ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Freddy Peralta threw six innings of four-hit ball, Liam Hicks lined a two-run single after a fielding error by José Ramírez and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Cleveland Guardians 3-1 Tuesday night to even the AL Championship Series at 1-1.
Game 3 of the best-of-seven series is Thursday night in Cleveland.
Ramírez, whose two-run homer in Game 5 of their AL Division Series against Chicago helped the Guardians become the 11th team to overcome an 0-2 deficit in a best-of-five series, misplayed a grounder in the fourth inning that led to three unearned runs against rookie lefty Parker Messick.
Junior Caminero walked to start that inning and Victor Mesa Jr. grounded into a forceout originally ruled a double play. The Rays challenged the calls at both first and second and Mesa was ruled safe when a video review overturned the out decision by first base umpire Mark Ripperger.
After Jonny DeLuca struck out, Chandler Simpson beat out a high chopper to shortstop, and the Mesa reached third standing up when Ramírez failed to cover the bag.
Ben Williamson followed with a grounder that scooted underneath Ramírez’s glove and between his legs after the ball hit the edge where the artificial turf met the infield dirt. The third baseman played back rather than charging.
Williamson reached second and Simpson went to third. Hicks drove the next pitch to right-center for a 3-0 lead, electrifying the towel-waving, cowbell-ringing crowd of 32,125 fans at Tropicana Field.
Peralta and three relievers didn’t need any more support.
With fans chanting “Freddy! Freddy! Freddy!” Peralta struck out six to earn the win. He was fired up walking off the mound in the sixth after fanning Petey Halpin swinging at a 3-2 changeup.
Kevin Kelly got two outs in the seventh, retiring Ramírez on a fly ball to center with two runners on.
Lefty Ian Seymour replaced him and Chase DeLauter lined an RBI double to the right-field corner.
Seymour struck out Jo Adell swinging at a changeup, leaving runners at second and third. Seymour pitched a 1-2-3 eighth and Bryan Baker finished with a perfect ninth for his fourth postseason save.
Acquired by the Rays from the Mets at the trade deadline, Peralta turned around his season in Tampa Bay going 5-2 with a 3.25 ERA in 10 starts after posting a 4.99 ERA for New York.
Messick, who grew up going to Rays games at the Trop, took the loss after giving up six hits and the three unearned runs in five innings.
Cleveland had won four straight in the postseason for the first time since winning their first six playoff games in 2016 on the way to a World Series berth.
The 98-win Rays swept the New York Yankees before a 7-3 loss in Game 1 on Monday.
No hit for you
Caminero leaped to his left to snag Steven Kwan’s hard liner to third in the fifth and then wagged his finger toward the batter. Caminero, who played all 162 games in the regular season and hit 42 home runs, was in the lineup after a collision with DeLuca on a foul ball in the ninth inning Monday night.
Up Next
Neither team had announced a starter for Thursday night. RHP Nick Martinez (15-6, 3.10 ERA) started Game 3 against the Yankees, allowing two runs and five hits in 3 2/3 innings in a 4-3 victory. RHP Gavin Williams (14-8, 3.76) is on schedule to start for the Guardians. Williams started Games 2 and 5 against the White Sox and tossed an inning in relief in Game 4. He had 24 strikeouts in 11 2/3 innings, allowing two runs and six hits.
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - AUGUST 31: Colin Rea #53 of the Chicago Cubs pitches in a game against the Milwaukee Brewers at Wrigley Field on August 31, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Matt Dirksen/Chicago Cubs/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Welcome back to BCB After Dark: the hippest spot for night owls, early risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. Come on in and join us. It’s always good to see a friendly face. There’s no cover charge. The dress code is casual. There’s a two-drink minimum, but it’s bring your own beverage.
BCB After Dark is the place for you to talk baseball, music, movies, or anything else you need to get off your chest, as long as it is within the rules of the site. The late-nighters are encouraged to get the party started, but everyone else is invited to join in as you wake up the next morning and into the afternoon.
Last evening, I asked you who was the Cubs’ Pitcher of the Year for 2026. Admittedly it was a lot of bad choices, but you tied between Shōta Imanaga and Ben Brown, with both of them getting 24 percent of the vote.
On Tuesday night, I don’t normally do an movie stuff. But I always have time for tunes and you’re free to join us.
For our collection of Halloween jazz for October, we have a cocktail lounge classic in Peggy Lee singing the theme song to the sixties television show “Bewitched.” I bet some of you didn’t even know the theme song had lyrics.
I feel like I should have a martini in my hand while I listen to this. Maybe one of you can wiggle their noses and whip one up for me.
Welcome back to everyone who skips the music.
Colin Rea was not listed among my candidates for Cubs Pitcher of the Year, but at least one of you put in a plug for him in the comments. I think the best you can say about Colin Rea at this stage of his career is he’s a dependable innings eater. He can start and he can relieve. He’s thrown over 120 innings in each of the last four seasons and 137 this past year over 19 starts and 15 relief appearances. In that time, Rea went 4.34 with a record of 8-8. He struck out 101 batters and walked 47. Both Baseball-Reference and Fangraphs had Rea’s WAR last year at 0.4. That’s, well, just a little bit better than replacement value. Which means it’s somewhat below average. But hey, this isn’t Lake Woebegone. At least half the players have to be below average.
The Cubs have a $7.5 million team option on Rea with a $1 million buyout. So essentially, it will cost the Cubs $6.5 million to keep him around in 2027. (Assuming they play a full season in 2027, which isn’t a guarantee.) Would you pick up that option?
