NEW YORK (AP) — Connor McDavid extended his NHL-record season-opening assist streak to 14 games by setting up Ryan Nugent-Hopkins’ second goal, and the Edmonton Oilers opened their road trip by beating the New York Islanders 4-0 on Saturday.
Nugent-Hopkins scored on a power play in the third period to give McDavid his league-best 29th assist. McDavid has a big lead in points with 37 and is on pace for more than 200.
Longtime running mate Leon Draisaitl recorded a pair of assists, including a perfect skate-to-stick exchange that led to Vasily Podkolzin putting the puck into a wide open net. Ilya Sorokin similarly had little chance on Nugent-Hopkins’ shot from point-blank range off a feed from Kasperi Kapanen 68 seconds earlier.
Edmonton’s Tristan Jarry stopped all 18 shots he faced for a second consecutive shutout, and Jason Dickinson scored into an empty net to seal the victory. The Oilers have won 10 of their first 14 games this season, their first with Mike Babcock as coach.
Despite 20 saves from Sorokin, the Islanders’ winning streak ended at two games, with top defenseman Matthew Schaefer getting whistled for two of the team’s five minor penalties. Forward Emil Heineman was ejected less than 2 1/2 minutes in for a knee-on-knee hit that injured Isaac Howard, who put no weight on his left leg as he was helped off the ice and did not return.
New York was without defenseman Ryan Pulock, who was seeing a doctor after leaving Thursday night at Minnesota with what the team called an upper-body injury.
Up next
Oilers: Make their second stop on a three-game visit to the area by playing at the New York Rangers on Sunday.
Islanders: After some time off, host the defending Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday night.
Tyrese Maxey’s 38-point performance helped the Sixers pull out a Halloween win in Charlotte.
Playing on the second night of a back-to-back, the Sixers earned a 109-104 victory over the Hornets.
Along with Maxey, the Sixers’ double-figure scorers were Anfernee Simons (19 points), Jaylen Brown (16 points), Jabari Walker (12) and VJ Edgecombe (10).
Grayson Allen scored 27 points for the Hornets and Brandon Miller added 24.
Next on the 6-1 Sixers’ schedule is a matchup with the Bulls on Monday night in Philadelphia. Here are observations on their win over the Hornets:
Maxey attacks early, keeps the points flowing
Adem Bona started for the first time this season, replacing Embiid. Brown and Dean Wade were the Sixers’ starting forwards with James out.
Edgecombe posted the game’s first points with a three that narrowly beat the shot clock. Maxey scored the Sixers’ next seven and put his team up 10-5 with a smooth step-back jumper.
He made his first four field goals and immediately hurt Charlotte in both the half court and transition. With all of his experience in undermanned situations over the years, Maxey has zero trouble tweaking his approach depending on who the Sixers have available. He was a tad more attack-minded than usual in the early going.
Maxey reached 15 points when he zoomed in for a layup late in the first quarter. He’s been ultra-consistent to start the season, recording at least 26 points in all seven of the Sixers’ games so far.
Rough start for Brown in return
Walker and Brown each came back from left knee injuries. Brown was well below his best out of the gates.
He started 0 for 5 from the floor and also missed his first free throw. The five-time All-Star managed minimal separation off the dribble and had multiple shots blocked in the first quarter.
Brown became the focal point of the Sixers’ offense when Maxey subbed out. The Hornets surged into the lead. Following an air-balled Brown three, Ryan Kalkbrenner slammed home a dunk. Charlotte took a 23-15 advantage with a 13-0 run.
The Hornets’ bench racked up 20 points in the first quarter. Allen was red-hot in the first half, shooting 5 for 6 from long distance.
On the Sixers’ side, the team concluded its back-to-back by using a 10-man rotation. Justin Edwards received meaningful minutes for the first time this regular season, getting a short run in the second quarter. Walker served as the Sixers’ main backup center behind Bona. Tacko Fall was available as additional big man depth but did not play.
The Sixers made a bright start to the second quarter and Walker played a key part, scoring twice inside. Labaron Philon Jr. also gave the Sixers a handy stint as an aggressive, shot-creating guard. The rookie knocked down a three and a tough bucket near the rim. The Sixers pushed back in front and took a 57-54 edge into halftime.
Simons helps Sixers bring it home
Brown’s second half was a bit better than his first.
