The injury bug just won’t stop fluttering around the Florida Panthers.
After starting the season with three key players on LTIR – Sasha Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk and Tomas Nosek – Florida was forced to finished Thursday’s game against the Philadelphia Flyers down a man due to an apparent injury.
Defenseman Dmitry Kulikov left Florida’s 2-1 victory over the Flyers with just under 10 minutes left in the second period and did not return.
The play saw Kulikov go awkwardly into the boards after attempting a body check in the neutral zone.
He immediately skated to the bench afterwards, skating slowly across the ice and gingerly holding his right arm.
Soon after, the Panthers officially ruled him out with an upper-body injury.
After the game, Florida Head Coach Paul Maurice did not have much of an update on his veteran blueliner.
"We'll get him looked at tomorrow and then we'll give you a better idea,” Maurice said.
If Kulikov is unable to play, Uvis Balinskis will slot into his spot in Florida’s lineup and next to Jeff Petry on the third defensive pairing.
The Panthers will practice on Friday in Fort Lauderdale before hosting the Ottawa Senators on Saturday.
Maurice’s next opportunity to provide an update will be after Friday’s skate.
Photo caption: May 6, 2024; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Florida Panthers defenseman Dmitry Kulikov (7) looks on against the Boston Bruins during the first period in game one of the second round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Amerant Bank Arena. (Sam Navarro-Imagn Images)
Former Pittsburgh Penguins forward Anthony Angello has announced his retirement from hockey.
Angello, who played in 31 games for the Penguins from 2019-22, announced his retirement via his Instagram.
"The time has finally come to hang the skates up. Hockey is a beautiful game that I gave everything to, and wow, was it ever generous in return. It’s given me friends, memories, and experiences to last a lifetime. It’s allowed me to chase and accomplish childhood dreams," part of Angello's post read.
Angello compiled three goals and five points in 31 games with the Penguins. He was most recently with the AHL's Milwaukee Admirals and Syracuse Crunch during the 2024-25 season. He compiled seven goals and 14 points in 41 games with the Admirals and four goals and 10 points in 19 games with the Crunch.
The Penguins picked Angello in the fifth round of the 2014 NHL Draft. He played his college hockey at Cornell before joining the AHL's Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and eventually the main NHL squad.
Throughout his first Training Camp as head coach of the Detroit Red Wings, Todd McLellan emphasized the importance of mental fortitude and responding the right way when things inevitably go wrong over the course of an 82-game season.
The Red Wings didn't live up to his message in their Home Opener on Thursday night against the Montreal Canadiens, surrendering five unanswered goals after taking an early 1-0 lead as part of a 5-1 setback.
As the seconds ticked off the clock in the third period, there was a noticeable smattering of boos from the fans who hadn't already gotten a head start on the traffic.
Afterward, McLellan said that that reaction was deserved.
"We earned the Bronx boos or whatever you want to call it, we earned those," McLellan said. "And it's up to us to fix it. If we just play fundamentally sound hockey, we wouldn't be putting ourselves in that situation. Until we get that down and get it back in it's box if you will, we'll have trouble winnings games."
Several of the Canadiens goals were a result of the Red Wings not playing fundamentally sound hockey as McLellan alluded to.
Montreal generated several odd-man rushes in the opening 20 minutes, capitalizing first on a partial breakaway after a missed defensive assignment that led to a Zack Bolduc goal, then on a two-on-one rush where Oliver Kapanen converted off a pass from Alex Newhook.
After two more goals from the Canadiens in the second period, goaltender John Gibson, who was making his Red Wings debut after being acquired from the Anaheim Ducks in an offseason trade, was pulled in favor of Cam Talbot.
Defenseman Moritz Seider explained that despite the messages from McLellan during Training Camp and the pre-season, they were unable to execute the way they wanted to against the Canadiens.
"We talked about it so many times during Camp, and we just couldn't find a way to prevent the chances and make it happen on the other side," Seider said. "It's kind of tough that way, but we just have to regroup. Obviously it's a long year, and hopefully it's just a bump in the road."
The Red Wings will have their work cut out for them as they next face the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night in what will be another raucous atmosphere at Little Caesars Arena.
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Pittsburgh Penguins legendary forward Evgeni Malkin looked like a man possessed during the Penguins' 3-0 win over the New York Rangers on Tuesday and carried that play into Thursday's game against the New York Islanders.
