On Tuesday, New Jersey Devils head coach Sheldon Keefe announced that the newcomer will make his season and team debut in a tough matchup against the red-hot Dallas Stars.
It will be Hellebuyck's first start since April 13, when he made his final appearance as a member of the Winnipeg Jets, a loss to the Vegas Golden Knights in which he allowed six goals on 38 shots. The Stars enter Tuesday having won their last five straight games and will look to make it six versus the Devils.
The Michigan native has solid career numbers against Dallas, though they have soured of late. In 32 career meetings, Hellebuyck is 14-12-6 with a 2.59 goals-against average and a .916 save percentage. Over his last seven matchups with the Stars, however, the 33-year-old has just one win, with a 3.20 goals-against average and a .876 save percentage.
Now Hellebuyck gets a fresh start in New Jersey. The Devils acquired him in a six-asset trade package that sent Dawson Mercer, recent 12th overall pick Alexander Command, depth center Nick Bjugstad, depth goaltender Nico Daws and a pair of draft picks to Winnipeg.
Hellebuyck finished his tenure with the Jets with a 345-208-55 record, a 2.58 goals-against average and a .916 save percentage in 625 games. He leads the franchise in nearly every major goaltending category, including games played, wins, losses, overtime losses, shutouts, time on ice, goals-against average and save percentage.
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.
If Mitchell Starc had his way, Australia would wipe out everything that happened before lunch in an extraordinary opening day of the series decider against South Africa in Cape Town. But his finale will feature on highlights for a long time to come.
ST PETERSBURG, FLORIDA - OCTOBER 26: A general view inside the stadium during the National Anthem prior to game three of the 2026 World Series between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field on October 26, 2026 in St Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Tampa Bay Rays played 162 games in the regular season and easily proved they were the best team in the American League. They did this with effective pitching, amazing defense, excellent scouting, well worked at-bats, and fantastic fundamentals.
These are the things that allowed the Rays sweep the New York Yankees in the ALDS and then overcome the Cleveland Guardians in the ALCS.
And then these are the things that have eluded the Rays thus far in the World Series against the best team in the National League, the Milwaukee Brewers.
The Brewers have shown exactly why they are so great.
The hitters will absolutely wear down a pitcher with each at-bat seemingly taking a toll on the unfortunate soul on the mound; when a strikeout does occur, it’s only after an exorbitant amount of fouled off offerings. The Milwaukee pitchers have made quick work of the Rays, either striking them out with ease by expanding the zone or inducing weak contact to perfectly placed fielders. The only thing the Brewers haven’t done is crush the ball out of the ballpark, but there just hasn’t been a need; there have only been two home runs hit this World Series (Frelick and Hicks).
Now the Rays are on the brink of losing their 3rd attempt at a World Series in humiliating fashion, losing all four games, and forced to watch as the Brewers celebrate at Tropicana Field.
It will likely be all hands on deck for the Rays regarding the pitching strategy but Griffin Jax is the probable starter. Over the regular season, Jax had a 3.53 ERA | 3.76 FIP with a 25.3 K% & 7.6 BB% over 112.1 IP. Thus far in the postseason, Jax has a 6.00 ERA | 4.77 FIP with a 23.1 K% & 11.5 BB% over 6 IP. It has been 12 days since Jax last took the mound, taking the loss in game three of the ALCS against Cleveland, allowing three runs on five hits over four innings of work.
The Brewers will have the majority of their pitchers available including the trio of fearsome arms in the backend of their bullpen: Trevor Megill, Abner Uribe, and Aaron Ashby.
Their official starter hasn’t been announced but there are several options. Possibly southpaw Ktlye Harrison, who hasn’t pitched yet this postseason. Milwaukee could also go with Shane Drohan or Dustin May. It will be anyone’s guess as to who Pat Murphy will call upon to try and get the 27 outs needed to secure a World Series title.
It wasn’t that long ago that Alexander Georgiev was the guy in net for the Colorado Avalanche. He was winning games, made the All-Star Game and played a huge role for a team with Stanley Cup hopes.
Now he has no job.
Georgiev enjoyed some success in Colorado. He tied for the NHL lead with 40 wins in 2022-23, then led the league outright with 38 victories the following season.
Of course, the numbers weren’t always great. His save percentage dropped to .897 in 2023-24, and things plummeted the following year.
After struggling in Colorado, Georgiev was traded to the San Jose Sharks, hoping a change of scenery would help him get back on track.
It didn’t.
He finished his time with the Sharks with a .875 save percentage and a 3.88 goals-against average across 31 appearances.
After a brief stint in Buffalo, Georgiev eventually headed back to Russia and joined Spartak Moskva in the KHL. And honestly, he looked better.
He finished the regular season with a 2.37 goals-against average and a .918 save percentage in 24 appearances.
His playoff run wasn’t quite as successful, as he went 1-4 in five appearances, but he still managed to post a .918 save percentage.
So, it’s not like Georgiev completely forgot how to stop pucks.
The bigger question is whether NHL teams believe he can do it consistently over here again.
Is Another NHL Chance Coming?