The Sixers did again grow more deliberate when Maxey exited and Brown assumed the No. 1 option job. However, Brown focused more on hitting the paint and had greater success as a driver.
The Hornets’ defense was determined to slow Maxey and held him to four points on 1-for-4 shooting in the third quarter. Maxey air-balled a long three on the Sixers’ final possession of the third and his team entered the fourth facing a six-point deficit.
Playing alongside Bona at the start of the fourth quarter, Walker kept up his confident, productive, high-energy night. He converted a second-chance three and a put-back bucket early in the fourth quarter. A Maxey mid-range jumper brought the Hornets’ lead down to 89-86.
The Sixers then conceded a jumper to Allen on an after-timeout play. Bona missed a rare corner three attempt and picked up his fifth foul with 6:46 left. The Sixers want Bona to lean into his shot-blocking strength, but the 23-year-old’s foul trouble tends to be more damaging in Embiid-less games. He fouled excessively in his first two NBA seasons and hasn’t yet shown significant improvement in that area.
To their considerable credit, the Sixers hung around and didn’t view the night as a lost cause.
They tightened their defense, preventing the Hornets from a cruise to the final buzzer. Simons played a valuable role offensively, ensuring Maxey didn’t have to win it with a solo show. He’s been great the last three games, averaging 20 points off the bench and draining 16 of 27 threes (59.3 percent).
Simons canned a late jumper and made a fast-break layup. Two Maxey free throws gave the Sixers a 102-101 lead.
Yet again, Edgecombe was happy to fire a giant shot in the clutch. He nailed a step-back three over Allen with 35.4 seconds to go and the Sixers’ bench poured out on the floor in celebration. On the final night of October, the Sixers snagged their sixth win.
Having to overcome a pair of two-goal deficits and a third period deficit, where they were 0-6-0 when trailing after two, it appeared the visitors were headed for a losing month of October.
But three goals in a span 4:38, including Aleksanteri Kaskimaki’s first NHL goal that turned out to be the game-winner, and the Blues pulled out an improbable 5-4 win over the Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.
The Blues (7-6-1) thus finish above .500 in the month of October for the first time since the 2021-22 season when they were 6-1-0 and finished that season 49-22-11.
This one wasn’t pretty, and maybe it helps erase the 2-0 loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday when the Blues felt they played a game they should have won and were simply beaten by Montreal goalie Jacob Fowler’s 46-save shutout.
Here, they didn’t play particularly well at all for large swaths of this one but found a way to get two points maybe they didn’t necessarily deserve. The swings of an 84-game season can bring that about.
As for the game itself, let’s delve into it the key moments …
* Three goals in 4:38 – The Blues found themselves down 4-2 with roughly 12 minutes to play and were on their way with what looked like a seventh loss in as many games when trailing after two when they entered the period down 3-2.
But Pavel Buchnevich’s goal at 8:37, after a nifty little backhand sauce from Jake Neighbours entering the zone along the righthand side gave Buchnevich space through the middle of the ice before ripping a shot into the top left corner to make it 4-3:
St. Louis goal!
Scored by Pavel Buchnevich with 11:23 left in the 3rd. Assisted by Jake Neighbours.
Justin Barron tied it 4-4 at 12:57 on a play all started by him with a heck of a leap off his skates on a flip out, he catches the puck and all in one motion, spins and moves the puck quickly up to Jimmy Snuggerud, who was able to get the puck into the middle of the ice for Barron to stay in the play and one-time a shot past John Gibson:
St. Louis goal!
Scored by Justin Barron with 07:03 left in the 3rd. Assisted by Jimmy Snuggerud.
And just 18 seconds later at 13:15, Kaskimaki put the Blues ahead for good at 5-4 when Pius Suter was able to bring the puck around the wall to Alexey Toropchenko, who quickly put a shot towards the net and Kaskimaki was there on the short side to tip it past Gibson:
St. Louis goal!
Scored by Aleksanteri Kaskimaki with 06:45 left in the 3rd. Assisted by Alexey Toropchenko and Pius Suter.
The Blues did a nice job the rest of the way of shutting it down, even after Detroit (6-5-3) pulled Gibson with three minutes to play, including Suter back-checking to break up a potential last-second one-timer at the net with the chance to tie the game.