On the one hand, Rea has done everything the Cubs have asked of him. He’s not spectacular out there, but he’s not terrible. He’s someone who can fill in when someone gets hurt and won’t complain in between appearances.
On the other hand, Rea is going to be 36 years old next season. His ERA this past year was kind of “meh” at 4.34, but his expected ERA was a poor 5.35. His fielding independent pitching (FIP) was a below average 4.80. It wouldn’t be unfair to say that what little success that Rea had in 2026 was because of the Cubs defense and that the Cubs might be able to get another pitcher who replicate that performance for less salary.
So would you bring Colin Rea back for a third season? Or more precisely, would you pick up his team option? Because technically, the Cubs could possibly decline the option and try to sign him back for less.
Thanks for everyone who stopped by tonight. We enjoyed hosting you. Get home safely. Recycle any cans and bottles. Tip your waitstaff. And join us again tomorrow evening for more BCB After Dark.
ORLANDO, FL - OCTOBER 13: Meleek Thomas #15 of the Cleveland Cavaliers drives to the basket during the game against the Orlando Magic on October 13, 2026 at Kia Center in Orlando, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photo by Gary Bassing/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
The Magic have skilled pieces, they just don’t fit together. That changes when Wagner is able to create for others as easily as he did on Tuesday.
Orlando’s offense makes sense when Wagner is attacking downhill, getting to the line, and kicking out to shooters. This was the offensive formula new head coach Sean Sweeney wants to see from his team going forward.
Second star: Paolo Banchero
24 points, 3 assists, 8 rebounds
The Cavs didn’t have an answer for Banchero inside. He went 7-for-8 in the restricted area and 8-for-10 in the paint overall.
This was a stark contrast to what we saw Sunday. Then, Cleveland’s defense did a good job of containing Banchero by mostly making him a jump shooter as he went 1-for-10 from the field that game. That formula was lost entirely in this matchup in what was an overall awful defensive outing for the Cavs.
Third star: Meleek Thomas
16 points, 0 assists, 3 rebounds
Thomas was the lone Cavalier standout in this game. He made the most of his opportunity in the fourth quarter by putting up 14 of his 16 points then.
It’s worth pointing out that Thomas’s scoring hasn’t exactly translated to an off-ball role. Whether or not he can show these same skills playing away from the ball could determine the rookie’s impact this season. That said, the flashes you see when you put the ball in his hands are incredibly encouraging.
Dud of the game
Evan Mobley
14 points, 5 rebounds, 0 assists
This wasn’t an objectively bad game, but it was the continuation of an underwhelming preseason for Mobley. The Cavs have talked about wanting to get him comfortable in the offense. He hasn’t looked that way, as this showing was on the heels of a 3-for-10 shooting performance on Sunday.
You don’t want to make too much of preseason, but there hasn’t been much from these three games that would make you believe a drastic leap is coming.
Cavalier who deserves a shoutout
Jaylon Tyson
12 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist
Tyson continues to showcase the well-rounded game he teased at times last season. He seems much more comfortable creating with the ball in his hands. That pairs well with a solid three-point shot and the consistent energy he plays with.
Play of the game
Good look here at a Mario specific set to get him isolated in the post on a smaller guard with a clear floor.
Kenny Atkinson has talked about using Mario Hezonja in the post when he has a mismatch. This shows how doing so can lead to an easy basket.
Here, Hezonja gets a mismatch on him, backs his guy in the post, and then forces Goga Bitadze to step up to help. That help defense gave Jarrett Allen a runway to get into the lane and draw a foul.
Efficient scoring often comes down to whether you can create and exploit mismatches. Plays like this show how Hezonja can do that.
Anything bought from the links helps support Fear the Sword. You can buy the Browns throwback shirt HERE. You can also shop all of Homage’s Cleveland gear HERE.
Quote of the game
“We got to have a first line of attack that’s a little stronger.” – Assistant coach Mike Gerrity
Defense starts at the point of attack. You can’t protect the rim if the guards are consistently getting blown by on the perimeter. That forces you into rotation, opens up driving angles off ball, and leaves you vulnerable to three-pointers.
This was a bad game all around, but the reason this got out of hand was due to a lack of perimeter defense.
This number represents how poorly Cleveland played on that end. You don’t give up that high of a half-court offensive rating without struggling to contain the ball. When you can’t contain the ball, the offense can continually get easy looks just by making one or two passes.
What this game will be remembered for Meleek Thomas’s fourth-quarter breakout
You don’t want to get carried away by a garbage-time preseason performance. Yet, the Cavs have to be pleased with what they’ve seen from Thomas in these three exhibition games.
This strong on-ball scoring outing doesn’t mean that Thomas will have a place in the rotation when the season starts, but at the same time, the other guards in the depth chart haven’t exactly shown that they’re more deserving of those minutes either. If he does get a shot in the opening night rotation, we can point back to the close of this game as to why.
The Philadelphia Flyers looked as much like a real hockey team as they have all season, and despite an encouraging comeback that saw them erase a 2-0 deficit, they sputtered out, ultimately falling 3-2 to the Seattle Kraken in shootout fashion.
Kraken forward Bobby McMann opened the scoring on a pop fly in close proximity to Dan Vladar, swatting home on the power play on an opportunity generated by a Jack Studnicka tripping penalty.
The penalties and an overall lack of discipline in all facets have plagued the Flyers throughout their eight-game winless start, and Studnicka and Michael Bunting, players brought in by the Flyers to provide a spark, took penalties that led to goals in the last week.
