Aaron Judge hit his 50th home run of the season, and Max Fried pitched seven one-run innings as the Yankees to an 8-1 win over the White Sox on Wednesday night in The Bronx.
The win, coupled with the Blue Jays' earlier loss to the Red Sox, has put the Yankees and Toronto in a tie for first place in the AL East. The Blue Jays do hold the tiebreaker as both teams have four games remaining.
Here are the takeaways...
-With the White Sox going with a bullpen game, the Yankees' lineup got the bases loaded with no outs in the first inning thanks to three walks from Fraser Ellard. However, Giancarlo Stanton popped out to shallow right field. Ben Rice and Paul Goldschmidt followed up by striking out swinging.
Anthony Volpe hit a one-out double in the second, and the Yankees again were in trouble of not capitalizing. Ryan McMahon struck out swinging and, after a Trent Grisham walk, set up Judge. The Yankees captain made the White Sox pay, launching a first-pitch sinker 392 feet into right-center field for a three-run shot.
It's Judge's 50th home run of the season and is the first Yankee since Babe Ruth to have back-to-back 50-homer seasons. It is also his fourth career 50 home run season, tying Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, and Ruth for the most all-time.
-The Yankees continued to tack on in the third, with Goldschmidt tapping an opposite-field single that scored Rice -- who reached on a triple -- from third. Jazz Chisholm Jr. followed with a double that Goldschmidt scored all the way from first.
Grisham continued his amazing 2025 with his 34th homer of the season, but was immediately followed by Judge's 51st of the season, that put this game way out of reach.
-After a 1-2-3 first inning, Max Fried pitched into trouble in the second, allowing back-to-back singles and a sac fly to allow his first run. After a throwing error by McMahon, Fried bounced back with a flyout and strikeout to limit the damage. And that was all the southpaw would give up through seven innings.
In his final regular-season start, Fried pitched like the team's ace, allowing just one run on four hits and two walks across seven innings while striking out seven. His first season in pinstripes ends with 19 wins and a 2.86 ERA.
-In relief of Fried, Devin Williams pitched a 1-2-3 eighth inning and Paul Blackburn got the final three outs to complete the win.
Game MVP: Aaron Judge
Although Fried was masterful, there was an air of unease at Yankee Stadium with the team down 1-0, but the three-run blast allowed the team to exhale.
Roki Sasaki delivers a pitch during a game in May. He has just returned from a five-month stint on the injured list and could be a reliable option as a reliever in the playoffs. (Darryl Webb / Associated Press)
Dave Roberts often refers to his bullpen hierarchy as something of a “trust tree,” with branches of relievers he can trust in leverage spots.
Right now, however, it’s been more like a shriveled-up houseplant. Barren, depleted and long-shunned from the sun.
On the season, the Dodgers' 4.33 bullpen ERA ranks 21st in the majors. Since the start of September, that number has climbed to a stunning 5.69 mark. Closer Tanner Scott has converted less than one-third of his save opportunities, his ERA rising to 4.91 after his latest meltdown on Tuesday. Top right-hander Blake Treinen had been the losing pitcher in each of the Dodgers’ five defeats before that, sending his ERA to a career-worst 5.55.
Plenty of others have been responsible for the Dodgers’ late-game incompetence. Kirby Yates has flopped as a veteran offseason signing. Michael Kopech has struggled through injuries and a lack of reliable command. Rookies like Jack Dreyer, Edgardo Henriquez and the since-demoted Ben Casparius have regressed after promising flashes earlier this summer. And the lone reinforcement the front office acquired at what now feels like a regrettably quiet trade deadline, Brock Stewart, is uncertain to return from a bothersome shoulder problem.
It leaves the Dodgers with only one full-time relief arm sporting an ERA under 3.00 this season — Alex Vesia, who has a 2.62 mark in 66 appearances.
It has turned the final days of the regular season into an all-out manhunt for even the slightest of trustworthy playoff options.
“What does that mean?” manager Dave Roberts said, when asked what qualifies as “trust” right now. “It means guys that are gonna take the mound with conviction. That are gonna be on the attack. That are gonna throw strikes, quality strikes, and compete. And be willing to live with whatever result.”
On Wednesday, that’s the backdrop against which Roki Sasaki rejoined the Dodgers' active roster — the raw and developing 23-year-old rookie pitcher, coming off a five-month absence because of a shoulder injury, returning in hopes of supplying Roberts’ crippling trust tree with an unexpected limb.
Sasaki’s return was not supposed to be this important. Up until a couple weeks ago, his disappointing debut season seemed likely to end with a stint in the minors.
