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Continue reading...Three Takeaways from the Calgary-Los Angeles Game (April 17)
The Calgary Flames beat the Los Angles Kings 5-1 in their final regular season game.
As this was an inconsequential game for Calgary, the rookies were out on the ice, fully motivated under the bright lights of Hollywood, hoping to make an impact in their debuts.
And it became a memorable night.
Here are my three takeaways from the game:
1) Energized by rookies in the third after slow first two periods
Not surprisingly when you have a completely new lineup, things will take time to gel. The Flames found themselves asleep in the first two periods before waking up in the third. They had eight scoring opportunities in the final period with 5:05 remaining. In comparison, they had less than that in the first and second period individually in their entirety.
But the big story of the evening were the performances of the rookies in that third period. In the sixth minute, Sam Morton took a feed from Ryan Lomberg on a 3-on-1 rush, and the finish was beautiful for an NHL career-first goal. At one point, he was even looking for his second.
Zayne Parekh showed a sample of the reason why he had the most goals by a defenseman in an OHL season (TWICE! And both times with 33) with a deflection into the net to also get his first career NHL goal. Morton ended the night with an Expected Goal value of 0.16. Parekh’s night ended with a +3 rating and an Expected Goal value of 0.12. Plus a Second Star of the game award? Not bad, young grasshopper.
This is the first time since 2003 that two teammates have scored goals in their NHL debut games.
The other debutants Ayder Suniev and Hunter Brzustewicz had a rating of +2 each.
2) Special Teams
Calgary was 0-for-2 on the man-advantage. Seems like having Suniev, Morton and Parekh rather than the usual guys couldn’t strike oil on the power play either. But this is one game, so there’s that, and it's something they're going to have to address in the off-season.
But the penalty-kill is always going to be cherished down the stretch. Even though they gave up one goal in this final game, since March 26, this team has gone a league-best 21-for-23 in that duration. It’s always good to end on a great note.
3) Dan Vladar
With goalie Dustin Wolf sitting out, Vladar closed out the season for the Flames in net, giving the California rookie netminder a break after eight consecutive starts. Vladar did just nicely in the win, giving up just one goal against an Expected Goal value of 2.82. He ends his season with 12 wins, just a couple short of his career-best 14 from the 2022-23 season.
Yankees beat Rays 6-3, winners as visitors for first time in their spring training home
TAMPA, Fla. — The New York Yankees were winners as visitors in their spring training home for the first time.
New York was back at Steinbrenner Field for a four-game series against the displaced Tampa Bay Rays, who are using their AL East rival’s ballpark for their home games this season.
Ben Rice had his first big league four-hit game and drove in two runs, Oswaldo Cabrera hit a solo homer and New York rallied to beat the Rays 6-3.
“It was a great environment,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “Obviously, a ton of Yankees fans. I think the Yankees and Rays have done a great job of getting this ready but I didn’t like my seat. ... All of it was weird.”
The Rays needed a rental stadium after Hurricane Milton tore off the roof panels at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg on Oct 9. The ballpark couldn’t be repaired quickly and the Rays made a deal with the Yankees to use their open-air 11,026-capacity spring training facility across the bay in Tampa.
“I think this was for the good of baseball, for the good of the Rays,” Boone said. “I know their organization, our organization worked very well together in making it viable and it’s just the right thing to do on all fronts. When something like that storm happens, it’s bigger than obviously we compete hard against each other, they’re one of our main rivals but to do the right thing always feels good.”
The Yankees’ generosity meant Aaron Judge, Jazz Chisholm Jr. and the rest of New York’s roster are spending four days in a cramped clubhouse while the Rays enjoy palatial surroundings. The visiting team dining area is usually the media cafe during spring training.
“The only weird part was being on the other side of the field,” said Ben Rice, who had his first four-hit game. “The game itself is the same thing.”
New York last winter completed a major renovation of the clubhouse, doubling player and staff space to 50,000 square feet. There is a two-story weight room with floor-to-ceiling windows and garage door, indoor and outdoor stretching areas, a Ping-Pong table, a barbershop, eight beds in a trainers area, massage rooms and a SwimEx along with hot and cold tubs with TVs at water level, a sauna red-light therapy and four batting cages. Each player locker has a safe along with USB and USB-C ports. There is a 70-seat meeting room, six private offices and 12 desks for additional staff.
“First of all, it is amazing to have that as our spring training home, now is really awesome, and guys really took advantage of it this year,” Boone said. “But your mind switches to once you leave, like we know we’re in the season, we know it was expected, so I don’t even really let myself go there.”
Boone had left a note for Rays manager Kevin Cash before the Yankees went up north in March. He meant to leave a bottle of tequila with the note but forgot so he sent it over before the game.
“Just kind of my housewarming gift,” Boone said.
What kind of tequila?
“The good stuff,” Boone said with a smile.
However, he didn’t like his view from the third-base dugout and the line of sight to third-base coach Luis Rojas.
“It kind of sucks, actually,” he said. “I got to move to a place that I’m not usually with my signs to Luis. ... I like the other side better.”
Strawberry says MLB needs to focus on developing, marketing game within inner cities
NEW YORK — Darryl Strawberry says Major League Baseball needs to focus on developing and marketing the game within the inner cities in order for the percentage of Black players to rise substantially.
