had tremendous length, averaging a bit more than 4 1/3 innings pitched per start in the minors. He’s also struggled a bit with command, issuing six walks in one outing on July 27 and averaging 2.7 walks per start with Worcester.
But his recent effectiveness at keeping runs off the board could make him an option for the Red Sox to consider down the stretch in August and September.
“If needed, we believe he can do it here,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said prior to Wednesday night’s loss in Houston, according to The Boston Globe’s Tim Healey. “But right now, where we’re at, we feel comfortable with the guys that we have here. But he’s an option. … We’re deeper than people think. He’s part of it.”
Despite being without Tanner Houck, Kutter Crawford and even Hunter Dobbins, Cora is able to have a reliable rotation at the moment. With Garrett Crochet as the clear-cut No. 1 and Brayan Bello as the No. 2, the Red Sox are currently riding Lucas Giolito, Walker Buehler and the recently acquired Dustin May to round out the rotation.
Yet with Buehler — who took the loss on Wednesday after allowing four runs over six innings — having a very up-and-down season, and with May already doubling his career-high in innings pitched this season, the Red Sox may very well need a few starts out of somewhere else in some high-stakes games down the stretch. While Cooper Criswell may get the first call, Harrison has made some significant strides to earning that chance with Boston.
Professional athletes — including NBA players, but in every other sport as well — are feeling the impacts of the explosion of sports gambling in the United States. Most commonly that manifests as people — both on social media and in person — angrily lashing out at the players for not hitting points totals or other stats that would have won the angry fan their parlay, or a bet on a game.
However, it can be much more than that. Michael Porter Jr. got to see that firsthand involving his younger brother Jontay Porter, who was banned from the NBA for life for betting on NBA games and "disclosing confidential information to sports bettors" about games where he intentionally "limited his participation" (took himself out early, allegedly due to injury), allowing them to win big on under prop bets.
Michael Porter Jr. talked about it on the "One Night with Steiny" podcast.
Michael Porter Jr. on sports betting
“Think about it if you can get all your homies rich by telling yo bet 10K on my under..this one game imma act like I got an injury and they all get a lil bag… some people come from nothing & they think like that.”
Currently, other gambling investigations are swirling around the NBA. Veteran guard Malik Beasley is at the center of a federal gambling probe where he allegedly bet on games and made prop bets. Also, Terry Rozier was tied to a gambling investigation, however, both the NBA and federal investigators say he played no role in any potential illegal activity.
"Obviously, my brother went through his situation, "Michael Porter said..." Malik Beasley's going through a situation right now. Terry Rozier was in some hot water. But the whole sports gambling entity, it's bad and it's only gonna get worse."
Porter said in the interview that gambling and the idolization of money were not serious temptations for him (while also owning that he had other vices) and that he and every player faces those challenges.
With both the league and its partners having direct ties to legal betting operations in the United States, the potential negative influence of gambling is going to be an ongoing challenge for the NBA and every other professional league. Porter, like many players, recognizes this, and he deserves credit for being willing to discuss it.
The start of Wednesday's game between the Mets and Braves at Citi Field has been delayed due to weather in the area, the team announced.
A new first-pitch time of 8:45 p.m. is currently set.
The pre-game ceremony to honor Pete Alonso breaking Darryl Strawberry's Mets home run record was postponed to 6:30 p.m. on Thursday.
David Peterson (7-5, 2.98 ERA) is the Mets' scheduled starter. For the Braves, it's former Met Carlos Carrasco (2-2, 6.18 ERA) as New York looks to build on Tuesday's historic night.
The victory snapped the team's seven-game losing streak.
After Wednesday's game, the Mets wrap up their series with the Braves on Thursday before hosting the Seattle Mariners this weekend.
The Ottawa Senators have a new French radio partner. They announced today that 104.7 FM Outaouais will carry games in French for the coming season. It's a three-year deal that includes all pre-season, regular season and post-season games.
104.7 FM was the team's original broadcast partner for its first 19 seasons, between 1992 and 2012. Until today's announcement, 94.5 Unique FM had carried the Senators' games in recent years, led by play-by-play man Nicolas St. Pierre. With the Sens' changeover to a new rights holder, St. Pierre announced on X on Wednesday that he was asked to step aside after 17 years in his role.
