Justice Haynes injury update: Michigan football RB leaves vs USC in 2nd quarter in Los Angeles on Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025.
Steven Lorentz Exits Maple Leafs Game Against Red Wings With Upper-Body Injury
DETROIT — The Toronto Maple Leafs may be without the services of another one of their depth forwards in the near future.
Steven Lorentz left midway through the first period of the club's game against the Detroit Red Wings after he was hit up high in the middle of the ice by Detroit defenseman Ben Chiarot.
another angle of the Chiarot hit on Lorentz pic.twitter.com/np9AwwfC8B
— Omar (@TicTacTOmar) October 12, 2025
The departure of Lorentz in the game forced the Leafs to shuffle up their fourth line, which had scored twice in the first period, once with William Nylander substituting for the injured forward.
The Leafs confirmed Lorentz sustained an upper-body injury and would not return.
Maple Leafs F Steven Lorentz will not return to tonight’s game (upper body).
— Leafs PR (@LeafsPR) October 12, 2025
. Toronto is already without Scott Laughton, who blocked a shot against the same Red Wings team in the pre-season game on Oct. 2.
Maple Leafs' Scott Laughton Week-To-Week With Lower-Body InjuryThe Toronto Maple Leafs will begin the regular season with a player out with an injury.
Before that contest, Easton Cowan had been affixed to a line with Lorentz and Laughton. If Lorentz is out for any extended period of time, that could make way for Cowan to finally make his NHL debut on Monday against the Red Wings at Scotiabank Arena.
Lorentz is still out of the game
— Omar (@TicTacTOmar) October 12, 2025
he took this hit from Chiarot in the first pic.twitter.com/3tAdh7btiN
Lorentz picked up two assists in Toronto's season-opening 5-2 victory against the Montreal Canadiens.
To be updated...
Latest stories:
‘Good For The City’: Maple Leafs Embrace Schedule Shift for Blue Jays Playoff Run
Why Easton Cowan Will Not Play For Maple Leafs Against Red Wings, Lineups And Where To Watch
Maple Leafs Challenge Matias Maccelli To Play With More Confidence
Penguins' Top Forward Prospect Ben Kindel Records First Career NHL Goal
Just one game after Pittsburgh Penguins' 19-year-old defensive prospect Harrison Brunicke tallied his first goal in the National Hockey League on a beauty of a wrist shot off the rush, the other teenager on the Penguins' roster did the same thing.
In the second period of Saturday's game against the New York Rangers, top forward prospect Ben Kindel took a puck in the neutral zone down to the right circle, where he sniped a long-range wrist shot past Rangers' netminder Igor Shesterkin - one of the league's best goaltenders - for his first career NHL goal.
Kindel, 18, was selected by the Penguins in the first round (11th overall) of the 2025 NHL Netry Draft. The 5-foot-11 forward made himself stand out more and more as the pre-season went on, and as a result - along with Brunicke - he made the NHL roster out of training camp.
During Tuesday's season-opening 3-0 win over the Rangers in New York, Kindel and Brunicke became the first pair of teenagers to debut together for the Penguins since Kris Letang and Jordan Staal in 2006. They are both eligible to be sent back to their respective junior teams this season, and year one of their entry-level contracts would kick in should they remain in Pittsburgh for more than nine games.
Kindel was one of three first-round selections by the Penguins this summer, with the others being Bill Zonnon (22nd overall) and Will Horcoff (24th overall). In 65 games for the Calgary Hitmen last season, Kindel recorded 35 goals and 99 points.
Harrison Brunicke Scores First NHL Goal On Beautiful Shot From Slot - Community PostPittsburgh Penguins' rookie blueliner Harrison Brunicke made quite the impression during the pre-season with a nifty top-shelf tally.
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Injury-Plagued Sabres Having Worst-Case-Scenario Start To Season
The news from Buffalo Sabres coach Lindy Ruff was about as bad as it can get for a hockey team -- Buffalo's first-line center, Josh Norris, will be on the sidelines for the foreseeable future after being injured in the Sabres' first game of the season Thursday.