“They have academies everywhere else, but they don’t have the attraction for what inner cities are all about,” Strawberry said Thursday at Citi Field prior to what the New York Mets marketed as their “Black Legacy Game” against the St. Louis Cardinals. “That’s where we played — me and Eric Davis, Chris Brown, all of us came from the inner city and inner city baseball was organized.”
Strawberry, Davis and Brown all grew up in the Los Angeles area and made big league debuts in 1983 and 1984.
“They don’t have those anymore. Those parks are closed down. Those parks are soccer fields. They’re not baseball fields anymore,” Strawberry said.
Black players comprised 6.2% of the opening-day rosters this season — up from 6% last season and down 18% from 1991, the first year The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport at Central Florida conducted its annual study.
MLB has attempted to generate interest among Black high schoolers with the DREAM Series, which it runs in conjunction with USA Baseball. The Series began in 2017, when one of the high schoolers in attendance was current Cincinnati Reds ace Hunter Greene.
Strawberry said MLB should increase marketing to attract Black athletes who might otherwise play basketball or football. Strawberry’s sons D.J. and Jordan were 1,000-point scorers, D.J. at Maryland and Jordan at Mercer. Jordan Strawberry accompanied his father to Citi Field.
“The younger African-American kids kind of reject baseball because they don’t market it like they do basketball,” Darryl Strawberry said, “Basketball markets their players, they market their jersey, they market their tennis shoes and that’s what gets kids attracted to.
“My son Jordan’s with me. He grew up playing basketball. He was a good baseball player. I wish he’d picked up a bat and kept going. The marketing of basketball was so attractive and it just draws players to that. So you have to make the game attractive to draw players to it.”
‘Can’t put our head in the sand’: New CA boss to crack down on cricket’s most frustrating rule
New Cricket Australia chief executive Todd Greenberg has declared he will fight to end of fans’ greatest bugbears in Test cricket.
Kings wrap up regular season matching franchise records for points, wins
The Kings were playing for history Thursday and the Calgary Flames were playing for pride. Pride won, with Nazem Kadri scoring twice and and Sam Morton, Zayne Parekh and Mikael Backlund also scoring to give the Flames a 5-1 win in the final game of the NHL regular season.
Taylor Ward, making his NHL debut, got the only Kings goal late in the third period, long after the outcome had been decided. The goals by Morton and Parekh also came in their first NHL games.
The loss, the Kings' first in five games, left them with 48 wins and 105 points for the season, matching the team record in both categories.
Read more:Samuel Helenius has two goals as Kings defeat the Seattle Kraken
Still, the Kings will enter their first-round playoff series with the Edmonton Oilers on Monday as the hottest team in the Western Conference, having won eight of their last 10. Game 2 of the best-of-seven series will be played in Los Angeles on Wednesday before the series moves to Edmonton for Games 3 and 4.
The Flames, meanwhile, will miss the playoffs for the third season in a row after being eliminated earlier in the week in a shootout loss to the Vegas Golden Knights. But they didn’t go quietly against the Kings, taking the lead to stay on Kadri’s first goal two minutes and 15 seconds into the second period.
Morton doubled the lead 6:05 into the third period, opening the floodgates with Kadri scoring his team-leading 35th goal less than a minute later, followed by goals from Parekh and Backlund three minutes apart.
Ward got his goal with just more than six minutes to play. It marked the first time in five games the Kings failed to score at least five goals.
The Kings rested leading scorer Adrian Kempe and regular goaltender Darcy Kuemper as well as center Phillip Danault and winger Trevor Moore, which allowed Ward to become the first son of an NHL player to play for the team. Ward’s father, Dixon, also a winger, appeared in 537 NHL games for six teams, including the Kings, between 1992-2003.
Thursday’s game was supposed to be played Jan. 8 but was postponed because of wildfires in Southern California. The Kings used the rescheduled date to honor first responders.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
For Mets, Mark Vientos breaking home run drought was just a matter of time
Ask anyone on the Mets about Mark Vientos and his sluggish performance to start the 2025 season, and they'll tell you it's only a matter of time until what we saw last year shows up again.
“His job is to try to go out there and control the strike zone and hit the ball hard," Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said before Thursday's game against the Cardinals. "And he’s done that, he’s just not getting the results.”
"He’s been having good at-bats the entire year, it just hasn’t gone his way," Francisco Lindor said Thursday. "If he stays through the process, continues to have good at-bats, he’s going to have a successful year. He’s a really good hitter. He’s taking the right pitches, He’s swinging at the right pitches. It’s just a matter of time for him."
That time may be now, after Vientos ended a home run drought that lasted 77 consecutive at-bats in the Mets' 4-1 win over the Cardinals on Thursday.
In the second inning, Vientos launched a 90.4 mph fastball from Andre Pallante the opposite way over the right field wall. The ball was 100.1 mph off the bat but only went 338 feet -- the third-shortest traditional home run at CitiField since 2016 -- but it was enough to not only give the Mets an early 1-0 lead but also allow the 25-year-old to exhale. He pumped his fist rounding first base and let out a yell, and then another as he crossed home plate.
"It’s a good feeling for sure," Vientos said after the game. "Trying to stay positive, have good at-bats. It’s easy to stay positive when your team is winning. That’s always a good thing."
Yes, the Mets (12-7) are winning despite the lack of offensive contributions from Vientos but they were winning a lot last season because of the young infielder. His 27 homers -- in just 111 games -- helped the Mets overcome their slow start and make the playoffs, while his five homers in the postseason were integral to the team's run to the NLCS.