Après 20 ans à la couverture des @Senators, dont 17 à titre de descripteur, on m'a annoncé que je devais céder ma place. Ça fait mal, mais pour le ''tit-cul'' qui a quitté Sept-Iles avec des rêves et un peu de talent, ce fût une maudite belle aventure. Merci et à bientôt.
Loosely translated to English: After 20 years covering the Senators, including 17 as a play-by-play announcer, I was told I have to step aside. It hurts, but for the "little guy" who left Sept-Îles with dreams and a bit of talent, it was one heck of a great adventure. Thank you, and see you soon.
Marc Legault, a sports commentator at 104.7, will be the new French-language play-by-play voice of the Senators.
“Since Michael Andlauer joined us, we have reaffirmed our commitment to better serving our francophone fans throughout the Ottawa-Gatineau region,” Sens president and CEO Cyril Leeder said in a club statement. “We are very pleased to partner up with 104.7 Outaouais, a radio station with strong roots in its community and well known among hockey fans.”
“This new partnership is part of 104.7 Outaouais’ commitment to remaining the benchmark for sports on French radio in the Ottawa-Gatineau area,” Josianne Delorme, the radio station’s general manager said in the same release. “In an industry undergoing rapid change, it is essential to build strong relationships with the best partners, both for our listeners and our advertisers.”
With the French radio rights now set for the next three years, attention will soon turn to the future of the English rights. The Sens are entering the final year of a 12-year regional radio deal with Bell Media's TSN 1200. If the money is right, the Senators' preference is to continue partnering with a sports talk format, where they are the station's dominant subject, indirectly being promoted for most of the local broadcast day.
But Bell Media may not be enthusiastic about another massive investment in its sports talk radio properties, particularly after it just shut down four TSN radio formats in as many years. In 2021, they said goodbye to their TSN shops in Vancouver, Winnipeg, and Hamilton. Then, two years later, TSN Edmonton was shut down. So, it will be interesting to monitor what happens next in Ottawa.
The new season will begin on Thursday, October 9, when the Senators visit the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The Chicago Blackhawks have their home opener on Saturday, October 11th, against the Montreal Canadiens. This will be their third game of the season after playing their first two on the road.
This home opener will be the start of their centennial season. A lot of things are planned as the team is ready to celebrate its 100th season in the NHL.
The first of four chapters in the team's history will begin ahead of this match. "The Original" is the name of the first one which will honor the early years of the franchise.
Their home opener will not be the only one they participate in. For one, the Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers will raise their banner ahead of their first home game against the Blackhawks on Tuesday, January 7th. This is the first game of the NHL’s 2025-26 season as it kicks off a triple header on ESPN.
Two nights later, the Boston Bruins will host the Blackhawks in their home opener as well. So the first three games of Chicago’s season will have that “first home game of the season” juice in the crowd.
Some players perform better when the crowd is amped. Their opponents will have the same advantage, especially in the two that come on the road.
On October 11th, the United Center will be packed for a party. That will be the conclusion of those "first game jitters" in all likelihood as the team focuses on improving once again.
CINCINNATI – The fundamentally sound baseball that helped the Phillies win eight of 10 games recently abandoned them Wednesday at Great American Ballpark. That helped the Cincinnati Reds to an 8-0 win.
The Phillies’ bats didn’t help either as they stayed quiet for the second consecutive game with just three hits, 10 strikeouts and five men left on base. Monday, their lone run came on a Bryce Harper solo shot in the ninth inning in a 6-1 loss. There was a total of five runs scored by the Phillies this series.
Starter Cristopher Sánchez was cruising in the fourth with two out and nobody on before a two-out walk to Austin Hays and an RBI double by Noelvi Marte. After getting through an easy fifth, Sánchez unraveled in the sixth and gave up several hits behind him.
Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz singled with one out. After Sánchez got Miguel Andujar to pop out to second, Hays doubled down the left field line to score De La Cruz. Marte then singled to score Hays, and that’s when the Phillies turned into Little League imitators in the field.
Marsh scooped Marte’s single on two hops and made a strong throw home to J.T. Realmuto, who leaped to knock it down. Error on Marsh.
