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Bridgeport: Calum Ritchie Strikes In AHL Debut; Matt Maggio Finds Twine In Loss To Providence

New York Islanders top prospect Calum Ritchie skated in his first AHL game of his career on Friday night when the Bridgeport Islanders hosted the Providence Bruins.

The game didn't go the way Bridgeport planned, falling 5-2 after starting the season 2-0-1-0 but Ritchie did find the back of the net after a nifty toe-drag following a net-crash play before the halfway mark of the first period to get his team on the board:

Ritchie is likely to be the first call-up by the Islanders this season given how well he showed in training camp. The only reason why Ritchie didn't make the Islanders is because he needs to develop as a top-six center, not as a bottom-six, extra person on what's a much deeper NHL squad than Long Island has been used to, when it comes to talent. 

While Ritchie will learn a lot under Bridgeport head coach Rocky Thompson, he should dominate the AHL. And he's off to a good start with a goal in game one.

Prospect Matthew Maggio, a grinder with a strong set of hands and offensive instincts, is currently skating on the fourth line for Thompson but saw minutes on the second power-play unit. 

That's where he scored his first goal of the season on Friday night, making it 5-2:

Like many prospects in 2024-25, Maggio's development stalled due to coaching failure and attention to the AHL team by the man in charge. 

He's one of a handful of prospects who are trying to showcase to GM Mathieu Darche that he can be someone who is part of the big squad at some point down the line.

Bridgeport returns to action on Saturday, Oct. 18, as they host the Scranton-Wilkes Barre Penguins at 7 PM ET. 

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Manchester City 2-0 Everton, Brighton 2-1 Newcastle, and more: football – as it happened

Ange Postecoglou’s dismissal from Nottingham Forest hogged the early-afternoon headlines, before Manchester City, Burnley, Brighton and Sunderland returned to winning ways after the international break

Burnley v Leeds United: Jordan Beyer, Connor Roberts and Zeki Amdouni all remain sidelined for Burnley, but Scott Parker is hoping to have Lyle Foster and Jaidon Anthony available despite the duo suffering recent injuries.

Harry Gray and Willy Gnonto are both absent for Leeds United, while Noah Okafor is a doubt. Lucas Perri has recovered from a hamstring injury, while Dan James will have to undergo a fitness test as he tries to return from an ankle injury.

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Mariners a win from first World Series, beat Blue Jays behind Suárez’s grand slam for 3-2 ALCS lead

SEATTLE (AP) — As Eugenio Suárez crossed home plate, he formed a heart with his hands as he has countless times.

Suárez suddenly stopped, pointed toward his wife in the stands behind home plate and took a second to embrace the moment. His bat had brought the Mariners within a victory of the first World Series trip for a team that started play in 1977.

Suárez hit a go-ahead grand slam after Cal Raleigh’s tying drive in a five-run eighth inning, giving the Mariners a 6-2 win over the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday and a 3-2 lead in the American League Championship Series.

“I’ve been waiting for games like this my whole career,” Suárez said. “Today, I had it. Today, I had it in front of our crowd, in front of my family, my two daughters, my wife, and the moment is very special right now.”

Suárez also homered in the second inning for Seattle’s first run, and the Mariners became the first home team to win in the series.

Game 6 is at Toronto on Sunday night.

“For our fans, they’ve been waiting a long time for this moment and we’re here to give it to them. We’re here to fight for a World Series,” Suárez said.

Raleigh, a switch-hitting catcher who led the major leagues with 60 home runs during the regular season, was hitting right-handed for the first time in the series when he led off the eighth by pulling a 2-0 sinker from loser Brendon Little.

“I came in and really couldn’t have pitched worse,” Little said.

The 348-foot drive rose 155 feet above the field on a high arc and had a 6.7-second hang time before it dropped over the left field wall at T-Mobile Park.

“It felt like Cal’s ball was in the air for like an hour,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said.

Raleigh’s fourth homer of the postseason tied the score 2-2.

“Obviously it was really high, so you never know in this building,” Raleigh said. “Luckily today the roof’s closed.”

Jorge Polanco and Josh Naylor walked, and Seranthony Domínguez relieved and hit Randy Arozarena with a pitch.

Suárez fouled off a 2-2 fastball, then hit an opposite-field drive to right, and the ball landed several rows into the seats for his fourth slam this season.

“Obviously, this is the biggest home run of my career,” Suárez said.

Suárez, who had put Seattle ahead in the second against Kevin Gausman, entered the game in a 6-for-50 slump. He was reacquired from Arizona at the trade deadline, finished the regular season with 49 homers and has three in the playoffs.