He came into Thursday's game one point off from tying Mats Sundin for 30th on the NHL's all-time scoring list and ultimately passed him, thanks to a three-point performance. It looked like he opened the scoring in the first period before the goal was given to Rickard Rakell. Malkin got the assist on the goal and then dished out two more assists, including the game-winner in the third period.
Justin Brazeau scored his third goal in two games with less than six minutes remaining in the third period after
Malkin now has 1,351 points, which is 30th on the NHL's all-time points list. He's only two away from tying Guy Lafleur for 29th on the all-time scoring list and three away from tying Brendan Shanahan for 28th. Malkin's five points in the first two games of a season are a career best.
The Penguins held on for a 4-3 victory over the Islanders and are 2-0-0 to start the 2025-26 season. Malkin will try and keep his hot start going on Saturday when the Rangers come to PPG Paints Arena.
For the first time since 2019, the Nashville Predators are opening an 82-game regular season with a win at home.
The Predators defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets, 2-1, on Thursday at Bridgestone Arena, powered by a 35-plus save performance by Juuse Saros. Ryan O'Reilly scored the game-winning goal on the power play in the third period.
"Juice [Saros] was outstanding, and gave us a chance to win the game," Predators head coach Andrew Brunette said. "I'm really proud of the group. It wasn't the smoothest water all the time, but we hung in there."
Here are three things we saw in the season opening victory.
Juuse Saros kept Predators close throughout
The Predators' offense struggled to get anything going through the majority of the game, but it was goaltender Saros who was able to give them a fighting chance throughout.
Under a bit of a spotlight after a disappointing 24-25 season, Saros made 37 saves on 38 shots. In the second period, he had already faced nearly 30 shots. The goal allowed in the first period came off a play where the puck deflected off two Predator sticks before Dmitri Voronkov put it in.
The Blue Jackets also had a goal called back at the end of the second period after it was reviewed, as Saros had been interfered with.
The called-back goal played into what Brunette said he wanted to help Saros with in clearing out space in front of the net. He said the Predators didn't "help" Saros last season, but did in the win over Columbus.
I never lost confidence in him [last season] and I didn't think we helped him. Today, we help him [Saros]; he needs to see the puck to be effective," Brunette said. "We've got to clean the porch in front of the net a little bit better. Even though we're not quite there, it was a good step in the right direction."
While the Predators likely don't want anyone to be carrying them, Saros gave them a fighting chance the entire night, allowing them to walk away with a win. The pressure may be just what he needed to get back into form.
"Juice [Saros] was unbelievable tonight," O'Reilly said. "He was our best player by far, especially when they [Columbus] had momentum, and he made big stops to calm it down for us."
Predators' offense still settling in
Nashville's offense wasn't electric, but did enough to pick up the win.
"It was a little bit of a difficult opener. Two teams that don't play the cleanest hockey," Filip Forsberg said. "They were better for two, but I thought in the third period we played really well. We got a big power play goal and obviously dominated the rest of the match."
It went 1-for-4 on the power play, with O'Reilly scoring the lone special teams goal on an opportunity that he really created for himself in front of the net.
He got a feed from high to low from Forsberg and backhanded it in, opening up Jet Greaves off an individual stick-handling effort.
"The PP [power play] needed to step up and get a big goal," O'Reilly said. "We won some battles there. You could feel all the [penalty] killers moving up and I knew I had time to make a move. I tried to get it from the middle, move up and make a move in front of the net."
Michael Bunting scored the Predators' first goal of the season, which he scored off his own rebound. Bunting's original shot was saved, bounced off two Blue Jacket players, came back to him, and he scored on the second chance.
Playing with a handful of new players on new lines, the offense hasn't yet found its identity, let alone individual lines. The Jonathan Marchessault, Erik Haula and Bunting trio looked the best, as they've found a bit of chemistry in the preseason.
However, the Predators were chasing a 10-shot deficit throughout the game, with Saros having to do most of the heavy work in the first two periods.
Brady Martin has decent debut
While the Predators' 18-year-old center, Brady Martin, didn't record his first NHL point, he held his own on the top line with Forsberg and O'Reilly.