Yet over the last 15 days, circumstances have changed. Sasaki rediscovered 100-mph life on his fastball. He excelled in two relief appearances with triple-A Oklahoma City. And suddenly, he seemed like a potentially better alternative to the slumping names that have repeatedly failed on the Dodgers’ big-league roster.
Thus, the Japanese phenom is back again, activated from the IL before Wednesday’s game as Yates, who has a 5.23 ERA this year and was slipping out of the Dodgers’ postseason plans, was placed on the IL with a hamstring strain.
“I just think [he needs to focus on] giving everything he has for an inning or two at a time, and let the performance play out,” Roberts said of Sasaki. “Just go after guys, and be on the attack.”
Sasaki’s revival began earlier this month, when he went to Arizona after four poor starts in a minor-league rehab assignment to work with the organization’s pitching development coaches.
At that point, Sasaki had lost his tantalizing velocity, hardly even threatening 100 mph since his adrenaline-fueled debut in Tokyo back in March. His command was just as shaky, averaging more than 5 ½ walks per nine innings in his first season stateside. Even his pitch mix required an examination, after his predominantly fastball/splitter arsenal was hammered in both the majors (where he had a 4.72 ERA in eight starts to begin the season) and the minors (where he had a 7.07 ERA in his first four rehab starts) by hitters who could too easily differentiate his stuff.
“Me, him and his translators went in the lab and sat down and watched video for a few hours, and just talked,” said Rob Hill, the Dodgers’ director of pitching who worked with Sasaki at the club’s Arizona facility. “It wasn’t as much solving this like, master plan or whatever. It was moreso helping him actualize the things that he was seeing.”
In Hill’s view, Sasaki’s mechanics had suffered from a shoulder injury that, even before this year, had plagued him since his final season in Japan.
While the two watched film, Hill said they found discrepancies between things Sasaki “still almost thought he was doing” in his delivery, but weren’t translating in how he actually threw the ball.
“I think a lot of it just came from his body changing, the way he was throwing due to throwing hurt for probably a couple years,” Hill said. “He knew what he wanted to do, but he couldn’t quite tap into the way to do it.”
What followed was a series of mechanical tweaks that got Sasaki’s fastball back around 100 and his trademark splitter to more closely mirror his four-seamer when it left his hand. Sasaki also added a cutter-like slider, giving him another weapon with which to confuse hitters and induce more soft contact.
When the right-hander returned to the minors, he struck out eight batters over a solid 4 ⅔-inning, three-run start on Sept. 9. He then impressed with two scoreless appearances in relief last week, after club executives asked Sasaki to experiment in the bullpen.
Now, he is rejoining the Dodgers for the final five games of the season. The team is hopeful that his small sample size of recent success has made him a legitimate postseason relief option.
“I guess it's fair to say I'm just going to throw him in on the deep end,” Roberts said of how he will use Sasaki going forward, noting there aren’t many “low-leverage” opportunities in an end-of-season division race.
“If we're expecting him to potentially pitch for us in the postseason, they're all leverage innings. So I don't think we're going to run from putting him in any spot."
Odds are that Sasaki won’t be a cure-all for the Dodgers’ late-game woes. A pitcher of such little experience and developmental uncertainties is anything but a lock to post zeroes in the playoffs.
Still, the team will take whatever bullpen help it can get. Already, Clayton Kershaw has made himself available for relief appearances and could pitch in late-inning leverage spots in October. Emmet Sheehan also will join the bullpen mix come the playoffs, likely as a multi-inning option to piggyback with starters.
In the meantime, the club is searching for even a couple more reliable arms — just one or two branches on the bullpen’s hierarchy tree for Roberts to trust.
It wasn’t supposed to be this way. The Dodgers’ sudden need for someone like Sasaki is a reflection of the roster’s underlying flaws. But he will try taking on a potentially critical role in a rookie season that once seemed lost.
“He's been in the 'pen for the triple-A team, and he's been really good,” Roberts said. “So I'm looking forward to seeing it with our club."
Players in the National Hockey League have almost always gone by nicknames, and the Detroit Red Wings are no exception.
Mention names like "Larks", "Cat", "Showtime", and "Razor", and fans immediately know that one is referring to Dylan Larkin, Alex DeBrincat, Patrick Kane, and Lucas Raymond.
There's a new nickname to be added to that list - Elmo.
That's how 6'8" forward Elmer Söderblom is referred to by head coach Todd McLellan, who is set to begin his first full season behind the Red Wings' bench after being hired last December.
