Ethan Bamber knows a bit about drama (he is the son of Olivier Award-winning actor David Bamber), so it was no surprise that he finished a thrilling chase with a theatrical six. His 30 not out for Warwickshire against Durham was hardly a bit part, but it was a match in which there were 22 starring roles, county cricket delivering its unique storylines across not three acts, but four days.
The stage was set for the perfect Hollywood script on Monday night for the Montreal Canadiens. Ivan Demidov was making his debut, and the excitation was palpable in the Bell Centre, but the Habs needed to beat the Chicago Blackhawks to qualify for the playoffs, and they failed to do so.
Martin St-Louis said on Monday morning that it made sense to put Joel Armia, a defensively responsible player, on the ice with Ivan Demidov, but with 3:32 left in the first period, there was no Armia and Patrik Laine was with Demidov and Alex Newhook.
By then, the rookie had assisted on the game's first lamplighter and scored his first career goal, becoming the second youngest player in Canadiens history to score in his first game and setting the Bell Centre alight. It’s a small sample, but Demidov didn’t need shielding as he adapted immediately to the North American game. He was only on the ice for 3:25 in the first frame, but he certainly made the most of it.
As for the game's physicality, in his very first shift, he nailed Frank Nazar by the boards, sending the Bell Centre crowd to its feet. He did, however, get his welcome to the NHL moment halfway through the first when Artyom Levshunov caught him in the offensive zone. That was the only time he was caught off-guard, lightyears away from the way Juraj Slafkovsky looked like a deer in the headlights a few times in his rookie season.
On his new player, the coach said:
I think he was great. If there’s one player that wasn’t worried about much and not stressed out it was him, but it’s almost naïve because he just got here, that’s why I wasn’t afraid to inject that kind of talent, he hasn’t gone through what these guys have gone through all year, he comes in and he plays.
- Martin St-Louis on Ivan Demidov
He finished his night with two points, a plus-one rating, three shots and one hit having spent close to 17 minutes on the ice. The sole blemish on his record was that he took a shot which was blocked and led to the Blackhawks' third goal, and he didn't exactly backcheck.
Costly Penalties
The Habs were up 2-0 when they were assessed their first penalty, and a minute and a half later, their lead was cut in half. While Kaiden Guhle’s hits are often massive momentum makers, that one tonight, without Oliver Moore having touched the puck, started the Canadiens’ downfall. Asked to comment on the play, the bench boss explained:
I think you have to be near the line without crossing it. It was a play with the puck coming to him, but it wasn’t there yet. If he (Moore) had touched the puck, it would have been a good body check, but he never touched it, so that’s a penalty. It happens so quickly that the player is already all in on the play. He thinks the puck will get there faster. Those are the penalties we don’t need, but I understand the action and where he was coming from. It’s just a shame that it cost us.
- The coach on a bad penalty
Then, late in the second period, the Alexandre Carrier-Mike Matheson pairing couldn’t decide who was covering who, and as a result, the former was forced to trip Ilya Mikheyev. Five seconds later, the game was tied.
While Samuel Montembeault had only faced 18 shots by then, the two scored goals couldn’t be put on him. In fact, the Canadiens’ goaltender had to make a few big saves to keep his side in the game.
St-Louis On The Notion Of Urgency
In the final frame, with a playoff berth on the line, the Canadiens didn’t look like the team with something to win in that game. There was no urgency in their play, which was somewhat puzzling. Asked how he would describe his team’s urgency level, St-Louis replied:
I’d say it was a little average, but you know, playing with urgency and executing are two different things. Playing with urgency means being ready defensively and always in the right spot. You can’t daydream on the ice, but when you have the puck, can you be calm in a stressful moment? Because if you’re calm in a stressful moment, you’ll execute much better. Your reading of the game is a lot clearer when you’re calm. If you’re playing with urgency, want to succeed, and are working so hard, the wheel is spinning so fast that your read isn’t as good as when you’re more relaxed. We’ve got a young team right now. We have urgency, but sometimes it interferes with our reading. We know it’s so close, and we can almost touch it. It’s an experience you have to live; you can’t practice that.
