All Times EDT
Tuesday, Oct. 20
Boston at Detroit, 3 p.m.
Philadelphia at New York, 7 p.m.
Oklahoma City at San Antonio, 9:30 p.m.
Anaheim at N.Y. Islanders, 7 p.m.
Colorado at New Jersey, 7 p.m.
Los Angeles at Washington, 7 p.m.
San Jose at Montreal, 7 p.m.
Toronto at Columbus, 7 p.m.
Boston at Dallas, 8 p.m.
Winnipeg at St. Louis, 8 p.m.
Minnesota at Edmonton, 9 p.m.
Detroit at Seattle, 9:40 p.m.
Carolina at Vancouver, 10 p.m.
Tampa Bay at Vegas, 10:30 p.m.
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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Freddy Peralta threw 5 ¹/₃ gritty innings, Junior Caminero and Yandy Díaz each hit a two-run homer and the Rays beat the Guardians 7-3 in Game 6 of the American League Championship Series on Monday night to advance to the World Series for the third time in the franchise’s 29 seasons.
The Rays will face the Brewers in the first matchup in which both teams are seeking their first World Series title since 1980, when the Phillies beat the Royals.
Game 1 is Friday night in Milwaukee.
“We got one more bite!” Rays manager Kevin Cash told his team as the clubhouse celebration started.
The loss extended Cleveland’s World Series championship drought to 78 years.
“I couldn’t be more proud of our group,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. “It just hurts. It stings. Really felt like we had a team to go and just weren’t able to get there.”
On the 18-year anniversary of their first AL pennant in 2008, the Rays jumped ahead 2-0 in the second inning on Richie Palacios’ two-run double and clinched it with closer Bryan Baker on the mound.
The Guardians wouldn’t give up and had the go-ahead run at first base in the eighth when Kevin Kelly struck out Brayan Rocchio to leave the bases loaded after two runs scored.
Peralta, the ALCS MVP, allowed one run and five hits to earn his second win of the series in his third appearance. He pitched six scoreless innings to win Game 2 and got two outs in relief in Game 4.
A sellout crowd of 40,230 fans waved yellow-and-blue rally towels, rang cowbells and chanted “Let’s go Rays!” throughout the night at Tropicana Field, which needed major renovations after Hurricane Milton shredded the roof two years ago and caused extensive damage throughout the stadium.
The Rays played their 2025 home games across the bay in Tampa at the Yankees’ spring training complex, got new ownership before this season and secured a new stadium deal to be ready in 2029 near the NFL’s Buccaneers. They returned to the Trop to win 55 games in the regular season. Only the Brewers had that many home wins this year.
“This is for you!” Caminero yelled to the crowd from a microphone on the field after the game. “Let’s go! I can’t hear you!”
After sweeping the Yankees in the Division Series, the Rays fell behind the Guardians 0-1 and 1-2 in this series before taking three straight games.
Caminero gave Tampa Bay a cushion with his first career postseason homer in the seventh inning. The two-time All-Star sent a drive off the left-field foul pole to give the Rays a 5-1 lead, becoming the first player to go deep on a splitter by All-Star closer Cade Smith.
Caminero turned around before reaching first base, looked toward his dugout and pounded his chest with both arms, cupped his ear rounding second to hear more cheers, stopped before reaching the plate, pointed into the stands and crossed his arms before crossing home.
Caminero hit 42 homers in the regular season but needed 33 at-bats to get his first in October.
The Guardians answered against Tyler Wells and Ian Seymour by loading the bases on two singles and a walk with two outs. Seymour walked Patrick Bailey to force in one run and hit Angel Martínez with a pitch to force in another. Kelly entered and fanned Rocchio on three changeups.
“Credit to our guys. It’s a gut punch there in the seventh. And our guys came right back,” Vogt said. “Our guys never quit. They never stopped fighting. That’s who they are.”
Díaz, who guaranteed a Game 6 victory through an interpreter on Sunday, gave the Rays another four-run lead with a two-run shot off Hunter Gaddis in the bottom of the eighth.