“(Norris is) going to miss a significant amount of time," Ruff told media Saturday, adding "I don’t know what that amount is for sure...It’s an upper-body (injury), it’s not related to anything he has had in the past.”
With the injury to Norris -- and the injury to presumptive first-line left winger Zach Benson, the Sabres' first line is now star right winger Tage Thompson and...21-year-old center Jiri Kulich, and left winger Jason Zucker. Kulich has 64 games of NHL experience under his belt, while Zucker is 33 years old, and he's a clearly not-ideal top-line talent.
So let's run that by you again: Kulich, centering Zucker and Thompson. Does that sound like a line you'd expect to see on a top NHL team? Does that sound like a line to rival that of a true Stanley Cup frontrunner? To ask those questions is to answer them. There's really no comparing the Sabres as-currently-is to a real playoff contender.
It all feels like the worst-case scenario arrived in Buffalo, and it arrived far sooner than even the most cynical may have expected. And now, unless the Sabres' vast collection of young players steps up, Buffalo's playoff aspirations could go up in smoke in a hurry.
Norris Out Long-Term After Being Injured In OpenerOne of the things that the Buffalo Sabres needed to make a legitimate run at the Stanley Cup Playoffs was a healthy Josh Norris playing on the top line as a #1 center, setting up sniper Tage Thompson.That hope lasted just one game, as Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff announced on Saturday that Norris will be out a “significant period of time” after being injured in the club’s 4-0 loss to the New York Rangers on Thursday.
This isn't to say the Sabres can't overcome adversity. That does happen, now and again, at the NHL level. There are always teams that face adversity and find a way to do great things in spite of it. But the point is that people's suspicions in any one team are valid until such time as the team proves they're worthy of respect. And that just hasn't happened with Buffalo in the past 14 years.
Maybe there's a world in which Kulich steps up and finds a great fit alongside Thompson. Maybe Zucker plays younger than his age and scores between 25-30 goals. Maybe Thompson puts the team on his back in a way he hasn't before.
That's all within the realm of possibility. But the realm of probability is something altogether different. And without Norris in the lineup night-in and night-out, the probability the Sabres can string together enough wins to stay in playoff contention long enough until such time as Norris returns to action is not something that shoul encourage Buffalo fans to be optimistic.
Sabres' Schedule Is Punishing Out Of The Gate -- And It Could Be Why Buffalo Misses Playoffs For 15th Straight SeasonThe Buffalo Sabres’ 2025-26 regular-season is here at last, and the Sabres would certainly like to win their first game – a home game against the New York Rangers Thursday night – an analysis of their schedule tells Sabres fans they need to buckle down and get ready for a true test of this team, right out of the starting block.
The truth is that the Sabres have absorbed a massive blow to their playoff hopes, literaqlly in the first game of the season. It really feels like things couldn't have gone worrse for Buffalo. And in the immediate days and weeks ahead, the Sabres will either demonstrate why they're a different (read: better) team than the ones they've been in their playoff drought, or whether they're the same franchise that has come to be known as perennial disappointments.
Can Shohei Ohtani find it at the plate for NLCS? 'At-bat quality needs to get better'
When Shohei Ohtani was asked about his woeful performance at the plate in the Dodgers’ National League Division Series against the Philadelphia Phillies last week, he first gave credit to the opposition.
Then, after a series that saw the Phillies counter him with one left-handed pitcher after the next, he was also quick to point out that he wasn’t alone.
“It was pretty difficult for left-handed hitters,” Ohtani said in Japanese amid the Dodgers’ clubhouse celebration following their Game 4 victory. “This was also the case for Freddie [Freeman].”
The Phillies did indeed make life tough on the Dodgers’ best lefty bats.
Read more:Shaikin: Are these the real Dodgers? Why a 'whole other level' could emerge in the NLCS
Freeman was only three for 15 in the series, albeit with a key Game 2 double and a .294 on-base-percentage.