- St-Louis on his young team and dealing with urgency
When Slafkovsky tied the game in the third frame, Lane Hutson got the secondary assist he needed to become the sole holder of the franchise’s record for the most points by a rookie blueliner with 65.
While Demidov passed his first test with flying colors, his performance hid the fact that the Canadiens didn’t play a good game. Perhaps the coach is right. However, the moment was huge, and his team is very young. On Tuesday night, the Columbus Blue Jackets will play the Philadelphia Flyers. A win from the Pennsylvania outfit would make Wednesday’s game against the Carolina Hurricanes a lot less stressful as it would clinch the Canadiens' playoff berth.
We’d like to think our crystal ball has magical powers, but the truth is that the Boston Celtics have simply been so darn good over the past two seasons that it’s pretty easy to make bold predictions about the successes they’ve enjoyed.
You didn’t need to be any sort of seer to know Payton Pritchard was poised for a breakout season. Or that the Celtics would stack up a whole bunch of 3-pointers during the 2024-25 campaign.
Still, it’s comforting that our crystal ball rarely lead us astray. With the playoffs upon us, it feels like another good opportunity to take a gaze and see what it forecasts for Boston’s next championship quest.
Kornet shimmied up to third in the NBA, finishing with a team-best +14.9 net rating. (The next-closest regular on Boston’s roster: Al Horford at +11.5.)
The Oklahoma City Thunder accounted for six of the top seven spots in the league, with Kornet the only outlier. The Celtics were 8.6 points per 100 possessions better with Kornet on the court versus off this season, easily the best differential on the team (next-closest: Horford, +4.1).
Verdict: Hit
2. Drew Peterson gets final roster spot before end of season
Peterson gave the team an unexpected burst early in the season but logged only 77 minutes in 14 appearances over Boston’s final 47 games. The team ultimately elected to reward fellow two-way player JD Davison for his MVP season in Maine by adding him to the parent roster at the finish line of the season.
Offseason roster changes could open pathways to Peterson being a roster player for the Celtics next season.
Verdict: Miss
3. Jayson Tatum finishes 3rd in MVP voting …
4. … And is the Finals MVP
ESPN’s final straw poll of the season had Tatum fourth in balloting. We suspect he’ll leapfrog Giannis Antetokounmpo when voters submit their final ballots, which will feature Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokic at the top.
And with Jaylen Brown hindered by a knee injury entering the postseason, we’re further emboldened to suggest Tatum will be the Finals MVP if the Celtics raise Banner 19.
Verdict: TBD
5. Celtics defeat Magic, Knicks, Cavaliers to win East …
6. … Then outlast the Thunder in the NBA Finals
If higher seeds win out, then we’ll nail the path. Still, we’re intrigued to see if Orlando’s offense can hang with Atlanta in a one-game showdown during Tuesday night’s play-in game.
The Knicks should have their hands full with Detroit in Round 1 but we suspect they’ll still advance. Cleveland and Oklahoma City appear poised to build off their strong regular seasons.
Verdict: TBD
7. Jaylen Brown lands on All-NBA, All-Defense teams
The late-season knee woes left him short of the 65-game threshold to qualify for award eligibility. Even if he had hit the mark, that balky knee ultimately might have prevented Brown from making a strong final case for those spots.
9. Celtics set an NBA record for most 3-pointers made in a season
Boston obliterated this record, connecting on 1,457 3-pointers to leave the 2022-23 Golden State Warriors (1,363) deep in the rearview mirror.
Verdict: Hit
10. Payton Pritchard wins Sixth Man of the Year
Just send the award to the Auerbach Center.
Verdict: TBD (likely hit)
11. Joe Mazzulla wins Coach of the Year
Too many teams overachieved (Cleveland and Detroit chief among them) for voters to right their wrong after ignoring Mazzulla last season.
Verdict: TBD (likely miss)
12. Celtics don’t lose more than two games in a row … for second straight season
It’s absurd that the 2024-25 Celtics had only two losing streaks, both of only two games: December 23 to 25 (Orlando, Philly) and February 26 to 28 (Detroit, Cleveland).
That’s two straight seasons without losing more than two games in a row, and they only did that six total times over the course of 164 games.