Caminero led off the Tampa Bay second with single off opener Shawn Armstrong, who took the loss in his second start in three games. Left-hander Tim Herrin replaced Armstrong. Chandler Simpson reached on a fielder’s choice and stole second before Victor Mesa Jr. walked. Simpson advanced to third on Jonny DeLuca’s flyout to center. After Mesa stole second, Palacios looped a double to right-center for a 2-0 lead.
Armstrong, who was the opener in Game 4, faced the first four batters, becoming the first pitcher in postseason history to start a game after pitching both of the previous two days.
DeLuca’s sacrifice fly off Joey Cantillo made it 3-0 in the third but the Rays missed an opportunity to break it open with more runs after they loaded the bases with no outs.
Nathaniel Lowe’s RBI single in the sixth drove in Cleveland’s first run.
After a thrilling ride through the 2026 MLB playoffs, the World Series has finally arrived. The 122nd Fall Classic is set to begin on Friday, Oct. 23, with the Tampa Bay Rays and Milwaukee Brewers set to clash in their first-ever postseason matchup.
Making their first World Series appearance since 1982, Pat Murphy and the Brewers enter the Fall Classic after sweeping the defending back-to-back champion Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLCS.
The Rays return to the World Series for the first time since 2020, when they fell to the Dodgers in six games.
Ahead of Friday's Game 1, get everything you need to know below, including TV/streaming information, the full World Series schedule and more.
The starting lineups for Game 1 of the 2026 World Series are TBD.
Brewers: TBD
TBD: TBD
Milwaukee Brewers: -155
Tampa Bay Rays: +135
Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook
The Brewers have never won a World Series, having lost their only prior appearance in 1982 (defeated by the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games).
The Rays are 0-2 across their two World Series appearances, with losses to the Dodgers in 2020 (4-2) and Phillies in 2008 (4-1).
The World Series is a best-of-seven series. The first team to win four games wins the series.
Welcome to our new series grading every member of the San Diego Padres’ 40-man roster. The roster being evaluated is current as of Oct. 18, prior to the end of the World Series. Because of that, it will include players who will be free agents once the postseason concludes. Each player will be graded on their performance in the 2026 season, including the playoffs. That performance will be weighted based on how much time the player spent with the team (availability is the best ability).
In two-plus seasons with San Diego, Adam has posted a 2.08 ERA. Prior to 2026, the right-handed reliever posted consecutive sub-2.00 ERA seasons. He was the Padres’ go-to reliever for the eighth inning behind closer Robert Suarez. Southpaw Adrian Morejon has since turned into their setup man for closer Mason Miller following Adam’s subpar 2026 campaign.
Adam pitched to a 2.62 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and .233 opponent batting average in 2026. Those are phenomenal numbers, but the right-hander pitched just 34 1/3 innings after missing nearly three months down the stretch with a right shoulder strain. The lower grade is mostly due to that missed time. Adam missed the stretch run that saw San Diego go from a .500 ballclub to the top NL Wild Card spot.
Still, what Adam managed to do is impressive. He posted his first season under 2.0 WAR since 2023 due to the missed time. When he was on the mound prior to rehab, his injury was apparent in his performance. Adam simply couldn’t limit hard contact. The right-hander surrendered the same number of home runs (5) that he did in 2024, except in half of the innings (73.2 IP in ‘24 compared to 34.1 in ‘26).
The right-hander is set to be a free agent and should receive a large payday despite his injury-marred 2026 campaign. Adam has set himself up as one of the most consistently dominant relievers in all of baseball. He’s posted a sub-3.00 ERA in five consecutive seasons and a sub-2.00 ERA in three of those years. His game went up a notch after being traded to San Diego. It remains a possibility that he re-signs with the Friars, though Adam seems likely to depart in free agency.
For, really, the first time since his rookie season, Matvei Michkov mania is back, and the Russian wunderkind helped guide the Philadelphia Flyers to their second straight win, a 3-2 victory over the Colorado Avalanche, as they begin to reverse the narrative on a dreadful start to their season.
The 21-year-old Michkov was near-dominant against a juggernaut Avalanche team from start to finish, scoring yet another power play goal from his favored spot on the right side of the offensive formation on a rebound, then flicking a shot through heavy traffic after a superb solo effort to give the Flyers one- and two-goal leads, respectively.
Michkov now has goals in each of his last three games, while recording multiple points in the Flyers' wins against Ottawa and Colorado.