Martin logged 12:44 minutes of ice time on 14 shifts, won 42% of faceoffs and had a shot block. At the same time, he was on the ice for the Voronkov goal and gave away the puck twice.
"It was a hard game, and he's [Martin] kind of against their best players," Brunette said. "He hung in there like, he has all camp, found a way to get through it and to make a few plays. It's a great learning experience."
It was still a good start for the fifth overall pick. He was utilized not just in the top six, but on the Predators' power play as well. Whether the Predators would like to keep him in Nashville past the nine games, Martin is still getting critical experience.
"It's tough coming into the league as an 18-year-old with NHL players that have been here for awhile," Martin said. "I think I held my own and I'm hoping for better games to come."
Milwaukee call-ups Joakim Kemmel and Adam Wilsby also cracked the Predators' opening night roster. Kemmel skated on the second line with Steven Stamkos and Fedor Svechkov. Wilsby was on the first pairing with Roman Josi.
Ozzy Wiesblatt was a healthy scratch as Tyson Jost took the fourth line, right wing position. Nick Blankenburg was also a healthy scratch.
The Philadelphia Flyers suffered a rather uneventful 2-1 loss to the Florida Panthers in their season opener Thursday night, and it was a performance fans aren't going to want to see often.
Indeed, the Flyers did well to keep the back-to-back Stanley Cup champion Panthers within their reach the entire night, but the Panthers were still without captain Sasha Barkov and superstar winger Matthew Tkachuk.
As for the Flyers, the difference, quite frankly, was the lack of discipline and execution. This was not a banner start to the Rick Tocchet era in Philadelphia.
Here's the simple math: the Flyers were 0-for-2 on the power play, while the Panthers were 1-for-5. In other words, the Flyers forked out momentum in the form of five penalties (two came from Christian Dvorak), and the Panthers opened the scoring at the top of the second period and gave themselves some life.
Despite the loss, the hero for the Flyers was undoubtedly goalie Dan Vladar, who made his Flyers debut and dropped a masterful performance, stopping 32 of 34 shots (.941) and staking his claim to the starter's role.
Many, included myself, expected Sam Ersson to start the Flyers off in goal this season. That could still happen when they play their home opener in a rematch against Florida on Monday, but if Vladar can play with any kind of consistency, it might just be his job to lose.
As for the defense, it could be a long year, especially given that we're starting off with an injury to Cam York.
Neither Noah Juulsen nor Nick Seeler picked up Anton Lundell on his 1-0 power play goal, and Juulsen screened, and allowed A.J. Greer to screen, Vladar on Brad Marchand's game-winning goal early in the third period.
The Flyers, of course, only scored one goal, courtesy of Noah Cates, while Trevor Zegras and Matvei Michkov each played fewer than 16 minutes. The only forwards who played less than them were Owen Tippett, Rodrigo Abols, Garnet Hathaway, and Nick Deslauriers.
So, the fourth line barely played, and the Flyers' two most talented forwards still didn't see a lot of ice despite trailing for most of the game.
Speaking of the fourth line, Abols and Deslauriers combined to play 15 minutes, while Nikita Grebenkin and Jett Luchanko were healthy scratches.
It remains to be seen if Tocchet is willing to learn and adjust early in the season, but Flyers fans won't be thrilled with that development.
Fortunately, the goaltending, which has bedeviled the Flyers for years, got off to a hot start thanks to a monster performance from Vladar on Thursday night.
The Flyers will be back in action on Saturday night, when they face the Metropolitan Division rival Carolina Hurricanes at the Lenovo Center in Raleigh, N.C., at 7 p.m.
Deadlocked at 3-3, Justin Brazeau scored the game-winner at 5:39 of the third period to win the game for Pittsburgh.
Matthew Schaefer and Maxim Shabanov both found the scoresheet in their NHL debuts, with the No. 1 overall pick finding Jonathan Drouin in the high slot to tie the game at 1-1 at 12:02 of the first:
“It’s humbling,” Sullivan said on winning his first game with the Rangers. “It’s an incredible honor to be the coach of the New York Rangers. It’s a franchise that has such history to it. For me it’s just a privilege that I don’t take for granted. I’m excited about the group of players that we have here.
“There’s been a certain enthusiasm on the team that has been really rewarding from a coaching standpoint. It’s tangible, we can feel it. We get the first win, it means a lot to me, J.T. (Miller) gave me the game puck, which was nice.”