He entered Thursday with just a .210 slugging after slugging .516 a year ago. But as Mendoza said, the hard contact was there -- Vientos' xSLG is .336 -- the third baseman was just a bit unlucky in the early going. That fact has helped Vientos overcome this slow start, and he and the team hope it leads to a breakout.
"I’ve been liking the hard-hit contact that I’ve been having, and walking," Vientos said. "If you stick to the process and just do that over and over again every single day you’re playing, and have good at-bats, they are eventually going to go your way."
"With Vientos, we’ve seen that the whole year, we’ve just haven’t seen the results," Mendoza said of Vientos' home run. "He keeps hitting the ball hard."
The home run was Vientos' lone hit on Thursday, but it should go a long way for the slugger to reach his goals. Lindor, the Mets' de facto captain and mentor to Vientos, is confident the youngster will get to where he needs to get to.
"He has to stay the course," Lindor said. "By the end of the year, hopefully, he’s going to hit 30, 40 home runs. Whatever his goals are, I’m sure he’s going to achieve them."
Richmond court controversy with Noah Balta slated for polarising AFL return
- Premiership star to play against Gold Coast on Saturday
- Tigers backman faces court after pleading guilty to assault
Richmond premiership star Noah Balta returns to an AFL field against Gold Coast on Saturday, three days before fronting court on Tuesday after pleading guilty to assault outside a NSW Riverina club on 30 December last year.
Prison time – his charge in NSW carries a maximum five-year stretch – appears unlikely, but Balta’s return to football has become a political football.
Continue reading...There Was A Feeling Of Sadness and Uncertainty In The Air During The Rangers' Season Finale
The New York Rangers completed their season on Thursday night with a 4-0 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning, but the emotions of the game spoke louder than the score or win.
It’s been a season from the start that has been riddled with drama, tension, and underwhelming play. It feels that the energy around the Rangers has only gotten worse as time has gone on.
The mood best to describe this night was sadness. Walking into the legendary Madison Square Garden for the last time this season, there was a sense of gloom.
It was business as usual, yet there was a strange feeling of emptiness like the Rangers were just playing this game for nothing, which was exactly the case.
To close out the season, the Rangers actually played really well. The win didn’t matter though, the only thing this victory did was reignite the question: What could have been and where has this team been all season?
All season long the Rangers showed no sense of heart, no sense of urgency, and no sense of purpose.
There were fans and surprisingly a lot of them in attendance cheering on the Blueshirts, but it feels like everyone gave up on the Rangers a while ago.
Throughout the contest, the sadness continued to pour on. The sadness for Sam Rosen who was calling his final game as the Rangers play-by-play announcer, the sadness of a team’s utter collapse from the top of the league to the pits of despair, and the sadness of another season ending with nothing to show for it.
There was also a feeling of uncertainty. The Rangers have had the same nucleus of players for many years and that might be changing after what can only be described as a dreadful season.
Throughout the year, the wheels were falling off this team’s core. They were barely holding it together as they continued to lose piece by piece from Jacob Trouba, to Kaapo Kakko, to Ryan Lindgren, to Jimmy Vesey.
Thursday night felt like this core’s last dance. Sure, there will be quite a few players who return to New York next season. However, major roster turnover and a drastic culture shift are inevitable.
After the game, Peter Laviolette and a few players rattled on the same old cliches, something that you knew they weren’t actually thinking deep down.
In a night full of emotions and uncertainty, one thing remained crystal clear: The fans and people of New York deserve better.
Mets Notes: Brandon Nimmo's hard luck, if there's pressure on Juan Soto
Before the Mets' 4-1 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday night at Citi Field, manager Carlos Mendoza spoke about Brandon Nimmo's tough luck, if Juan Soto is under pressure, and a plan for center field.
Pressure on Juan Soto?
With one ninth of the season gone, Mendoza was asked about Soto not “being off to a start that he may like” and if the pressure – both from the outside work and from himself – meant that the skipper had taken some time to speak to the slugger about his first 18 games in Queens and to see where he is at mentally.
“Not really,” Mendoza said with a chuckle and a bemused smile.
“It’s funny because here we are talking about not having the start he would like or we would like or people would like,” the manager continued. “He’s still got like an .830 OPS and he’s still getting on base and giving you great at-bats.”
While the manager slightly inflated the slugger's number, which fell to .773 after Soto went 0-for-3 with a walk in Thursday's win, the point still stood. Especially when you consider the right fielder scorched two grounders – 106.7 mph off the bat up the middle in the first and 97.7 mph in the fifth – but came up empty.
In fact, the two balls in play carried a .530 and .500 expected batting average, per Statcast, but accounted for no hits and three outs via a double play.
“And yes, here we are,” Mendoza said, adding a shrug. “No, I just want him to be himself, go out there, have fun, and play the game.”
When asked about the pressure of the new contract, the new team, and a new borough, Mendoza said Soto was “under a lot of pressure last year when he was playing for the Yankees, going into his free agent year, and he handled it pretty well.”
“I think it’s just, he’s human,” the manager said. “And this is home for him now. He’s Juan Soto, he’s fine.”
Mendoza didn’t mention it, but over his career, games in March/April have been his worst ‘month.” He has a career .258/.395/.468 slash for an .863 OPS in 143 early-season games entering Thursday.