With his two-goal effort, Michkov is already up to six goals on the season, with seven total points in 11 games thus far.
"I think now power play a little bit better, but I think we need more goals in power play. This is better for team," Michkov said after the game.
Michkov nearly had his first NHL hat trick late in the third period, but fired wide from his own zone with the Avalanche pulling Mackenzie Blackwood for an extra attacker trailing 3-2.
It's not the first time that's happened to the young Flyers star.
"I don't know. Open net don't like me," Michkov joked in the locker room postgame. "You remember moment, was first season in Montreal, same moment. I don't know. Maybe soon."
On Michkov's second goal, a long-range shot through a sea of bodies in front of the net, center Noah Cates was helping screen Blackwood, but didn't record a touch to get himself a goal.
If Michkov had it his way, it'd be Cates's goal, but he's still happy Cates, with an assist in the buildup, recorded his first point of the season.
“I think this is goal Catesy. Catesy right now have zero goals, and I’m so happy. He told me, ‘No Michy, it’s your goal. I know that.’ I said, ‘Ok.’ But he have assist, but I’m happy for him," Michkov said.
Trevor Zegras drives the bus
While Michkov did the bulk of the work by actually scoring two of the Flyers' three goals, Trevor Zegras was the one who drove the bus, orchestrating all three tallies.
On the power play, Zegras's slap pass was deflected by Denver Barkey in the bumper, and Michkov was on hand to slam home the rebound.
On the second goal, Zegras stayed on the ice for an extended shift with the Flyers establishing offensive zone possession, then dished to Michkov, who did the rest.
Then, on Noel Acciari's goal, the game-winner and dagger, Zegras hounded Gabriel Landeskog all the way back into his own end on the forecheck, which allowed Christian Dvorak to force a turnover along the wall on the other side.
After receiving the puck, Zegras teed up an Oliver Bonk slapshot that was deflected by Acciari past Blackwood, ultimately putting the Avalanche to bed for good.
"I think he's played better the last three, four games. Taking a little pressure off him, putting him on the wing has helped a little bit, and he's got some legs," Flyers head coach Rick Tocchet said of Zegras after the win.
"There's gonna be some point I'd like to try him back [at center]. I don't know when, but right now, I mean, he's playing good hockey. He's producing, so I'm not gonna do it right now."
With the Flyers beginning to come back to earth, Zegras has two goals, three assists, and five points in his last four games, with the Flyers going 2-1-1 in those four games.
Michkov and Zegras have caught fire, and Joseph Woll and Dan Vladar continue to supply excellent goaltending. If they can continue this run, there's no telling what might happen next.
Will Smith won each of the last six World Series, but that streak will end this year, because nobody named Will Smith plays for the Milwaukee Brewers nor Tampa Bay Rays. The Dodgers catcher and the since-retired left-handed relief pitcher of the same name played for teams that won championships every season from 2020-25.
Those two players converged during the 2020 National League Championship Series, a few weeks before the first of those six straight championships.
Down three games to one in the NLCS that year, the Dodgers trailed the Atlanta Braves 2-1 in the sixth inning of Game 5. With Mookie Betts on second base and two outs, the lefty Smith was called in from the bullpen to face Max Muncy, who drew a six-pitch walk.
Will Smith the Dodgers catcher ran the count full himself, before hitting a three-run home run off Will Smith the pitcher to turn the game around, in what would be a 7-3 Dodgers win.
That home run by Smith was the only hit off his pitching namesake in seven tries. In the other matchups — 2019 when the lefty was with the Giants, and 2021-22 with the Braves — the catcher was hitless in six at-bats with three strikeouts against the pitcher.
The Dodgers won that 2020 NLCS over the Braves then snapped a 32-year championship drought by beating the Tampa Bay Rays in the World Series. One year later, Smith the reliever was on the Atlanta team that snapped a 26-year title drought.
The Dodgers’ Will Smith punctuated the 2025 championship by hitting the series-winning home run in the 11th inning of Game 7, after setting a record by catching all 73 innings in the World Series.
It was a good run for the Will Smiths.
In 2026, we will have a first-time World Series champion.