* Fighting through without Colton Parayko – Parayko did not play and is considered day-to-day with an upper-body injury, which meant the Blues were going to have to get it done with a younger group, including Theo Lindstein, who was recalled from Springfield of the American Hockey League on Friday.
It also meant Parayko’s big minutes (20:49 average time per game) were going to have to be picked up, including on the penalty kill, and yes, Philip Broberg was beat back down the ice that enabled Keegan Kolesar to score on a breakaway and give Detroit a 2-1 lead 41 seconds into the second period, but he and Brandon Carlo were able to play solid shutdown minutes and each finish at plus-2, with Broberg playing a game-high 27:09 and Carlo finishing at 21:22.
Cam Fowler (21:16) was paired with Adam Jiricek (20:22) who I thought had a really solid game playing in some key moments and needing to step into the top four with Parayko out
* Justin Barron continues to impress – What else can be said for a waiver wire pickup? Barron continues to make an impact after having a goal and an assist to give him eight points (two goals, six assists) in his first 11 games in a Blues uniform.
He makes a terrific play on his goal, and also helped set up Dalibor Dvorsky’s opener at 2:29 of the opening period for a 1-0 lead when he had a shot chance but instead chose to make a nice slip pass into the slot for Dvorsky to cut to his backhand:
St. Louis goal!
Scored by Dalibor Dvorsky with 17:31 left in the 1st. Assisted by Justin Barron and Dylan Holloway.
Barron played 15:44 and is now up to eight points (two goals, six assists) in 11 games with the Blues this season; he had just nine assists with the Nashville Predators last season in 52 games and has never had more than 15 points (four goals, 11 assists) in any NHL season, and that was with the Montreal Canadiens in 2022-23.
At this pace, if Barron plays out the season, he would be on pace to shatter his personal bests with 59 points (15 goals, 44 assists) in 81 games.
Perhaps playing in a system that allows the defensemen to jump into plays and play more aggressively is suiting Barron’s style well with the Blues. So far, so good. He’s been a terrific add thus far.
* Snuggerud goal key to comeback – There’s just certain goals in a game where you say, “Remember that one,” at critical junctures.
When Snuggerud scored with 27.1 seconds left in the second period to cut Detroit’s lead to 3-2, that was the one.
The Blues had just switched up their line combinations to reset to where they were for the majority of the season, and Broberg’s rim around was aggressively forechecked by Robert Thomas, who took the puck to the net hard before Snuggerud was there to deposit the loose change:
St. Louis goal!
Scored by Jimmy Snuggerud with 00:28 left in the 2nd. Assisted by Robert Thomas and Philip Broberg.
Yes, Detroit did increase its lead to 4-2 on Emmitt Finnie’s goal early in the third on the power play, but if you’re down 3-1 and that goal makes it 4-1, chances of a comeback are pretty remote.
But getting a late-period goal like that when the Blues had little to no mojo going on can give a group a spark, and it certainly did re-energize a pretty dead group.
* 15 shots gets it done – The Blues had lots of success on Gibson in the past, most notably when he was a member of the Anaheim Ducks. Gibson was 8-16-1 with a 3.39 goals-against average and .895 save percentage against St. Louis for his career.
Getting shots on the veteran goalie would have proved to be beneficial. But when Dvorsky scored, it was the Blues’ only shot for the next 26:36 of the game. Gibson made his first save (on Dvorsky) just over nine minutes into the second period. The Blues were not forechecking to create zone time and the Red Wings were defending what little the Blues had early on well enough.
They had just three shots on goal halfway through the game and finished with 15, but once they started to funnel the few pucks they had at Gibson, they were able to find the back of the net and finished with a robust 33.3 percent shooting for the game on 47 shot attempts.
"The feeling in that locker room right now is pretty special, so we've got to carry on this momentum."
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.
On this day two years ago, the White Sox officially cut ties with Yoán Moncada. | (Photo by John McCoy/Getty Images)
1937 Ed Arthur Walsh, son of White Sox legend Ed Walsh, died of rheumatic fever after falling into a coma at his childhood home in Meriden, Conn. He was just 32 years old.
Quite obviously, the younger Walsh would never escape the shadow of his father, a Hall-of-Famer and fifth all-time in White Sox WAR. However, Ed was a talented athlete, making the University of Notre Dame football team as a punter under coach Knute Rockne and pitching to an 18-6 record for a Fighting Irish baseball team managed by his father.