Verdict: Hit
13. Celtics win 62 games and repeat as NBA champions
OK, we missed by one win. We don’t think we’ll whiff on on the second half of that prediction.
Verdict: Near miss/TBD
In fact, here are six more bold postseason predictions to bring us to a tidy 19 season predictions before Banner 19:
1. The Kornet Game is coming
Every playoff run has at least one instance where a bench presence leaves an indelible mark on a postseason win. Think Leon Powe in Game 2 of the 2008 Finals, or the “Shrek and Donkey” game that Glen Davis and Nate Robinson tag-teamed during the 2010 Finals.
Kornet is going to play an even bigger role than he did last postseason (10.2 minutes per game in 13 playoff appearances) and his energy is going to tilt at least one game.
2. Tatum is East Finals MVP, too
If we suspect that we’re steamrolling towards a Celtics-Cavaliers showdown, then Tatum is key to Boston’s chances of getting to the Finals. His averages in four regular-season meetings with Cleveland: 33.5 points, 10 rebounds, 6.8 assists, 1.5 blocks, and 1.3 steals while shooting 45 percent from the floor and 40.5 percent beyond the 3-point arc.
If we had to pick a sneaky dark horse to snag any MVP other than Tatum, keep an eye on Porzingis.
3. Jrue Holiday finds his 3-point powers
In 15 games after returning initially from his mallet finger ailment, Holiday shot 39.1 percent (27 of 69) beyond the 3-point arc. He seemed to regain his corner superpowers, routinely busting out his new Dr. Evil pinky finger celebration.
4. Brown’s defense is key for a second straight year
All eyes are on Brown’s knee, and the Celtics absolutely need him to leave a mark on the postseason journey the way he did last year.
We suspect Brown’s biggest impact will be on the defensive side, with a willingness to grind through the knee pain to defend the likes of Jalen Brunson, Donovan Mitchell, and Gilgeous-Alexander on the biggest stages.
That trio accounted for three of Brown’s top nine most frequent matchups during the regular season and represented some of his toughest covers.
5. Tatum averages 7.5 assists per game in postseason
Tatum averaged 4.9 assists per game during the 2023-24 regular season, and that mark spiked to 6.3 in the postseason. In 2024-25, his regular-season assist average spiked to 6.0 helpers per game, and we suspect that number will pop again in the postseason.
Whether it’s just more opportunity with bigger minutes, or all the attention he’ll draw generating quality looks for others, the triple-double watch is going to be a nightly event with Tatum.
6. The path will be bumpier … but the Celtics will not be denied
The Celtics made Banner 18 look easy while posting a 16-3 mark in the postseason. We all know it wasn’t as breezy as they made it look, particularly the four-game sweep of the Pacers in the East finals. But the East is undeniably better, and Boston is going to be challenged if opponents are healthier than they were a year ago.
Still, it’s hard to see any team taking four games out of seven against this team. Health will be key but the Celtics are poised and hungry for another title.
Programming Note: Tune into “Warriors Pregame Live” at 6 p.m. PT on Tuesday on NBC Sports Bay Area before the Warriors and Grizzlies tip-off. Immediately after the final buzzer, tune back in for “Warriors Postgame Live.”
How Draymond Green stacks up against his fellow NBA Defensive Player of the Year candidates on the court is up for debate, but there is no question he has one advantage over the competition off the court.
The Warriors forward, along with Cleveland forward Evan Mobley, Oklahoma City Thunder forward Lu Dort and Atlanta Hawks guard Dyson Daniels likely will be the finalists for the award, and Cavaliers star point guard Darius Garland explained on Friday’s episode of FanDuel TV’s “Run It Back” why his teammate is most deserving of the honor.
"Draymond Green has a cheat code with his podcast."
“Evan really deserves it,” Garland said of Mobley. “A young guy in the league that’s really starting to come into his own. And defense, that’s his mindset, trying to stop the best defenders, try to protect the paint, trying to protect the rim as much as he can. If you guys watch the games, you see what his abilities are, you see how he affects shots and other defenders …
“We really have to advocate for him a lot since he’s so quiet. There was no shots are Draymond, that’s my bro. But Evan Mobley definitely deserves Defensive Player of the Year.”