The Tampa Bay Rays beat the Cleveland Guardians7-3 on Monday, Oct. 19 in Game 6 of the American League Championship Series to punch their ticket to the World Series. They powered their way through the ALCS after going down 2-1 early and persevering after Game 4 was postponed due to rain. They were the top seed in the American League and swept the New York Yankees in the Division Series.
They will face the Milwaukee Brewers, who secured their spot in the Fall Classic by sweeping the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Championship Series. They beat the San Diego Padres 3-1 in the division series after finishing the regular season with a 103-59 record, making them the National League's top seed.
Both teams have appeared in the World Series before, with the Rays having more recent experience, but have yet to hoist the Commissioner's Trophy.
There are five teams that have never won a World Series. Two of them are the Milwaukee Brewers and Tampa Bay Rays, who will face each other in the 2026 World Series. The Seattle Mariners are the only active franchise to have never appear in a World Series.
The Rays and Brewers have three previous World Series appearances between them.
Tampa Bay has two of those, playing in the 2008 Fall Classic when they lost to the Philadelphia Phillies, and in the 2020 World Series where they were defeated by the Los Angeles Dodgers.
It's been a little bit longer since Milwaukee played in the World Series. They faced the St. Louis Cardinals in 1982 and lost in seven games. That Brewers team featured several players who would eventually be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame: Rollie Fingers, Don Sutton, Robin Yount, Paul Molitor and Ted Simmons.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: MLB teams to never win a World Series: 2026 will have first-time champion
The city of brotherly love was the setting, but the Avalanche didn’t really harness Rocky Balboa’s energy, and we didn’t get a hard-work montage leading to ultimate victory.
Instead, the Flyers played stingily behind a strong netminding performance, and a disjointed Avalanche club dropped a game that looked like a scheduled win. The Flyers had just one win before tonight.
Unfortunately, the Avalanche are turning slow starts into a bad habit; for the second game in a row, the opposition seemed to bring more effort and focus. Just like their last time out against Pittsburgh, the Avalanche conceded the first goal of the evening to Matvei Michkov off a Trevor Zegras attempt at 07:41.
It just felt like the Avalanche hadn’t woken up, and things would only get worse in the middle frame.
Michkov scored again to give the Flyers a 2-0 lead and put himself on the cusp of a hat trick. At 12:21, Matvei took a drop pass from Zegras, held the puck, and rounded the net. As he finally made a full circle back to the point, he fired a shot that was going wide but glanced in behind Blackwood.
Martin Necas got back at Philly with a seeing-eye wrist shot just after a Colorado Avalanche power play expired. Necas’ 5th of the season came on a helper from Artturi Lehkonen, who pushed his point streak to four games at 17:52.
The Avalanche had one more twenty-minute frame to clean up their bad start, but instead let Noel Acciari give the Flyers a 3-1 lead at 06:34 in the final frame.
Rookie forward T.J. Hughes got a few looks throughout the night and on the power play, but his net-crashing ability ultimately earned him his second NHL goal. Hughes has two goals in his last two games and logged top-six minutes (16:54 TOI) this evening.
The Flyers won 3-2, with Colorado holding Philly in their own end but unable to cash in with the net empty and an extra attacker as time expired.
This game was a serious dud for the Colorado Avalanche, who should have dominated given the talent imbalance. It’s the NHL, and every team can be competitive on any given night, but from my vantage, this was more about Colorado’s problems than the Flyers putting on a show. Jared Bednar felt the same way, calling it “sluggish and sloppy,” according to Corey Masisak of the Denver Post.
You can’t expect to win many games with 16 giveaways on the stat sheet.
Netminder Mackenzie Blackwood was the best Avalanche player this evening. Without a few right-pad and blocker saves, this could have been even uglier. In my opinion, Blackwood provided in the “needed save” department.
I’m not sure what to make of the line combinations and usage in a game like this, but it felt like either Nathan MacKinnon was being punished or T.J. Hughes and Jaden Schwartz were being rewarded. The three players spent time on the same line in a look I hadn’t seen coming into the evening. I’m not saying Hughes and Schwartz aren’t useful linemates, but MacKinnon looked off his game.
Colorado’s road trip continues as they head to New Jersey to take on the Devils tomorrow night. Yeah, that’s right, another back-to-back.