The White Sox signed the younger Walsh upon graduation in 1928 and he made his major league debut on the mound that same year, on July 4. Walsh pitched in four seasons for the White Sox, ending his career with an 11-28 record, a 5.57 ERA and 0.1 pitching WAR.
Just five years after his final game in the majors, the younger Walsh was dead. His father lived until the White Sox pennant-winning season of 1959, 22 years later.
1972 In an extremely tight race, Gaylord Perry edged Wilbur Wood for AL Cy Young, 64 votes to 58. Both hurlers had very similar, 24-win seasons:
Wood threw 34 more innings (376 2⁄3 !), started nine more games (49), and had three more shutouts (eight).
Perry had one fewer loss (16), nine more complete games (29), and had key edges in ERA (1.92 to 2.51), ERA+ (168 to 126), and WHIP (0.978 to 1.059).
In the final accounting, Perry had a slightest of edges in WAR (10.8 to 10.7) and finished sixth in AL MVP voting to Wood’s seventh.
But for fans of “meaningful games,” the decision was hard to swallow: Perry’s Clevelanders finished sixth in the AL East (72-84), while Wood’s White Sox were 16 games better, finishing second in the AL West (87-67).
Wood would have been just the second White Sox pitcher ever to win a Cy Young (Early Wynn, 1959) and would have joined Dick Allen (MVP) as major award winners in 1972 for the upstart South Siders.
2005 As the White Sox were winning their first World Series in 88 years, Sports Illustrated put Scott Podsednik and his winning home run from the second game on the cover. The long headline read, “World Series. In A Match Up Of Two Title Hungry Teams, The White Sox Struck First, Dramatically Downing The Astros In Games 1 And 2.”
Sports Illustrated then basically ignored the White Sox winning the series by only putting a small circle shot of the team celebrating in the corner of the following week’s cover, breaking a longstanding tradition. The cover that week was Peyton Manning and Tom Brady, as the magazine previewed a regular season NFL game — not a Super Bowl matchup, not a playoff contest — but a regular-season meeting.
2011 Three days after leading the St. Louis Cardinals to another World Series title, former White Sox skipper Tony La Russa announced his retirement.
He would not remain retired.
2024 The White Sox officially announced the hiring of Will Venable as the 44th manager in franchise history.
Venable came from the Rangers organization, where he was the associate manager under Bruce Bochy and helped Texas win a World Series in 2023. He also coached in the Red Sox and Cubs organizations after an almost 10-year playing career as an outfielder.
Venable was considered an up-and-comer in the baseball world and initial reaction to his hiring was very positive. He stepped into what many were also considering the most difficult job in the majors, taking over a team that lost a record 121 games in the 2024 season, and improved the club by 19 wins in 2025 and another 24 in 2026.
Also on this day, the White Sox bought out third baseman Yoán Moncada’s contract for $5 million rather than pay him $25 million for the 2025 season. Moncada is commonly regarded as a “bust” for the White Sox, and while his enormous promise as an overall No. 1 prospect in baseball promised more, the infielder was not. From a strict value standpoint, he was paid $71.1 million over the course of his White Sox career and produced 14.5 WAR; at $4.9 million paid per WAR, the White Sox actually got a slight bargain in the deal.
The Chicago Blackhawks closed out their two-game road trip with a visit to TD Garden, home of the Boston Bruins. Two opposite-conference teams off to very different starts met up for the first time this season.
The Blackhawks came in looking to avenge their horrific performance on Thursday night against the Detroit Red Wings. Based on the situation with Detroit off the ice, an argument can be made that it was Chicago's worst performance of the season.
In the first period, the Blackhawks got off to another good start. They went up 1-0, which they do often, thanks to a power-play goal scored by Anton Frondell. Jeff Blashill finally put Frondell and his wicked one-timer on the top unit, and it paid off right away.
On the goal, Patrick Kane collected his 900th career NHL assist. He became just the 21st player in league history to reach that milestone. Sidney Crosby is the only other active player to have reached that milestone.
Later in the first period, Pavel Zacha made a brilliant read to spring David Pastrnak, who did not miss with his very nice breakaway move. With the goal, Pastrnak passed Patrice Bergeron for the third most in Bruins history.
The Blackhawks doubled the Bruins in first-period shots, 14-7. However, they were unable to escape the opening period with the lead, as the 1-1 score held.