Söderblom is the tallest player in Red Wings history, and that's before his height increases after putting on his pair of skates that almost look as if they were custom made for Shaquille O'Neal.
Due to a higher center of gravity, skating can sometimes not be a strength for taller players. During practice at Little Caesars Arena on Wednesday, McLellan directed Söderblom to move his feet quicker during an on-ice drill in resounding fashion.
The good news is that McLellan doesn't believe that the skating of Elmer Söderblom - or Elmo, as he calls him - is an area of his game that needs work but that he can get caught up in his thoughts during specific practice situations.
"I think sometimes when Elmo is playing the game and he's not thinking, he does move his feet," McLellan said. "In practice when we're working on specific moments and situations, I think he thinks it a little bit, so it slows him down. I'm not too worried about his feet in a game situation, but I'm just trying to push him in practice."
"In that moment, he was thinking probably, 'Am I in the right spot, am I in the wrong spot?' And he didn't skate," McLellan continued. "I just caught him there and it was a gentle reminder. I don't think his skating is bad, but I think if he does chug into people and push, he's a big load to handle. His feet moving, it's a good thing for him."
Söderblom has been getting looks playing on the top line alongside Lucas Raymond and Dylan Larkin in the absence of free-agent signing James van Riemsdyk, another candidate who could take that spot but has yet to officially skate with the Red Wings because of an ongoing family situation.
Last season, he was called up from the American Hockey League and ultimately scored four goals with seven assists in 26 games in what was his second prolonged stint at the NHL level.
If Söderblom plays well enough this season for the Red Wings, expect to see a lot more love for his new nickname.
The Carolina Hurricanes suffered a third-period collapse Wednesday night at Lenovo Center, losing 4-2 to the Florida Panthers in their second preseason contest despite outshooting them 49-16.
It was clear that the Hurricanes outclassed the Panthers' NHL regular-less roster through 40 minutes, but the Canes decided to start packing it in early after going up 2-0 and you can't really do that.
After the game, Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour along with Nikolaj Ehlers and Sebastian Aho spoke with the media. Here's what they had to say:
Rod Brind'Amour
On his first impressions of Nikolaj Ehlers in game action and on the top line: I thought they were good early. Had some buzz and then as the game went on, it kind of wasn't great. But I think it's tough to play in these games, I get it. But you can see that they generated a bunch early. Hopefully that will continue.
On Bradly Nadeau: He had some chances, one near the end Svech set him up. Again, he's a young kid still trying to figure it out. We'll keep giving him opportunity.
On it being a community game: I think it's very important. The fanbase and the Hurricanes, we have a good relationship and I think anything we can do to show our appreciation is special, so I'm glad that we do it.
On Givani Smith: There's not much not to like about the way he's played. You always want to know when you ask about a player, 'What does he do and what can he provide?' and it's pretty obvious if you watch.
On seeing Dominik Badinka and Ivan Ryabkin in game action for the first time: They did fine. For a young kid, it wasn't NHL players they played against, but it's still men and I thought [Ryabkin] did well and Badinka isn't much older. He's a young guy too. The key is to not look out of place, right? If you can fit in and then all of a sudden, they did. They looked right at home there. So I think that's real positive.
On if he considered giving Frederik Andersen the full 60 minutes: Nah. Really, I think originally we were thinking maybe just go half, but it didn't feel like he even had to make a save. But it's not really about that either. It's more like, 'Okay, we got through it without any incidents, let's get him out of there.' That's kind of what the decision was.
On Mike Reilly: I thought he was good tonight. Again, those are guys that could be really, really important at some point or maybe even right away. You don't know how it's going to shake out. Those guys that are new like that, I think it's important for them to get acclimated to what we're doing. Now we have clips and things we can teach off of to get everybody up to speed even more so.
On having a learning moment from how the game ended: It sucks to play a game like that and then lose, but there's a reason we lost too. We could have walked out of that game 5-2 and still didn't have a very good segment in there, but now it's obvious. So we can hammer home the point a little more. It's great that the game doesn't count, let's put it that way.
Nikolaj Ehlers
On his impressions from his first game as a Hurricane: I like the way we played in the first two periods. We put a lot of pressure on them, gave them nothing. I've played against this team enough to know that that's the identity of this team and we did that for 40 minutes.
On the impact of game action over practice: You want to lay a foundation in practice, but ultimately, it's the games that you find that chemistry in and where you learn how to play with each other. I think we did a lot of good things today, but there were also a lot of shifts where there was really nothing happening at all, but that's a part of playing in the NHL. We got some work to do.