The off-the-court advantage that Green has, is his podcast, “The Draymond Green Show With Baron Davis,” where he continuously has campaigned for the award. And, as Garland believes, rather successfully.
“I think we’re just going to go the media route, have the media just do what they do,” Garland said about campaigning for Mobley. “We’ve been tweeting it a little bit, we’ve been putting it out there just on our end. I mean, Draymond really has a cheat code with his podcast, he can really go on there every day, which is super cool and it’s really working.”
Green currently is the betting favorite to win his second career award on a number of gambling sites, and only has strengthened his DPOY case in recent months since the Warriors’ blockbuster trade for star forward Jimmy Butler on Feb. 5.
However, Garland and the Cavs’ campaign for Mobley might just be heating up …
April 15 will forever be a special day for baseball.
On this day 78 years ago, Jackie Robinson made his MLB debut for the Brooklyn Dodgers and broke the sport’s color barrier. Twenty-eight years ago, commissioner Bud Selig announced that Robinson’s No. 42 would be retired across the league.
On Tuesday, however, Robinson’s number will once again be on the back of every player.
Jackie Robinson Day was first held on April 15, 2004. Five years later, a new tradition was born when every player, manager and coach began wearing No. 42 for the celebration.
That custom will continue on Tuesday, with all organizations are sporting No. 42 in Dodger blue regardless of their regular uniform colors. Players, managers, coaches and umpires will also wear a “42” patch on the side of their hats.
All 30 MLB teams will be in action on Tuesday, with Robinson’s Dodgers hosting the Colorado Rockies in Los Angeles.
MLB is also planning a league-wide pregame tribute video produced by MLB Network and featuring former pro softball player AJ Andrews.
MLB commissioner Rob Manfred and Robinson’s widow, Rachel Robinson, will be at the Jackie Robinson Museum in New York to welcome participants from local Nike Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities programs.
Down in Florida, MLB’s Jackie Robinson Training Complex in Vero Beach will host a minor league game between the Clearwater Threshers and the Palm Beach Cardinals at historic Holman Stadium, where Robinson once played. The game will raise money to support vital programs and services in Indian River County.
The 2024-25 NHL season will mercifully come to an end for the Boston Bruins on Tuesday night when they host the New Jersey Devils at TD Garden.
The B’s were expected to be an Eastern Conference contender this season, but instead they have fallen to the bottom tier of the league standings.
The good news for the Bruins is they could have a top-five pick in the upcoming 2025 NHL Draft. Losing their final game to the Devils would help that cause.
In fact, the Bruins would clinch the fourth-worst record in the league and the fourth-best odds to win next month’s 2025 NHL Draft Lottery if they lose to the Devils in regulation on Tuesday.
A regulation loss Tuesday would give the Bruins a final record of 33-40-9 (75 points). The Devils have nothing to play for, though, so there is no clear incentive for them to try to win this game. They are locked in to third place in the Metropolitan Division and will play the Carolina Hurricanes in the first round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The two teams above the Bruins in the standings are the Seattle Kraken and Philadelphia Flyers. The Kraken have played 81 games and own a 35-40-6 record (76 points), while the Flyers have played 80 games and own a 33-37-10 record (76 points).
If the Bruins are tied with the Kraken at the end of the season, they will finish below Seattle in the standings (with better lottery odds) due to having fewer regulation wins. If the Bruins are tied with the Flyers at the end of the season, they would finish above Philly (with worse lottery odds) due to having more regulation wins.
The worst-case scenario for the Bruins is finishing with the sixth-worst record. This would require a win over the Devils, a regulation loss by the Kraken in their final game, and the Flyers earning one point (or zero) from their last two matchups.
Getting the best possible lottery odds is the last objective for the Bruins this season as they enter game No. 82. It’s been an awful season for the Original Six franchise, but there could be a reward coming soon depending on how the draft lottery shakes out in May.
Luka Doncic spent almost seven seasons with the Mavericks before his surprise move [Getty Images]
Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Doncic has become the first non-American player to top the list of the NBA's most popular jerseys.