Just under halfway through the second period, the Kraken doubled their lead to 2-0 on a Ville Ottavainen wrist shot through some heavy traffic, which was again produced by a series of unavoidable mistakes.
David Jiricek was forced to ice the puck on a long line change, and the Kraken proceeded to cycle the puck around the Flyers' defensive zone until Ottavainen's long-range shot through traffic beat Vladar.
After some taunting and back and forth between Trevor Zegras and Kraken goalie Philipp Grubauer, the Flyers finally caught some life in the third period.
After diving to break up a 2-on-1, rookie defenseman Oliver Bonk raced up the left wing before dishing a backhand pass through the middle of the ice. Tyson Foerster dummied the pass, which allowed Christian Dvorak to slam home the puck at the back door for an easy Flyers goal to make it a 2-1 game.
Zegras would get his revenge on Grubauer a short time later, rifling a shot into the top left corner to tie the game after a tremendous solo rush from Travis Sanheim during a 4-on-4 sequence.
"It is what it is," Zegras sheepishly said of his kerfuffle with the Seattle goalie after the game, visibly dismayed with an eighth consecutive loss.
The Flyers squandered a promising overtime period, taking a lazy too many men penalty to put the Kraken on the power play for two minutes of the final 2:39.
Soon after, the shootout required 10 shooters to decide the victor, with Matvei Michkov the lone scorer with the Flyers.
Matty Beniers and Bobby McMann each scored for the Kraken despite some phenomenal efforts from Vladar, which included a marvelous glove save on Mackie Samoskevich.
"He's been solid every time he starts. There's a couple of bouncy goals this year that he's really upset about," Flyers head coach Rick Tocchet said of Vladar after the shootout loss. "We're not blaming the goalies. To be honest, they've been terrific for us this year."
With the loss, Vladar dropped to 0-3-1 on the season, though his GAA and save percentage improved to 4.21 and .875, respectively.
The Flyers will practice at 12 p.m. at the Flyers Training Center in Voorhees, N.J. on Wednesday before facing the Detroit Red Wings in Detroit at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday night.
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - OCTOBER 13: Roman Kantserov #80 of the Chicago Blackhawks celebrates a goal against the Pittsburgh Penguins during the second period at United Center on October 13, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Pregame
Andrei Kuzmenko returns and Sergei Murashov gets the start for the Penguins.
Chicago scores right out the gates 28 seconds in. Declan Carlile gets pressured and passes the puck to the Blackhawks after a bad bounce. A quick pass gets Teuvo Teravainen in front of the net and the Finn finishes. 1-0
The Penguins get it back, it’s a good time for Sidney Crosby’s first goal of the year. This time it’s pressure by Bryan Rust along the wall that creates a turnover and the puck spits back to Erik Karlsson. Karlsson quickly feeds Crosby and the Pens have a 2-on-1. Crosby looks off the pass and calls his own number, blistering a shot past the far side of Spencer Knight. 1-1 game.
Pittsburgh earns the first minor penalty, they barely hold possession of it in the Chicago zone.
Kris Letang takes the first Pittsburgh penalty, the Blackhawks capitalize. After some nice puck movement, Bedard makes a little touch pass to Roman Kantserov who quickly fires it by Murashov. 2-1.
The Pens get another shot at their power play deep into the period. It’s awful.
Shots are 9-7 CHI after 20 minutes. The difference so far is the powerplays, the Blackhawks got one, made it look clinical and scored. The Penguins had two and it was nothing but odious, they’re behind by a goal as a result.
Second period
Nothing on the short carryover power play for the Pens, Nick Robertson draws them another. This one at least spends its time in the right end, think I counted six Erik Karlsson shots wide or blocked or redirected from in front wide, but at this point that’s an improvement.
Kantersov scores his second of the night. Carlile employs a man-concept and skates away from the net marking Patrick Kane. Ville Koivunen isn’t on the same page and doesn’t stick with the pointman, Artyom Levshunov and he gets a ton of space. That leaves Ben Kindel in front of the net to defend and Kantersov is strong enough on his stick to fight him off, with the incoming pass from the outside coming in with no resistance since Carlile has left his spot and Koivunen . 3-1 CHI.
Pittsburgh claws back within a goal, Blake Lizotte shoots on a 2-on-1 rush, he doesn’t score but makes a key play when Knight goes to cover the puck Lizotte beats him there and bumps the puck back out. It finds Robertson and he’s got an easy finish for his fourth goal of the season. 3-2 game.
There was some confusion, but after a quick review… PENGUINS GOAL
Shots end up 19-15 PIT after two, and they’re well out in front on shot attempts 42-22. However, Chicago clings to the special teams edge and that is still resulting in a one-goal advantage for them at the second intermission.
Third period
Kaeden Korczak gets caught on the mic yelling a bad word after getting slashed, the refs heed his pain and send the Pens to a fourth power play of the night. Doesn’t work but they don’t lose momentum on it. A bit later on an improvised line, Crosby is out with fourth liners. Connor Dewar works in and takes a shot, Knight leaves an atrocious rebound that Crosby is able to corral and calmly move to his forehand and tuck into the net. 3-3 game.
Egor Chinakhov takes an interference call and Chicago gets a second crack at the power play. The Blackhawks look surgical with their passing but Patrick Kane can’t convert on the best chance they get.