On putting on the jersey for the first time and playing in front of the Lenovo Center crowd: It was really cool. The jerseys were looking pretty nice. Lots of fans out there, which is always nice. You want to play in front of a lot of fans. Felt good. Obviously it sucks to lose, always does, but it was a good first game. Got some game legs in you, but there's a lot better in this room.
Sebastian Aho
On the team's performance: Obviously a brutal third period, but at least we got a lesson on how not to play hockey. Obviously this time of year doesn't really matter, but I guess the good thing is we can get some clips and talking points out of the third period, but obviously we had plenty of chances to put the game away, but obviously that last... You play a real game, you do whatever you can, the last little step to put the puck in. But I guess it was a good day to miss all those and save them for the regular season and the real games.
On building chemistry with Nikolaj Ehlers: I think that's the good part about the preseason. You bring a new guy in and there's probably a thousand little details that you have to soak in all at once and then when you play a game, you really see and feel how each situation goes. I know already that we're going to build a lot better chemistry just buying in and doing the little details the right way. Every team has different tendencies and like I said, that's why the preseason is good when you're trying to learn a new system and new guys and all that.
On getting reps with the full PP1 unit: Obviously when we start in a couple of weeks, that's a big part of hockey right now. Special teams, a lot of times, dictate how the games go and obviously we did some good things and had some good looks. We'll build here in the preseason so we can be as sharp as possible when we start.
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Jun 28, 2023; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Vegas Golden Knights draft pick David Edstrom stands with Knights staff after being selected with the thirty second pick in round one of the 2023 NHL Draft at Bridgestone Arena. Christopher Hanewinckel-Imagn Images
When David Edstrom’s name was called in the first round of the 2023 NHL Draft, he just so happened to be in Nashville.
The draft was held in Bridgestone Arena that year, but Edstrom wasn’t selected by the Predators. He was picked 32nd overall by the Vegas Golden Knights.
Fast forward to just over two years later. The 20-year-old Swedish center found himself in Bridgestone Arena again, this time in a Predators uniform. He scored the final goal of the Preds’ 5-0 victory against the Florida Panthers in the pre-season opener last Sunday.
Funny how things come full circle. After being selected by Vegas, Edstrom spent the next season playing for the Swedish World Junior Team, recording three assists during the tournament before appearing in 44 games with Frolunda HC (SHL).
When the Golden Knights traded for San Jose Sharks forward Tomas Hertl in March 2024, Edstrom was part of the deal that also included a first-rounder in the 2025 NHL Draft.
After he informed the Sharks of his intention to play in Sweden, Edstrom was shipped to the Predators five months later. Nashville sent goalie Yaroslav Askarov, forward Nolan Burke and Colorado’s third-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft.
Along with Edstrom came goalie Magnus Chrona and the Golden Knights’ conditional first-round pick in this year’s draft to Nashville.
Now, Edstrom is in Predators’ training camp fighting for a roster spot. It’s been quite a journey for the 6-foot-3, 190-pound native of Goteborg, Sweden, but he’s just happy to be in this position, for however long that may be.
“I’m just trying to learn new stuff each day, trying to get better,” Edstrom said during media availability Wednesday. “There’s a bunch of good guys here, so I’m just soaking it in every day, just trying to get better.”
Proving His Worth
Edstrom has shown some flashes of his talent during the first week of camp and in pre-season play. With the Predators leading Florida 4-0 late in Game 1 of their split-squad doubleheader, Edstrom took a feed from Brady Skjei after the puck ricocheted off a Panther defender. Edstrom then fired a wrist shot that went behind Florida netminder Brandon Bussi for the Preds’ final goal of the night.
“I thought he had a heck of a game against Florida,” Preds head coach Andrew Brunette said of Edstrom on Wednesday. “He seems to be getting better every time I see him.”
Last season, Edstrom collected 19 points (7-12-19) in 39 games with Frolunda HC and had a brief stint with Milwaukee in the AHL. He appeared in four post-season games for the Admirals but did not collect a point.
As eager as he is to get to the NHL, Edstrom knows he still has some things to learn.
“I think it’s been really good for me to get back to Milwaukee last season to end the year there, to meet all the coaching staff and players, to get a bit more of American hockey,” Edstrom said. “That’s something I’m trying to soak in during the summer and been working on a lot.”
Finding A Mentor
One of those “good guys” Edstrom mentioned earlier is Ryan O’Reilly, the Predators’ top-line center. Edstrom credits the 34-year-old veteran for helping him adjust.