The season is already a month old and Georgiev remains out of the picture. The New York Rangers might need an extra hand as well as the Edmonton Oilers, but Mike Babcock would likely have him run out of town if we’re being honest.
The end of his NHL tenure, as far as we know, was rather bad. So you can’t blame teams for wanting to avoid Georgiev like the plague or I guess if you want to use a recent example, COVID-19.
For now, the former Avalanche starter remains homeless in the NHL, and with the season already underway, the clock is ticking on his chances of getting back.
Things were looking up for the Philadelphia Flyers when Rasmus Ristolainen returned from a three-week absence, though the defenseman's comeback was ultimately short-lived. Fortunately, though, the Flyers just received some good injury news, and reinforcements are on the way.
With Ristolainen expected to miss approximately two more weeks with a re-aggravation of his previous injury, the Flyers played the Finn on injured reserve, retroactive to Oct. 24.
By creating a roster spot with that transaction, the Flyers paved the way for Cam York, who has been out since Oct. 8 with a hand injury, to return from injured reserve.
York, 25, had only played in five games for the Flyers this season and got off to a slow start, recording no points and stumbling to a -6 rating.
This hasn't been York's first rodeo with the injury bug, either. The Flyers' top-four defenseman played just 66 games in 2024-25, and 74 games last season.
But, now that he's back once again, it's a big boost for the Flyers, who need to reduce Travis Sanheim's workload at some point.
Sanheim has been averaging a whopping 26:39 of ice time over the Flyers' last five games, playing top penalty kill minutes in addition to serving as the second unit power play quarterback with David Jiricek a healthy scratch for the last two games.
York, who scored a career-high seven power play points last year, could jump right back into that role to replace Sanheim if he's feeling up to it in his first game back. and Flyers head coach Rick Tocchet and assistant coach Todd Reirden will have more options at their disposal with York entering the lineup for Tuesday night's game against Columbus.
In another move at least partially related to injury, the Flyers recalled forward Jacob Gaucher from the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.
Gaucher was assigned to the AHL on Sunday; Owen Tippett, who has been day-to-day since Oct. 15, could have returned, but he's not quite close enough to returning to action. Tippett has been skating away from the rest of his Flyers teammates as of late.
The Chicago Blackhawks (3-8-0) had a better showing against the Florida Panthers on Sunday afternoon, but they still managed to skate away with nothing in the standings.
Now, the Blackhawks will end their 7-game home stand by welcoming the Los Angeles Kings (3-5-2), who haven’t been doing much better. The Kings have played one fewer game than the Blackhawks but still slightly edge them out in the overall league standings.
The Kings are closer to the Blackhawks in overall talent than some of their previous (and future) opponents, which should allow both sides to gain some confidence in certain areas of the game.
Scouting Los Angeles
The Los Angeles Kings are coming into this game after playing the night before. They defeated the New York Rangers 6-3 at Madison Square Garden and now have to play the Blackhawks after a long night of travel from New York.
Last season, captain and franchise icon Anze Kopitar hung up his skates after a Hall of Fame-worthy career. Now, with Drew Doughty finishing out his playing days as the team’s captain, they are retooling on the fly. They don’t like being one of the worst teams in the Pacific so far, but it’s the reality of the situation until they pull themselves out of it. The Kings expect to be in the playoffs every year. Most of the time, they get their wish.
Panarin - Laferriere - Kempe
Moore - Byfield - Ward
Laughton - Haula - Armia
Lee - Helenius - Perry
Gustafsson - Clarke
Edmundson - Doughty
Anderson - Dumoulin
Forsberg
Darcy Kuemper started in goal for the Kings against the Rangers, so the Blackhawks are likely to see Anton Forsberg in this one. They will be without Mats Zuccarello, Kevin Fiala, and Alex Turcotte, who are all working their way back from injuries.
At forward, the Kings don’t have Kopitar anymore, and a few guys are on the IR, but that doesn’t mean that they have no talent. This group is led by former Blackhawks star Artemi Panarin, who brings a dynamic ability to generate offense as well as anyone.
On defense, Doughty is still a notable player, but Brandt Clarke is their new number-one guy. Having the elder future Hall of Famer on the same team is quite helpful. If the young Blackhawks want to beat the Kings, pushing the pace against their aging group is one of the keys.
Projected Lines, Defense Pairs, & Goalie For Chicago
The Blackhawks are right there with the Kings at the bottom of the NHL standings. They've lost 3 straight games, and a couple of them have been lousy efforts. Now, they have a chance to bounce back against a team that should be less fresh than they are.
Kantserov - Bedard - Greene
Bertuzzi - Frondell - Donato
Moore - Nazar - Kane
Smith - Greenway - Teravainen
Vlasic - Cole
Kaiser - Levshunov
Korchinski - Rinzel
Knight
Spencer Knight is going to make his 7th start in a row, and his 12th start out of Chicago's 12 games so far. Jeff Blashill said he is going to find time to play Arvid Soderblom at some point, but there have been no back-to-backs yet. That has allowed them to keep going with Knight, who gives them the best chance to win.
