The Shanghai Masters will witness one of the most astounding climaxes to any tournament as two cousins, Valentin Vacherot and Arthur Rinderknech, extended their shock breakthrough runs with monumental wins to face each other in the final.
Vacherot continued his fairytale by toppling an injured Novak Djokovic 6-3, 6-4 to become the lowest-ranked Masters 1000 finalist. In his first match against a top-five opponent, the Monégasque world No 204 maintained his composure as Djokovic appeared to struggle with his left gluteal muscle from early in the first set.
In his first ever AHL game, this recently traded former Philadelphia Flyers goalie earned an impressive shutout.
On Friday night, in the head-scratching absence of NHL hockey, the Cleveland Monsters, the AHL affiliates of the Columbus Blue Jackets, faced the Utica Comets in their first regular season game of the year.
Ivan Fedotov, who was traded to the Blue Jackets by the Flyers on Sept. 14, started for the Monsters against the Comets, out-dueling top New Jersey Devils goalie prospect Nico Daws, making 21 saves in a 1-0 victory.
Fedotov's 21-save shutout is his first professional shutout since Feb. 26, 2024, when he made 38 saves in a 4-0 win against Lokomotiv Yaroslavl in the Gagarin Cup playoffs while playing for CSKA Moskva.
As for the Flyers, they're content with the 2026 sixth-round pick and the cap space they received for trading Fedotov, as much as they would have liked things to work out differently on the ice.
Heading into 2025-26, the Flyers and the AHL Lehigh Valley Phantoms will boast a goalie depth of Aleksei Kolosov and Carson Bjarnason - two prospects younger than Fedotov who needed the playing time more.
While the NHL wasn't always his speed, Fedotov, 28, is off to a flying start to life in the AHL. With time and adjustments, it's certainly still possible the 6-foot-7 netminder can put the pieces together and grow into a serviceable NHL goalie.
The Florida Panthers will look to start their 2025-26 campaign with three straight wins when they wrap up their first homestand of the season on Saturday night.
Coming off one-goal victories over the Chicago Blackhawks and Philadelphia Flyers, the Panthers will face their first playoff team from a season ago when they host the Ottawa Senators at Amerant Bank Arena.
In recent years, meetings between the Panthers and Senators have often featured a plethora of penalty minutes and punches thrown.
Perhaps things will be more subdued this time with Florida missing their emotional leader, Matthew Tkachuk.
While he and his brother Brady, the captain in Ottawa, haven’t gone toe to toe, they are often the catalysts to much of the fun extracurriculars.
The Senators arrive in Sunrise fresh off an exhilarating season opening victory.
Ottawa overcame a pair of two-goal deficits while playing the Tampa Bay Lightning in Amalie Arena, clawing back on the Bolts and earning a 5-4 statement win.
Now the Sens will face a Panthers squad looking to complete a perfect three-game homestand.
Florida has picked up one-goal victories over the Chicago Blackhawks and Philadelphia Flyers over the past several days, but will now face what should be their toughest test of the young season in Ottawa.
The Panthers will be forced to utilize a different lineup than what they’ve deployed during their first two outings after defenseman Dmitry Kuilkov suffered an upper-body injury during Thursday’s win over Philly.
Kulikov has since been placed on IR by Florida, according to the team’s roster on the NHL Media site, which means Uvis Balinskis will see his first action of the season.
Balinskis played 76 games for the Cats last season, finishing with four goals and 18 points while earning the trust of his coaching staff with steady defensive play.
Here are the Panthers projected lines and pairings for Saturday’s showdown with the Sens:
Photo caption: Feb 20, 2024; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky (72) punches Ottawa Senators left wing Brady Tkachuk (7) during the third period at Amerant Bank Arena. (Jim Rassol-Imagn Images)
Phillies pitcher Orion Kerkering (center) hangs his head as Dodgers players rush onto the field to celebrate their Game 4 win. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
"All's well that ends well" as they say, but during the entire Game 4 on Thursday night it felt to me like a game the Dodgers would lose as soon as the bullpen got to the mound, because they were not hitting worth a darn. L.A. scored because of an unforgiveable bases-loaded walk to tie and a throwing error for the ages by the Phillies pitcher for them to win. Losing last night would've sent them back to Philly with their heads way down to play in cold weather, with rainstorms brewing. Yes, their season could've easily been over by Saturday night.