Max Muncy was four for nine in the series, but spent most of it waiting on the bench, not getting a start in any of the three contests the Phillies had a southpaw on the mound.
And as a team, the Dodgers hit just .199 with 41 strikeouts in the four-game series.
However, no one’s struggles were as pronounced as Ohtani’s — the soon-to-be four-time MVP winner, who in the NLDS looked like anything but.
Ohtani struck out in each of his first four at-bats in Game 1. He didn’t get his first hit until grounding an RBI single through the infield in the seventh inning of Game 2.
After that, Ohtani’s only other time reaching base safely was when the Phillies intentionally walked him in the seventh inning of Game 4.
His final stat line from the series: One for 18, nine strikeouts and a whole lot of questions about what went wrong.
Ohtani, who was coming off a three-hit, two-homer wild-card round, did acknowledge Thursday night that “there were at-bats that didn’t go the way I thought they would.”
But, he quickly added: “The opposing pitchers didn’t make many mistakes. They pitched wonderfully, in a way that’s worthy for the postseason. There were a lot of games like that for both teams.”
The real question coming out of the series was about the root cause of Ohtani’s unexpected struggles.
Was it simply because of the tough pitching matchups, having faced a lefty in 12 of his 20 trips to the plate? Or had his faltering approach created more legitimate concerns, the kind that could threaten to continue into the NL Championship Series?
“I think a lot of it actually was driven by the left-handed pitching,” manager Dave Roberts said Saturday, as the Dodgers awaited to face either the Chicago Cubs or Milwaukee Brewers in an NLCS that will begin on Monday.
However, the manager also put the onus on his $700-million superstar to be better.
“Hoping that he can do a little self-reflecting on that series, and how aggressive he was outside of the strike zone, passive in the zone,” Roberts said. “The at-bat quality needs to get better.”
For the Dodgers, the implications are stark.
“We’re not gonna win the World Series with that sort of performance,” Roberts continued. “So we’re counting on a recalibration, getting back into the strike zone.”
From the very first at-bat of Game 1 — when he was also the starting pitcher in his first career playoff game as a two-way player — Ohtani struggled to make the right swing decisions.
He chased three pitches off the inside of the plate from Phillies lefty Cristopher Sánchez, which Roberts felt “kinda set the tone” for his series-long struggles, then took a called third strike the next two times he faced him.
From there, the 31-year-old slugger could never seem to dial back into his approach.
He went down looking again in Game 1 against left-handed reliever Matt Strahm. He led off Game 2 with another strikeout against another lefty in Jesús Luzardo. On and on it went, with Ohtani continuing to chase inside junk, flailing at pitches that darted off the plate the other way, and finding his only reprieve in a rematch with Strahm in Game 2 when he got just enough on an inside sinker.
Roberts’ hope was that, moving forward, Ohtani would be able to learn and adjust.
Read more:Hernández: Roki Sasaki's playoff dominance shows why he's the Dodgers' future staff ace
“Understanding when he faces left-handed pitching, what they’re gonna try to do: Crowd him in, off, spin him away,” Roberts said. “He’s just gotta be better at managing the hitting zone. I’m counting on it. We’re all counting on it.”
Roberts also conceded that Ohtani’s at-bats on the day he pitched in Game 1 seemed to be especially rushed.
“[When] he’s pitching, he’s probably trying to conserve energy, not trying to get into at-bats,” Roberts said. “It hasn’t been good when he’s pitched. I do think that’s part of it. We’ve got to think through this and come up with a better game plan.”
After all, while Ohtani might not have been the only struggling hitter in the NLDS, his importance to the lineup is greater than anyone’s. The Dodgers can only endure without him for so long.
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Alabama, Penn State lead college football winners and losers from Week 7
Alabama's defeat of Missouri was one of the highs of Week 7, while Penn State's loss was one of the lows. A look at Saturday's winners and losers.
Brady Martin scores first NHL point in Nashville Predators game against Utah Mammoth
Brady Martin is officially on an NHL scoresheet, recording an assist on Filip Forsberg's goal in the first period of the Nashville Predators game against the Utah Mammoth on Thursday.