The lines are in a blender again. Ryan Greene, who scored his first goal of the season last time out, is going to be on the top line with Connor Bedard and Roman Kantserov. Greene spent a lot of time with Bedard last season, and it was a decent line. Jordan Greenway will go down and be the fourth-line center in Greene's place.
Patrick Kane is moving down to play with Frank Nazar. Oliver Moore will be the third forward on the line as he returns from being a healthy scratch. Andrew Mangiapane comes out for Moore.
On defense, Bowen Byram is not ready to come back yet. He has been skating in a non-contact sweater, but won't play against the Kings. Kevin Korchinski played well enough to earn another game, but it was fair to wonder if Jeff Blashill would agree to do it. Well, Korchinski is going to be in on Tuesday night with another chance to prove himself.
Chicago's Power Play
The Blackhawks are going to try the 5-forward top power play unit again. It hasn't worked well for multiple reasons, but Jeff Blashill is sticking with it. The two units will look like this to start the game on Tuesday:
Unit 1:
Bertuzzi
Kane-Kantserov-Bedard
Teravainen
Unit 2:
Greene
Nazar-Donato-Frondell
Rinzel
The change that Blashill made to address the issue is flipping Patrick Kane and Connor Bedard. If that doesn't get the top unit going, it will be time for them to make more changes to the personnel within the units.
If they don't get out of the basement of the power-play rankings, it is going to be incredibly difficult to turn their season around. After going 0/7 against the Florida Panthers on Sunday, look for them to work hard to finally get one.
The game can be heard locally on AM 720 WGN in the Chicagoland area. It can be seen locally on CHSN. Nationally, you can stream it on ESPN+. The puck will drop shortly after 7:00 PM CT.
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive, and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting on the article below on THN.com or by creating your own post in our community forum.
But hosts all out for 329 after being 140-0 at lunch
For a time, it was heading up there with the worst. David Gower at Leeds in 1989, when Australia topped 600 and declared. Nasser Hussain in Brisbane, 2002, when Australia were 364 for two by the end of the day. Edgbaston 2005, where England lamped 407 from 80 overs. Those were the looming comparisons for captains deciding to bowl at the toss, after Pat Cummins did the same in the third Test at Cape Town, only for South Africa’s openers to smash 140 by lunch. Yet, by day’s end, Australia had taken 10 for a further 189, Mitchell Starc destroying the tail with four wickets in six balls, 329 all out constituting a serious Australian comeback.
What a rollercoaster. The Australian setup has looked frazzled on this tour: confused player selections for the squad, then for the XIs, confused shot selection in the middle, players bouncing around the order with nightwatch duties and injury absences. Here they chose to leave out their best player from the second Test, Scott Boland, for Nathan Lyon, and were forced to leave out their best player of the last decade, Steve Smith, for Josh Inglis, as well as dropping Nic Maddinson and Beau Webster for Cameron Green and Cooper Connolly. The last time a touring Australian side made four non-disciplinary changes was in the West Indies in 1984.
The Vegas Golden Knights are on a three-game skid and will look to get back into the win column on Tuesday. They host the Ottawa Senators at T-Mobile Arena.
Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. PST.
The Golden Knights last played on Saturday against the Columbus Blue Jackets. They tied it up less than seven minutes after Columbus pulled ahead, and kept the game close for the remainder of regulation. Shea Theodore took a penalty early in overtime; the Blue Jackets scored on the ensuing power play, and the Golden Knights fell 2-1 in overtime.
The Senators last played on Saturday against the New York Rangers. They jumped out to a 3-0 lead, fought off New York’s comeback attempt, and scored two empty-net goals to secure a 7-4 win.
Carter Hart left morning skate early with an apparent injury. Golden Knights head coach Ryan Craig said that Hart is being evaluated and that Adin Hill will start in goal. Hill has a 4-1-0 record and an .882 save percentage in five games played this season.
Samuel Ersson is projected to start in net for the Senators. Ersson has a 0-3-0 record and an average save percentage of .835 in five games played this season.
The Golden Knights have lost their last three games and are looking to shake things up. Jonas Røndbjerg and Ville Heinola will enter the lineup for Raphael Lavoie and Dylan Coghlan.
Golden Knights Lines
Ivan Barbashev — Jack Eichel — Mark Stone
Brett Howden — William Karlsson — Mitch Marner
Trevor Connelly — Tomáš Hertl — Braeden Bowman
Marc Gatcomb — Nic Dowd — Jonas Røndbjerg
Defense
Brayden McNabb — Shea Theodore
Jeremy Lauzon — Noah Hanifin
Ville Heinola — Rasmus Andersson
Goaltenders: Carter Hart / Adin Hill
Projected Senators Lines
Fabian Zetterlund — Tim Stützle — Claude Giroux
Warren Foegele — Dylan Cozens — Drake Batherson
Ridly Greig — Shane Pinto — Michael Amado
Nick Cousins — Stephen Halliday — Andre Burakovsky
Defense
Jake Sanderson — Artem Zub
Tyler Kleven — Jordan Spence
Nikolas Matinpalo — Carter Yakemchuk
Goaltenders: Samuel Ersson / Jonas Johansson
Special Teams
VGK power play: 24.4%, 9th
VGK penalty kill: 67.7%, 28th
Senators power play: 11.5%, T-29th
Senators penalty kill: 79.1%, 17th
Game Notes
Last season, the Golden Knights dropped both games against the Senators, finishing 0-1-1. They are 12-2-2 against Ottawa all time.