Those four numbers are his lowest in those categories for any period of the season.
Nimmo’s fortune favors the bold?
Through 19 games, Nimmo has 14 hits in 72 at-bats (.194) with three doubles, four home runs, and nine RBI with a .656 OPS.
What has the manager made of the 32-year-old’s at-bats to start the year? “They’re on, they’re off, there’s times where he’s hitting the ball hard and he’s not getting results,” Mendoza said before the game, in which Nimmo went 0-for-3.
“Feel like he’s been a little aggressive at times, swinging at the first pitch,” he continued. “I think his approach, game plan that we’re going out there and we’re gonna be aggressive, he just hasn’t got results.”
Nimmo is swinging at the first pitch more than he ever has in his career at 46.1 percent entering Thursday’s game, up from 32.6 percent last year, which was up from a near career-low 25.5 percent in 2023.
But almost across the board, the Statcast metrics for Nimmo are up from last year: barrel percentage is up 5.2 percent, hard-hit percentage up 6.2 percent, expected batting average up .028 (to .272), and expected slugging up .121 (to .529, a small sample size career high).
In Thursday’s game, Nimmo swung at just one first-pitch and hit the ball hard (over 95 mph) twice, but had nothing to show for it.
“But we know, the professional hitter that he is, he’s gonna control the strike zone better than anybody else,” Mendoza said. “He’s got power, he’s got the ability to use the whole field, and he’s an important player for us.
“So, early on, maybe a little bit of not getting results, hitting the ball hard, being a little too aggressive. But overall, I like where he’s at.”
With Nimmo batting in the heart of the order this year as opposed to in the two hole, where he spent a significant portion of last year, Mendoza was asked if that means the veteran is having trouble striking the right balance in his approach from working counts and taking walks to being more on the front foot and driving in runs.
“I think the game will dictate at times when he’s going to be aggressive, when he needs to work an at-bat,” the manager said. “And also, when there’s traffic out there and they’re giving you a pitch to hit, we want to be aggressive.
“And more times than not, the results are gonna be there. Yes, right now, we’re not getting those results and we’re not gonna overreact to it. As long as the process, our approach, the reasons behind it are good reasons.”
Mendoza still sees Nimmo as “one of the better decision makers” at the plate. “He’s gonna be fine.”
Center of mind
With Jose Siri on the IL for some time with the broken left tibia, Mendoza isn’t short of options to platoon in center field with Tyrone Taylor. And the manager said Thursday that he is comfortable with Nimmo playing there “anytime we need him to.”
“Perfectly fine with [Nimmo] not only playing [center] late in games but even starts and things like that,” he said, adding that they will check on his fitness each day to maintain his freshness as the club views the long-time Met as an “everyday player.”
“Also comfortable playing the other guys,” Mendoza said. “I think it’s gonna be match-up based, if I feel like I need to get another lefty in the lineup and we put [Jesse] Winker in left and we put Brandon in center, we’ll be fine.”
Could that mean LuisangelAcuña ends up in center? “We’ll see,” the skipper said, adding that José Azócar, added to the roster on Thursday, can play there, too. “But we are preparing Acuña for a potential start if we need him to. He’s playing well, so he’s earning opportunities here.”
Nimmo was asked about the potential shift on Wednesday and said he is open to playing “wherever they want me to.”
“It doesn’t take any skin off my nose. I don’t have the pride like that. I just want to help the team win,” he said.
Another option down the road is Jeff McNeil, who played in center field Thursday in a rehab start at Port St. Lucie. (McNeil will return to playing at second base over the weekend.)
Skyler Brind'Amour Scores First NHL Goal With Dad, Rod, Behind The Bench
It was another loss for the Carolina Hurricanes Thursday night, as they fell 7-5 to the Ottawa Senators in their regular season finale, but yet again, the special moments from the game outshined the outcome.
Specifically, the fact that Skyler Brind'Amour scored his first career NHL goal with his father Rod coaching him from the bench.
With less than a minute to go in the first period, the Hurricanes led a rush up ice and William Carrier put a shot on goal. The rebound popped out to Skyler in front and the rookie managed to get his stick on it for the goal.
Skyler Brind'Amour, son of coach Rod, gets his first NHL goal 🚨 pic.twitter.com/uJ5lme7aFK
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) April 17, 2025
"It was obviously pretty cool," Skyler said. "A nice play by Carrier there and I just had to tap it in, but it was nice after the first one they scored which was on me, to get one back.
"There's been a lot of emotions, a lot of fun and a little bit stressful at times too, but I'm just trying to enjoy it and play hard and go from there."
And while a first NHL goal is always special, especially when you can get it just two games into your NHL career, having your dad be behind the bench for it too has to be even more special.
Skyler became just the third player in NHL history to score their first career goal while their father was also the head coach, joining Muzz Patrick (1938) and Lynn Patrick (1934).
In total, he was just the eighth NHL player to have his dad coach him as well.
'We've Just Been Waiting To Get To The Next Level': Rod Brind'Amour, Andrei Svechnikov On Final Regular Season GameThe Carolina Hurricanes concluded the regular season with a 7-5 loss to the Ottawa Senators.
But on the other side, it's probably a little tough to have your dad as your head coach too because you know they're going to be pointing out every single mistake.
"Right now, it hasn't really sunk in too much because it was a loss and he did turn it over on the one and it cost us a goal," Rod said. "But it's been a long journey for him and I'm happy that he can at least say that he tucked one in."