Chicago pulls ahead with 4:18 to play. Teravainen strikes again, from all the way against the left wall. Murashov wasn’t square or set for that angle and the puck sneaks by him. 4-3.
Pittsburgh pulls the goalie for a last push, it doesn’t work out. Tyler Bertuzzi taps in an empty netter with nine seconds to go. 5-3.
Some thoughts
Great to see Crosby get on the board with his first goal of the year, then add another for good measure. Plenty written (including here) about whether or not to keep the top line together, we saw some pretty good evidence of why it remained together. Rust didn’t get an assist on the play but started the sequence with quality board work. Frequent Crosby collaborator Karlsson made a beauty of a pass and the captain took it from there.
Recurring note: move the ‘Consecutive games where Nick Robertson has drawn a penalty’ board up to three. His speed forces opponents to take him down. Then he scored a team-leading fourth goal. Why is this guy on the fourth line? (It is a good fourth line and they play a fair share, but still!)
Too bad those penalties only draw a power play for Pittsburgh. Now up to 0-for-16 in the last five games. Completely disconnected now, if it’s not a lost faceoff it’s the inability to gain the zone with possession, if it’s not that it’s an ill-advised pass that sends it back to square one. Ugly stuff.
Pittsburgh could take notes from looking no further than the video Chicago’s power play, which was dreadful coming into tonight, but then again they didn’t have Bedard until today. The Blackhawks’ point guy was creeping to the tops of the circles at time, common on a 5v3 but rare to shrink the ice that much and put so much pressure on a PK. They got setup and their passing had a purpose to look for back door plays and set up dangerous players on their shooting sides (Bedard on the left, Kane on the right). It was a thing of beauty.
Power play ends up 0/4 on the night and the PK gives up a goal. Team ends up behind by one goal (pre-EN goal). Tale as old as time. Identifying the issue (and it’s clearly on the power play side) is the easy part.
If you had a dime for every 2-on-1 rush in this game you wouldn’t be able to retire but you would have enough change to buy something out of a vending machine. (Do vending machines still exist? Or even accept cash? These are the intrusive thoughts when games are played outside of the Eastern time zone). Neither team was exactly sharp to details or keeping their defensive structure in close order with all the odd man rushes flying around at both sides of the rink.
One player not all that involved in the rush offense: Chinakhov. It was off the charts good last year when the sun was shining and all was well, seemingly to vanish for the start of this season. Naturally, as this thought comes into mind during the second intermission, Chinakhov did get a rush shot immediately on his first shift of the third period, for his first and only shot on goal of the game. Ideally there’s more to come there.
Which I guess a hallmark of this Pens team that is starting to develop is they’ll mostly play to the level of the competition. They were strong, sharp, focused against what they knew would be a tough Dallas team last game. Tonight, they surely had to know Chicago isn’t exactly a powerhouse, and wouldn’t you know some details slip and the overall effort/performance left a lot to be desired. This theory will get put to the test in coming games with tough matchups ahead against Colorado and Vegas, but hey, maybe the Pens will be ready to meet the challenge. Based on the past couple of games that wouldn’t be shocking.
Still don’t know what Carlile was thinking staying with Kane and abandoning the net. Kindel in front of the net will draw the kneejerk, base reaction but Carlile + Koivunen not being on the same page is the troubling pressure point in that play. Plenty to still iron out in that department.
A couple of different things can be true, while the Penguins didn’t particularly play a great game, they found themselves tied with under five minutes to play in regulation. Murashov, on a night where Moneypuck had his xGA just under two, can’t really be faulted for any of the first three goals. But an NHL goalie has to stop what held up as a game winner 100 times out of a 100 for a team to have a fighting shot, especially that late in a tie game. Bad goals are a part of the learning curve and growing pains a team signs up for when they go with a 22-year old in net at this level, occasionally that type of thing happens. Murashov earned the team a point they didn’t deserve in his last start in Columbus, tonight he might have cost them at least one. So it goes, onto the next.
And onto the next indeed. The degree of difficulty ramps up on the next leg of the road trip, Pittsburgh will need to be better almost from top to bottom in their next game against Colorado. On the bright side, at least Crosby showed he’s back on track
They will wake up in Cleveland still loving José Ramírez. That will never change, nor, likely, will Ramírez’s regard for the city he’s insisted on making his baseball home.
Yet the love affair between future Hall of Famer and scrappy municipality hit a most unpredictable speed bump, right around the time a ground ball skidded off the very edge of the artificial turf on Tropicana Field’s infield.
Ramírez, the beloved third baseman whose playoff heroics drove the Cleveland Guardians into a commanding position in this American League Championship Series, failed to stay down on a ground ball off the bat of Tampa Bay’s Ben Williamson with two outs in the fourth inning of a scoreless game, runners at the corners, the Guardians still in position to take a commanding 2-0 series lead.
It was a ball he’d fielded thousands of times in his 14-year career. This time, though, he appeared to eyeball the grounder hitting the dirt. Instead, it clipped off the turf and skidded right between his legs. Victor Mesa Jr. scampered home with the game's first run.
And if there's any team you don't want to leave the door open, it's the Rays.
"When they smell blood," says Guardians manager Stephen Vogt, "they take it and run."
Seconds later, after a Liam Hicks two-run single, a scoreless game turned into a three-run Tampa Bay Rays lead and eventually, a series-tying 3-1 victory Tuesday, Oct. 13 at Tropicana Field.
To that point, it seemed the Guardians were still in control. Ramírez played hero in Game 1, his leadoff single sparking a go-ahead, eighth-inning rally, his RBI double and daring break for third base keying a put-away rally in the ninth.
