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Oliver Moore Scores In Overtime, Blackhawks Beat Blues At Tom Kurvers Prospect Showcase

After a week of rookie camp, the Chicago Blackhawks prospects finally got to play in a game. The Tom Kurvers Prospect Showcase features the Blackhawks in addition to the St. Louis Blues and Minnesota Wild. 

This event is taking place in St. Paul, Minnesota. The participating roster traveled there on Saturday afternoon after having a practice in Chicago during the morning hours. 

After going down 1-0 and having a sluggish start to the game for Chicago, they started to get their legs under them.

The Blackhawks got on the board in the second period when Taige Harding scored, thanks to a great chance created for him by Sam Rinzel. The captain for the night, Rinzel, danced around the zone before making a brilliant pass to Harding, who didn't miss. 

Scott Powers (@ByScottPowers) on XScott Powers (@ByScottPowers) on XSam Rinzel sets up Taige Harding for a Blackhawks' goal.

Towards the end of the middle frame, the Blackhawks took a 2-1 lead on a goal scored by Ryan Mast. Before the game was over, the Blues did find a way to tie it and force overtime. 

Not long into the extra frame, Oliver Moore made a power move using his speed and slid the puck into the net for the game-winner. This was an impressive display of the skills, tenacity, and skating that he brings to the table. 

CHGO Blackhawks (@CHGO_Blackhawks) on XCHGO Blackhawks (@CHGO_Blackhawks) on XOliver Moore burns the defender and buries the OT winner for the Blackhawks !

Whether it was the impressive plays that led to goals by Oliver Moore or Sam Rinzel, amongst others, or big-time scoring chances created by the impressive Nick Lardis, the Blackhawks have a lot of exciting pieces who are just getting going. 

Maybe the most impressive performance for the Blackhawks came in the net. Stan Berezhnoy made 31 saves on 33 shots in the win. A fair amount of them came on grade-A chances. The Rockford IceHogs could see him in the mix during the 2025-26 season. 

Chicago's prospects are going to be back at it again on Sunday when they take on the Minnesota Wild prospects at 3 PM central to close out the Tom Kurvers Prospect Challenge. 

Visit The Hockey News Chicago Blackhawks team site to stay updated on the latest news, game-day coverage, player features, and more.

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No need to overreact with Bump, Grebenkin shows bite and more as Flyers lose

No need to overreact with Bump, Grebenkin shows bite and more as Flyers lose originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

ALLENTOWN, Pa. — The Flyers’ prospects weren’t the comeback kids this time.

They fell to the Rangers, 5-2, Saturday night at PPL Center in the second of two rookie games.

The teams split the weekend series. Game 2 was chippy and sloppy.

“I felt like there were a ton of whistles tonight,” AHL affiliate Lehigh Valley head coach John Snowden said. “I didn’t think there was a whole lot of flow in general in the game.”

Ethan Samson and Alexis Gendron provided the Flyers’ goals. Gendron finished with two in the series.

The Flyers rallied to win Game 1 in overtime, 4-3. Nikita Grebenkin, who scored the winner for the Flyers, had two assists in Game 2.

• Alex Bump, arguably the most NHL-ready prospect in rookie camp, went scoreless over the weekend.

That may be seen as a disappoint to some fans who have heard so many good things about him. But it’s important to remember that a pair of rookie games won’t decide a prospect’s fate for main camp.

Two years ago, Tyson Foerster was the rookie camp headliner. He went scoreless in the two games against the Rangers. The Flyers, though, weren’t too worried about it. Foerster went on to make the big club’s roster and had a 20-goal rookie season.

Bump could be one of those complementary guys who gets better around NHL players. And it’s not like the 21-year-old winger looked bad offensively in the rookie series. He showed some of his strengths.

In the first period Saturday, he put a pass through two Rangers and right to Matthew Gard at the doorstep. But Gard was unable to get his stick on it as he streaked to the net.

• Grebenkin impressed in both games.

Not only can he make plays with quick hands and good vision, but he also competes through contact. You can see why the 22-year-old winger played seven games for the Maple Leafs last season before coming to the Flyers in the Scott Laughton trade.

“He plays with a ton of bite,” Snowden, who runs rookie camp, said. “He’s a highly skilled player, but he is not easy to play against at all. He’s going to whack you when you come off the bench, he’s going to crosscheck you, he’s going to stick his nose in there. He wants to take contact and create his space.”