“I’ve been waiting for this for a long time,” Suárez said. “It’s been a while (since) I’ve had a game like this today. It was awesome being able to hit that grand slam there to give the win to my team, to the fans. They’ve been here supporting us all year long.”

Seattle’s Bryce Miller was pitching shutout ball when he was removed after allowing Addison Barger’s leadoff single in the fifth, and George Springer hit an RBI double off Matt Brash.

Springer left in the seventh when he was hit on the right kneecap by a 95.6 mph sinker from Bryan Woo.

“He’s got a right knee contusion. He had X-rays, which were negative, which is a good thing.,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said. “George is about as tough as they come. I think he’ll have to really, really be hurting to not be in the lineup on Sunday.”

Pitching for the first time since Sept. 19 after recovering from pectoral tightness, Woo allowed Ernie Clement’s go-ahead single in the sixth.

Gabe Speier got the win with a perfect, nine-pitch eighth inning. Toronto wasted many chances, going 2 for 11 with runners in scoring position.

Raleigh turned only the second 2-3 grounded double into play in postseason history when Clement tapped the ball onto the plate with the bases loaded and one out in the fourth inning. Raleigh grabbed the ball with a foot on the plate for a forceout, then threw to first.

The prior 2-3 DP in Game 2 of the 2000 ALCS was turned by Wilson with the New York Yankees’ Bernie Williams at the plate.

“That’s what he’s done all season long,” Wilson said of Raleigh, “both sides of the ball."

Up next

Rookie RHP Trey Yesavage, who started Game 2 of both the AL Division Series, will start for the Blue Jays in Game 6. The Mariners scored five runs off the 22-year-old on Monday.

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Giants reportedly ‘closing in' on hiring Tennessee coach Tony Vitello as manager

Giants reportedly ‘closing in' on hiring Tennessee coach Tony Vitello as manager originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

The Giants appear to have found their next manager.

San Francisco is “closing in” on hiring Tennessee coach Tony Vitello to lead the team for the 2026 MLB season, The Athletic’s Andrew Baggarly, Brittany Ghiroli and Ken Rosenthal reported in a shared column published Saturday, citing industry sources.

The Athletic reached out to the Giants, who had not yet responded to a request for comment at the time this article was written. Vitello, also reached out to by The Athletic via text message, said, “There is nothing to confirm.”

Vitello has been on Buster Posey’s radar for a while, per NBC Sports Bay Area’s Alex Pavlovic. Meanwhile, Texas Rangers special assistant Nick Hundley, who was another frontrunner for the job, recently was pulled out of the running.

This story will be updated.

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Shohei Ohtani Went Where No Player Has Ever Gone Before

LOS ANGELES — Shohei Ohtani did something that has never happened before in the annals of postseason baseball.

Ohtani took the mound to start against the Milwaukee Brewers in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series at Dodger Stadium on Friday night. He walked the first batter and then struck out the next three on the way to six shutout innings.

He then led off the bottom of the first inning for the Los Angeles Dodgers and parked a full-count pitch deep into the right field pavilion, his first of three homers on the night.

Not even Babe Ruth did that. But Ohtani did, showing everyone why the Dodgers were willing to pay him $700 million over 10 years, with $680 million of that money deferred.

“That first inning. It was amazing,” said Dodgers owner Mark Walter, the NL championship trophy nestled in his arms after the Dodgers claimed the best-of-seven series by sweeping the Brewers with a 5-1 win, booking a spot in their second straight World Series. “There’s not much more you can ask from a player.”

The first inning heroics was only the beginning of the night for Ohtani, whose three homers were wedged into a pitching performance that went into the seventh inning. He left at 100 pitches without allowing a run on two hits. He walked three and struck out 10, and he was credited with his second win in two starts this postseason. Ohtani’s historic Game 4 earned him the series MVP.

“You can’t script this,” Walter said. “Six innings of shutout ball and three home runs? That’s crazy.”

The three homers totaled 1,342 feet, the second in the fourth inning striking the right field pavilion roof some 469 feet away where few players have feared to tread. It hit the roof and rolled off into the concession area behind it.

“That was the greatest postseason performance of all time and there have been a lot of postseason games,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “There’s a reason why he’s the greatest player on the planet. What he did on the mound. What he did with the bat. He created a lot of memories for a lot of people.”

The Brewers, whose 97-65 record was the best in MLB this season, were inept in the series scoring five runs on 14 hits in the four games.