The goal tied the game, 1-1.
Martin poked the puck off of defenseman John Marino's stick up the right boards, which Forsberg picked up. He was able to maneuver around Marino on the right boards before firing a shot that beat goalie Karel Vejmelka blocker side.
This is just Martin's second NHL game, as he made his debut in the Predators' 2-1 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday. He is still centering the Predators' first line with Ryan O'Reilly and Forsberg on the wings.
FIRST OF THE SEASON FOR FIL 💥 pic.twitter.com/TZtZ6E5cdO
— Nashville Predators (@PredsNHL) October 12, 2025
Additionally, everyone on that first line has recorded a point this season. Forsberg and O'Reilly combined for the game winning goal on the power play on Thursday.
Martin debuted with the Predators at 18 years, 208 days old, making him the second youngest player in Predators franchise history to make their NHL debut.
He follows Scott Harnell, who was 18 years, 171 days when he played his first NHL game on Oct. 6, 2000, against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Marting was drafted by the Predators fifth overall out of Sault St. Marie (OHL) in June. This is Nashville's highest draft pick since 2013, when it drafted defenseman Seth Jones with the fourth overall pick.
Blackhawks: Sam Rinzel Has His First Career NHL Goal
Not long after Cole Caufield had a Montreal Canadiens goal stand after being reviewed for a high stick, the Blackhawks tied the game thanks to a goal scored by Sam Rinzel.
In his 12th NHL game, Rinzel's goal is the first of his National Hockey League career. It couldn't have been a better-looking snipe for his first.
Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) on Xlet's hear it for Sam Rinzel!🗣️Frank Nazar won the faceoff back to Teuvo Teravainen, who slid it to Rinzel before he ripped it home. The goal tied the game for the Blackhawks at the time.
The Blackhawks are hoping that this is the first of many for Rinzel, who now has six points over his first 12 career games. That kind of pace would make him the clear-cut number one defenseman on the team, especially if he keeps up his very good defensive play.
Visit The Hockey News Chicago Blackhawks team site to stay updated on the latest news, game-day coverage, player features, and more.
Tiger Woods comeback in doubt after seventh back surgery for collapsed disc
Woods has lumbar disc replaced in New York
15-time major winner calls operation successful
No timetable set for 49-year-old’s golf return
Tiger Woods has announced that he underwent back surgery on Friday to address a collapsed disc in his spine.
The 15-time major winner had lumbar disk replacement surgery after he experienced pain in his lower back and said on social media that the operation was deemed successful, although it is unknown when the 49-year-old will return to golf.
Continue reading...Flyers take early punch to gut as OT goal is overturned in loss
Flyers take early punch to gut as OT goal is overturned in loss originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
Just when it looked like the Flyers had win No. 1 of the Rick Tocchet era Saturday night, it was taken away from them.
Bobby Brink had a goal in overtime wiped off the board by video review, which deemed that Travis Sanheim interfered with Hurricanes goalie Frederik Andersen (more on this below). Carolina scored just 37 seconds after the Flyers celebrated what they thought was a victory instead turn into a 4-3 loss at Lenovo Center.
Seth Jarvis buried the Hurricanes’ OT winner with 17 seconds left.
Brink, Sanheim and Owen Tippett provided the Flyers’ goals.
Noah Cates’ line with Brink and Tyson Foerster was very good again. The trio had a great shift that led to Sanheim’s game-tying goal with four minutes remaining in regulation.
The Flyers are 0-1-1 under Tocchet. The last time the Flyers dropped their first two games of a season was 2015-16, when that team also started 0-1-1.
Tocchet’s club has had a stiff schedule. The Flyers visited the two-time defending champion Panthers on opening night and then faced a Carolina team that has made the playoffs in seven straight seasons.
The Flyers have lost 14 of their last 16 games against the Hurricanes (2-9-5). Saturday night was their first of four matchups this season with Carolina, which is off to a 2-0-0 start.