The 26-year-old Slovenian, who joined the Lakers in February from the Dallas Mavericks in a huge three-way trade deal, is the first player other than Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry or LeBron James of the Lakers to top the list since the 2012-13 regular season.
The five-time All Star was described as a "one-of-a-kind, young global superstar" by the Lakers when he made his move.
Curry is second on the list, and James third, with Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics and Jalen Brunson of the New York Knicks rounding out the top five.
The Lakers lead the most popular team merchandise list ahead of the Celtics, Warriors, Knicks and Chicago Bulls with results for both categories based on sales from the NBA store's official site during the regular season.
Since the sport's trade deadline on 6 February, jersey sales via the site are up 21% compared to the same period last year, primarily driven by Doncic's trade.
The Calgary Flames (39-27-14) will host the Pacific Division
champions Vegas Golden Knights (49-22-9).
After securing two points comfortably against San Jose, the
Flames’ next mission is to topple the four-time Pacific Division champs. While
the Calgary faithful will also be hoping for favorable outcomes in St. Louis’ and
Minnesota’s final regular season games, the onus is on the Flames to beat the Knights
in regulation.
HEADS 2 HEAD
That might be an uphill battle to climb considering Vegas
has beaten Calgary in all three games so far, including shutouts in the first
two.
Vegas is second in the power play, and are armed with the
returning Tomas Hertl (who did not play in the Knights’ last game with the
Flames) who has the sixth-highest power play goals in the league this season. It
does bode in the Calgary’s favor that since March 26, they are first in the
penalty kill, going 17-for-18.
The Knights also average 36.3 shots on goal per game to the
Flames, which is the second-highest towards any team. At the same time, Calgary’s
save percentage at even strength situations against Vegas is the eighth-worst in
the league.
Dustin Wolf is in a fight of his life.
Meanwhile, the Knights’ save percentage is the second-highest
against the Flames, who aren’t helping their case by averaging 23.3 shots of
goal per game against Vegas, which is the second-lowest. Calgary’s power play
has been the usual disappointing story, and when put in numbers, they are 3-for-20 in April.
In that same time period, the Knights' PK ranked 10th.
TALE OF THE TAPE (SKATERS)
TALE OF THE TAPE (GOALIES)
We're not going to sugarcoat this, but it's going to take a heck of a Herculean effort to pull out a win at the Saddledome over the Vegas Golden Knights. But for a team that has gotten victories over conference leaders Washington and Winnipeg this season, it is very much in the realm of possibility for Calgary to squeeze out another W.
April 15 will forever be a special day for baseball.
On this day 78 years ago, Jackie Robinson made his MLB debut for the Brooklyn Dodgers and broke the sport’s color barrier. Twenty-eight years ago, commissioner Bud Selig announced that Robinson’s No. 42 would be retired across the league.
On Tuesday, however, Robinson’s number will once again be on the back of every player.
Jackie Robinson Day was first held on April 15, 2004. Five years later, a new tradition was born when every player, manager and coach began wearing No. 42 for the celebration.
That custom will continue on Tuesday, with all organizations are sporting No. 42 in Dodger blue regardless of their regular uniform colors. Players, managers, coaches and umpires will also wear a “42” patch on the side of their hats.
All 30 MLB teams will be in action on Tuesday, with Robinson’s Dodgers hosting the Colorado Rockies in Los Angeles.
MLB is also planning a league-wide pregame tribute video produced by MLB Network and featuring former pro softball player AJ Andrews.
MLB commissioner Rob Manfred and Robinson’s widow, Rachel Robinson, will be at the Jackie Robinson Museum in New York to welcome participants from local Nike Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities programs.
Down in Florida, MLB’s Jackie Robinson Training Complex in Vero Beach will host a minor league game between the Clearwater Threshers and the Palm Beach Cardinals at historic Holman Stadium, where Robinson once played. The game will raise money to support vital programs and services in Indian River County.
The Vancouver Canucks’ young stars were out in full force tonight in the team’s 2–1 overtime win against the San Jose Sharks. Linus Karlsson and Jake DeBrusk scored for the Canucks, with the latter reaching a new career-high for goals in one season. Karlsson is one of the seven players in Vancouver’s lineup tonight who have played at least one game with the Abbotsford Canucks this season. Three of the seven made their NHL debuts within the past two games. One of these players is Nikita Tolopilo, who started his first NHL game tonight and made 15 saves on 16 shots against.