Rod Brind'Amour talked before his son's NHL debut, a night earlier in Montreal, that while he's a parent, he's also still the coach, so it's been a pretty interesting dynamic.
"It's interesting," Rod said pre-game in Montreal. "The more the game is getting closer, the more I'm getting nervous about it for that reason as a parent more than anything, but I have a job to do and that's been the focus here all along. Trying to get our guys prepared and you want each player to be prepared to give their best effort and that's the task here."
Obviously not the final score either of the two wanted tonight, but a moment they'll never forget post-game, as Rod Brind'Amour gives Skyler Brind'Amour the puck from his first NHL goal. pic.twitter.com/SRkFt7dgrL
— Walt Ruff (@WaltRuff) April 18, 2025
It's lucky too for Rod to be able to watch these milestones with his son.
He was there when Skyler won the NCAA Championship with Quinnipiac in 2023 and two seasons ago, his son got to make his NHL preseason debut at PNC Arena with the Florida Panthers.
Now, all of the action from the past two days have created, I'm sure, even more memories that won't soon be forgotten.
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Philadelphia Flyers Steal Top Draft Pick; Now What?
The Philadelphia Flyers have clinched the fourth-best odds to land the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, but they also created more questions than answers.
The long-standing goal of the Flyers has been to, somehow, some way, draft the top-line center of their future. A running mate for Matvei Michkov, if you will.
Jett Luchanko, the 13th overall pick from last year's draft, has some potential, but very few believe he can reach the heights of a star center.
Fans, understandably, are still hung up on Minnesota Wild draft pick Zeev Buium, a wildly skilled, smooth defenseman who was available to the Flyers, only for the Flyers to trade down one spot to select speedster Luchanko instead.
Should the Flyers land the top draft selection this year, it creates an interesting paradox.
Erie Otters rearguard Matthew Schaefer, a World Junior Championships gold medalist and Hlinka-Gretzky Cup winner, is widely regarded as the top player heading into the 2025 draft.
Would the Flyers dare draft a defenseman and punt their center needs to the back of the first round, or even 2026?
The comparison, unfairly, at that, becomes Luchanko and Schaefer, or Buium and one of James Hagens, Anton Frondell, Michael Misa, Caleb Desnoyers, Jake O'Brien, and Roger McQueen.
Of course, the most likely outcome is Luchanko and one of the aforementioned centers, and no franchise defenseman in the cupboard once more.
Medicine Hat Tigers starlet Gavin McKenna has 129 points in 56 WHL games this season and will have another year of junior hockey before his name is called first in the 2026 draft.
Can the Flyers afford another dismal season just to have a chance - not a guarantee - at this player?
There are many, many factors to consider now and in the future. While Thursday night's 5-4 loss to the Buffalo Sabres may feel like victory for Flyers fans, the job has only just begun.
According to Tankathon, the Flyers have a 9.5% chance at landing either the first or second pick in the 2025 draft, a 0.3% chance of landing the third pick, a 15.4% chance of staying put at fourth, a whopping 44.6% chance of moving back to fifth, and 20.8% chance of moving back two spots to sixth.
Could the Flyers pick first and take their top player? Sure. Could the Flyers move back two spots and take the de facto runt of the litter amongst the draft's top centers? Certainly!
This is all to say that, yes, the Flyers have put themselves in a great position to land a key future piece after stealing a loss (win?) from under the Sabres' noses, intentionally or not.
What they do next is equally as important as the road they took to get here.
The Flyers' front office will have a ton of work to do between now and June 27, when they're slated to pick thrice in the first round. Add in four second-round picks, and the Flyers can easily address the needs they have at defense, center, and goalie.
But, for now, all eyes are on Philadelphia heading into the unofficial start of the 2025 offseason.
Blues Can Bank On Wealth Of Experience From Blue Line
MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. -- When the likes of Jimmy Snuggerud, Zack Bolduc and Jake Neighbours lace the blades and suit up for the St. Louis Blues in each respective first Stanley Cup playoff game on Saturday against the Winnipeg Jets, there’s something comforting knowing that players that could tend to perhaps play tentatively or fall into a quagmire of nerves.
And even for guys like Jordan Kyrou and some of the other Blues, who open their best-of-7 Western Conference First Round series on Saturday, there will be quite the comfort factor knowing that should they try to make plays and accentuate their strengths, there will be plenty of experience behind them on the Blues’ blue line.
Of the 16 playoff teams and their top six defensemen that will likely suit up for Game 1 of each respective series, the Blues have the most experience among top six defensemen by a wide margin.
Their 5,462 combined regular season games’ worth of experience ranks 1,010 games more than the next closest foe, the Carolina Hurricanes at 4,452.
Does it matter that the Blues have a wealth of experience back there? It may not mean anything in this day and age, but that comfort level, especially for forwards, will ease a lot of minds and help them in knowing that if mistakes are made, Ryan Suter (1,526 games), Cam Fowler (1,042), Nick Leddy (1,042), Justin Faulk (980), Colton Parayko (723) and even Philip Broberg and his modest 149 games played will be the kind of presence they need.
“Just look at how many games our d-corps has played in the league,” said Bolduc, who will make his playoff debut. “It’s incredible. We’ve got so much confidence in them. We’re just happy to have them and we know all the experience they have. We know they’re there to repair the mistake that we’re doing in front of them. It’s good to have them behind us.