The New York Rangers secured their first win of the season on Thursday night, defeating the Buffalo Sabres 4-0.
During their season opener on Tuesday, the Rangers came out flat, as it carried on for the remainder of the contest.
They learned from their mistakes in Buffalo and came firing on all cylinders, literally.
The Rangers were unafraid to shoot the puck, getting the puck to the net as often as possible, and it translated to 16 shots through the first 20 minutes.
Alexis Lafrenière’s goal gave the Rangers a 1-0 lead after the first period of play.
“We obviously had way more energy to start,” Mike Sullivan said. “I thought from an energy standpoint, the guys felt a lot better for whatever reason. I think that’s where it started… I thought the start of the game might have been the best period we’ve played since training camp started.”
When the Sabres began to push back in the second period, it was Igor Shesterkin who came to the rescue.
The 29-year-old goalie made multiple key saves throughout the second period and the entire game to allow the Rangers to hold their narrow lead.
Shesterkin finished the night with a 36-save shutout.
“It sure is nice,” Sullivan said about having Shesterkin on his side. “He’s a world-class goalie. He’s one of the very best. He makes really hard saves look routine sometimes, and we certainly don’t take that for granted.”
The Blueshirts settled down in the third period and got goals from Carson Soucy, J.T. Miller, and Adam Fox to secure the victory.
One aspect of the game Sullivan values is heavy forechecking from his forwards.
Sullivan’s forechecking philosophy was on full display from the Rangers against the Sabres, as it appears his message is rubbing off on the players.
“I think we are built in that element of our game,” Sullivan said of the team’s forechecking. “That’s among the things our coaching staff looked at coming into this season, and trying to get what we would call a grind game. I just think it’s an important aspect of today’s NHL.
“It’s how you control territory, how you control momentum. You force teams to have to expend energy defending you. There are so many elements and you can manufacture offense on top of it. I just think it’s such an important element of today’s game. Just a team that is able to play on top of their opponents and control momentum that way. We are built on that, we are getting better at it. We have a long way to go but I think our intentions are in the right spot.”
Unfortunately for the Rangers, Vincent Trocheck left the game early after suffering an upper-body injury, and he did not return.
During his postgame interview, Sullivan confirmed Trocheck is currently being evaluated, but he didn’t provide many other details.
Sullivan was able to capture his first win as the Rangers’ head coach, and he expressed his gratitude to have gotten this special opportunity.
“It’s humbling,” Sullivan said on winning his first game with the Rangers. “It’s an incredible honor to be the coach of the New York Rangers. It’s a franchise that has such history to it. For me it’s just a privilege that I don’t take for granted. I’m excited about the group of players that we have here.
“There’s been a certain enthusiasm on the team that has been really rewarding from a coaching standpoint. It’s tangible, we can feel it. We get the first win, it means a lot to me, J.T. (Miller) gave me the game puck, which was nice.”
The Rangers will be back in action on Saturday night against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The Chicago Blackhawks were defeated by the Boston Bruins in overtime by a final score of 4-3. Although they weren't perfect, particularly in the third period, they stayed close to the Bruins and earned their first standings point of the season.
The Bruins took a 1-0 lead just 3:53 into the opening frame, but Connor Bedard scored his first goal of the season less than five minutes later. Colton Dach took a huge hit to make a play, which led to Andre Burakovsky making a perfect pass to Bedard for the one-timer.
After that score held through the first intermission, the Blackhawks took the lead with Louis Crevier's first goal of the season. Right before the game, the Blackhawks called an audible with their lineup. They went 11/7 and added Crevier to the lineup while scratching Sam Lafferty.
With one less forward dressed, they had to double shift Connor Bedard, who assisted on this Crevier goal while playing with the fourth line. That one lineup decision played a huge role in this tally.
Eventually, a goal by Tanner Jeannot tied the game for the Bruins, which was taken to the second intermission. With an early third-period power play, Elias Lindholm scored to give the Bruins the lead back just 15 seconds into the final frame.
A tick over two minutes later, Andre Burakovsky scored his first goal in a Blackhawks sweater to tie the game back up one more time. Despite a tough go for the Blackhawks throughout the rest of the period, including lots of power play time for the Bruins, this 3-3 knot earned each team that initial standings point with a trip to overtime.