“The overthrow from Marsh, I understand it, Thomson said. “He’s trying to throw the guy out at the plate because that puts us down three and then we’re in a big hole. He was trying to throw it in the air and just threw it a little bit too high.”
Sánchez then picked it up and threw wildly to third, allowing Marte to score. Error on Sánchez. He was able to get the final out of the sixth but his night was over after allowing seven hits and three earned runs.
“On a personal note I think it was a bad start,” said Sánchez. “We lost the game. I always try to go out and have as many scoreless innings as I can to keep the team in the fight. Today just wasn’t the case.”
The Reds weren’t done after they chased Sánchez after 81 pitches. Jordan Romano came into the game in the seventh and gave up three hits and four runs, all coming on an Andujuar grand slam to left.
Oddly, the Reds scored all their runs in the game with two outs.
“We got to get the (bats) going, but we faced pretty good pitching on this trip,” said Rob Thomson. “But we got to find a way to beat good pitching.”
Cincinnati started Hunter Greene, a pitcher who hadn’t thrown in the big leagues since June 3 due to a groin injury. He also didn’t impress much in his rehab as in four minor league starts he allowed 10 hits, nine earned runs and four home runs in 13 innings. But he stymied the Phils by allowing no runs and just three hits in his six innings. He also struck out six.
“Power stuff,” said Thomson. “He had power fastball, power slider, then he broke out the split. He had really good stuff. He was on today. He was throwing strikes.”
A ten-game road trip through three cities started so promising, with a combined three-game sweep against the Texas Rangers then a win against the Reds in the series-opener. Perhaps a four-game visit to the lowly Washington Nationals will be just the remedy the team needs.
Plus, there could be reinforcement coming in the shape of Aaron Nola. He seems ready to return to the team on Sunday. That game would normally be a start for Ranger Suárez, but the team has yet to announce who their starter will be.
“Just two bad games,” said Bryce Harper. “Obviously we didn’t play well the last two. Got to clean that up going to D.C. Big weekend ahead and hopefully win the series there.”
The Seattle Kraken have hired Zac Dalpe as a player development consultant and Adam Purner as a video analyst.
Dalpe, 35, retired following the conclusion of the 2024-25 season, which he spent with the Florida Panthers' AHL affiliate, the Charlotte Checkers. Dalpe scored a goal in three games as the Checkers lost to the Abbotsford Canucks in the Calder Cup finals.
His experience playing in the AHL, where he skated in 574 games, should help him in his role as a player development consultant, as he's served as a veteran presence for plenty of young players in the AHL.
Purner is receiving his first job in the NHL after spending five seasons in the AHL and five seasons in the WHL as a video coach. Purner also worked as the video coach for Team USA at the 2022 women's world championship.
The Kraken have completed their overhaul of the management and coaching staff, both in the front lines and the background staff. The Kraken have been clear about attempting to change the culture of their organization, putting an emphasis on youth. Several of the changes they've made should benefit this shift.
Know Your Enemy, Sabres Central Edition: Are Winnipeg Jets Too Good To Lose To Buffalo?The Buffalo Sabres are facing a massive amount of pressure to end their 14-year Stanley Cup playoff drought next season. But if they're to do so, they're going to need to win the majority of series they play against every NHL team. And that includes taking on top-tier teams like the Central Division-champion Winnipeg Jets.
Know Your Enemy, Sabres Central Edition: Will Mammoth Maul Buffalo As Utah Seeks First Playoff Appearance?The NHL's off-season rolls on, and every day brings with it more hockey talk. And in this ongoing THN.com series, we here at the Sabres site are focusing on the Buffalo Sabres' 2025-26 regular-season schedule -- and specifically, Sabres opponents who could get in the way of Buffalo's Stanley Cup playoff aspirations.
12 Former Ottawa Senators On The Move In Europe This OffseasonThe Ottawa Senators have seen a lot of players come and go during their rebuild.
NHL Public Relations (@NHLPR) on XThe NHL announced the complete 2025-26 regular-season schedule, with home openers beginning Oct. 7 and running through Oct. 16.
Full schedule and notable games: https://t.co/8tFeFa0U6J
Kraken Hand Out A Pair Of Promotions Within Player Development StaffThe Seattle Kraken have elevated Cory Murphy to Director of Player Development and Justin Rai to Head of Player Strategy.