“They’re involved in the offense too. They’re so good on boxing out, breaking out. We’ve got some many ‘D’ capable of beating pressure, one or two guys just by themselves. It’s great and it’s fun to have them.”
Only the Vegas Golden Knights (480 games) have a top six among defensemen that have played in more playoff games than the Blues (465), so not only do the Blues, who are the second wild card in the Western Conference after finishing the regular season 44-30-8, have the wealth and knowledge of guys that have played a plethora of games, but they also have guys that have been on the big stage often and taken home Stanley Cup titles with Parayko (2019) and Leddy (2013).
“It’s great,” Kyrou said. “Veteran d-corps, all have played a ton of playoff games before. They know what it’s going to be like and I think it’s going to make it a lot easier on us forwards. Them just playing an experienced game.”
Compared to the Jets, whose top six game played in 3,694 regular season games and 191 playoff games, the Blues have a decided edge on the aura factor. Again, it may not matter when the puck is dropped but from a coaching perspective with Blues coach Jim Montgomery, he has six guys he can utilize in any situation at any time.
“It’s very beneficial,” Montgomery said. “I thought it was a big factor in how well we played our last home game to get into the playoffs (a 6-1 win against Utah Hockey Club) and I think it’s a big factor why since 4 Nations break we’ve been second in odd-man rushes against. Our defensemen make reads and their experience helps them make really good reads.”
It’s a great advantage to have considering this group is adept at handling the pressures of what playoff hockey brings.
“Luxury to have,” Blues captain Brayden Schenn said. “That’s experience, it’s guys that have played in big games, guys that have won Cups back there, guys that have played in the Stanley Cup Finals. Just a whole lot of experience.
“You go in there and they’re just a calming influence back there. They’re good at making not many mistakes at all and if they do, they’re very good at covering up for them. That’s just with guys with presence and composure with the puck, they’re big and they’re long, they skate well and they’re hard to play against.”
The calming presence may be the greatest benefactor and guys that will remain cool under pressure and just simplify the game for everyone.
“I think so. I think the one thing about playoff time is you don’t want to change who you are as a person,” said Fowler, who will play in his first playoff game since 2018 with the Anaheim Ducks. “What you did up to this point that has gotten you this far. I know myself and ‘Leds’ and ‘Flak,’ Parayko are a little bit more on the soft-spoken side, I think if guys see us and see how we’re approaching things and still maintaining that calm demeanor, I think it will help guys understand that it is just another game at the end of the day. Of course the stakes are higher and the intensity’s higher, but if they see us going through our normal routine and with that same demeanor, I think it will help guys settle in too.
“We like to think of it as an advantage. We have guys in here that have a lot of experience and I think that’s valuable come playoff time and we have guys that have won the Stanley Cup, so they’ve gotten to the highest of highs that you can in this game. You combine that with a lot of youthful energy and guys that are experiencing it for the first time, I think it’s a great mix. We’ve known for a long time that the back end has kind of been that veteran type of group for us and we’ve kind of taken on that role during the regular season too. We’ll have to continue to do that along with the ‘Schenners’ and ‘Tommer’ and those guys that have been through it as well on the forward side of things.”
When the Blues face the Jets (55-22-4), who claimed the Presidents’ Trophy and won the Central Division, going into the Winnipeg ‘White Out’ on Saturday would rattle a younger group. But knowing who is behind them, the Kyrous, the Bolducs, the Snuggeruds, Robert Thomas, Neighbours, even Schenn and Pavel Buchnevich can all focus on doing creative things instead of playing with their knees knocking.
“You have to let those guys be creative,” Fowler said. “That’s part of the reason they’re here and part of why we’ve had success is because we’ve had a good blend of creativity with some sandpaper mixed in up there too. Those guys should feel the freedom to go out and play and feel creative and that part shouldn’t change. It’s the emotional highs and lows of the playoffs that can be difficult to navigate. I think that’s where we’ll come in and understand that there’s going to be ebbs and flows to every series and we have to try and maintain an even keel kind of mindset as a team and I think that’s where guys with a little of more experience can help out with that.”
Rest assured that Jordan Binnington will also be quite pleased to have this group in front of him.
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A breakdown of teams, players, regular season games played and postseason games played:
St. Louis Blues (5,462/465): Ryan Suter 1,526/133; Cam Fowler 1,042/62; Nick Leddy 1,042/130; Justin Faulk 980/38; Colton Parayko 723/82; Philip Broberg 149/20.
Carolina Hurricanes (4,452/354): Brent Burns 1,496/120; Dmitri Orlov 866/92; Jaccob Slavin 745/71; Shayne Gostisbehere 688/32; Sean Walker 394/13; Jalen Chatfield 263/26.
Toronto Maple Leafs (4,354/263): Oliver Ekman Larsson 1,059/49; Morgan Rielly 872/57; Chris Tanev 866/60; Jake McCabe 643/18; Brandon Carlo 636/72; Simon Benoit 278/7.
Florida Panthers (4,156/338): Dmitry Kulikov 1,018/53; Seth Jones 860/37; Nate Schmidt 741/76; Aaron Ekblad 732/64; Gustav Forsling 477/61; Niko Mikkola 328/47; *Uvis Balinskis 102/0 – Ekblad is suspended for the first round but was included in total over Balinskis.