The second period had all sorts of fireworks. For one, Anton Frondell scored his second goal of the game at 3:21 of the middle frame. Tyler Bertuzzi wisely threw one on net, and it went in off Frondell, who had an incredible game overall.
Eventually, a rush by James Hagens and Casey Mittelstadt off a turnover in the neutral zone allowed the latter to eventually snipe one home. The Blackhawks, once again, came out of a period that they mostly dominated (12-6 in shots) tied. Sometimes, that is expected when a team with less overall talent is playing better. When you're a young squad like the Blackhawks, you have to work even harder to collect wins.
Although each team scored in the second period, the story was the big brawl. Casey Mittelstadt and Alex Vlasic started it in the middle of the ice behind the play before both teams came together for a yard sale. The kicker, however, is that Nikita Zadorov earned himself a 10-minute misconduct when he took a cheap shot punch at Alex Vlasic's face as the brawl ended. Only time will tell if he hears from the league.
Huge scrum involving Vlasic and Mittelstadt. Zadorov comes in and lands a cheap shot: pic.twitter.com/5MWPtKwY6A
In the third period, someone had to be a hero for either team. At 9:38, after a series of saves by goaltender Arvid Soderblom on Charlie McAvoy, Ryan Greene took the puck up the ice and scored his second of the season. The Blackhawks have had trouble holding 3rd period leads, especially against playoff-caliber teams, but this was another chance to try.
Connor Bedard gave the Blackhawks some breathing room with a goal of his own. He won a puck battle to give himself a breakaway, and he made a wonderful move of his own to give his team a two-goal lead.
Less than a minute later, the Bruins got themselves back within one. JJ Peterka made a brilliant feed to Mason Lohrei, who beat Soderblom to make it 4-3. It's never easy in the NHL.
It turned into a nightmare finish on Halloween for the Blackhawks as Morgan Geekie tied the game with 10 seconds remaining. The Blackhawks, in such a short amount of time, went from a team looking like a winner to a team on their heels.
In overtime, the Blackhawks gave themselves a chance to win more than once, but they were unable to solve Michael DiPietro one more time. Before not, Elias Lindholm scored on Arvid Soderblom to give the Bruins a 5-4 win.
Despite being the better team for most of the game, the Blackhawks were unable to secure a solid victory over a good team. Being unable to hold late leads has been the spooky reality for the Blackhawks over the last two years, and it showed on Saturday.
People will look at the box score and see that Soderblom gave up 5 goals and criticize him for it. However, he made multiple grade-A saves and gave the team a chance to win. It might be time to start using him a bit more so that he can stay sharp and give Spencer Knight a break now and again.
Watch Every Chicago Goal
🎃 Anton first goal of the game 🎃 Kaner 900th assist 🎃 starting Halloween off on a wicked note pic.twitter.com/QZNKq0OtaW
The Chicago Blackhawks will return home for a one-off Monday night game against the Colorado Avalanche. That is a huge test against an elite team before heading out for three on the road against Eastern Conference Cup contenders: the Florida Panthers, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Carolina Hurricanes.
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive, and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.
The classic horror movie trope of an antagonist suddenly roaring back to life just when the protagonists think they've finished them off played out on the ice Saturday afternoon - and on Halloween, fittingly enough.
The Detroit Red Wings comfortably led 4-2 over the visiting St. Louis Blues at Little Caesars Arena near the midway point of the third period, only to watch the Blues score three unanswered goals, including two in 18 seconds, to take the lead and ultimately hold on for a 5-4 victory.
It was the Blues who struck first courtesy of a backhander by Dalibor Dvorsky from in tight. But Detroit knotted the score soon afterward when Michael Rasmussen stole the puck from goaltender Joel Hofer behind the net and fed J.T. Compher, who tallied his first goal of the season.
Early in the second period, forward Keegan Kolesar took a pass from Carter Mazur and broke in alone on Hofer, scoring his first goal since being traded to the Red Wings over the summer. Detroit then extended its lead to 3-1 when Lucas Raymond scored his fifth goal in his last six games.
St. Louis cut the deficit to one late in the period when Jimmy Snuggerud poked a loose puck past Gibson at the side of the net.
But Detroit restored its two-goal cushion thanks to a power-play goal from Emmitt Finnie at 3:29 of the third period. The Red Wings appeared to have things well in hand at that point, but the Blues would quickly flip the script.