• Sanheim was making a play to the net when he clipped Andersen on Brink’s overturned goal.
Andersen was in his crease but did appear to create some of the contact. It didn’t matter, though.
Here was the NHL’s explanation of the review, which was initiated by the league’s situation room:
“Video review determined Philadelphia’s Travis Sanheim impaired Frederik Andersen’s ability to play his position in the crease prior to Bobby Brink’s goal. The decision was made in accordance with Rule 69.1 which states, in part, ‘Goals should be disallowed only if: (1) an attacking player, either by his positioning or by contact, impairs the goalkeeper’s ability to move freely within his crease or defend his goal.'”
• Matvei Michkov didn’t see the ice in overtime, which was an interesting call considering the 20-year-old scored three OT winners last season as a rookie.
But Michkov definitely didn’t have his best game in regulation, while the Flyers had some other forwards playing well. You can bet that Michkov will get his looks in overtime this season.
• Samuel Ersson was between the pipes after Dan Vladar got the call in the 2-1 season-opening loss Thursday night.
Ersson made some tough and timely saves, stopping 35 of 39 shots.
The Hurricanes took advantage of transition opportunities and scored all three of their regulation goals in the second period.
Carolina grabbed its first lead of the game at 3-2 when it forechecked the Flyers’ top line and third defensive pair. Jordan Staal finished the sequence as Noah Juulsen and Adam Ginning couldn’t break up the play.
Ersson was excellent in the first period, making 15 saves and giving the Flyers an opportunity to take a 1-0 lead on Tippett’s goal with 22 seconds left before intermission.
Andersen denied 20 of the Flyers’ 23 shots.
• Nikita Grebenkin made his Flyers debut and picked up his first career NHL point with an assist.
The 22-year-old winger showed what he can do when he’s in the lineup. He popped offensively and really hunted the puck. That’s what’s pretty intriguing about him is that he can play down in the lineup because of his competitiveness.
He didn’t look out of place at all in a fourth-line role. And he has the ability to climb into the top six.
Grebenkin and Jett Luchanko entered the lineup for Nicolas Deslauriers and Rodrigo Abols. Luchanko was on the fourth line with Grebenkin and Garnet Hathaway.
On the Hurricanes’ game-tying 2-2 goal, Luchanko had an offensive-zone turnover that sprung Carolina the other way. Taylor Hall scored on the rush.
• Tippett didn’t have a power play goal all of last season. He already has one two games into this season.
The 26-year-old is a player the Flyers believe Tocchet can unleash.
“He has played, he has seen the game from all angles, he has been around the league coaching for a while,” Tippett said last month about his new head coach. “I’m excited to continue to work with him and see what he challenges me with.”
• Cam York missed the season-opening two-game road trip because of a lower-body injury.
• The Flyers return to Philadelphia for their home opener Monday against the Panthers (7 p.m. ET/NBCSP).
The organization will honor the late Bernie Parent before the game.
Panthers pay tribute to former forward Nick Cousins during Senators visit to Sunrise
The Florida Panthers paid tribute to one of their former Stanley Cup Champions.
On Saturday, Florida welcomed the Ottawa Senators to Sunrise.
Current Senators forward Nick Cousins spent two seasons with the Panthers, from 2022 to 2024.
Both years, the Panthers reached the Stanley Cup Final, claiming victory during their second trip.
Cousins played a total of 33 games during those two playoff runs, contributing two goals and eight points while racking up 36 penalty minutes.
His biggest postseason moment with the Cats came during the second round in 2023, when Cousins scored the overtime winner in Game 5 against the Toronto Maple Leafs that sent the Panthers to the Eastern Conference Final.
During his time with the Panthers, Cousins value to the team went well beyong his on-ice contributions.
Over the past several seasons, Florida has cultivated one of the best, tightknit locker rooms in the NHL, and Cousins was a big part of growing that camaraderie.
Cousins, along with former Panthers Ryan Lomberg and Brandon Montour, were some of the most vocal guys in that room and helped create the vibe that remains incredibly strong in South Florida.