Sure, Cleveland rookie starter Parker Messick and Rays right-hander Freddy Peralta were locked in a pitchers' duel. But Messick kept getting ground-ball double plays when he needed them. The Guardians had played flawless ball with their backs against the wall since falling down 2-0 in their AL Division Series against the Chicago White Sox.
Since then? Win-win-win-win, just like the song says. They were grooving.
Which is what made their franchise cornerstone giving it away so shocking.
"José Ramírez," says Rays manager Kevin Cash, "is as good as any third baseman there is in the game."
After the ball skidded by him, all Ramírez could do was stare at his glove and furrow his brow, the telltale sign Ramírez is not right. Tropicana Field roared around him.
"It’s a little faster here," Ramírez said of the Tropicana Field infield, through a club translator. "I was playing parallel to the base and the ball bounced right on the edge between the dirt and the turf.
"I tried to knock it down, but I couldn’t."
Said Vogt: "Josey kind of got stuck. It looked like he just didn't move his feet. And I don't know if it hit the lip or not on the second hop, but just kind of looked like he sat back a little bit with his feet set instead of moving his feet."
And after Peralta powered through six innings, and Tampa Bay’s good but not impenetrable bullpen held the line just enough, Ramírez’s gaffe was, to slightly overstate it, 100% the reason the ALCS is now 1-1.
And not 2-0, Guards up, going home to Cleveland.
Come Game 3 on Thursday, they will announce the starting lineups for both clubs, and the Progressive Field crowd will roar for Ramírez, sure, for his Game 5 ALDS game-winning homer and Game 1 ALCS heroics.
Yet it will also be an acknowledgment that Ramírez and The Land are still cool. They probably always will be.
For one moment, though, Ramírez blinked. And the love song hit a rare sour note.
Throughout the month of November, the NHL, NHLPA and the V Foundation are set to team up for the Hockey Fights Cancer campaign once again. While each team will host a day dedicated to Hockey Fights Cancer, they're going to be spread out throughout the season, although most of them are in the month of November.
Among the teams hosting their Hockey Fights Cancer night next month are the San Jose Sharks. On November 15, the Sharks will help raise awareness and raise funds for the initiative as they play the Nashville Predators.
According to the NHL, since partnering with the V Foundation and AstraZeneca, the initiative has raised more than $21.3 million in just three seasons.
Almost everyone has somebody in their lives who has been impacted by the effects of cancer and the NHL has consistently been trying to do their part in fighting the terrible disease since founding Hockey Fights Cancer alongside the NHLPA back in 1998. For more information, visit HockeyFightsCancer.com.
The Senators had plenty working against them on Tuesday night, and the St. Louis Blues took full advantage.
Mason McTavish, Jake Neighbours and Pius Suter each scored twice as the Blues (3-2-1) defeated the Senators 7-2 at Canadian Tire Centre, handing the Sens (5-2-0) their second loss of the young NHL season.
The Sens were playing their second game in as many nights after defeating the Devils 4-1 in New Jersey on Monday.
They were also without three regular defencemen, Jake Sanderson, Artem Zub and Nikolas Matinpalo, leaving the club with a makeshift blue line. In fact, three of their six defencemen (Carter Yakemchuk, Hoyt Stanley and Jorian Donovan) entered Tuesday's game with 10 or fewer games of NHL regular season experience.
With starting goaltender Linus Ullmark getting the night off, Samuel Ersson was given the assignment in goal. But the Senators' new backup struggled on the night, allowing seven goals on 26 shots and finishing with a .731 save percentage. By the end, a smattering of Sens fans gave him some sarcastic applause on a basic save.
Down 2-0 in the second period, the Senators got a nice goal from veteran Claude Giroux, who converted a feed from Tim Stützle with a well-placed wrist shot to cut the lead in half. But McTavish, the Carp native, restored the two-goal lead just 33 seconds later.
It was all Blues after that.
Giroux also added an assist on Fabian Zetterlund's first goal of the season in the final couple of minutes, long after the outcome had been settled.
Suter, who had two goals and an assist for St. Louis, has an interesting connection to the Senators' organization.
Back in 2017, four years before making his NHL debut, the Swiss forward attended Ottawa's rookie camp and performed well enough to earn an invitation to the team's main training camp, but he didn't make the club.
Nearly a decade later, and a couple of weeks before Halloween, Suter came back to haunt Ottawa and helped the Blues score a one-sided win. He was the one who got the offensive ball rolling, opening the scoring with a shorthanded goal in the first period.
The Sens entered the game riding the momentum of a 5-1 start, but this just in: nobody maintains an .833 points percentage forever. They were due for a night like this, especially with a tough schedule, injuries on defence and an off night in goal.
The Senators will now have a day to regroup before returning to action Thursday night when they host the New York Islanders at Canadian Tire Centre. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m.
NEW YORK (AP) — Kyle Palmieri scored twice, Matias Maccelli added his first goal for New York and the Islanders beat the Vancouver Canucks 3-2 on Tuesday night.
Ilya Sorokin made 23 saves for the Islanders, who have alternated losses and wins over their first six games, with all three wins coming at UBS Arena.
Brock Boeser and Max Sasson scored for Vancouver, which has lost five straight since opening the season 2-1. Leevi Merilainen stopped 35 shots.
Maccelli assisted on Palmieri’s goal at 5:38 of the third period, which broke a 2-2 tie.