“We were part of an iconic performance, maybe the best individual performance ever in a postseason game,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said, echoing the common sentiment. “I don’t think anybody can argue with that. A guy punches out 10 and hits three homers. I’m proud of our team, but it came to an end tonight.”

The Brewers had previously handled Ohtani well; in the first three games, they held him to 2-for-11 in the series with no homers, five whiffs and a .721 OPS. He finished the series 5-for-14 while his OPS leapt to 1.643 with the results of the one game. He’s had five homers now in the postseason, all of which came in two games; he had two homers in Game 1 of a Wild Card Series sweep of the Cincinnati Reds.

“The last couple days I felt pretty good at the plate,” Ohtani said through his interpreter. “And just because of the postseason, the small sample size, the lack of performance really skews in this short period of time.”

Still, between a four-game victory over the Philadelphia Phillies in an NL Division Series and this NLCS, Ohtani has struggled. He went 6-for-32 (.188) with the three homers, five RBIs, 14 strikeouts and six walks, three of them intentional.

His slump lifted Friday night.

“He’s probably the greatest free agent signing of all-time,” Walter, who signed Ohtani in late 2023, said. “I mean, he’s unbelievable. We’re just lucky to have him.”

The Dodgers bring in over $100 million a season in marketing and advertising from Asian firms, thanks to their three Japanese pitchers: Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaski.

“We make a lot of money from those guys, for sure,” Walter said. “But it takes a team to win, it really does.” 

The Dodgers will play either the Seattle Mariners or the Toronto Blue Jays in the World Series beginning Friday night in either Los Angeles or Toronto, depending on the results of the American League Championship Series. The Mariners lead 3-2 with Game 6 on Sunday night at Rogers Centre. Game 7 is on Monday night, if necessary.

In Seattle on Friday night, the Mariners were trailing the Blue Jays, 2-1, in the eighth inning in T-Mobile Park when Cal Raleigh tied it with his fourth playoff homer. He led Major League Baseball with 60 on the season this year.

Raleigh’s homer happened almost simultaneously to Ohtani’s first-inning blast about 1,000 miles away. Eugenio Suarez followed Raleigh with a grand slam later in the inning to seal the 6-2 win, sending the Mariners back to Toronto with two chances of qualifying for the World Series, a first in franchise history.

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Columbus Blue Jackets (2 pts) vs. Tampa Bay Lightning (4 pts) Game Preview

The Columbus Blue Jackets welcome the Tampa Bay Lightning into Nationwide Arena tonight. 

The Tampa Bay Lightning might be coming into Columbus at just the right time for the sluggish CBJ. Tampa is 1-2-2 on the season and has lost its last two games in overtime, including last night in Detroit. 

Superstar Nikita Kucherov did not play last night due to illness, and as of this morning, his availability is unknown. Goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy started and lost the game against the Red Wings, so we can assume the start will go to Jonas Johansson, who has actually been the better of the two goalies so far this season. If Kucherov and Vasilevskiy both don't go for the Lightning, the Blue Jackets will have dodged a massive bullet. 

The Blue Jackets have their own issues, though, with scoring being one of them. Outside of the Wild game, the CBJ have struggled to score, but with Tampa struggling to keep pucks out of their net, this could be the game needed for Columbus to break out. The Blue Jackets typically play very well against the Bolts at home, so this could be the right time to take on Tampa.

Blue Jackets Stats

  • Power Play - 9.1% - 30th in NHL
  • Penalty Kill - 53.3% - 32nd in NHL
  • Goals For - 11 - 23rd in NHL / 2.75 per game
  • Goals Against - 13 - 5th in NHL / 3.25 per game

Lightning Stats

  • Power Play - 23.1 - 10th in NHL
  • Penalty Kill - 89.5 10th in NHL
  • Goals For - 13 - 20th in NHL / 3.25 per game
  • Goals Against - 16 - 25th in NHL / 4.0 per game

Series History vs. Lightning

  • Columbus is 16-29-1-6 all-time, and 11-12-1-2 at home vs. the Bolts.
  • The Jackets are 5-4-2 in the last 11 games vs. Tampa at home.
  • The CBJ went 1-2-0 against the Lightning last season.

Who To Watch For The Lighting

  • Nikita Kucherov has 47 points in 30 career games against the Jackets. He did not play on Friday night due to illness, and his status is questionable for Saturday.
  • Jake Guentzel leads the team with 4 assists and 5 points.
  • Jonas Johansson is 1-0 with a SV% of .909% this season.
  • Andrei Vasilevskiy is 0-2-1 with an .870 SV%. He started on Friday, so it's assumed he will not play tonight.