Golden Knights captain Mark Stone is on a seven-game point streak against the Senators. Stone has four goals and 12 points in eight career games against his former team.
Jack Eichel leads the Golden Knights in scoring this season with 19 points in 12 games. Eichel has 15 goals and 35 points in 25 career games against the Senators.
Tim Stützle leads the Senators in scoring this season with 16 points in 12 games. Stützle has two goals and 10 points in 10 career games against the Golden Knights.
Golden Knights goaltender Carter Hart has a 2-3-0 record and an average save percentage of .900 in five career games against the Senators.
Senators goaltender Sam Ersson is 1-0-0 with a .960 save percentage in one career game against the Golden Knights.
The Golden Knights are 5-2-0 at home this season; the Senators are 3-2-0 on the road.
MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN - OCTOBER 24: Yandy Diaz #2 of the Tampa Bay Rays strikes out for the final out against the Milwaukee Brewers to end the ninth inning in game two of the 2026 World Series at American Family Field on October 24, 2026 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Game 2 of the 2026 World Series ended, to some, in controversy. Yandy Díaz may, or may not, have checked his swing in a full count facing Aaron Ashby, getting himself punched out as the Brewers went up 2-0 in the Fall Classic. The called strike three set off a round of assurances that the check swing challenge system being tested in the minor leagues will fix this, that we will have a perfect game soon.
I’m not sure I want a perfect game. I’m not sure I want a perfect anything.
I wrote almost two years ago as the ABS system loomed on the horizon about preserving a tinge of doubt. That challenge system has turned out great. The most egregious calls, especially earlier in the season, were corrected, but limits on how many reviews you get and internal controls on who and when you can challenge introduced a new layer of in-game tactical decisions, adding friction to the newly-optimized strikezone.
That balance is the one that I’m increasingly interested in finding. Everything is very easy for us now. I can write this from my toilet while on a lunch break from my email job with a burrito in a heat bag on the back of a bicycle about to be dropped off outside my door. The perpetual optimization of the consumer life has made it easier to do nothing but stay home and consume, but has removed bumping into a friend walking down the street or seeing a cool bird because you had to walk through the park to get food yourself.
The increase in LLM usage underscores this as well. Once again I give a pledge to you all that you will never read a word of mine that came from Claude or Chat or any of the New C Words, but I work with people and text (a limited amount) with people and read essays from people that involve a prompt, and maybe a follow-up, and no sweat or creativity afterward. These things cause me great pain to read.
Baseball’s path to optimization hasn’t really made people more stagnant in the same way that DoorDash and streaming services have. Instead, the path to optimization has resulted in the thing that I believe is hurting the watchability of the sport: pitching is too good. We have learned how to add three miles per hour to everyone’s pitch, with an extra three inches of horizontal break to every sweeper, three inches of induced vertical break to everyone’s fastball, we’ve figured out tunneling so the three pitches a reliever features all look the same until past the swing decision point, and we’ve worked out that using five pitchers in a nine-inning game is more effective on a per-inning basis than three.
Indeed, one major reason why the Brewers and Rays are in the World Series in the first place is because they have so managed to optimize pitching. Between Jacob Misiorowski and Freddy Peralta and Aaron Ashby and Drew Rassmussen, this is what you get when you’ve hit the absolute prime in development. The only way to claw any of that back is institutional — I’m in favor of both limiting the number of pitchers you have on your roster, and tying the DH to pitcher usage in some way, but this post isn’t about that.
It’s about baseball losing friction. Once everything is optimized yes we should have a game where everything is decided solely by the players and … OK, yeah, sure, but that also means we never get a Jeffrey Maier, or a Jackie-and-Yogi at home plate, indelible moments of baseball’s history. Sports are meant to have a little mess, just a little, because that’s what we end up talking about.
Last Friday I saw the newly-restored remaster of Ken Russell’s The Devils, one of the more controversial and explicit pieces of film ever made. It was a little inconvenient to get there, as the bus we had to take is the least reliable bus line in the city, the mall the cinema is attached to is very much a liminal space with an elevator that has over the summer induced vertigo more than once. I could have stayed home, pulled up a torrent, watched it on TV not five feet from the desk where I work a full-time job.
But I didn’t, and the experience was better for it. Rolling my eyes at an unreliable bus leads to widening them at Sister Jean cloaked entirely in shadow. Forgoing the free torrent for a paid showing meant whoa I’ve never heard the score like that.
We want optimization, and we should get a good amount of it. This Series is the showcase of the uber-optimized ballclub though, and forgive me for preferring to argue whether Jackie was really out at home plate — and he was.
Last week was some of the best sleep I had gotten in a long time. Climbing into bed with the biggest, dumbest grin on my face, giddily scrolling through my phone on Canis, Reddit, and YouTube, seeing what everyone had to say about just how awesome the Minnesota Timberwolves are. Seriously, it was great.