Vegas Golden Knights (3,916/480): Alex Pietrangelo 1,087/139; Brayden McNabb 822/93; Noah Hanifin 758/34; Shea Theodore 564/114; Nicolas Hague 364/33; Zach Whitecloud 321/67.
Winnipeg Jets (3,694/191): Luke Schenn 1,072/47; Josh Morrissey 622/42; Dylan DeMelo 636/29; Colin Miller 572/41; Neal Pionk 536/22; Dylan Samberg 216/10.
New Jersey Devils (3,593/290): Brenden Dillon 974/83; Dougie Hamilton 835/66; Brian Dumoulin 706/81; Brett Pesce 699/57; Johnathan Kovacevic 224/0; Luke Hughes 155/3.
Washington Capitals (3,355/207): John Carlson 1,088/127; Trevor van Riemsdyk 682/35; Jakob Chychrun 540/9; Matt Roy 438/18; Rasmus Sandin 308/6; Martin Fehervary 299/12.
Tampa Bay Lightning (Lightning 3,231/444): Victor Hedman 1,130/165; Ryan McDonagh 1,009/191; Erik Cernak 440/79; J.J. Moser 258/0; Nick Perbix 219/8; Darren Raddysh 175/9; *Emil Lilleberg 112/0 – extra D not included in total games.
Minnesota Wild (3,183/206): Jared Spurgeon 933/67; Zach Bogosian 929/54; Jonas Brodin 853/67; Jake Middleton 306/12; Brock Faber 162/6; Zeev Buium 0/0; *Jon Merril 682/37; *Declan Chisholm 99/0 – Merrill and Chisholm not part of total games.
Dallas Stars (2,960/280): Cody Ceci 871/88; Matt Dumba 737/54; Esa Lindell 684/85; Ilya Lyubushkin 433/14; Thomas Harley 197/39; Lian Bichsel 38/0; * Miro Heiskanen 475/85 – Heiskanen is injured and not part of total games.
Los Angeles Kings (2,867/226): Drew Doughty 1,206/95; Joel Edmundson 602/82; Vladislav Gavrikov 434/23; Mikey Anderson 344/18; Jordan Spence 179/8; Brandt Clarke 102/0.
Ottawa Senators (2,679/49): Travis Hamonic 899/22; Nick Jensen 632/27; Tomas Chabot 512/0; Artem Zub 306/0; Jake Sanderson 235/0; Tyler Kleven 95/0.
Edmonton Oilers (2,576/223): Darnell Nurse 716/72; Brett Kulak 580/76; Troy Stecher 560/21; Evan Bouchard 347/53; Jake Walman 267/1; Ty Emberson 106/0.
Colorado Avalanche (2,546/310): Josh Manson 626/58; Samuel Girard 548/60; Devon Toews 473/77; Ryan Lindgren 405/43; Cale Makar 395/72; Sam Malinski 99/0; * Erik Johnson 1,023/55 – Johnson not added to total games.
Montreal Canadiens (2,158/93): David Savard 870/57; Mike Matheson 627/20; Alexandre Carrier 296; 16; Kaden Guhle 169/0; Jordan Struble 112/0; Lane Hutson 84/0.
‘That Was Kind Of My Era Of Hockey’: Scott Laughton Ready To Write His Own Chapter With Maple Leafs In Battle Of Ontario Revival
Scott Laughton is ready for the revival of the Battle of Ontario.
It’s been more than two decades since the last playoff matchup between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Ottawa Senators, and for Laughton, it’s a chance to step into the rivalry he grew up watching.
"I watched the highlight pack yesterday. I remember watching guys like Darcy Tucker, Shayne Corson and all those guys. That was kind of my era of hockey, and I thought it was the best era of hockey. It was amazing, so really excited to get going,” said Laughton post-game on Thursday.
Originally from Oakville, Ont., Laughton watched the Leafs defeat the Senators four consecutive postseasons in a row from 2000-04. Now, he’ll be on the ice for the first playoff Battle of Ontario in 21 years.
'It's Going To Be An Absolute War': Maple Leafs Prepare For Intense Battle Of Ontario Playoffs Series Against Senators John Tavares has fond memories of watching the Toronto Maple Leafs take on the Ottawa Senators in the early 2000s.
The Maple Leafs clinched the Atlantic Division title on Tuesday night with a 4-0 win over the Buffalo Sabres, locking in a first-round series against Ottawa and home-ice advantage. The best-of-seven begins Sunday night in Toronto, and for Laughton, it couldn’t come at a better time for the 30-year-old.
"You see the buzz and how much people care here, and that’s what you want in a franchise and to go to battle for. So, yeah, it’s an exciting time. I haven’t played playoff hockey in a while, this is big for me," said Laughton.
Maple Leafs' First-Round Playoff Scheduled Against Senators RevealedThe first Battle of Ontario in the postseason since 2004 will begin on Sunday in Toronto.
Laughton’s last playoff appearance came during the 2019-20 shortened season with the Philadelphia Flyers, where he posted five goals, four assists, and nine points in 15 games. In total, he’s played in 24 career postseason games, all with the Flyers, putting up six goals and 10 points across three separate Stanley Cup Playoff runs.
This year, after arriving in Toronto via trade on March 7, Laughton has been working to find his footing. His numbers don’t jump off the page with two goals and two assists in 20 games, but his play has started to come around at just the right time. He finished the regular season on a two-game point streak, including an assist in Tuesday’s division-clinching win and an overtime game-winner against the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday.