CBJ Player Notes vs. Lightning

  • Zach Werenski has 20 points in 24 career games against the Lightning.
  • Boone Jenner has 12 points in 28 games vs. Tampa Bay.
  • Sean Monahan has 15 points in 19 games against the Bolts.

Injuries - None on IR

  • Erik Gudbranson - Upper Body
  • Miles Wood - Upper Body

TOTAL MAN GAMES LOST: 3

How to Watch & Listen: Tonight's game will be on FanDuel Sports Network. Steve Mears will be on the play-by-play. The radio broadcast will be on 93.3 The Bus, with Bob McElligott behind the mic doing the play-by-play.

Let us know what you think below.

Stay updated with the most interesting Blue Jackets stories, analysis, breaking news, and more!

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The Stats Behind Game #5: Canucks 3, Blackhawks 2 (OT)

Welcome to this edition of the Vancouver Canucks post-game analytics report. This recurring deep dive breaks down the analytics behind each Canucks game as recorded by Natural Stat Trick. In this article, we look back on Vancouver's most recent 3-2 shootout victory over the Chicago Blackhawks. 

The analytics for this game were very odd, to say the least. At even strength, the Blackhawks held a 15-11 high-danger scoring chances advantage while the Canucks won the scoring chances battle 23-22. Both teams also scored once at even strength, with Vancouver holding an xGF% of 42.78%. 

Moving over to the heatmap, the Canucks did a good job of crashing the net. Both of their goals were scored from high-danger shots, with Vancouver generating a total of 18 in all situations. As for the Canucks defensive structure, Kevin Lankinen faced 12 high danger shots stopping 10 in the victory. 

Vancouver Canucks vs Chicago Blackhawks, October 17, 2025, Natural Stat Trick

Lastly, as for forward lines, only one trio finished with an xGF% above 35%. That line was Jake DeBrusk, Filip Chytil and Brock Boeser, who recorded an xGF% of 79.19 in 11:16 together. The trio also had a scoring chances advantage of 6-2 while winning the high-danger scoring chances battle 5-1. 

Oct 17, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Vancouver Canucks center Filip Chytil (72) and Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Artyom Levshunov (55) during the first period at the United Center. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-Imagn Images

Vancouver will play in their third game in four straight days on Sunday in an early-morning tilt with the Washington Capitals. The Canucks won their last matchup against the Capitals by a score of 2–1, during which defenceman Elias Pettersson made his NHL debut. Puck drop is scheduled for 9:30 am PT and will be available on Sportsnet. 

Make sure you bookmark THN's Vancouver Canucks site and add us to your favourites on Google News for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more. Also, don't forget to leave a comment at the bottom of the page and engage with other passionate fans through our forum. This article originally appeared on The Hockey News.

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Still searching for first road win, Panthers make stop in Buffalo

It’s been a rough week on the road for the Florida Panthers, who have yet to win a game after starting the season with three straight victories in their home barn.

They’ll be back on the ice going for the first road victory Saturday afternoon when they travel to Buffalo for a matinee with the Sabers.

As many expected, and as Buffalo fans feared, it’s been another rough start to a season for the Sabres.

They opened the year with three straight losses by a combined score of 10-2 before picking up their first win on Wednesday night, an 8-4 thumping of the Ottawa Senators.

With Florida anxious to get back on the right side of a game result, they will likely turn back to Sergei Bobrovsky in goal after giving him two of the past three starts off.

Bobrovsky has won each of his past three appearances against the Sabres, and in 26 career games, Bob holds s 16-7-2 record against Buffalo along with a tidy .916 save percentage.

Another thing to keep an eye on will be how Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice manages his forward lines.

Over the past couple games, we’ve seen several changes after there were none during Florida’s first four outings.

Don’t be surprised to see Maurice go back to what worked well for the Cats early in the season, though with Maruice, there’s just as good of a chance that we’ll see brand new forward lines, so we’ll just have to wait and see.

With the 1 p.m. puck drop, there won’t be any morning skates for either squad, so pregame warmups will be the first place we’ll see what Maurice has cooked up.