I would whisper myself to sleep, repeating the mantra “82 and 0, 82 and 0…,” then dream of show-stopping sequences like Ant juggling the ball through traffic and rocking the rim, Melo doing the jump rope shuffle into a one-footed rainbow three, Beringer blocks, Kuminga lobs, TJ step-back threes, and secret handshakes that will be studied by kinesics experts and nonverbal communication researchers for decades.
There were also dreams of glory, of hoisted hardware, of an “anything is possible” redux with the legend himself, KG, sitting courtside, tears of joy glistening in his eyes. One can dream, but most of these dreams actually did happen, so why not that one as well?
Why not us?
Yes, I know the Wolves will officially not be going 82-0 this year, and that’s too bad. I had high hopes we could get it done this year. I’ve reached out to the NBA about reviewing the tape and possibly getting that loss to Cleveland reversed. They haven’t responded, but that’s on them.
Barring a reversal, just because we’re not going 82-0 doesn’t mean we can’t go 81-1, and putting the Cavs debacle aside there is still so much to be giddy about when it comes to this new look Wolves team. So let’s overreact, shall we? No single loss is going to stop us from listening to our hearts on repeat.
The heart is always right.
Best in the West
Is this year’s Wolves squad reminding anyone else of the 95-96 Chicago Bulls? You don’t even have to squint to see that Anthony Edwards is obviously MJ, while Scottie Pippen has undergone some sort of bifurcation process and split off into both LaMelo Ball and Jaden McDaniels. Then you’ve got defensive stalwart and human highlight reel Jonathan Kuminga, the Stifle Tower Rudy Gobert, Ayo Dosunmu, TJ Shannon, the French Prince Joan Beringer – hold up…
Are the Wolves actually better than the 95-96 Bulls? How is that even possible?
With a small enough sample size, anything is possible.
Also worth noting, in that historic Bulls season, they played their third game at home against the Toronto Raptors, and their next game on the road against…you guessed it…the Cleveland Cavaliers. Of course, unlike us, they beat Cleveland, but they weren’t on the second night of a back-to-back. Just something to consider when we’re comparing our respective places in NBA history.
That Bulls team also still holds the best net rating in NBA history at +13.4. While I do think that’s beatable, I firmly believe the Wolves have a real shot at breaking the NBA record for point differential, previously held by the 2024-25 Oklahoma City Thunder at +12.9 PPG.
Right now, even with the loss to the Cavs, the Wolves are second in the league in point differential at a still absurd +17 PPG, behind only Micah Nori’s Portland Trail Blazers. We love Micah, but there’s no way his team keeps this up. The Wolves, on the other hand, will, because of the power of friendship and Rudy’s goatee that Chris Finch strokes for good luck when no one is looking.
If the Wolves continue to not just beat the teams they should beat, but consistently crush them, a double-digit differential is sustainable.
And it wouldn’t hurt to embarrass some of our fellow West contenders while we’re at it.
By the way, last year’s Melo-led Hornets team had a double-digit point differential from January 3rd onward, and this team is leaps and bounds better than that fun but flawed Hornets squad. To add to that, as those mid-season buzzsaw buzzers were just starting to take flight, one game that especially turned heads was a 27-point drubbing of the Thunder in OKC.
Can we get in on that, please?
Ant is winning MVP
I’ve hitched my wagon to the Ant MVP train, and so far so good. With LaMelo allowing him to slide into his more natural shooting guard position, this fully realized version of Ant has never had this much space to work with. So far, after four games, he’s putting up 33.3 points per game on 72.1% true shooting. Ant has increased both his scoring and true shooting averages every year, which means…cue Disco Stu…
If the Wolves go 81-1, it will be hard not to give him the nod. But if, for whatever reason, something goes horribly wrong and the team finds itself struggling to claw its way to 60 wins, I think those numbers will still suffice, and Ant will have himself his first real piece of NBA hardware.
Ayo 6MOY campaign loading
It’s as simple as this: Ayo is a stud, and the Wolves are going to be the best team to come out of the West. Historically, the studliest bench player on the best team wins Sixth Man of the Year. This isn’t even an overreaction; it’s just the most logical take.
Jaden makes his first all-star game
Your favorite player’s favorite player gets to play on everybody’s favorite night. /s
Jaden will get a considerable number of player votes. What remains to be seen is how he fares in the fan voting, but with this team’s popularity having skyrocketed, I expect to see some favoritism swing the Wolves’ way. He’s more than earned the recognition.
What’s more, Jaden will win all-star MVP because Ant will continuously feed him the ball, and then at some point Jaden will do this…
Terrence Shannon Jr. will finish top-10 in the league in three-point percentage
Hey, he’s shooting 50% from long-range. Did I see this coming? No. Is it sustainable? Yes. How so? I don’t know. Through Crunch, all things are possible.
We’ve all heard the stories of TJ as a known gym rat. First player to arrive at the gym, last player to leave. It should come as no surprise that a player with his work ethic has managed to add this wrinkle to his game. I, for one, welcome our new three-point overlord.