On the Burakovsky goal, Artyom Levshunov earned one of the assists (Frank Nazar earned the other). Although Levshunov has had a tough start to the season with penalties and defensive miscues, he needs to find points when he can get them.
In overtime, there were a ton of chances for both teams, but Arvid Soderblom and Joonas Korpisalo stood tall. One save, in particular, was highlight-reel as Korpisalo absolutely robbed Frank Nazar after Sam Rinzel made a brilliant play to set him up. The Bruins eventually took the game with an overtime winner scored by Fraser Minten.
This game was an example of the Blackhawks being young and less talented than their opponent, but certain players kept them in the game. Connor Bedard's breakout game and big plays by guys like Andre Burakovsky and Frank Nazar played a role in the team getting the point, but they were still outshot and out-chanced throughout.
In the net, Arvid Soderblom was fine. He didn't stand on his head quite like Spencer Knight did against the Florida Panthers on Tuesday, but he was good enough to win. He made 29 saves on 33 shots, and one of them was the 3-on-3 winner for the Bruins.
During the game, Jason Dickinson left the game and didn't return. Head coach Jeff Blashill did not have an update after the game. Losing him would be a big loss for their bottom six as he plays well in all three zones, with emphasis on defense.
That's it for the Blackhawks on the road to begin the season. They will now come home for their home opener, which will begin the celebration of their centennial season. The Montreal Canadiens will be in town for a Saturday night Original Six matchup.
The Knicks extended their preseason record to 3-0, beating the Timberwolves in their first game at MSG this season, 100-95, in overtime. Mikal Bridges led the way with 15 points on 3-for-7 shooting from three, followed by 11 points from Jalen Brunson.
New York was without Josh Hart, but Karl-Anthony Towns picked up the slack with a double-double in 26 minutes while Miles McBride and Jordan Clarkson each added 10 off the bench. Anthony Edwards led Minnesota with 17 points while former Knick Julius Randle notched 16.
Here are the takeaways...
-Despite being a man down, the Knicks set a competitive tone using the same starters from the last contest, going on a 7-2 run off of strong team defense. The Timberwolves quickly met their intensity, responding with a 7-0 run of their own.
Towns was active early with two aggressive drives leading to scores, including an acrobatic lefty and one, as he had five points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals in the opening period. On the other end, it was Minnesota’s stars Randle and Edwards leading the way with nine and eight, respectively, as their Wolves led 21-20 after one, capitalizing on the Knicks' shooting just 2 of 14 from three.
-The first half likely looked close to what we’ll see from the Knicks' final rotation, as we saw them play nine guys and decent starter minutes. However, there was still experimentation going on with a different starting and closing unit, plus the three-guard bench had Landry Shamet featured over Malcolm Brogdon. Dillingham was a big spark off the bench for Minny with seven quick points in the second period, but New York kept their deficit within single digits. Even a late first-half spark from Brunson to give him a team-leading 11 points at the half failed to bridge the gap, though, as Minny led 44-38 at halftime behind 14 points from Edwards.
-Head coach Mike Brown opened the second half with Guerschon Yabusele in as the “fifth” starter, then subbed him for Shamet, after opening with Robinson and trying out McBride to finish the first. Fans have been watching this storyline closely throughout the preseason, but expect to continue seeing variations of the looks around the core four well into the regular season.
Nothing he threw out made meaningful headway against the Timberwolves while the Knicks bricked away from three, as they started 4-for-30 from deep on this night. The silver lining was that they created tons of good looks that simply didn’t go down, and their defense fared well.
Late in the third, things shifted as Bridges hit a couple and OG Anunoby drilled one facing up in Rudy Gobert’s eye. The Knicks took advantage of some offensive rebounding without Robinson on the floor, then doubled down with a super small lineup of Yabusele at the five.
But Minnesota closed the third strong, featuring an inside hook and buzzer-beating corner three from the 2024 Sixth Man of the Year Naz Reid, going into the final frame up 71-63.
-The fourth quarter began with a bench unit of Brogdon, McBride, Clarkson, Pacome Dadiet, and Ariel Hukporti that kicked off a massive 19-9 run to give the Knicks an 82-80 lead, their first since the opening period. McBride was the big offensive boost, hitting a flurry of jumpers, while the rest each chipped in to the effort.