So I don't yet see them as a "dominating team" and am holding my breath while waiting for their luck to maybe run out. That said, I've really enjoyed their 2025 season … so far.
Doug Weiskopf Burbank
Andy Pages hits a broken bat comebacker to the Phillies pitcher and that play turns into the winning run. With that the Dodgers advance in the playoffs. Yet, one of the first thoughts that came to my mind had to do with Kirk Gibson hitting his walk-off home run against the Oakland A's in the 1988 World Series and two Hall of Fame announcers with their calls. Vin Scully saying "In the year of the improbable, the impossible has happened!" And Jack Buck saying, "I can't believe what I just saw!" Either call would have fit Thursday night at Chavez Ravine. What an ending!!
Chris Sorce Fountain Valley
I am happy for the Dodgers. I have been a fan since I was 11 (1955 World Series vs. Yankees). I just wish that Game 4 would have ended differently. It could have ended with Andy Pages getting a base hit, or either Trea Turner or Bryce Harper making an error. I feel badly for relief pitcher Orion Kerkering. This will possibly scar him for his entire career. Certainly the Phillies fans will never forgive him (see Bill Buckner and the Red Sox fans — it was Bill’s manager who put him at first base, but the fans never saw it that way). I hope Orion gets traded by the Phillies and has a nice career.
John Vitz Manhattan Beach
Anyone still believing the Dodgers don’t have a decent bullpen, please call Roki Sasaki. My only question is what took us so long to realize it!
Marty Zweben Palos Verdes Estates
Best headline of the year: A Game of Thrown.
Keep up the great work!
Billy Groak Fullerton
Momentous moment
Replays and close-ups that watching on TV provides can’t compare with the excitement of being present. But once in a while there is a moment that only TV captures. Jerry Neuheisel was experiencing such a moment in UCLA's upset of Penn State and his father Rick’s exhilaration over the joyful moment.
Richard Agay Los Angeles
According to the headlines, photos and first 12 paragraphs of Ben Bolch's story, playcaller Jerry Neuheisel nearly single-handedly masterminded the Bruins upset win over the Nittany Lions. The interim head coach, Tim Skipper, was eventually mentioned merely as an afterthought. This is akin to attributing a ship's safe passage through rough seas to the first mate, not the captain. Let's hope that Coach Skipper is not relegated to attention only after a UCLA defeat.
Dave Sanderson La Cañada
Championship coaching
So Lakers coach JJ Redick keeps harping on championship habits, championship communication and championship shape, even making a veiled swipe at Luka Doncic at the end of last season saying not everyone was in “championship shape.” Can someone tell me, what does Redick know about being in championship shape? He never won an NBA championship. He ought to get himself in championship coaching shape so he doesn’t make the same rookie mistakes he made against the Timberwolves in last season's playoffs.
Danny Balber Jr. Pasadena
Charge it
Any offensive coordinator who has the ball on the one-yard line and throws a pass should be fired on the spot. Any team, no matter whether it's Pop Warner, high school, college or pro, that can't score from the one with four downs doesn't deserve a touchdown. Somebody wrote last week that the Chargers were the Clippers of football. They weren't lying.
Luis Cruz La Mirada
Time for change
Is anybody else watching the WNBA finals between the Las Vegas Aces and Mercury Phoenix? The arena seats are not full and ticket prices seemed to have dropped. Could it be because of the lack of action from WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert, or maybe due to inconsistent officiating, or perhaps many star players injured, or being fined for speaking out about these issues all season? Sure, players are asking for more pay, but what they are really asking for is fairness and a change in the system at the top.
Joan C. Fingon Ventura
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