During the first TV timeout on Saturday, the Panthers played a tribute video for Cousins on the scoreboard above the ice.
Cousins stood up and saluted the crowd as they gave him a loud ovation, then turned toward the Panthers bench and gave his former teammates a nod.
You can check out the tribute video, and Cousins' reaction, in the X post below:
Welcome back, Cuzzy 🤝 pic.twitter.com/yOa7UCDCZz
— Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) October 11, 2025
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Will Luka Doncic finally play in a preseason game Sunday? To be determined
At some point during the Lakers’ preseason, Luka Doncic will play in a game.
The question is when.
Even after being a full participant in practice Saturday, Lakers coach JJ Redick said that Doncic was “TBD” (to be determined) when asked if his star guard would play in Sunday’s exhibition game against the Golden State Warriors at Crypto.com Arena.
Redick said Austin Reaves will play and that Marcus Smart will see action in his first preseason game of the season.
The Lakers will play six preseason games, three of them coming after the game against the Warriors.
After practice, Doncic was asked when he would play.
Read more:LeBron James to miss Lakers' opening game because of sciatica issue
“I don’t know yet,” he said. “We got to talk about it — JJ and my team. So, I don’t know yet. But I’m probably going to end up playing two games of the preseason.”
When the regular season starts Oct. 21 at home against the Warriors, Doncic will not have running mate LeBron James beside him.
James was diagnosed with sciatica nerve issue on his right side, the Lakers announced to the media Thursday, saying that he’ll be re-evaluated in approximately three to four weeks.
James and Doncic formed a great partnership when they played together after the shocking blockbuster trade last February.
Not having James to start the season has to be unsettling for Doncic and the Lakers.
“It’s a big change,” Doncic said. “He’s a great player. He can help us a lot. But at the end of the day, our mentality needs to be next man up. We got a group of guys that have been practicing and hopefully LeBron can join us as soon as possible. We are going to obviously need him. But our mentality has got to be next man up. That’s it.”
Doncic will get plenty of help from Reaves, Smart, Deandre Ayton, Jared Vanderbilt and others with James out.
Still, the assumption is that Doncic will have to carry a heavy load with James sidelined.
“No. I don’t view it that way,” Doncic said. “I just want to play basketball. If I do less, if I do more, whatever it takes for me to get a win.”
James hasn’t practiced at all, but Doncic said that hasn’t stopped the two of them from figuring out the team can still function at a high level.
“It’s not everything about on the court. That’s what I’ve been saying,” Doncic said. “It’s about chemistry off the court, too. So, obviously, now it’s a little more off the court, but while we watched practices this week, we talked a lot about it.”
Lakers keep moving ahead without James
They had known over the summer that James had been dealing with “the nerve irritation,” Redick said, and so it wasn’t a total surprise James is going to be out with a sciatica issue.
Redick said James has been on the court “every day” doing individual work. He just hasn’t been able to practice with his teammates.
Redick was asked how James' inability to participate in practice affected his game planning for practice and going into the season knowing that he won’t be available for a while.
" No, no effect on practice planning,” Redick said. “And we haven't game-planned yet, so, no effect.”
Redick had not put too much emphasis on his starting lineup during training camp and during the preseason games.
But with James turning 41 in December, entering his 23rd season and being injured in training camp, Redick was asked if he could foresee having a lineup with James starting and another with him out.
"Potentially. Yeah,” he said. “Something that certainly has crossed my mind in the last couple days. Yeah…You hope that he's back soon. That's, those things are, those things can be tricky. So it, I don't think it's …
“We knew this going into camp, so it wasn't like it's changed anything for how we want to practice or what our philosophies are with the preseason games. It is unclear who's gonna be, what the starting lineup is gonna be. That's the reality until he is back. We'll have to figure that out.”
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Mike Sullivan's Time In Pittsburgh Deserves To Be Celebrated
If folks have been keeping tabs on the Pittsburgh Penguins for the last year and a half, they very well know that the organization is going through a plethora of change.