Pavel Buchnevich sniped a shot past Gibson's blocker at 8:37, followed by another blast from Justin Barron that also beat Gibson on the blocker side.
Just 18 seconds later, Blues forward Aleksanteri Kaskimaki scored the first goal of his NHL career, deflecting a shot from Alexey Toropchenko past Gibson, giving St. Louis the lead and stunning the Red Wings and their fans.
Despite pulling Gibson for the extra attacker, the Red Wings couldn't come up with the equalizer and suffered a disappointing loss.
Gibson finished with 10 saves on the 15 shots he faced; Hofer picked up the win for the Blues after turning aside 24 of 28 shots.
The Red Wings will now head onto the road for two straight divisional matchups starting Monday against the Florida Panthers.
Never miss a story by adding us to your Google News favorites!
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.
WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 26: Connelly Early #19 of the Washington Nationals pitches during a baseball game against the New York Mets at Nationals Park on September 26, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Paul Toboni made several moves at his first trade deadline, but the biggest one was with his old club. He cashed in on Curtis Mead’s breakout first half to acquire standout 24 year old lefty Connelly Early. Toboni is very familiar with Early, being the one who drafted him in Boston. Now, the duo is reunited in DC, and hopefully the partnership can be fruitful.
BREAKING: The Boston Red Sox are trading left-hander Connelly Early to the Washington Nationals for infielder Curtis Mead, sources tell ESPN.
If you told someone before the 2026 season started that Mead would be traded straight up for Early, any knowledgeable baseball fan would call you crazy. Mead was DFA’d by the White Sox right before Opening Day, and the Nats acquired him for the unknown Boston Smith (who also had a monster year and was traded again at the deadline). Meanwhile, Early looked like a stud in his September callup and started a win or go home game.
However, this one for one trade ended up happening about a week before the deadline. It was not like Early was having a bad season in Boston either. Some of his underlying metrics were mildly concerning, but Early still had a 3.44 ERA with 93 strikeouts in 91.2 innings for the Red Sox. He was already establishing himself as a reliable middle of the rotation starter as a rookie.
There was one catch though, Early was hurt at the time of the trade. He exited a start against the Nationals with elbow soreness at the end of June. However, there was no structural damage on his MRI, so the injury was not going to keep him out that long. The injury scare, combined with the Red Sox glut of left handed starters and their need for offense led to them moving Early for Mead.
Neither team really got anything out of the trade in 2026 though. Mead was hit by a pitch and broke his wrist in his second at bat, causing him to miss the rest of the season. Meanwhile, Early, who was supposed to come back some time in August, suffered a setback. While ramping up again, Early felt some discomfort in his forearm. That caused the Nats to shut him down temporarily.
However, the discomfort was very mild, and the Nats cautiously ramped up Early again in an effort to get him on the mound by the end of the year. After a few rehab starts, Early was able to make a start in the second to last game of the season.
We only saw three innings, but it was very impressive. Early was in command of his six pitch mix and kept the Mets hitters off balance. He only allowed one hit and did not walk anyone. The lefty cruised through three innings on just 34 pitches. It gave Nats fans a sneak peak of what is to come.
With Early not pitching for most of his time with the Nats, the mood around the trade was a bit negative. Nobody was writing off Early, but there was plenty of grumbling about where the team would be with Mead. That last start of the season provided a lot of optimism for fans. We got to see why Paul Toboni was so high on Early.
For the season, Early posted a 3.33 ERA in 94.2 innings with 94 strikeouts. The peripherals suggested his ERA should probably be in the low to mid 4’s, but Early was able to overachieve. Moving forward, I think Early could be able to match that 3.33 ERA, but do it in a more sustainable manner.
Early has a strong combination of stuff, feel and command. He throws a 4-seamer, a sinker, a changeup, a curveball, a sweeper and a slider. It is very impressive to see a young pitcher show the ability to use so many different weapons. His velocity is only average, but a strong fastball shape makes the pitch effective. Early is able to show a variety of different secondary pitches off that fastball.
Connelly Early (acquired by WSH) is a young, controllable lefty who is currently nursing an elbow injury. His profile is highlighted by solid command and a deep arsenal which features a deceptively good fastball and a nasty changeup. He projects as a mid-rotation arm. https://t.co/xhbNbX2QZnpic.twitter.com/IGSLetid43
Right now, Early sits at 94 on his 4-seamer, but as a leaner guy, I wonder if he can add another tick of velocity with additional strength training. Early has said getting stronger is a priority for him. That added strength could help his durability, along with the velocity.