“He’s a really good role model for me, his game, every detail,” Edstrom said of O’Reilly. “He’s a good guy to look up to.”
Edstrom is a long shot to make the final roster out of training camp. The Hockey News ranks him as the Preds’ No. 3 prospect and projects his NHL arrival in 2026-27.
Along with O’Reilly, Edstrom is competing with the likes of Steven Stamkos, Fedor Svechkov and Michael McCarron. The exceptional play of Brady Martin and Matthew Wood make the battle for forward spots even more intriguing, especially with Luke Evangelista not in camp as he attempts to negotiate a new contract.
Edstrom will most likely start the season with Milwaukee once again. In the meantime, he’s keeping his head down and working on his game.
“I’ve been working a lot on explosiveness this summer,” Edstrom said. “That is something I need to keep working on. Be more explosive in the gym, and it will translate into my game. Also faceoffs, be more explosive, skating and the skill stuff.”
The Florida Panthers played their third preseason game of the week on Wednesday night in North Carolina.
Florida faced the Carolina Hurricanes, who they’ve defeated in two of the past three the Eastern Conference Finals.
Much like their previous trip to Nashville on Sunday, the Panthers did not bring any expected NHL regulars on the trip – other than expected backup goalie Daniil Tarasov – instead allowing their younger prospects and players fighting for roster spots to have another opportunity to show what they could do.
Carolina, meanwhile, dressed plenty of their NHL guys, including Sebastian Aho, Andrei Svechnikov, Nikolaj Ehlers, Seth Jarvis, Frederik Andersen and Shayne Gostisbehere.
Tarasov looked good in his first appearance in a Panthers sweater, playing the entire 60 minutes and stopping an eye-popping 47 shots, backstopping Florida to a stunning 4-2 win.
The only goals to get by him were on a great deflection by Carolina’ Ryan Suzuki and off a quick turnover that led to a slot one-timer off the stick of Jesperi Kotkaniemi, both coming during the opening frame.
Considering the Panthers were outshot 19-2 during the first period, a 2-0 deficit didn’t seem that terrible.
Things didn’t get much better in terms of shot volume during the second period, but Tarasov stopped all 16 shots sent his way to keep Florida down by only two heading into the third.
Defenseman Ben Harpur, who got into a fight earlier in the game, got the Panthers on the board with a sneaky wrist shot from the right-side boards that got past the blocker of Amir Miftakhov just under four minutes into the final frame.
It wasn’t until late in the third when the preseason version of the Comeback Cats roared to life.
First it was Gregor scoring a gift of a goal after Miftakhov gave the puck away behind the net to Gracyn Sawchyn, who quickly fed Gregor in front of a wide-open net.
Just 1:16 later, Mike Benning fired a shot that went off the stick of Miftakhov, rolled up his arm and went just over the goal line to five the Panthers a stunning 3-2 lead.
Jack Studnicka added an empty-net goal to seal the victory for Florida.
Carolina outshot the Cats 49-16 in the game, but Florida played an excellent third period to shock the Hurricanes and head back home with a win.
The Panthers ended up going 4-for-4 on the penalty kill, including a lengthy 5-on-3 during the first period. Tarasov stopped all eight of the power play shots sent his way by Carolina.
Photo caption: Sep 24, 2025; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; Carolina Hurricanes left wing Eric Robinson (50) tries to get to the puck against Florida Panthers defenseman Mike Benning (20) and defenseman Tobias Bjornfot (22) during the first period at Lenovo Center. (James Guillory-Imagn Images)
Jets former first round pick puts on impressive performance in preseason loss to the Oilers Tuesday
It might be safe to say that Colby Barlow is ready to make the jump to pro hockey.
While the Winnipeg Jets were downed for their second straight preseason loss Tuesday after falling 3-2 to the Edmonton Oilers. The team's 2023 first round pick had a standout performance with a goal, a +2 rating and five shots on net. Barlow was noticeable all over the ice as he made more than a handful impact plays.
His line with high-end prospects Parker Ford and Brad Lambert made their presence felt as they were involved on the Jets first goal of the game. Barlow jumped up in the play after anticipating that Lambert would be able to free the puck off the boards from a Oilers defender. He speeds up to scoop the puck and dishes the puck to Ford who tries to work it back but the pass is knocked away.
The quick thinking by Barlow led to a lengthy possession in the Oilers end that was capped off by a Colin Miller goal from the point. Before the shot was fired, Barlow quickly moved to the front of the net as the puck was working its way to the point. He got in position for a screen or for an opportunity to tip the puck in and the play resulted in a goal.