Tolopilo has had a stupendous 2024–25 season with Abbotsford, starting 34 of the team’s 69 games so far this season. He has won 18 of his starts, four of which have been shutouts. In his past 10 games, he has stopped 256 of 280 shots against, putting up a .914 SV% and a shutout. In his NHL debut tonight, he had a .938 SV%.
“I think it’s kind of a long journey to get my first initial start, but I’m really proud of myself and really thankful to all coaches, all teammates, to my agent, to my family, who support me all the way,” Tolopilo said about his first NHL start.
Another Canucks prospect who made his debut tonight is Kirill Kudryavstev, a seventh-round gem in the 2022 NHL Draft. This season was his first with Abbotsford, as he’d previously spent the past three years with the Soo Greyhounds. In 63 games played with Abbotsford, he has scored five goals and added 21 assists. Tonight, he put up one shot and blocked three in 13:33 minutes played. He played relatively calmly in his own zone while adding pressure on the Sharks’ puck carriers to help Vancouver gain possession.
"I haven't seen him since camp. I think there's something there. I think there's a good shot for him down the road, because some good feet, good brain, good stick. I thought he was really good," Canucks Head Coach Rick Tocchet said of Kudryavstev's performance tonight.
Ty Mueller, who made his NHL debut the game before, suited up for his second game with Vancouver tonight. He had two good setups for linemate Jake DeBrusk early in the first and second periods that ultimately did not convert. While he didn’t get as many minutes tonight (9:39), he blocked two shots and made one hit.
“I love to see them up here. They deserve it. They have both had a really good year down in Abbotsford. So no, I’m really happy for them, and they work hard. So it’s always fun to see guys taking that step and get a chance up here, because I think the guys in Abbotsford deserves that,” Karlsson said of his Abbotsford teammates making their way up to Vancouver.
Around halfway through the first period, the Canucks were given a four-minute power play after Elias Pettersson (D) ended up on the receiving end of a high-stick. Despite not capitalizing on the opportunity, the team launched eight shots at Alexander Georgiev including a great chance by Pius Suter. Before tonight, Vancouver’s power play had scored five goals in the past 12 opportunities, taking place over the span of five games. Even with five power play opportunities, Vancouver was still not able to score on the man-advantage.
One player who had a bit of a rough night was Victor Mancini, who took three penalties throughout the entire game. The second penalty that he took, for interfering with Tyler Toffoli while trying to clear him from Vancouver’s area, led to the game’s opening goal for the Sharks. With that being said, he also had a fast dash near the end of the second period to help set up a chance for Aatu Räty and Kiefer Sherwood.
While the young players made an impact tonight, at the end of the game, the spotlight was all on Canucks Captain Quinn Hughes. He dominated the bulk of the extra frame and ultimately potted an assist on DeBrusk’s game-winning goal to tie Alex Edler’s franchise record in career points by a defenseman (409). With this, Hughes will look to break the record in the team’s final game of the season against the Vegas Golden Knights.
"I was lucky enough to watch Edler break it. I think it was my first career game when he did. Very honoured. It’s been a blessing to play here," Hughes said postgame of tying the franchise record.
"He's a pleasure to coach. He loves the game. He wants to win. He wants to keep getting better his game," Tocchet added of Hughes' season as a whole. "He's emerging every day as a leader. He's probably hurting more than anybody about not making the playoffs."
All in all, tonight’s debuts were pretty solid for Kudryavstev and Tolopilo, while Mueller built on his first game by putting himself out there more offensively. Tonight’s game was not entirely about collecting points, but more-so about seeing what the Canucks’ future holds in the players who have succeeded in Abbotsford this season.
Stats and Facts:
Drew O’Connor becomes the first player in Canucks history to play more than 82 games in one season
Canucks sweep season series against the Sharks, going 4–0–0
Quinn Hughes plays more than 30 minutes in one game for the sixth time this season
Quinn Hughes ties Alex Edler’s record for most points by a defenseman in franchise history (409)
With his 28th of the season, Jake DeBrusk notches a new career-high in goals scored
Scoring Summary:
1st Period:
No scoring.