Let us know what you thought of tonight’s game in the comments!
NEW YORK (AP) — Sean Durzi scored 78 seconds in, Dylan Garand made 29 saves and the New York Rangers defeated the travel-weary Anaheim Ducks 5-2 on Monday night to improve to 6-0-0 at home this fall.
The Rangers did not pick up their sixth victory at Madison Square Garden last season until Jan. 26, their 23rd game there. They lost 27 of 41 at home on the way to missing the playoffs and finishing last in the Eastern Conference.
There is hope of a turnaround given this start, even missing franchise goaltender Igor Shesterkin for the rest of the season. Garand was making a fifth consecutive start since Shesterkin went down, and he has allowed two or fewer goals in nine of 10 NHL appearances dating to his debut last spring.
He got support early and often, with Durzi’s goal making it three home games in a row where the Rangers have a goal in the first two minutes. That has only happened once before for New York, in March 1989.
Oliver Bjorkstrand scored twice, captain J.T. Miller and Gabe Perreault each had a goal and Alexis Lafrenière recorded two assists. Pavel Dorofeyev, the team’s most notable trade acquisition over the summer, came close on several occasions but remained stuck on two goals for the season.
FLYERS 3, AVALANCHE 2
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Matvei Michkov scored two goals and Philadelphia beat Colorado for its second straight victory after opening the season with nine consecutive losses.
Michkov leads the Flyers with six goals this season. Noel Acciari also scored for Philadelphia, which lost six games in regulation and three in overtime or shootouts before breaking through on Saturday with a victory over Ottawa.
Joseph Woll made 24 saves for his first victory with the Flyers. He spent the previous five seasons with Toronto.
Martin Necas and rookie T.J. Hughes scored for the Avalanche (5-3-1), last season’s Presidents’ Trophy winners. Mackenzie Blackwood stopped 21 shots.
Cole Knuble made his NHL debut for the Flyers, the team he grew up rooting for. His father, Mike, played for Philadelphia from 2005-09 and in 2013. The 22-year-old right wing had 13 minutes, 44 seconds of ice time.
Mitchkov scored on a power play at 7:41 of the first period and made it 2-0 at 12:23 of the second when he skated around the net and fired a long-range wrist shot past several players that beat Blackwood on the glove side.
MAPLE LEAFS 3, SHARKS 1
TORONTO (AP) — Gavin McKenna scored the go-ahead goal on a third-period power play and Toronto snapped a three-game slide with a victory over San Jose.
Auston Matthews added a goal and two assists for Toronto. Sergei Bobrovsky made 30 saves to pick up his first home win for the Maple Leafs. Nick Paul added an empty-netter.
Mason Marchment scored for San Jose, which got 28 stops from Yaroslav Askarov.
The game featured the first meeting between the No. 1 and 2 picks of the 2026 NHL draft — McKenna and Sharks winger Ivar Stenberg.
Marchment opened the scoring at 13:54 of the first when he was left alone in front of Bobrovsky after Matthews turned the puck over in the defensive zone.
Matthews made up for that mistake and got his team even with 12 seconds left in the second on a power play. Toronto’s captain took a pass from Kirill Marchenko and ripped a shot upstairs on Askarov before McKenna pushed the Leafs in front in the third.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have multiple players working through injuries as the start of the 2026-27 regular season looms.
Kenny Atkinson provided updates on Sam Merrill, Nae’Qwan Tomlin, and Khalifa Diop.
“[Everyone practiced] except for Nae’Qwan,” said Atkinson. “Sam was limited.”
Diop and Tomlin did not appear throughout the preseason. Merrill played in two of the three.
Atkinson noted that Diop had a setback in his recovery from a recent injury.
“He’s fitting great culturally, coming back from a setback injury,” Atkinson said. “I love his spirit, and he’s a guy who I can speak French with.”
Diop has played multiple years overseas and is set to play his rookie season in Cleveland. He’s one of only a few frontcourt players on the roster and could end up playing real minutes if any of the other bigs on the roster get injured this year.
Meanwhile, we know how important Merrill is.