The roster is going younger. There has been a shift from laying everything on the line for playoff contention to rebuilding.
But perhaps the most prominent shift was the coaching change made this summer.
Dan Muse was in, and former head coach Mike Sullivan was out. The irony of it all was that Sullivan faced his former team on opening night, as he is now at the helm for the New York Rangers. Muse did, too, as he was formerly an assistant with the Rangers.
And now, just four days later, Sullivan is already back in Pittsburgh for the first time since switching sides, as the Rangers and Penguins square off again Saturday night.
Many among the Penguins' faithful believed Sullivan was past his shelf life in Pittsburgh by the time he and the team mutually agreed to part ways at the end of April. And, maybe that's true. But none of that diminishes what Sullivan accomplished during his 10 years in Pittsburgh.
Sullivan was first called upon in Pittsburgh on Dec. 12, 2015, when then-Penguins' coach Mike Johnston was fired and Sullivan was the head coach of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (AHL). He helped turn the tide for a struggling Penguins' team and led them to the franchise's fourth Stanley Cup championship in 2016, and he coached them right back to another Cup in 2017.
There was so much success so immediately - and Sullivan's Penguins were such a breath of fresh air in comparison to the Johnston-era Penguins - that there was a sense of inevitability when it came to Sullivan and the Penguins being synonymous for a long time.
Rangers At Penguins Preview: Mike Sullivan Returns To PittsburghThe Pittsburgh Penguins will try to improve to 3-0-0 on the season when they host Mike Sullivan and the New York Rangers on Saturday night.
But the COVID-19 pandemic, first-round playoff exits, and - eventually - missed playoff appearances altogether served as reminders that the team and its coach were still human and that nothing is permanent. Fans grew tired of the same old same, and, too, of Sullivan himself.
There are a lot of narratives still swirling about Sullivan and his supposed failure to ice young players, even if the young talent - for the most part - simply wasn't in the pipeline for most of his tenure. There are narratives about him losing the room, which is something we may never truly know.
However, tonight, none of that matters. All that matters is what Sullivan accomplished as head coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins, which includes two Stanley Cup championships and his 409 regular season wins, which is the most by any coach in Penguins' history.
Saturday, he deserves to be celebrated for that. Not for his shortcomings.
Penguins' Bryan Rust Activated From Injured Reserve, Top Prospect Sent To AHLThe Pittsburgh Penguins will get one of their top forwards back for Saturday's game against the New York Rangers.
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Pete Alonso expected to seek at least a seven-year deal in free agency: report
With Pete Alonso expected to opt out of his contract that he signed with the Mets last offseason, the first baseman will reportedly be seeking a new contract of at least seven years during free agency, per NY Post's Mike Puma.
After a great bounce-back season for the slugger in which he slashed .272/.347/.524 with 38 home runs and 126 RBI while playing in all 162 games, Alonso is hoping to turn that into a long-term deal, the same one that he was seeking last offseason.
A seven-year contract would be consistent with what Alonso's agent, Scott Boras, was able to complete for other clients of the same age, such as third baseman Matt Chapman and shortstop Marcus Semien in recent seasons. However, both Chapman and Semien play more valuable positions than Alonso.
In what was a long and difficult offseason last year for the slugger, Alonso, whose .788 OPS in 2024 was the lowest of his career, ultimately signed a two-year, $54 million contract with a player option after the first season to remain in New York.
The 30-year-old immediately returned to form in 2025 and posted his fifth straight season of 30 or more home runs to go along with 41 doubles, which led the National League. His 80 extra-base hits ranked tied for fifth in MLB.
While Alonso's offense was restored, his defense regressed.
Not known as a defensive-minded first baseman, Alonso's defense, particularly his throwing, hurt the team on many occasions last season. To his credit, he continued to be one of the best at scooping the baseball at first base. Nevertheless, a transition to designated hitter in some capacity is likely in Alonso's future.
Although he's been a stalwart in the Mets lineup since his debut in 2019 -- even breaking the franchise home run record this season -- are his defensive shortcomings enough for New York, which will likely emphasize defense next year after a poor season on the field, to look elsewhere for a solution at first base?