“Before, if you go back to three games now, I think he's really come around for us,” head coach Craig Berube explained after the win. “I thought in Buffalo he was excellent, but before that, he was even playing good hockey. Got some chemistry going with those guys. Starting to feel a lot more comfortable. I was happy for him to get that goal in OT. Obviously, if you score a goal, you feel good about yourself. But it's not the goal so much as how he's playing the game.”
‘He’s Overthinking Things Instead Of Just Playing’: Scott Laughton Remains Pointless With Maple Leafs, Craig Berube Urges Forward To ‘Loosen Up’The Toronto Maple Leafs have begun to find their stride, securing back-to-back victories over the Calgary Flames and the Colorado Avalanche. However, one player in particular remains stuck in a slump – newly acquired Scott Laughton, who has yet to register a point in six games with the Leafs and continues to struggle to find his place in his hometown.
With the Leafs resting their normal starters in the extra frame, Laughton took advantage of the opportunity.
“I let them know that I was ready,” said Laughton of his overtime goal.
LAUGHTS WIN IT! ✅
— NHL (@NHL) April 18, 2025
Scott Laughton ends the @MapleLeafs' regular season with an @Energizer overtime winner! pic.twitter.com/Ju4zj6ReLl
It’s exactly the kind of confidence and momentum the Leafs are hoping carries over into the postseason – and the vision they had when they acquired the 12-year NHL veteran.
Toronto closed out the regular season with five straight wins, including Thursday’s 4-3 comeback victory against Detroit after trailing 3-1 in the third period. They finished with 108 points, fourth-most in the NHL.
“It was nice, I think, to get out in overtime and the season on a high note, I think, is big. We found a way to come back, Taney scores us a big one, and we found a way. So now the real fun starts, and it's exciting to get some rest here and get prepared for a really good series,” said Laughton.
For Laughton, who hasn’t had many chances to chase a Stanley Cup, this is a golden opportunity. Now playing for his hometown Maple Leafs, the forward has the chance to write his own chapter.
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Mets’ Griffin Canning sees ‘blueprint’ for success in win over Cardinals
Two days after an illness meant he would miss his normal day in the rotation and sent the Mets’ front office scrambling through a series of roster moves, Griffin Canning made St. Louis Cardinals batters sick for six innings in New York’s 4-1 win Thursday night at Citi Field.
“I feel like tonight is kind of the blueprint,” Canning said after allowing one run on three hits over six innings while striking out eight. “Tonight is how I want to pitch.”
Canning finished his outing retiring nine-straight Cardinals, including five going down swinging.
“I thought the slider was good again today, the way he uses both slider-changeup, but the fastball at the top of the zone to finish off hitters,” manager Carlos Mendoza said, adding it was “hundred percent” the best he’s seen Canning’s four-seamer.
“He executed well,” the skipper said of the heater. “It was high enough to get by the hitters. Good carry, good velo, and used it effectively.”
Canning threw his fastball 45 times out of 102 pitches, and got seven whiffs and eight called strikes. The right-hander said he noticed the Cardinals’ lefties were “a hundred percent selling out for the changeup” early in the game and adjusted to get on the same page with Luis Torrens behind the plate.
“Just kinda felt like they were sitting off-speed,” he said. “Felt like the fastball had pretty good life, rolling what was working and on the same page as Luis back there.”
Mendoza remembered facing Canning last year and that the right-hander really liked his fastball. The plan against him was to “take away his fastball, knowing that the secondary pitches were really, really good.”
The biggest difference this season?
“The biggest adjustment is how he’s using his arsenal,” the manager said. “He’s getting ahead with a lot of different pitches, whether it’s the slider, the changeup. Using the fastball effectively. On hitters’ counts, he’s not just throwing four-seam fastballs there. He’s using all of his pitches.
“... and when he’s ahead, he’s sneaking fastballs by hitters. I think it’s an adjustment, and I think he’s got the ability to read the situation and read the lineups and hitters are trying to do to him.”
Of course, the slider was quite good as he got six whiffs, five called strikes, and six foul balls from his 27 offerings.
Canning, while leaning heavily on his big three pitches, noted he threw a few cutters to left-handed batters late in the game and five curveballs, after only throwing two in previous outings.
“The hitters are good, they’re gonna go into a game watching video and having an approach against me,” he said. “Being able to throw something in that’s a little different speed, little different look kinda helps me in the long run.”
The long run was something the Mets were hoping to get from Canning in Thursday’s start, with the bullpen thin after Huascar Brazobán was used as an opener and Justin Hagenman was called up for his MLB debut in Wednesday’s extra-inning loss at Minnesota.
“We needed at least five from him,” Mendoza said, adding that while they “felt good about him taking the ball,” they would be watching him closely because “he was weak a couple of days ago.”
Canning spared everyone the details of the illness, just saying with a broad smile, “I just didn’t feel very good.” And after a pair of walks in the fourth and a run in the third, he settled into things, retiring six straight batters to get him to 84 pitches through those five innings.
“Watching him go out there and continue to execute pitches, hold the velo. He wasn’t missing his spots. Good outing by him,” Mendoza said.
Mendoza had Reed Garrett ready in the sixth if Canning got into any trouble, but after a nine-pitch strikeout started the frame, a pair of groundouts got him to a quality start and bridged the gap to the back-end of the Mets bullpen, who slammed the door shut.