Merrill was one of Cleveland’s most important bench players last season and will be even more so this year. He’s their lead sharpshooter with the second unit and arguably the best shooter on the team. The Cavs will lean on Merrill for volume three-point shooting as Max Strus was traded this summer.
As for Tomlin, another step forward from the lanky, athletic wing would be sweet. Tomlin brought energy and hustle to the table last season but struggled to put it all together. He’ll need to improve as a three-point shooter and refine his defensive impact before being a full-time rotational player. But Tomlin has all the tools to do so.
Cleveland plays their first game of the season on the road against the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday. They’ll play their home opener in Rocket Arena on Saturday, hosting the Brooklyn Nets.
With the Nets tipping off Wednesday against the Hornets, it’s hard to quantify just how far Egor Dëmin has come from this point a year ago as a rookie.
But coach Jordi Fernández’s quippy answer does speak to Dëmin’s biggest strides.
“Maybe ask the performance team about his weight and how much bigger his biceps is. Maybe that’s a way to quantify,” Fernández said. “I’m very happy with the way he’s played. …He sees the floor very well, and he’s done a great job getting into the [paint].”
Dëmin’s added muscle has been well documented, as has his growth from a lithe teen who struggled against NBA physicality to a more filled-out version.
The second-year guard couldn’t or wouldn’t say how much stronger he’s gotten, only that he’s more ready for the rigors of the league.
“That’s true. There was a growth, a significant growth, in what dumbbells I’m picking up on the arm day, yeah,” Dëmin laughed.
But for the Russian, it’s about more than just touching the paint or even getting to the rim.
It’s about knowing what to do when he gets there.
“Yeah, play off two feet and look for the spray or keep your options open. But don’t go in there without a plan,” Fernández said. “He’s done a great job. He’s worked at it, and shown he’s way more comfortable now getting there.
“When you’re 18, 19, the game goes so fast. Now it slows down, because you’re more confident, you’re stronger. We’ve seen it in preseason — he’s just got to continue to do it in the regular season.”
That regular season starts Wednesday against the visiting Hornets.
Dëmin will likely start on the ball, with Mikel Brown Jr. still on a minutes limit. That means Dëmin will have to not only not get turned at the point of attack, but actually have a plan once he gets in the paint.
“I haven’t done that for a while, getting to the rim like that actively, and sometimes when I get there it’s hard to believe, where I’m like, ‘I’m actually here,’ and I almost expect something to happen,” Dëmin admitted. “So for me, realize that I’m actually a big body, so… it’s harder to defend for people, especially now. So just having a state of mind that nobody can stop me, and just having that idea of getting there aggressively and finishing with quality and not just to show that I got to the paint.”
Joshua Jefferson (back) practiced full contact Monday and will be available vs. Charlotte. Tyler Bilodeau will be out with a sprained shoulder.
Fernández on having legendary soccer coach Pep Guardiola — who is also Catalan — visit during the summer: “He loves basketball, so he wanted to see the gym and the players and watch them work out. … He’s curious on how we do things, how we work here. And obviously I have a lot of questions for him on how he’s handled certain situations. … There’s a lot you can learn from a leader like that. He’s one of my favorites, so it’s always good to see him and obviously have him [here].”
As they do, the Brooklyn Nets declined to offer Noah Clowney an extension Monday, the deadline for such deals. Indeed, only eight players from the 2023 Draft were rewarded. Big names like Scoot Henderson, Anthony Black, Derick Lively II, Bilal Coulibaly and Jaime Jacquez didn’t make the cut either.
At this point, Clowney is on a prove-it deal. He’ll be paid $5.4 million and come June, he will be a restricted free agent meaning the Nets will be able to match any bid from any time. In the new world of the CBA, that’s what free agency looks like.
The 6’10” forward who’s just turned 22 is coming of a season where he he averaged 12.3 points, 4.1 rebounds and got to the line 3.4 times in 66 games, 60 of them, all encouraging numbers. His shooting splits were less so: 40/33/80. More important so was his consistency. Now, of course, he won’t be starting 60 games, not with Julius Randle starting at the power forward. He told the media Monday that he understands the dynamic.
“I mean, realistically, we’re professionals. You should be able to adjust to a new role,” Clowney said. “It might take a couple games to click — maybe more than a couple of games — but you should be able to figure it out.