Signed as a free agent after playing for Toronto last season, Maccelli freed up space with a stutter-step move and beat Merilainen late in the first period to make it 2-0. Palmieri had opened the scoring 53 seconds earlier.
Boeser’s power-play goal with 1:05 left in the second period tied the game at 2-all. It was the 80th of his career with the man advantage, fifth most in franchise history.
The Vancouver Canucks’ losing streak has officially hit five games after their 3–2 loss to the New York Islanders on Tuesday night. Max Sasson and Brock Boeser scored Vancouver’s two goals tonight, while Leevi Meriläinen was strong in net, making 35 stops on 38 shots faced.
Vancouver actually didn’t look terrible during the first period, but a couple of quick goals on bad turnovers put them down 2–0 by the end of the frame. The Islanders’ first goal saw the puck go past a couple of Canucks before making its way towards the net, appearing to bounce off both Tom Willander and then Kyle Palmieri before beating Meriläinen. Zeev Buium, who played on Vancouver’s third-pairing tonight, coughed the puck up to Matthew Schaefer on New York’s second goal, with the Islanders defenceman threading it over to goal-scorer Matias Maccelli.
The Canucks debuted a somewhat new-look power play unit tonight as well. Jonathan Lekkerimäki, who has been playing well throughout the start of the 2026–27 season, was bumped up to Vancouver’s top-unit and made an impact immediately. The forward was only a short distance away from scoring Vancouver’s first goal of the game as he ripped a shot past Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokin, though the puck hit the crossbar and flew out of bounds.
An overlapping penalty-kill put Vancouver down a player to start the second period. Despite killing the penalty, the Canucks found themselves contained within their own zone for the first half of their period. This resulted in long shifts, such as two-minute sequences for Willander and Jamie Oleksiak, due to Vancouver not being able to break the puck out.
One break-out sequence started by the line of Lekkerimäki, Elias Pettersson, and Jake DeBrusk gave Vancouver some much-needed O-zone time. The break-in triggered a line change for both benches, which the oncoming Sasson and Arshdeep Bains capitalized on to give the Canucks their first goal.
Things seemed to switch up after Sasson’s goal — and Vancouver’s second penalty kill of the night shortly after — as it was the Canucks’ turn to put together more O-zone time. They were able to utilize their momentum to get extended looks in the Islanders’ zone, one of which resulted in Liam Öhgren drawing a penalty on Palmieri. On the ensuing man-advantage, Boeser scored his 80th-career power-play goal to take sole-possession of fifth-all time in franchise history.
Just like at the start of the second period, the Islanders made a strong push for offence to start the third, with this paying off in the form of a second goal for Palmieri. Once the final few minutes of the period emerged, Vancouver pressed to try and score the game-tying goal, but a hooking call on Buium put the Canucks down a player and ultimately neutralized their attempt at going 6-on-5.
To give credit where credit is due, however, Vancouver kept things interesting right until the end. Even with Buium in the box, the Canucks killed the majority of their penalty before drawing a penalty themselves and playing 5-on-4 with Meriläinen on the bench. All in all, Vancouver put up a fair comeback effort but were unable to fully secure the win.
Oct 13, 2026; Elmont, New York, USA; Vancouver Canucks defenseman Tom Willander (5) skates with the puck past New York Islanders center Bo Horvat (14) in the second period at UBS Arena. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images
Stats and Facts:
Canucks record first-ever loss at UBS Arena
Leevi Meriläinen’s personal shutout streak against the Islanders ends at 74:57 minutes
The Canucks go perfect on the penalty-kill for the first time in a single game this season
Filip Hronek has recorded a point in all games played (7) against the Islanders as a member of the Canucks
Scoring Summary:
1st Period:
14:57 - NYI: Kyle Palmieri (1) from Matt Kessel and Bo Horvat
15:50 - NYI: Matias Maccelli (1) from Matthew Schaefer
2nd Period:
7:52 - VAN: Max Sasson (2) from Arshdeep Bains and Jamie Oleksiak
18:55 - VAN: Brock Boeser (2) from Elias Pettersson and Filip Hronek (PPG)
3rd Period:
5:38 - NYI: Kyle Palmieri (2) from Matias Maccelli and Matthew Schaefer
Up Next:
Vancouver Canucks @ Florida Panthers, October 15, 4:00 pm PT
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OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Pius Suter, Jake Neighbours and Mason McTavish each had a pair of goals to lead the St. Louis Blues to a 7-2 win over the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday night.
Adam Jiricek also scored for the Blues, Pavel Buchnevich had three assists and Joel Hofer stopped 15 shots.
Claude Giroux and Fabian Zetterlund scored for the Senators, whose three game win streak came to an end. Samuel Ersson, making his second start for Ottawa, made 19 saves.
Ottawa was playing the second game of a back-to-back, coming off a 4-1 win against the New Jersey Devils on Monday.
The Blues took a 4-1 lead midway through the third when Suter beat Ersson short side from a sharp angle. Neighbours scored his second off a snap shot, McTavish scored on the power play, and Jiricek scored his first career goal to round out the scoring.
Zetterlund added a late power-play goal to make it 7-2.
St. Louis took a 2-0 lead midway through the second when Neighbours stepped in with a shot from the top of the slot and wristed a shot through traffic to beat Ersson glove side.
Giroux cut the lead in half with 2:08 remaining in the second on a feed from Tim Stutzle, but the Blues responded 33 seconds later. Some poor defensive zone coverage allowed McTavish to get a shot past Ersson from the top of the crease.