Barlow showcased his hockey IQ throughout the game like when intercepting a centering pass in the Oilers end and creating a high-danger chance but was turned away by Calvin Pickard in net.
He also showcased his talents on both ends of the ice as during a backcheck into the Jets end, Barlow caught up to a pinching Oilers defender coming into the zone looking to get a shot off in the high zone. He stick-checked the defender and quickly turned away the scoring chance before chipping the puck out to Lambert and creating a fast break the opposite way.
Barlow's best play of the night was late in the third period, when the Jets found themselves down 3-1 after giving up a power play goal followed by a defensive collapse leading to the Oilers third goal. Barlow was out in the final minutes and made another solid play.
He again saw the puck working its way back to the point and made sure he secured a prominent position in the netfront. Barlow was able to screen the goalie and even get a stick on a point shot from Ville Heinola for a re-direction that got past backup goaltender Matt Tomkins to cut the Oilers lead to one.
Although they lost the game, it was a very positive showing from Barlow as he said post-game that his changes to his body were noticeable as he was able to get in the play easier and felt faster.
"I think it's just moving my feet, getting in on the forecheck, backchecking, I think that gets you into the game pretty quick and, gets you involved all over the ice," Barlow explained "Definitely felt faster out there, light on my feet, more agile, was able to carry the puck, back check, get into place. So I think that's a big thing for me that helped me."
Barlow is expected to not make the Jets main roster and will be optioned to the Manitoba Moose for the upcoming season. In his first three AHL games last season, he averaged a point-per-game with a goal and two assists.
The Evolution Of Dominance - Apr. 1 2019 - Vol. 72 Issue 13 - Matt Larkin
REMINISCING ABOUT DARRYL SUTTER’S Los Angeles Kings feels like admiring primitive cave drawings these days. They won Stanley Cups as recently as 2012 and 2014, but hockey has changed so much that those teams look like Dead Puck Era throwbacks.
Sutter’s Kings were dominant possession teams, outstanding defensively and, most memorably, they were huge. The average NHLer in 2011-12 was 6-foot-1 and 204 pounds. The Cup-winning Kings: 6-foot-2 and 210 pounds. The average NHLer in 2013-14 was 6-foot-1 and 202 pounds. The Cup-winning Kings: 6-foot-2 and 211 pounds. They outweighed their typical opponent by an average of nine pounds per guy in 2014. They wore the competition down with a heavy game.
We know what happened next, of course. The 2015 Chicago Blackhawks won with one of the smallest teams in the league, and coach Mike Sullivan’s need-for-speed Pittsburgh Penguins captured consecutive Cups in 2016 and 2017 with a workmanlike defense corps that fired stretch passes to a brigade of fleet-footed, undersized forwards. The 2015 Hawks and 2016 Penguins were about six-foot on average with a mean weight below 200 pounds. Both teams were shorter and lighter than the league average. Being a copycat league, the NHL thus ushered in an era of rewarding speed and skill. The Kings’ style suddenly became fossilized. They missed the playoffs this spring for the third time in the past five years.
So would the NHL belong to the Little Guy for years to come, then? Hold on. To assume things would stay exactly the same would mean forgetting how Charles Darwin’s theory of natural selection works. A quick refresher: organisms pass on traits to their offspring, certain traits suit them better for survival, and individuals whose traits suit them well to survival will pass on the most offspring to the next generation.
Giraffes are tall because the generations of shorter giraffes died out from failure to reach food in high places. For a while, big hockey teams bred other big hockey teams because the game was tailored to reward a heavy style. The Kings’ approach has died out because the game rewards speed and skill more than ever. Starting in 2017-18, stricter enforcement of slashing rules really opened up space for smaller, faster players. The likes of Johnny Gaudreau, Mitch Marner, Brayden Point and Alex DeBrincat could fill the net like they never could’ve even five years ago. They were naturally selected to thrive in the new NHL ecosystem.
Eventually, however, a generational mutation would come along favoring a new set of traits built to thrive. That brings us to the 2018 Stanley Cup-winning Washington Capitals. They oozed skill and speed, no doubt. Evgeny Kuznetsov, Nicklas Backstrom, Alex Ovechkin, John Carlson and T.J. Oshie were high-talent, high-motor offensive weapons, all first-round picks. The Caps had the razzle-dazzle to compete with, and defeat, the skill-oriented Penguins and Tampa Bay Lightning plus a Vegas Golden Knights team that prioritized a rapid, hornet’s-nest approach to forechecking and back pressure.