“It’s not changing so drastically to where it’s like concerning me. I play less minutes more than likely. Other than that, my role is not too much different. Coming in with two ball handlers, the ball will be in my hands a lot less, 100 percent, but pick your spots, create chaos. That’s the goal.”
Despite that, Jordi Fernandez sounded optimistic about Clowney’s role in the upcoming season.
“I’ve seen consistency from him, and that’s the key,” Fernández said. “If he can provide that to the group, Noah is going to help us win a lot of games, [with] not just his size and physicality, but also his shooting, getting to the free-throw line, just doing the simple things.
“He’s put in all this work all summer and he’s shown … consistency. And now we’re going into real games. … We’re all excited and I think Noah’s going to be a big part of it.”
More importantly, the head coach is more interested in how Clowney helps the team
“Yeah, he can be better,” Fernández admitted. “And he will be better, and that’s important. He focuses. He’s focusing on it. We brought those points to him, and we know he can impact not just the defensive glass but also the offensive glass.
“And there’s no excuses. Sometimes we put him [on] very good offensive players, and that’s still not an excuse. He’s going to go and finish possessions.”
Clowney has looked good in preseason … very good, as Brian Lewis noted. He averaged 9.8 points this preseason on solid 52.2/60.0/85.7 shooting splits, and was a team-best plus-7.5. On the other hand, he grabbed only three rebounds. The inconsistency thing again. Clowney told the media he gets it.
“Rebounding, I don’t know the numbers,” Clowney said. “That’s the goal, to get more. But I try to do what I’m asked.
“Play defense, go get some rebounds to end possessions, make shots when the ball comes to you. Pretty much that. Just bring an energy on the court, especially playing bench minutes. It’s a lot easier to come in and play harder for one stint per half. But yeah, just pretty much guard, keep the ball flowing, just play basketball.”
If Clowney sounds less than excited, not to worry. He is excited. Clowney is notoriously low-key.
“Everybody’s excited about it,” Clowney said of the season. “There’s no benefit from losing. There’s none. So, win games. We’re going to go into every game with the idea of winning it, put our best foot forward. And that excites a lot of people. So yeah, it’s a lot more excitement in the building.”
Bottom line: the decision not to extend Clowney was not unexpected. The Nets have a history of prove-it contracts and seven of the eight players given extensions were taken ahead of him in the 2023 Draft.
Jaden McDaniels has looked very good for Minnesota this preseason, averaging 24.8 points in less than 21 minutes a night while shooting 60.6% from the field and an unsustainable but promising 71.4% from beyond the arc. If Minnesota is going to thrive in the Anthony Edwards and LaMelo Ball era, McDaniels' two-way contributions will be key.
That is why the Timberwolves agreed to terms on a one-year, $40 million extension for the 2029-30 NBA season, a deal first reported by ESPN’s Shams Charania.
McDaniels is already under contract for this season and the next two at a total of $84 million. This new $40 million year will be more than a $10 million bump from the previous year, rewarding a player who will be critical to the team. He is now signed for four years and $124 million. This contract also takes McDaniels to 10 years of service, allowing him to potentially chase more money in the summer of 2030.
McDaniels is a 6'9" forward best known for his elite defense, but whose offensive game has shown real growth in recent seasons. Last season he averaged 14.8 points and 4.2 rebounds per game, shooting 41.2% from 3-point range. In the playoffs last season, McDaniels showed more offensive creation in his game and averaged 16.3 points per game.
The Timberwolves need McDaniels' defense on the court, the fact that his offensive game is taking a step forward makes him that much more critical to what Minnesota wants to do.
The Timberwolves now have McDaniels locked up through 2030, and Ball and Edwards through 2029 (reserve Ayo Dosunmu also is under contract through 2030). The next big contract Minnesota needs to consider is center Rudy Gobert, who can be a free agent next summer but has a $38 million player option for the 2027-28 season.
The Rangers were business as usual Monday night back at Madison Square Garden.
On the heels of two frustrating road losses, the Blueshirts handily beat the Ducks 5-2 to remain undefeated on home ice and match the second-longest season-opening home win streak in franchise history at six games.