Midway through the period, the Knicks went deeper into their bench as the Timberwolves also cleared the pine to close the game. Down two with 10 seconds left, Minny’s Johnny Juzang drove for a running right hook to tie the game.
The Knicks declined to call timeout, running it up to Garrison Mathews, who got a clean look from the top of the break but couldn’t pull off the game-winner.
-New York ran with Kolek, Mathews, Dadiet, Tosan Evbuomwan and Hukporti for the extra minutes. Their defense sparked an 8-0 run with some solid teamwork and execution on the other end and coasted from there.
No, Philadelphia Phillies’ reliever Orion Kerkering did not just botch a grounder and throw it away with the season on the line!
Yes, it happened with two out and the bases loaded and allowed the Dodgers to steal a National League Division Series clinching 2-1 victory in 11 taut innings Thursday at Dodger Stadium!
With their backs quickly approaching the wall, faced with a loss that would return the series to Philadelphia for a deciding Game 5, the Dodgers dug in and lashed out and ultimately suffocated the talented and favored Phillies to take a three-games-to-one series win and clear the way toward their second consecutive World Series title.
And they did it thanks to a mad, mindless throw from a frozen, frightened reliever.
Has any postseason series ended with such an error?
“It’s brutal,” acknowledged Dodger Manager Dave Roberts.
It happened in the 11th, after Tommy Edman hit a one-out single to left, then moved to third one out later on a single by Max Muncy. Kiké Hernández walked to load the bases, bringing up the struggling Andy Pages, who entered the day with an .053 playoff average and had gone hitless in four previous at-bats.
He proceeded to hit into his fifth out… except Kerkering muffed the grounder. When the pitcher finally picked up the ball, he still had plenty of time to throw out Pages at first, and catcher JT Realmuto gestured for him to throw it to first... but he didn't throw it to first. Instead, he panicked and threw it home, launching it far over Realmuto’s head.
“Once the pressure got to me, I just thought there's a faster throw to JT… little quicker throw than trying to cross-body it to Bryce (Harper),” said Kerkering afterward. “So just a horses— throw… honest mistake. Just it's baseball, s— happens.”
Pinch-runner Hyeseong Kim scored the winning run as Kerkering stood slumped on the mound with his hands on his knees while the Dodgers danced wildly across the field around him.
“I mean, when this happens, it's like your entire world comes to a stop,” said Phillies manager Rob Thomson. “It's just a thud.”
One man’s thud is another man’s triumph, and the Dodgers will now be shouting their way deep into October, advancing to the National League Championship Series, where they will be heavy favorites against either the Milwaukee Brewers or Chicago Cubs.
A victory in that seven-game set will land them back in the World Series, where they will be even heavier favorites against whatever inferior team the American League can muster.
Yeah, the rest of their journey should be the easy part, the Dodgers already conquering their Goliath equal in a Phillies series that was essentially the World Series.
“It was a war,” said Roberts. “It was a battle.”
Remember last fall when they defeated the San Diego Padres in a tense five-game fight before cruising to the title? This was that. This was the two best teams in baseball. This was the Dodgers once again swallowing all the pressure and refusing to relent.
After a breathtaking six-inning scoreless pitching duel between the Dodgers’ Tyler Glasnow and the Phillies’ Cristopher Sanchez, the Phillies struck first in the seventh with a single, an error by reliever Emmet Sheehan, and a double by Nick Castellanos.
The Dodgers countered in the bottom of the seventh with two walks and a single followed by a bases-loaded walk drawn by Mookie Betts against closer Jhoan Duran.
This set the stage for the Error Heard ‘Round The World, which shouldn’t obscure the fact that the Dodgers played hard enough to earn this victory without an asterisk.
Glasnow, maligned throughout his two Dodgers seasons for a lack of resilience, was brilliantly tough, giving up only two hits with eight strikeouts in six scoreless innings.
“What he did, it was his time today,” said Roberts. “Today was his moment. And I was just very happy to see that he rose to that occasion.”
Roki Sasaki, struggling with injury and ineffectiveness throughout his rookie season, was equally as brilliant with three perfect innings.
“Oh, my gosh. You're talking about one of the great all-time appearances out of the pen that I can remember,” said Roberts.