Elsewhere Around the League
Miami Heat will miss the playoffs, again
The Heat are bad. Like, really, really bad. It’s basically Giannis and an assortment of chips, and I guess Bam but sometimes he is so invisible that calling him out at all, I feel, is one acknowledgement too many. And by the way, aren’t you supposed to trade the bag of chips? That’s how we got Ayo.
From what I’ve seen, this is a play-in team, at best. To all the talking heads out there who think the Heat will be fine: stop it. They will not be fine. They are atrocious, and after the Kalshi shareholder’s stunt in Milwaukee, I choose to bask in the schadenfreude of it all.
If I go to the gym and the Heat are playing, I will watch the game while on the treadmill and declare myself an honorary member of the 2026-27 Miami Heat.
Ty Jerome for Most Improved Player is a lock
Who had Ty Jerome averaging nearly 30 points per game on the 4-0 Memphis Grizzlies on their bingo card? And if you did, have you ever actually played bingo before?
With Ja finally gone, the Grizzlies are no longer just “fine in the West”. They’re on a roll, with Ty as the engine. He’s always been a bucket getter, but for the first time in his career he’s getting a chance to really let it fly, putting up nearly 20 shots a game (his previous high was 8.8 two seasons ago on the Cavs).
From logo threes to his signature floater, there’s no reason to believe he won’t keep his scoring output at least in the low-to-mid-20 point-per-game range. And if the Grizzlies keep winning, this race is all but over.
Denver is on life support
I will admit to this very much being confirmation bias.
It doesn’t help that the Nuggets got absolutely dismantled the other night at home by a Golden State Warriors team we all project to be pretty bad this season. But the Nuggets peaked in 2023, and they haven’t done much to disabuse that notion.
While they still might win enough games purely on the back of professional horse whisperer Nikola Jokić, they are nowhere near the top-4 and should probably be looking over their shoulder at those pesky Memphis Grizzlies and Portland Trail Blazers nipping at their heels. However the regular season pans out, I’m just not buying it.
The top two West teams are not who we thought they were
With OKC’s devastating key injuries (Jalen Williams and Cason Wallace are expected to miss several months, if not the entire season), the sky isn’t falling for them, but it is lowering considerably and moving quickly while doing so.
Meanwhile, the San Antonio Spurs’ rather clunky start is showing us that progress is indeed not linear. Even if they are choosing to cruise to the playoffs, that could make things awfully contentious in the upper bracket of the Western Conference as the rest of the season shakes out.
The Houston Rockets have been the most impressive team in the West so far, besides the Wolves, of course. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if those four teams are the ones wrestling for top seeding.
Obviously, the Wolves will be sitting comfortably in first, 20 or so games ahead of the next tier of teams when it’s all said and done. 81-1 is undefeated. That made more sense in my head.
Yaxel Lendeborg could be the first player to retire during his rookie season due to having lost all respect for the league
When asked what contributed to his surprise decision to leave the NBA so abruptly, Lendeborg simply said, “I ain’t no h**.”
Editor’s note: Technically, Gene Melchiorre retired from the NBA after his point-shaving scandal in college was discovered. Despite being the first overall pick, he had no way of fighting the story and walked away before Maurice Podoloff banned him
Now, you have faces of the league convincing people to gamble their savings away on prediction markets with no repercussions.
That’s sad.
What are your overreactions to the first week of NBA play? Do you agree that the Wolves will finish 81-1? Have you also reached out to the league about the Cavs game? Sound off in the comments below.
The reigning champion Knicks fell to 0-3 on the new season, pointing to either violent regression or a debilitating hangover, depending on who you ask. While fans and media have their theories, head coach Mike Brown points to three on-court causes.
Brown blames missing quality shot attempts, lacking physicality/pace, and the combination of careless turnovers and poor defense in transition, per SNY NBA Insider Ian Begley. Everybody has their piece of the picture, but zoom out and the problem may be a short-term sacrifice that bears fruit in the long run, like one the Knicks dealt with last year.
Brown was brought in partly to, and partly won a championship off, the willingness to use the regular season to experiment over trying to maximize wins. He installed a brand new offensive system, shortened starters’ minutes to save them for the rigors of the postseason, and constantly tried new players and lineups.
This strategy paid off in spades. Karl-Anthony Towns as a passing hub saved their season in the first round, third-stringers stepped up all year round and Jalen Brunson-Jose Alvarado lineups closed the greatest comeback in playoff history.
Coming into 2026-27, Brown has much cooler expectations, being the coach that accomplished the impossible versus the one that’d better or leave town. He’s also watched eight consecutive new NBA teams win and fail to make it back to the NBA Finals, and knows the Knicks can’t afford to be stagnant if they want to repeat.
Given he has more leash and political capital than any New York coach in recent history, and both the incentives and blueprint for innovating, it’s only natural he’d go even further in using the regular season, conceptually, to prioritize spring wins over winter ones. We’ve seen it in numerous ways these first three games, perhaps contributing to the early malaise by throwing new questions at a team trying to cheat off a test from last year.