• Coming off a 20-goal year for the Phantoms last season, Gendron knows he has good offensive tools. But he also knows he needs to continue to round out his overall game if he wants to climb to the Flyers.

“Last year, I thought my game grew up a little bit,” the 21-year-old winger said. “I had a chance to play on the PK yesterday and today, so that’s pretty big for me. I’m trying to be more of a complete player — PK, power play, 5-on-5.

“I’m just trying to prove that I can be an NHLer; not just an AHL guy.”

• Samson had another strong game. His second-period goal came on a missile from the circle.

“One of his greatest strengths is his shot,” Snowden said. … “He can score when he gets his opportunities.”

The 22-year-old defenseman could be a call-up option at some point this season. He has steadily improved in two seasons with Lehigh Valley.

“That’s everyone’s goal at the end of the day, to make that jump,” Samson said. “I’ve just got to keep playing my game and doing what they tell me do, and hopefully I can get to the next step.”

• Carson Bjarnason started in net and played a little over half the game, giving up three goals on 17 shots.

The 2023 second-rounder really wasn’t to blame for any of them.

He allowed a first-period power play goal to Scott Morrow, who played 14 games for the Hurricanes last season.

New York struck again in the opening minute of the middle stanza when the Flyers gave up a 3-on-1 rush. Later in the period, the Flyers surrendered a 5-on-3 power play goal.

Camp invite Joey Costanzo finished the game and stopped 12 of 13 shots.

The Rangers’ final goal was an empty-netter.

• Oliver Bonk ended up missing the second rookie game, as well. The 2023 first-round defenseman was out Friday because of maintenance.

“Just getting him ready for main camp,” Snowden said after Saturday’s loss.

One would think the Flyers didn’t feel there was any need to rush Bonk back, but we’ll see how his status trends over the course of early next week.

Denver Barkey had the night off after an excellent game Friday.

• The Flyers are scheduled to have two more days of rookie camp in Voorhees, New Jersey.

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Throwback: Red Wings' Pavel Datsyuk Handles Corey Perry In Fight

The Los Angeles Kings received unfortunate news when veteran forward Corey Perry, signed to a one-year contract after spending the past season and a half with the Edmonton Oilers, was injured during a training session.

He has since undergone surgery and is expected to miss several weeks. Even at 40, Perry has proven he can still contribute, scoring 19 goals and 11 assists in 81 regular-season games for the Oilers, then adding 10 more goals in the postseason before Edmonton once again fell to the Florida Panthers in the Stanley Cup Final.

It’s a cruel twist of irony for Perry, who has now been on the losing side in the Stanley Cup Final in five of the last six seasons with four different teams (Dallas in 2020, Montreal in 2021, Tampa Bay in 2022, and Edmonton in 2024 and 2025).

Bookmark The Hockey News Detroit Red Wings team site to stay connected to the latest news, game-day coverage, and player features. 

Detroit Red Wings fans are all too familiar with Perry from his many years with the Anaheim Ducks. He and the Ducks faced Detroit three times in the postseason (2007, 2009, 2013), with the Red Wings winning each of the last two series in seven games.

While Perry has never backed down from dropping the gloves, he likely never would have imagined himself getting handled in a bout against Pavel Datsyuk, a multi-year winner of the Lady Byng Trophy as the NHL's most gentlemanly player. 

The Red Wings hosted Perry and the Ducks in their 2010–11 season opener at Joe Louis Arena, a 4–0 Detroit victory. With the game already well in hand in the third period, Perry’s frustration boiled over as he confronted Pavel Datsyuk along the half-wall.

After landing a few punches, Perry found himself on the receiving end, as Datsyuk fired back and eventually wrestled him to the ice as the sellout crowd roared in approval. 

“I’m not a very big guy to talk about what happened,” Datsyuk explained years later. "What happened, happened. It’s part of hockey, part of the show.

“When you watch a fight from the side, you see how people grab each other and try to protect themselves. So, I was trying to defend myself.” 

Datsyuk, who had already scored a goal with adding an assist, picked up his first and only Gordie Howe Hat Trick of his NHL career with the fight.