2nd Period:
4:20 - SJS: Macklin Celebrini (25) from Tyler Toffoli and Luca Cagnoni (PPG)
3rd Period:
9:02 - VAN: Linus Karlsson (3) from Teddy Blueger and Drew O’Connor
Overtime:
4:42 - VAN: Jake DeBrusk (28) from Quinn Hughes and Brock Boeser
Up Next:
The Canucks play in their last game of the season on Wednesday night at Rogers Arena for fan appreciation night. They’ll be taking on the Golden Knights, the current Pacific Division leaders. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 pm PT.
Make sure you bookmark THN's Vancouver Canucks site and add us to your favourites on Google News for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more. Also, be sure to leave a comment at the bottom of the page and engage with other passionate fans through our forum.
Mookie Betts, right, celebrates with Freddie Freeman after hitting a two-run home run in the first inning of a 5-3 win over the Colorado Rockies at Dodger Stadium on Monday night. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
The Dodgers finally solved their recent offensive woes on Monday.
And the answer, it turned out, wasn’t much of a mystery.
Sure, manager Dave Roberts noted in his pregame media address, the Dodgers needed to be more selective at the plate, coming off a 3-6 skid over the last two weeks in which they’d hit .218 as a team and averaged barely three runs per game.
“When you’re swinging and trying to cover every pitch, all parts of the zone, that’s tough to do in the big leagues,” Roberts said. “I think having an idea of where you want to hunt is a good start for us.”
During afternoon batting practice, the Dodgers’ hitting coaches changed up the routine, too, having batters take swings off a high-velocity pitching machine — rather than soft tosses from members of the staff — in hopes of improving the offense’s mediocre production against fastballs.
“We always prioritize hitting velocity, and that’s something we haven’t done great,” hitting coach Robert Van Scoyoc said. “So, thought it was a good day to do it.”
But the biggest difference on Monday, in the Dodgers’ 5-3 win over the Colorado Rockies, was to the lineup itself.
Dodgers pitcher Dustin May celebrates after striking out Colorado's Michael Togliato end the fourth inning Monday. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
And, for arguably the first time this season, the Dodgers’ Big 3 looked like their terrifying, thunderous selves — setting the tone, leading the way and quieting questions about the recently sluggish offense by keying a season-high 10-hit performance from the team.
“Those guys, they're perennial All-Stars for a reason,” Roberts said. “And having them do what they do is certainly helpful.”
On Monday, the Dodgers (12-6) were reminded of that from the very start.
Betts hit a two-run home run in the top of the first, after Ohtani led the game off with a single. Ohtani went yard himself in the third inning, collecting his fifth long ball of the season on a no-doubt blast to center. Freeman tacked on two hits in a return to form following time away on the injured list.
Combined, they were seven for 14 with three RBIs and all five runs scored — a stat line that would have been bigger if two long drives from Ohtani didn’t die at the warning track on a crisp Chavez Ravine night.
“We just gotta continue to have good at-bats,” Betts said.
Those weren’t the only contributions that aided the Dodgers in their series-opening win.
Dustin May continued his strong return to health with a six-inning, one-run, seven-strikeout gem against the Rockies (3-13) and a lineup that hadn’t scored in a whopping 32 innings until an RBI double from Kyle Farmer in the fifth.
“It wasn’t fun giving up the first run in five games for them,” May joked, “but it was a solid start, so can’t complain.”
Will Smith, who was batting fourth with Teoscar Hernández out because of a stomach bug, also had two hits and two RBIs, improving to eight for 11 when batting with runners in scoring position.
Still, it was the three MVPs atop the Dodgers' lineup that injected life back into their scuffling offense, grinding out the kind of productive and taxing at-bats that had been missing in recent weeks.
Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani beats a throw to Colorado first baseman Michael Toglia for a single Monday night. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Entering Monday, Ohtani was batting just .219 over his last eight games, cooling off from his blistering start. Same story with Betts, who hit .250 with just one extra base hit over his last 10 contests.