Despite losing three games by single digits, all of which went down to the wire, the Knicks starters are playing about the same average minutes as they did last year. Brown has held firm with losing and bench-heavy units to see more of those combinations.
Speaking of bench-heavy units, the Knicks have poured 19 minutes into lineups without Brunson or Towns in three games this season. For comparison, outside of garbage time, they played these combinations for 47 minutes, total, in last year’s playoffs.
During training camp, Brown pointed to bigger offensive roles for his wings, so this trend aligns. We’ve seen OG Anunoby self-create much more of his offense.
The offense in general isn’t simply what the Knicks trotted out last season. They’ve heavily leaned into their freelance motion approach over set plays to start the season, a challenge that could help explain their 29th overall offensive start.
Brunson isn’t getting his usual amount of on-ball reps either, with his possession rate dropping from 45.7 percent last season to 29.6 percent this season, per film analyst DJ Zullo. This could be a factor in his poor shooting start.
Brown’s even shifted the rotation in these opening contests, closing with James Wiseman as the primary backup center over Andre Drummond in their latest contest. This, along with adjusting between defensive schemes, has given the Knicks a steady flow of new looks instead of allowing them to ride the championship’s coattails.
While these may make things somewhat tougher in the short term, if Brown is correct like he was last season, they’ll pay off down the line. A Knicks team that’s better prepared to make offensive plays when Brunson’s having a bad night, or rely on a deep bench cut in a pivotal Game 6, is one that’s better prepared to repeat.
There is a downside, as the Knicks are looking to rebuild their mettle and regain their rhythm amid a landscape that’s changing despite familiar faces. The ring bought them at least three games of rope, but if the losing continues, the noise won’t stay quiet.
Brown faced similar circumstances last year and successfully pivoted, so if that situation arose again, there’s no doubt he’d be able to do the same. But if the price for another championship is a 2-6 start in November, Brown, his team, and their fans should be happy to pay it.
On Monday, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman appeared on the FAN Hockey Show and provided a new update on the situation between the Detroit Red Wings and restricted free agent defenseman Simon Edvinsson.
The 23-year-old has reportedly grown tired of the organization and the prolonged delay in getting a new contract, having been eligible for over a year. It sounds increasingly like Detroit is looking to move on from the issue and potentially trade the sixth overall pick from 2021.
"There's a lot of interest in Simon Edvinsson," Friedman said, noting that Detroit is asking a fairly high price. He added that he thinks "the talks there are really picking up."
Friedman also spoke about Edvinsson and Detroit's other player on the way out, center Dylan Larkin, on Saturday during Rogers Saturday Night Hockey.
"The Red Wings continue to take calls on both players; we have heard...they have been asking about young centers either in the NHL or not yet there," Friedman said on his Saturday Headlines segment.
Several clubs have reportedly shown interest in Edvinsson, including the St. Louis Blues, Philadelphia Flyers, Utah Mammoth, Toronto Maple Leafs and Boston Bruins, and each has some intriguing pieces Detroit could target.
The Blues have Dalibor Dvorský, a top-ten pick in 2023, while the Flyers have a pair of young center prospects in Jack Berglund and Jett Luchanko. The Mammoth could offer marquee center prospects Ethan Belchetz and Caleb Desnoyers.
The Maple Leafs are not deep at center but have top-six forward Easton Cowen and center prospect Tinus Luc Koblar. The Bruins may have the most options of all, with Fraser Minten, Dean Letourneau and Dans Ločmelis.
Detroit has plenty of options, and acquiring a reliable forward in return could also help open up the team’s defensive rotation, creating more opportunities for players who aren’t seeing regular minutes, such as Axel Sandin-Pellikka.
The Red Wings still have time to reach a decision, but Edvinsson must sign a new contract before the December 1 deadline for restricted free agents. Otherwise, he would be ineligible to play for the remainder of the season. If Detroit cannot reach an agreement by then, it could mark the beginning of the end for Edvinsson’s time with the organization.
Never miss a story by adding us to your Google News favorites!
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.
Coast 2 Coast Tuesday returns to NBC and Peacock tonight with two action-packed NBA games. First at 8:00 PM ET, Cade Cunningham and the Detroit Pistons take on Jalen Brunson and the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. Later, at 11:00 PM ET, Damian Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers take on Luka Doncic and the Los Angeles Lakers.
See below to find out how to watch both games as well as additional information on how to live stream NBA games on Peacock.
Last season, Portland made the playoffs for the first time since the 2020-2021 season, powered by the emergence of a young core.
Avdija, who is coming off the best season of his career, earned his first career All-Star selection, averaging a career-high 24.2 points per game and 6.7 assists per game.
Donovan Clingan, now in his third NBA season, led the league in offensive rebounds per game (4.5), while Camara continued to establish himself as one of Portland's top defenders, leading the team in steals the last two seasons.
The Trail Blazers, led by new head coach Micah Nori, look to build on last season's success with the return of Damian Lillard, the franchise's all-time leading scorer.
The 14-year veteran missed all of last season while recovering from a torn Achilles suffered in April 2025 during his time with Milwaukee.
How to watch 2026-27 NBA games on NBC and Peacock?