Considering the possible price tag, length of contract and likely move to DH in the future, it'll be interesting to see if the Mets or any other team are willing to sign Alonso to the deal that he is seeking this offseason.
Avalanche's Brent Burns Is A Prime Example Of Longevity As He Skates In Game 1500
It’s quite something to be an NHLer who has played 1,500 games. It’s even more impressive to do it while riding a games-played ironman streak of 927 games – the fourth-longest ironman streak in league history – while also being an important part of a legitimate Stanley Cup frontrunner in the Colorado Avalanche.
But that’s exactly what’s being done right now by 40-year-old defenseman Brent Burns. A 22-year NHL veteran who becomes only the eighth defenseman in league history to reach the 1,500-game plateau.
The others to reach that level – Zdeno Chara (1,680 games), Chris Chelios (1,651), Scott Stevens (1,635), Larry Murphy (1,615), Ray Bourque (1,612), Nicklas Lidstrom (1,564), and Ryan Suter (1,526) – are all legends in one way or another, so Burns is in rare air when it comes to NHL longevity.
What makes Burns’ 1,500-game achievement – that will happen Saturday night when the Avalanche take on the Dallas Stars – all the more impressive is the fact that Burns has played an intense, physical game his entire career. This is not a delicate flower of an athlete we’re talking about. Staying healthy and in the lineup night in and night out, year after year, in the grind of the industry for nearly a dozen seasons as a physical force is a major feat. Most of all, Burns has been a star player who made his opponents’ lives much tougher, and he’s been an impact player at both ends of the ice.
While you don’t have to lean completely on individual numbers when you’re discussing someone’s effectiveness as an elite player, it’s still a fact that Burns has generated 649 assists and 910 points in 1,499 games. That should tell you all you need to know about the all-around impact he’s had on the four teams he’s played for – the Minnesota Wild, San Jose Sharks, Carolina Hurricanes and Avalanche.
In his first two games with the Avs this year, Burns is averaging nearly 21 minutes a night (20:49, to be exact). But Father Time remains undefeated, so it’s undeniable that Burns might not be in the NHL much longer. This opportunity to win a Stanley Cup could be Burns’ last, best opportunity to win it all and cap off what is a Hockey Hall of Fame career.
Burns has already won a Norris Trophy as the league’s top blueliner. He’s also won a gold medal at the IIHF World Championship and at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. To think – this is a player who was converted from a forward to a defenseman in his first NHL season. Think of how difficult that transition had to be for Burns. Think of how your mindset has to change, and how you have to play even more responsibly when you’re a D-man. That’s what Burns went through and came out the other side with flying colors.
Thus, we believe that Burns is a Hockey Hall of Famer. He’s an excellent example of NHL longevity, excellent offensively, posting back-to-back seasons of 27 and 29 goals with the Sharks, as well as a 67-assist season for San Jose. He’s been stellar as a punishing player who'll make you pay a physical price for daring to keep the puck away from him.
Burns’ all-around impact is what’s made him so valuable for so many years, and he’s now got a golden opportunity with the Avs to finish up his playing days by hoisting a Cup next spring.
Burns wouldn’t be the first Hall of Famer who failed to run the competitive NHL gamut and retire as a Cup-winner, and if that’s how his career pans out, he wouldn’t be the last, either. But for more than 11 years, he’s answered the bell and skated out onto the ice to play an elite game each and every night in hockey’s best league.
Avalanche fans are going to celebrate his 1,500-game achievement Saturday, but the real party could be happening in Denver in this season’s post-season. And Burns could contribute offensively and defensively to give Colorado the extra push they need to win a Cup.
And if the Avs do win a championship, Burns will be thrilled to bookend his career with the championship he’s chased for more than two decades. Burns has been a high-impact player throughout his career, and that’s likely to be true of him again this season.
Winning a Cup would be a storybook finish to an unlikely success story, but Burns’s challenge is to do precisely that.
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