Then there were the great plate appearances in the 11th inning that laid the groundwork for the error. Edman’s single came with two strikes, Muncy’s single came against a left-hander, and Hernández worked a six-pitch walk with the final two balls coming with two strikes.
“It was just a great inning,” said Roberts. “Again, we just kept fighting.”
Before these playoffs there was a lot of talk about the Dodgers’ late-season struggles that were symbolized by that blown no-hitter in Baltimore. They had no bullpen depth. They had no offensive patience. They were headed for another early October exit.
It turns out, that’s what outsiders thought. That’s clearly not what the Dodgers thought.
“I think it boils down to the guys we have in the clubhouse,” said Muncy earlier this week in a pregame news conference. “We have a lot of experience, a lot of really good players. We've been there before. We accomplished it.”
They were impressive in the four games against the Phillies. Here’s guessing they’re going to get even better before the month ends.
“I still think there's another gear in there,” said Muncy. “I don't think we fully reached where we can be at. And that's not saying we are, and that's not saying we aren't. But I still think there's a whole other level in there we haven't reached yet.”
The Times’ Bill Shaikin quickly asked, “What would tell you you've reached it?”
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Orion Kerkering made a wild throw past home instead of tossing to first after mishandling Andy Pages’ bases-loaded comebacker with two outs in the 11th inning, and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Philadelphia Phillies 2-1 Thursday to win their NL Division Series 3-1.
Kerkering hung his head and put hands on knees after his throw sailed past catcher J.T. Realmuto as pinch-runner Hyeseong Kim crossed the plate, advancing the Dodgers to the NL Championship Series against the Chicago Cubs or Milwaukee.
Realmuto had pointed to first when the two-hopper hit off Kerkering’s glove and rolled just in front of the mound. Fans in the crowd of 50,563 at Dodger Stadium erupted after spending the final three innings on their feet.
Phillies manager Rob Thomson wrapped an arm around Kerkering when the distraught reliever reached the dugout.
Nick Castellanos’ RBI double in the seventh off Emmet Sheehan had put the Phillies ahead but Jhoan Duran walked Mookie Betts with the bases loaded in the bottom half, forcing in the tying run.
Tommy Edman singled off Jesús Luzardo with one out in the 11th and took third on Max Muncy’s two-out single that eluded diving shortstop Trea Turner.
Kerkering walked Kiké Hernández, loading the bases. Pages, in a 1-for-23 postseason slide, hit what appeared to be a routine grounder, the type every pitcher practices gloving from spring training on.
Philadelphia, wearing its powder blue throwback uniforms on the road for the second straight day, was knocked out in the Division Series for the third straight season while the defending World Series champion Dodgers reached the LCS for the eighth time in 13 years.
Phillies catcher JT Realmuto walks off the field as the Dodgers celebrate their victory. Photograph: Mark J Terrill/AP
The Los Angeles Dodgers are heading back to the National League Championship Series after an extraordinary error from Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Orion Kerkering ended his team’s season.
With the scores tied at 1-1 and the bases loaded with two outs in the bottom of the 11th inning, the Dodgers’ Andy Pages hit a routine grounder to Kerkering. But the 24-year-old fumbled the ball and, instead of going to first for an easy out, he threw it wide of catcher JT Realmuto at home plate as Hyeseong Kim scored the winning run. The 2-1 win sealed a 3-1 series victory for the Dodgers, who will face either the Milwaukee Brewers or Chicago Cubs for a place in the World Series.
Kerkering slumped in despair after his error and was comforted by manager Rob Thomson.
The Phillies had gifted the defending champions their other run in the seventh when Jhoan Durán walked Mookie Betts with the bases loaded allowing Justin Dean to score. The Phillies had taken the lead at the top of the inning when Max Kepler scored off Nick Castellanos’s double.
It was another frustrating end to a season for the Phillies, who were the No 2 seed in the National League after winning the NL East. Despite an excellent rotation and a strong batting lineup they have lost in the NLDS two years in succession; last year they were eliminated by NL East rivals the New York Mets. They also lost in the 2023 NLCS to the Arizona Diamondbacks, despite at one point holding a 3-2 series lead.
The Dodgers, meanwhile, are into the NLCS for the eighth time in 13 seasons.