The Caps, though, also had Tom Wilson. And Lars Eller. And Devante Smith-Pelly. And Brooks Orpik. And Jay Beagle. In an NHL growing noticeably smaller and lighter, this Capitals team averaged 6-foot-1 and 203 pounds, making it the biggest championship squad since the 2014 Kings. The Caps had the size to play a Sutter-like bruising style when necessary and the skill to run and gun. Wilson epitomizes Washington’s dual-threat identity. He’s a 6-foot-4, 220-pound monster who bludgeons opponents with his hits and fists yet also keeps up with Ovechkin and Kuznetsov in a first-line role, stride for stride.
Behold, the next phase of hockey’s evolution. It’s established that small and fast beats big and slow in today’s NHL. But it stands to reason a biological mutation to big and fast beats small and fast. The laws of natural selection suggest any team that manages to blend both traits should win the fight to survive.
The Tampa Bay Lightning have been hockey’s most dominant, talented club this season. They also entered 2018-19 as the NHL’s 28th-heaviest and 23rd-tallest team. Our Stanley Cup pick, the Winnipeg Jets, entered the season as the league’s tallest and seventh-heaviest squad – while still boasting almost as many elite-skill players as the Lightning. Washington’s evolutionary traits made it a champion last year – and could birth a new Cup-winning offspring in Winnipeg this June.
While speaking to reporters, including the Denver Gazette's Evan Rawal, Colorado Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar shared that former New Jersey Devils goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood is making progress with injury recovery but might not be ready for the start of the 2025-26 season.
If Blackwood ends up not being good to go at the start of the campaign, it would be tough news for the Avalanche. This is because Blackwood is their clear starting goalie and a big part of their roster because of it.
After being acquired by the Avalanche from the San Jose Sharks, Blackwood immediately made a big impact. In 37 games with the Avalanche following the move, the former Devil posted a 22-12-3 record, a 2.33 goals-against average, and a .913 save percentage. Due to his strong play, Blackwood also earned a five-year, $26.25 million contract extension with the Avalanche.
Blackwood was selected by the Devils with the 42nd overall pick of the 2015 NHL Entry Draft. In 152 games over five seasons with the Metropolitan Division club, he recorded a 65-57-18 record, a .906 save percentage, a 2.97 goals-against average, and eight shutouts.
Blackwood's time with the Devils ended when he was traded to the Sharks during the 2023 NHL off-season in exchange for a 2023 sixth-round pick.
Red Wings recent 5th round pick Nikita Tyurin signs four-year extension with Russian club
Detroit Red Wings 2025 fifth-round pick Nikita Tyurin has committed to staying in Russia for the foreseeable future, signing a new four-year contract with his MHL club, HC Spartak Moscow.
The deal, announced on Wednesday by the team, runs through the end of the 2028–29 season and marks a significant step in the young defenseman's development path.
Tyurin, 18, had a breakout debut in Russia’s Junior Hockey League (MHL), playing a key role in JHC Spartak Moscow’s run to the Kharlamov Cup championship. Standing 6 feet tall and weighing 187 pounds, the Moscow native reportedly totaled 30 points (6 goals, 24 assists) over 75 games across all competitions, establishing himself as one of Spartak’s most promising young defensemen.
In 50 regular-season MHL games, Tyurin recorded 20 points (4 goals, 16 assists), finishing as Spartak’s second-highest scoring defenseman while averaging 18 minutes of ice time per game. His mature, poised play earned him a spot in the MHL All-Star Game, a gold medal at the Challenge Cup, and a call-up to the KHL, where he made his debut with Spartak’s senior team.
We recently highlighted some of his early success this season and broke down a recent interview Tyurin had done with the JHL website, where he mentioned he needs to continue to add muscle and weight as he felt undersized going into puck battles. He added that he added 13 pounds in the off-season after weighing in at 174 pounds last season.
While the new deal means Tyurin is likely to remain in Russia for at least the next few seasons, it could benefit both player and NHL team alike. He would turn 22 years old at the end of his deal and could present the option to follow up his development in the Spartak system with a stint in North America with the Grand Rapids Griffins.
For now, Tyurin should receive opportunities in both the MHL and KHL with valuable ice time and experience before making the leap to pro hockey. With a new contract in place and a championship already under his belt, Tyurin now turns his focus to further cementing his place as one of Russia’s top young defensive talents.
Also signing a four-year extension with Spartak is fellow young blueliner Vsevolod Matveev (17), who played in 47 MHL games last season and has already appeared in four KHL contests this year.