The Blues opened the scoring at 14:28 of the first period with a short-handed goal. Colton Parayko won a battle along the boards and found Suter with some open space and he beat Ersson blocker side.
With his second-period goal, Giroux recorded his 1,170th career point, tying Bobby Hull for 59th on the NHL’s career scoring list.
Up next
Blues: At Minnesota on Thursday.
Senators: Host the New York Islanders on Thursday.
Shohei Ohtani needs to sit a lot more often this postseason. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
The Dodgers never waver in their game plan for the regular season: win enough games to secure a bye in the opening round of the playoffs and, in so doing, afford players all the down time they need during the summer to be in top form come fall. They do not need to hurry anyone off the injured list so they can squeak out another National League West title.
Unfortunately for the Dodgers and their increasingly perilous hope of a three-peat, they did not follow that game plan with Shohei Ohtani. The Dodgers failed Ohtani this summer, and now all that remains is for them to cross their collective fingers and hope for the best.
Hope, as they say, is not a strategy.
The Dodgers should drop Ohtani from the postseason roster.
Amid headlines about how the Dodgers might have benched Ohtani for Game 3 of the NL Championship Series, manager Dave Roberts said the thinking was more about coupling Tuesday’s day off with a second consecutive day of rest.
Roberts drew a parallel between what might have happened with Ohtani and what did happen with Freddie Freeman during the NLCS two years ago, when the Dodgers provided what the manager called a “reset” — a day off for the team, followed by a rest day for Freeman.
“And he ends up winning the MVP in the World Series,” Roberts said.
Freeman had been playing with a bad ankle for three weeks, and even then he had been more productive that October than Ohtani has been in this one. Ohtani has been playing with a bad knee and biceps for three months, and the Dodgers already have tried intermittent rest.
They tried that in September, twice. They touted their bye week before the start of the playoffs. They talked up their three days off before the start of the NLCS.
They went 0 for 4. Enough already.
Roberts said the Dodgers — not just Ohtani, but the coaching staff and the training staff — see progress. True, no doubt. But we’ve heard similarly encouraging words after each of Ohtani’s rest breaks.
“We’re listening to Shohei, and we’re going to support the crap out of him and believe in him,” Roberts said, “and that’s it.”
Ohtani said Tuesday that his symptoms have subsided since the Dodgers put him on the injured list, for the minimum stay. That was a month ago.
Shohei Ohtani is just three for 20 this postseason. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
On Tuesday, he said his approaches can alternate between “focusing on reducing the symptoms and getting rid of the pain and/or just making sure that I’m moving well in the swing.”
There is no evidence so far that this might work, and an uncomfortable and increasing body of evidence that it might not.
Ohtani is batting .150 in the playoffs, with three hits in 20 at-bats. Of the 39 players with at least 20 at-bats this postseason entering play Tuesday, only three have a lower OPS than Ohtani’s .411.
One of them, Dodgers catcher Will Smith, has one hit in 23 at-bats. But he is hitting the ball hard: in the NLCS, one ball hit at 102 mph, another at 101, and every ball hit harder than the one Ohtani hit the hardest.
That exit velocity: 86 mph.
He has not pulled a ball in the series for a hit, or for an out.
Over his major league career, he has homered once every 14 at-bats.
He has not hit a home run since Aug. 18, a span of 107 at-bats. He has driven in one run since then; the Dodgers batted him cleanup in Game 2.
And, since hitting that last home run, Ohtani is batting .036 against fastballs thrown 95 mph or harder. The average fastball in this postseason: 96.2 mph, according to analyst Mike Petriello’s close-up of all the different ways Ohtani’s swing is fouled up.
When Ohtani spoke with reporters before the playoffs started, he said he might not know the full extent of his injuries or what he might need to do to rehabilitate them until after the postseason.
“I haven’t been able to get a good grasp of the root cause of all this,” he said then. “I think that process is going to happen during the offseason, when I’m going to have a little bit more time to be able to address it. But as of now, it’s something I’m just going to have to manage.”
The Dodgers did not need Ohtani to win the NL West. They needed to shut him down for an extended period to maximize their chances of winning in October.
They failed to do that. They believed a few days of rest would allow them to nurse Ohtani through the rest of the season.
NEW YORK (AP) — Kyle Palmieri scored twice, Matias Maccelli added his first goal for New York and the Islanders beat the Vancouver Canucks 3-2 on Tuesday night.
Ilya Sorokin made 23 saves for the Islanders, who have alternated losses and wins over their first six games, with all three wins coming at UBS Arena.
Brock Boeser and Max Sasson scored for Vancouver, which has lost five straight since opening the season 2-1. Leevi Merilainen stopped 35 shots.
Signed as a free agent after playing for Toronto last season, Maccelli freed up space with a stutter-step move and beat Merilainen late in the first period to make it 2-0. Palmieri had opened the scoring 53 seconds earlier.
Boeser's power-play goal with 1:05 left in the second period tied the game at 2-all. It was the 80th of his career with the man advantage, fifth most in franchise history.
TORONTO, CANADA - OCTOBER 13: Kawhi Leonard #2 of the Toronto Raptors looks on during the game against the New York Knicks on October 13, 2026 at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
The Toronto Raptors may have been facing the New York Knicks’ C-Team, but that wasn’t why fans packed the Scotiabank Arena on Tuesday.
New York could’ve grabbed randoms off NBA Twitter and the electricity in the building would’ve remained.