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tRY IT NOWAt the very least, in a moderately challenging schedule to start the season, the Rangers are taking care of the teams they’re supposed to.
Against the clubs projected to finish near the bottom of the standings — such as the Red Wings, Canucks and Ducks — the Rangers have won by a combined margin of 13-4.
Injuries have forced the Rangers to make recalls and dress a lineup noticeably different from opening night in Boston, but this hasn’t slightly influenced how the team is playing on home ice.
“It’s our fans. It’s an exciting time,” Sean Durzi said. “We heard what was going on tomorrow night [at the Knicks championship banner raising ceremony], so it’s nice to give back-to-back good nights at MSG. They’ve been great.”
The team game that was missing in New Jersey and Columbus returned as soon as the Rangers stepped onto the ice in Manhattan.
Rookie goalie Dylan Garand played his role to the fullest, stopping 29 of the 31 shots he faced.
Scoring within the first two minutes after puck drop for the third time this season, the Rangers controlled the pace of play frequently.
Durzi’s shot through traffic from the top of the zone gave the home team a 1-0 lead just 1:18 into the first period, marking the second time in franchise history the Rangers have scored in the opening two minutes in three consecutive home games.
The Rangers could’ve easily had a multigoal lead by the first intermission had Pavel Dorofeyev put away either one of his two grade A opportunities in the opening 20 minutes. Dorofeyev continues to find scoring opportunities, but the finish hasn’t quite been there thus far.
Not only did he hit the post on a wide-open net during a 5-on-3 power play, but the 25-year-old Russian also missed entirely when on the doorstep later in the first period.
With one goal through his first 11 games as a Ranger, Dorofeyev is still looking to find his stride with his new team. The reason he was briefly taken off the top power-play unit, however, had more to do with discipline.
“I’ve been asking the power-play [unit] for a number of games now that the first unit — they have to change smarter,” head coach Mike Sullivan said. “And when the puck gets dumped down two or three times, and they’ve got to go 200 feet to get it and then work back into the offensive zone, they should change — and Pav didn’t. At some point, there needs to be some accountability around it.”
From the start of the second period, the Rangers absolutely dominated play.
The top power-play unit converted less than five minutes into the middle frame, after captain J.T. Miller redirected an Adam Fox shot from the top of the zone for his second goal of the season.
Jump-started by Alexis Lafrenière’s cross-ice backhand feed, a Rangers tic-tac-toe passing sequence ended with Gabe Perreault tapping the puck in at the side of the net. The game seemed to get out of hand from there, with the Ducks struggling to maintain possession.
Oliver Bjorkstrand then capped the second period with his third goal of the season before scoring his fourth early in the third.
“I thought we just took what the game gave us,” Sullivan said. “I thought we played well and that we created a fair amount of offense just off our own defense.”
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Matvei Michkov scored two goals and the Philadelphia Flyers beat the Colorado Avalanche 3-2 on Monday night for their second straight victory after opening the season with nine consecutive losses.
Michkov leads the Flyers with six goals this season. Noel Acciari also scored for Philadelphia, which lost six games in regulation and three in overtime or shootouts before breaking through on Saturday with a victory over Ottawa.
Joseph Woll made 24 saves for his first victory with the Flyers. He spent the previous five seasons with Toronto.
Martin Necas and rookie T.J. Hughes scored for the Avalanche (5-3-1), last season's Presidents' Trophy winners. Mackenzie Blackwood stopped 21 shots.
Cole Knuble made his NHL debut for the Flyers, the team he grew up rooting for. His father, Mike, played for Philadelphia from 2005-09 and in 2013. The 22-year-old right wing had 13 minutes, 44 seconds of ice time.
Mitchkov scored on a power play at 7:41 of the first period and made it 2-0 at 12:23 of the second when he skated around the net and fired a long-range wrist shot past several players that beat Blackwood on the glove side.
Necas got the Avalanche on the board with 2:08 left in the second. Acciari restored Philadelphia's two-goal lead at 6:34 of the third, the veteran center's first goal as a Flyer.
Hughes scored at 14:40 of the third, his second straight game with a goal after he found the net for the first time in Friday's win over Pittsburgh.
Avalanche: At New Jersey on Tuesday.
Flyers: At Buffalo on Wednesday.
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