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Mets drop eighth straight, waste Brandon Sproat's excellent Citi Field debut in 3-2 loss to Rangers

The Mets blew a 2-0 lead in the final two innings and lost 3-2 to the Texas Rangers on Saturday at Citi Field, extending their losing streak to eight straight games.

Here are the takeaways...

-- The Mets let a 2-0 lead after seven innings get away, as the Rangers rallied for two runs in the eighth, started by a catcher’s interference call, and then scored the go-ahead run in the ninth.

Edwin Diaz, called upon with two outs in the eighth, gave up a game-tying double and then came back in the ninth to give up the lead.

The Rangers’ ninth-inning rally started with a line drive off Francisco Lindor’s glove. It was ruled a hit but looked like a ball Lindor should have caught. After a sacrifice bunt, Diaz gave up a two-out line drive single into right-center by Wyatt Langford to put Texas ahead.

-- Brandon Sproat was outstanding in his second major league start, throwing six shutout innings, attacking with such efficiency that he threw only 70 pitches.

He surely could have gone another inning but Carlos Mendoza was likely influenced by some hard contact Sproat gave up in the sixth inning, and went to his bullpen for Brooks Raley in the seventh.

Sproat pitched with great command, staying mostly on the corners with all of his pitches. He consistently got in on the hands of Rangers’ right-handed hitters with his running two-seamer, and kept hitters off balance with his sweeper and changeup as well.

He allowed no walks while striking out three against this team of mostly contact hitters. In two starts Sproat has a 2.25 ERA.

-- Lindor almost single-handedly manufactured a run to get the Mets on the board in the fifth inning. A good throw from Patrick Corbin might have nailed Lindor, but the throw was wild, allowing the run to score.

The shortstop led off by dropping a perfect bunt single down the third base line, then made a great read on Pete Alonso’s bloop single — daring as it was — that fell just out of 2B Cody Freeeman’s reach, going to third base on the play. And when the throw caromed off 3B Josh Jung, Lindor gambled again and took off, even though Corbin was backing up the play.

-- Soto’s solo home run in the seventh inning was a bomb into the upper deck in right field, giving the Mets a 2-0 lead. In addition, he became only the third hitter in major league history, along with Barry Bonds and Jeff Bagwell, to hit 40 or more HRs, have 30 or more SBs and 100 or more walks.

With the long ball Soto became the first Met to ever record a 40/30 season, with 40 HRs and 30 stolen bases.

-- The Rangers rallied for two runs in the eighth inning to tie the game. With Tyler Rogers pitching, the rally started when Francisco Alvarez was called for catcher’s interference on a Josh Smith swing, and Langford followed with a double into the left-field corner, putting runners at second and third.

After a sacrifice fly made it 2-1, and then a strikeout, Mendoza went to Diaz for a potential four-out save. But Diaz walkedJung and gave up a double to the right field corner by Rowdy Tellez on a hanging slider, scoring Langford to tie the game 2-2.

-- The Mets knocked Corbin out in the fifth inning, but in scoring just one run against him they really missed an opportunity against a journeyman starter who has been especially vulnerable on the road this season. The Mets had him on the ropes early, but after loading the bases with two outs, Starling Marte took strike three on the inside corner to end the inning.

The left-hander has been mediocre for years: He hasn’t posted an ERA-plus number anywhere near league average since 2019. This season he’s been a serviceable back-end starter for Texas overall, going 7-9 with a 4.36 ERA, but in 14 road starts coming into Saturday he had a 5.63 ERA with a 1.472 WHIP.

-- Brett Baty made his second baserunning blunder this week, getting picked off second base with no outs in the sixth inning, short-circuiting a potential rally when the Mets were leading 1-0.

Baty was picked off first base in the late innings earlier this week in a close game in Philadelphia, with Soto at the plate.

For some reason, Baty didn’t slide going back into second on Saturday. It looked like he may have been safe with a slide.

Game MVP: Brandon Sproat

Even in a losing cause, Sproat’s six shutout innings in his second major league start was a huge lift for the Mets, coming off Jonah Tong’s disastrous start on Friday night.

If nothing else, it offered hope for the future for the Mets.

Highlights

What's next

The Mets and Rangers close out their three-game series with a Sunday matinee starting at 1:40 p.m. on PIX11.

RHP Nolan McLean (4-1, 1.42 ERA) looks to keep his great start to his career going and will match up against LHP Jacob Latz (2-0, 2.91 ERA).