Here are the Panthers projected lines and pairings for Saturday’s matinee in Buffalo:

Carter Verhaeghe – Sam Bennett – Brad Marchand

Eetu Luostarinen – Anton Lundell – Sam Reinhart

Mackie Samoskevich – Evan Rodrigues – Jesper Boqvist

A.J. Greer – Luke Kunin – Jonah Gadjovich

Gus Forsling – Aaron Ekblad

Niko Mikkola – Seth Jones

Uvis Balinskis – Jeff Petry

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Photo caption: Oct 16, 2025; Newark, New Jersey, USA; Florida Panthers center Evan Rodrigues (17) celebrates his goal against the New Jersey Devils during the first period at Prudential Center. (Ed Mulholland-Imagn Images)

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Hernández: No, the Dodgers aren't ruining baseball. They just know how to spend their money

Would the Dodgers have paid $4 million for Shohei Ohtani’s production on Friday night?

“Maybe I would have,” team owner Mark Walter said with a laugh.

Four million dollars is how much Ohtani has received from the Dodgers.

Not for the game. Not for the week. Not for the year.

For this year and last year.

Read more:Shohei Ohtani’s historic performances send Dodgers back to World Series

Ohtani could be the greatest player in baseball history. Is he also the greatest free-agent acquisition of all-time?

“You bet,” Walter said.

Even before Ohtani blasted three homers and struck out 10 batters over six scoreless innings in a historic performance to secure his team’s place in the World Series, the Dodgers were a target of complaints over the perception they were buying championships. Their payroll this season is more than $416 million, according to Spotrac.

During the on-field celebration that followed the 5-1 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series, manager Dave Roberts told the Dodger Stadium crowd, “I’ll tell you, before this season started, they said the Dodgers are ruining baseball. Let’s get four more wins and really ruin baseball!”

What detractors ignore is how the Dodgers aren’t the only team that spent big dollars this year to chase a title. As Ohtani’s contract demonstrates, it’s how they spend that separates them from the sport’s other wealthy franchises.

The New York Mets spent more than $340 million, the New York Yankees $319 million and the Philadelphia Phillies $308 million. None of them are still playing.

The Dodgers are still playing, and one of the reasons is because of how opportunistic they are.

When the Boston Red Sox were looking for a place to dump Mookie Betts before he became a free agent, the Dodgers traded for him and signed him to an extension. When the Atlanta Braves refused to extend a six-year offer to Freddie Freeman, the Dodgers stepped in and did.

Something else that helps: Players want to play for them.

Consider the case of the San Francisco Giants, who can’t talk star players into taking their money.

The Giants pursued Bryce Harper, who turned them down. They pursued Aaron Judge, who turned them down. They pursued Ohtani, who turned them down. They pursued Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who turned them down.

Notice a pattern?

Unable to recruit an impact hitter in free agency, the Giants turned their attention to the trade market and acquired a distressed asset in malcontent Rafael Devers. They still missed the postseason.

The Dodgers don’t have any such problems attracting talent. Classified as an international amateur because he was under the age of 25, Roki Sasaki was eligible to sign only a minor-league contract this winter. While the signing bonuses that could be offered varied from team to team, the differences were relatively small. Sasaki was urged by his agent to minimize financial considerations when picking a team.

Sasaki chose the Dodgers.

Players such as Blake Snell, Will Smith and Max Muncy signed what could be below-market deals to come to or stay with the Dodgers.

There is also the Ohtani factor.

Ohtani didn’t want the team that signed him to be financially hamstrung, which is why he insisted that it defer the majority of his 10-year, $700-million contract. The Dodgers are paying Ohtani just $2 million annually, with the remainder owed after he retires.

Without Ohtani agreeing to delayed payments, who knows if the Dodgers would have signed the other pitchers who comprise their dominant rotation, Yamamoto, Snell and Tyler Glasnow.

None of this is to say the Dodgers haven’t made any mistakes, the $102 million they committed to Trevor Bauer a decision they would certainly like to take back.

But the point is they spend.

“We put money into the team, as you know,” Walter said. “We’re trying to win.”

Read more:Plaschke: 'Ohhhhhtani!' Immortal Shohei Ohtani blasts Dodgers to the World Series

Nothing is stopping any other team from making the financial commitments necessary to compete with the Dodgers. Franchises don’t have to make annual profits to be lucrative, as their values have skyrocketed. Teams that were purchased for hundreds of millions of dollars are now worth billions.

Example: Arte Moreno bought the Angels in 2003 for $183.5 million. Forbes values them today at $2.75 billion. If or when Moreno sells the team, he will receive a huge return on his investment.

The calls for a salary cap are nothing more than justifications by cheap owners for their refusal to invest in the civic institutions under their control.

The Dodgers aren’t ruining baseball. They might not do everything right, but as far as their spending is concerned, they’re doing right by their fans.

Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the start of each series.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.