The NBA is back on NBC and Peacock for the 2026-27 season with 100 regular-season games across its three marquee nights of the week: Peacock NBA Monday, Coast 2 Coast Tuesday, and Sunday Night Basketball, beginning Jan. 24, 2027.
All NBA games presented by NBC Sports will stream live on Peacock and all Peacock-exclusive games on Monday nights will also be presented on NBCSN. Telemundo, NBCUniversal’s Spanish-language broadcast network, will present 10 Sunday Night Basketballgames as well as the NBA All-Star Game on Feb. 21, 2027.
What is the full 2026-27 NBA on NBC and Peacock schedule?
You can see the full schedule of 2026-27 NBA games airing on NBC, Peacock, NBCSN, and Telemundo here.
How do I sign up for Peacock to watch NBA games?
Peacock is available across a variety of devices. To get started, find or download the Peacock application on your device or head directly to PeacockTV.com to create a Peacock account. Then, you’re ready to watch!
Peacock offers one of the most comprehensive live sports streaming lineups available today, bringing together the NFL, NBA, MLB, WNBA, Premier League, NCAA football, NCAA basketball, golf, motorsports, and major global sporting events in a single service.
ST PETERSBURG, FLORIDA - JULY 12: Former Tampa Bay Rays Player Evan Longoria waves during his #3 retirement at Tropicana Field prior to a game between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Seattle Mariners on July 12, 2026 in St Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The greatest player in franchise history, Evan Longoria, will be on hand throw out the ceremonial first pitch before game four of the 2026 World Series between the Tampa Bay Rays and Milwaukee Brewers.
Originally drafted by the Rays as the 3rd overall selection of the 2006 draft, Longoria rapidly reached the big leagues by April 2008 and cemented himself as the team’s third baseman for the next decade, completely shattering franchise records along the way. During his 2008 campaign, Longoria became the first player in team history to be awarded the Rookie of the Year.
During his 10-year long tenure with the Tampa Bay Rays, Longoria hit .270/.341/.483 with 261 homeruns, registering a 123 wRC+ over 1,435 games played. The first four years of his career, Longoria was on a Hall of Fame trajectory as he averaged 6.7 fWAR per year, but then injuries began to take a toll on his performance. Still, Longoria provided the Rays with solid defense and offensive production throughout the second half of his time with the Rays.
In 2011, Evan Longoria provided fans with a lifetime memory when he punched the team’s ticket to the postseason with a walk-off homerun during Game 162 to finalize an incredible month long comeback.
To go along with 2008 Rookie of the Year award, Longoria won three Gold Gloves for Tampa Bay and took him a Silver Slugger award in 2009; Longoria also received MVP consideration in six of his 10 seasons with Tampa Bay, placing as high as 6th twice (2010 & 2013). Longoria twice hit three homeruns in a single game and hit for the cycle in 2017, just the second player in franchise history to do so.
Following the 2017 season, Longoria was traded to the San Francisco Giants and played decently for five years, averaging 1.4 fWAR per season. Longoria’s last hurrah came in 2023 with the Arizona Diamondbacks, with whom he reached the World Series.
Evan Longoria officially retired as a member of the Rays in 2025. Then earlier this year, the Rays retired the #3 and inducted Longoria into the Tampa Bay Rays Hall of Fame.
Trevor Connelly is just 20, but the Golden Knights rookie is already giving fans something to get excited about. He has four goals so far and is on pace for 26 this season. Not a bad start for the kid.
Vegas hosts Ottawa Tuesday at 7 p.m. PT at T-Mobile Arena, looking to shake off Saturday’s 2-1 overtime loss to Columbus. Tomas Hertl scored for the Knights, with Connelly and Braeden Bowman picking up assists, but Adam Fantilli ended things in overtime.
Ottawa won’t exactly be arriving quietly, either. The Senators just put up seven goals in a 7-4 win over the Rangers, their highest-scoring game of the season.
Eichel and Stone Have History Against Ottawa
Jack Eichel leads Vegas with 19 points, including six goals and 13 assists. He’s also had the Senators’ number over the years, scoring 15 goals in 25 career games against them. In his last eight matchups with Ottawa, he’s added five goals and five assists.
Mark Stone has eight goals and 15 points this season, and he’s picked up six points in his last four games against the Senators. Vegas will need its top guys to deliver if Ottawa’s offense gets rolling again.
And then there’s Connelly. Four goals already have him tied for the rookie lead, and his 26-goal pace is something Golden Knights fans can dream about. Of course, keeping that up for an entire season is another story, but the early returns are promising.
Can Vegas Slow Down Stützle?
Ottawa’s Tim Stützle is coming in hot, with 16 points on eight goals and eight assists. He’s scored in three straight games and has a point in four consecutive outings.
Vegas can’t afford to give him too much room, especially after what the Senators did to New York.
The Knights have a strong history against Ottawa, going 12-2-0 all time. A win Tuesday would be the 410th regular-season victory in franchise history and give Vegas a chance to get back on track at home.
After letting one slip away in overtime, the Golden Knights will be eager to make this one count.
Kurt Helin
Raphielle Johnson