Then there was Freeman, the iron-man first baseman who reluctantly went on the injured list after re-aggravating his surgically repaired ankle earlier this month while slipping in the shower. After a one-for-seven showing in his return this past weekend against the Chicago Cubs, he opened with a single in the first and double in the third, before later reaching on an error in the sixth that led to a key insurance run.
Betts said the trio wasn’t feeling added pressure to snap the club out of its offensive funk. He noted that “everybody feels that responsibility, just because we all can do it.”
“We all know we’ve been struggling,” Betts said. “Everybody is trying to be the guy to get us out. But I think we have to kind of go the opposite way and stop trying so hard and just kind of let it happen ... when you just let things happen, just play the game like you always do, good things tend to happen.”
Nonetheless, the game is a lot easier for the Dodgers when their superstar trio is producing.
And on Monday, it trickled down to one of the club’s better all-around offensive showings. The Dodgers struck out just three times. They drew five walks. And they constantly “created stress,” as Roberts proudly pointed out, even though they squandered the opportunity to put more crooked numbers on the board by going just two for 10 with runners in scoring position.
“We took our walks, [created] a lot of traffic, really got to the starter,” Roberts said. “[We got] back to kind of who we are.”
Postgame, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza discusses what he saw in Monday's 5-1 win over the Twins...
Acuña making his mark
The Mets haven’t received much from the bottom of the order so far this season.
But on Monday night, Luisangel Acuña stepped up and put together one of his strongest showings of the year to this point -- reaching base three times and causing havoc with his electric speed.
The youngster got things started for New York in the top of the third as he led off the inning with a walk and then proceeded to steal second before coming around to score three batters later on a Pete Alonso single.
Two innings later, he lined a double down the right-field line, but was stranded there.
Acuña then led off the top of the seventh with a perfectly-placed bunt single down the third base line -- and he came around to score one two batters later on Juan Soto’s second homer of the season.
“Every time we get contributions from the bottom of the lineup it’s important,” Mendoza said. “Today Acuña had the walk, double, he got us going with a bunt single, stole a base. There’s a lot of different ways he can help us win games.”
Acuña is now riding a four-game hitting streak.
This recent hot stretch comes at a perfect time as Jeff McNeil continues to progress through his rehab assignment and will likely take over the bulk of the playing time at second base before you know it.
But Acuña could potentially continue finding his way into the lineup in center with Jose Siri now expected to miss significant time with a fractured tibia.
Is Vientos turning the corner?
He just might be.
After roping a go-ahead RBI double into the right-center field gap in the top of the sixth, Vientos now has knocks in three straight games and he’s driven in a run with a extra base-hit on back-to-back days.
He still has a ways to go to snap this early-season skid, but Mendoza is certainly happy with what he’s seen from the 25-year-old over the past few games.
“Overall he’s been giving us really good at-bats,” he said. “The results we haven’t got any -- but it’s a good sign, especially to hit it like that. I think it was a sinker and when he’s doing that those are some good signs for him.”
Vientos returning to form would be a huge boost for this struggling offense.
Mark Vientos drives a double and Pete Alonso scores all the way from first
Macklin Celebrini scored his 25th goal of the season but the San Jose Sharks lost the Vancouver Canucks 2-1 and now have a ten-game losing streak.
San Jose dealt with multiple injuries, which required three call-ups before the game. Luca Cagnoni, Jimmy Schuldt, and Danil Gushchin were all summoned from the San Jose Barracuda on short notice.
Dutchman struck on way to third consecutive victory
Alpecin-Deceuninck and UCI join with condemnation
The spectator who threw a bottle at Mathieu van der Poel during Sunday’s Paris-Roubaix has surrendered to Flemish police. French justice officials launched an investigation after the Dutchman had a plastic bottle hurled at his face during his triumphant ride to a third consecutive Paris-Roubaix victory.
Belgian newspaper Het Nieuwsblad reported on Monday that the spectator who launched the projectile had since surrendered to Flemish police. And public prosecutor Filiep Jodts told the BBC: “We can confirm that the man presented himself to the police. An official report was drawn up, in which his statement was recorded. The Public Prosecution Service will decide in the coming days what action should be taken.”