Here are a few thoughts and quotes to drop in your group chat after the Raptors defeated the Knicks 148-98.
He return
“I tried to get those guys as much as possible on the court together so they can figure out the chemistry and spacing” – Darko Rajakovic.
It’s been 2,682 days (seven years, four months, and three days) since Kawhi Leonard last donned a Raptors uniform in front of the Toronto faithful. That was when Leonard authored a mesmerizing one-man show against the Warriors before Head Coach Nick Nurse called (a now untimely) timeout.
Leonard seemed intent on knocking down a triple to begin his second stint in Toronto, with the superstar’s first three shots coming from beyond the arc. He eventually hit a three-pointer from the left wing, which sent the crowd into a frenzy.
He followed that by posting up Jose Alvarado on the left baseline, before drilling a turnaround fadeaway. Leonard’s first points as a 35-year-old Raptor technically came at the free-throw line. That’s basically comfort food offence for a team that has previously struggled when things slow down in the playoffs or opposing defences resort to zone.
“I wanted to get after it and get tired,” said Leonard. “I still want to get in better shape but it was fun to play.”
When Leonard returned in the second quarter, he transported us back to 2019 with a right-corner triple that required a friendly bounce courtesy of his favourite rim in the league.
No better pairing than Kawhi Leonard and the right-side corner 🔥
Leonard was everything we remembered him to be. He finished with 21 points and five rebounds on 50 per cent shooting. He also added two steals. This was all accomplished in 17 minutes of play. Have the rest of the pre-season off big guy.
Chalk it up to rookie nerves
“I have huge trust in Allen and his three-point shooting.” – Darko Rajakovic
After missing the first two pre-season games in Quebec City and Vancouver, Allen Graves finally made his debut. If Leonard hadn’t dressed, Graves would have been the apple of everyone’s eye. It’s probably best that wasn’t the case, at least early on, as it seemed Graves had understandable “first-game-as-a-pro” jitters.
In less than four minutes, Graves picked up three fouls, with the third coming after he bowled over Drew Eubanks while trying to grab a defensive rebound.
For the most part, Graves was parked in a corner on offence. He missed his first three attempts from deep but finally knocked down his first bucket as a professional in the second quarter. It should be noted that he was wide open on these attempts, which should be a common occurrence playing alongside Leonard and as opponents dare him to shoot.
I loved how active he was on the court. There was a play where he chased down his own miss and poked the ball loose, subsequently resulting in Ja’Kobe Walter getting two points.
The trio needs a nickname
“Scottie and CMB, they’re very talented…they make things easy.” – Kawhi Leonard
Speaking of Graves, fans were finally treated to the beautiful and blinding chaos that comes with the rookie playing next to Scottie Barnes and Collin Murray-Boyles. The trio made their debut in the back end of the first quarter. They were flying.
Flanked by Walter and Jamal Shead, the group forced a shot-clock violation, a handful of turnovers and deflections, a dead-ball and the Knicks’ bench into never-ending uncertainty.
Shortly after, Head Coach Rajakovic tried a different combination with Immanuel Quickley and Leonard. It’ll be fun to see what kind of lineups the coaching staff deploys with Toronto’s newest set of triplets.
That’s an interesting development
“When Kawhi is on the floor, he attracts so much gravity…they really complement each other well.” – Darko Rajakovic
It seems that even though Brandon Ingram may be in Los Angeles, his signature baseline fadeaway remained behind in Toronto, specifically in the hands of Barnes. The All-Star normally resembles a running back with the ball in his hands, but he was silky-smooth on the baseline and knocked down numerous jumpers with a high degree of difficulty. Ingram would have been proud.
As for Murray-Boyles, he finished a perfect two-of-two from distance. He averaged less than one three-point attempt a game in his rookie year, while shooting 34 per cent. If he can average around two three-point shots while maintaining a similar average, that would be incredible. Toronto shot 35.4 per cent from three last season.
“Collin worked so hard over the course of the summer on his shooting,” said Rajakovic. “We need more guys that can be willing to take shots.”
Eyes on Darko
“At the end of our conversation, he always tells me to go play basketball.” Kawhi Leonard on Darko
Pre-season reps are valuable, even for the coaches. With 1.2 seconds left in the first half, the Raptors forced a turnover, inspiring Rajakovic to call a timeout. The exhibition was already a blowout at that point, but Rajakovic wasn’t going to let a learning opportunity slip by.
The Raptors drew up a play that involved Leonard screening for CMB on the left elbow, before CMB pivoted into a screen for Leonard. This triggered the inbound, which Leonard caught on a ‘76ers bounce cut’ (what I’m tentatively calling the route). Before Leonard could add to his stat line, he was fouled.
A big part of the 2019 championship run was Nurse’s development. He started the season as an unknown variable type of coach, but later evolved into a mad scientist. Rajakovic’s continued progression will also play a pivotal role in determining the ceiling of the 2026-27 Raptors.
A New York state of mind
“We have good guys that are about the right stuff, are all in, and have embraced our culture.” – Mike Brown
Before the game, Knicks Head Coach Mike Brown was asked how the team plans to stay locked in despite potential distractions (Karl-Anthony Towns). With zero hesitation, Brown highlighted an organization-wide commitment to chasing one very obvious goal, and it’s more than just a verbal promise.
“We have our standard written down that everybody signed, similar to a contract,” said Brown. “This way, it allows all of us, starting from the top down, to hold each other accountable.”
The Knicks fall to 0-4 in pre-season play, once again proving that these are practice reps on public display.