The NHL’s 2025-26 season is nearly here, and the Buffalo Sabres are being cautiously optimistic about their chances of ending a 14-year Stanley Cup playoff drought. You don’t see Sabres GM Kevyn Adams, coach Lindy Ruff or Buffalo’s players making grand pronouncements guaranteeing the Sabres will make the playoffs. Nobody under the Sabres’ umbrella will be handing out dressing room white-board material to their opponents in the highly-competitive Atlantic Division.
However, make no mistake – this is shaping up to be one of the most pressure-packed seasons in Sabres history. From Game 1 of the year through to the point Buffalo either qualifies for or are eliminated from the playoffs, the Sabres’ every move will be under the microscope. Any one particular loss could wind up being the difference between Buffalo making or missing the playoffs.
There’s virtually no room for error with this Sabres group. They have to be consistently competitive, and while we know Buffalo isn’t going 82-0-0 in the standings, the Sabres need to eke out standings points wherever they can. You never know – a playoff spot could come down to one standings point.
This is why Buffalo’s day-in, day-out results will be so fascinating this year in particular. Sabres fans are beyond exhausted cheering on a team that has been almost comically inept in the past decade-and-a-half. They need to see progress out of the gate, or cynical fans will pop up right away decrying the state of this organization.
Lots of teams need a good start right from the first game of the season. The Detroit Red Wings are one of those teams. For different reasons, the New York Rangers are another one of those teams. And for different reasons, the Vancouver Canucks are another one of those teams.
But there are degrees of desperation going on in hockey’s top league, and no team has a deeper degree of desperation than the Sabres. Buffalo can’t afford another year of dismay, and the Sabres are going to need every bit of puck luck and grace from the hockey gods if they’re going to avoid being the punchline for jokes for a 15th-consecutive season.
The Sabres can't avoid it -- the pressure is going to be there, day-in and day-out, no matter what goes on. If they do come out strongly, the pressure will be on them to stay consistent in that regard. And of course, if they come out poorly, the vultures will quickly emerge to pick their bones clean.
Thus, Buffalo has to tackle the pressure in a heads-on manner. Their leadership will be tested, as will their depth. And the Sabres' response to the particular type of pressure they create for themselves will dictate what their legacy is going to look like.
The city of Detroit hasn't hosted a Stanley Cup Playoff game since April 2016 against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Joe Louis Arena, who at that time were overseen by general manager Steve Yzerman.
It was a quick five-game series and to date remains the most recent occasion that the Detroit Red Wings have played beyond the 82nd game of the regular season.
That Red Wings team featured a young, Michigan-born rookie named Dylan Larkin who has since become the 37th team captain in franchise history and has been the one to face the media and answer difficult questions during several lean seasons since then.
Larkin is preparing for his 11th season since breaking into the NHL, and there is no player on the Red Wings roster who more badly wants a return to postseason play.
His teammate Andrew Copp flatly stated following practice on Tuesday that Detroit must secure themselves a postseason berth this season. While Larkin stated that all 32 NHL clubs have certain expectations of themselves, it's the time for the Red Wings to not only make the playoffs but to do some damage.
"I would think all 32 teams in training camp right now have that mentality. If you don't, there's an issue," Larkin said following Wednesday's practice. "I think coming into the state of where we are as a team - like, Lucas Raymond, Mo Seider haven't made the playoffs in their careers and they're way too good of players for that."
"It's time to put ourselves in a position that we've been putting ourselves in the last few years and to just stick and just not be satisfied with that," he said. "We've got to make it and start to make noise in the playoffs."
After a long summer of contract negotiations, the Chicago Blackhawks re-signed defenseman Wyatt Kaiser to a two-year, $3.4 million contract last week. This was a very important move for the Blackhawks to make, as Kaiser is one of the team's brightest young defensemen.
Kaiser took a nice step in the right direction this past season with the Blackhawks, recording four goals, eight points, 54 hits, 93 blocks, and an even plus/minus rating in 57 games. Now, he will be looking to hit another new level for the Blackhawks this upcoming season.
Kaiser certainly started off his preseason on the right foot, as the 23-year-old defenseman scored a nice goal in the Blackhawks' preseason contest against the Detroit Red Wings on Sep. 23.
After receiving a perfect feed in the offensive zone from Aidan Thompson, Kaiser showed patience with the puck before firing a fantastic wrist shot past Red Wings goalie Sebastian Cossa in the third period.
This is exactly the kind of stuff that the Blackhawks will be hoping to see from Kaiser this campaign. If he takes a step forward with his offense this season and continues to improve defensively, he could become a big part of Chicago's blueline moving forward.