While Early pitched well, he did suffer that injury that held him out for months. He has not pitched more than 103 innings in his pro career, so being able to log innings is a slight question. The health is a question, but the fact he got back on the mound this year makes me a lot more optimistic.
Moving forward, I think Early will be the perfect number 3 starter for the Nats. A rotation consisting of Cavalli, Early and one other big time arm could make the Nationals rotation a strength. At the deadline, we knew that Nats needed pitching help badly. I think Connelly Early will be a part of the solution moving forward.
Luka Dončić doesn’t need any reminders about what Steph Curry did to win during Friday night’s game.
The Lakers star guard had his ankles broken by Curry at one point in the Warriors’ comeback 112-95 win. Curry drained the ensuing 3-pointer, adding further insult to what was already an embarrassing moment for Dončić.
Luka Doncic of the Los Angeles Lakers falls while guarding Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors in San Francisco, Friday, Oct. 30, 2026. Getty Images
The Warriors included several slow-motion clips of Curry breaking Doncic’s ankles in an Instagram post after Friday’s night’s game, which was captioned, “Tonight’s Warriors win marks the largest margin of victory (17) by any NBA team after trailing by 25+ since 1997-98, when play-by-play was officially recorded.”
Ayesha Curry reposting a video of Steph Curry hyping up Golden State Warriors fans to her Instagram Story. (Instagram/@ayeshacurry).
To be fair, Ayesha didn’t repost the actual clip of Steph breaking Luka’s ankles, instead posting another video of Steph hyping up his home crowd.
But that is still enough to say Dončić caught another stray from the Curry family on Friday night.
Luka Doncic (77) of the Los Angeles Lakers stands for the national anthem before a game against the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2026. NBAE via Getty Images
These teams don’t play each other again until Jan. 27, which means Dončić has a lot of time to think about what Curry did to him before matching up again.
Stephen Curry, left, and Ayesha Curry watch Carlos Alcaraz play Jannik Sinner in the US Open men’s finals in Flushing, Queens, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025. Larry Marano
(Original Caption) 10/07/1960-New York, NY: Yankee pitcher Whitey Ford swings a couple of bats under the watchful eye of Yankee slugger Mickey Mantle, at an early morning workout in Yankee Stadium. The Series will resume here 10/8.
Several months back, I began a series here at Pinstripe Alley where I was going to put together an All-Star Yankee team of players who were born in a given month. Since then, we as a staff have started doing daily posts for the year 2026, highlighting a Yankee from history whose birthday happens to land on that day. As we near the end of this month, what better way to put a cap on a month’s worth of birthday posts then by using the all-month teams as a way to look back on who we covered? And maybe some we didn’t cover who shared a birthday with someone else?
With that in mind, here are my choices for the All-October Birthday Yankee Team.
With Orlando Hernández behind and David Bednar in the bullpen, October has a decent pitching staff, but “The Chairman of the Board” is the only choice I could make on the mound. He’s rightfully a legend, in the Hall of Fame with his number retired by the Yankees, and yet his stats were still somewhat held back by the way manager Casey Stengel would use him.
There were some tough choices to be made in the infield, with the likes of Snuffy Stirnweiss, Bobby Brown, and Tony Kubek also options. However, no matter how much frustration around his departure still exists, Canó was still a damn incredible hitter.
Rolfe managed in the major leagues after his player career, but that wasn’t the only sport he coached in. Rolfe had a brief run as the coach of the Toronto Huskies of the Basketball Association of America, which was one of the leagues that merged to form the NBA.
Obviously, we had to save center field for one of the greatest Yankees and one of the greatest baseball players of all time. He put up 112.3 career fWAR despite being greatly hampered by injury in the final couple years of his career.
Of the many dumb things George Steinbrenner did, getting himself banned essentially because he was mad about Winfield’s contract was one of the dumbest. Winfield had a career 135 OPS+ as a Yankee, it wasn’t his fault the rest of the roster was meh in that era.
Designated Hitter: Juan Soto
I know he’s another one whose departure we’re all still somewhat annoyed about, but it’s fairly impossible to deny that Soto is going to go down as one of the best hitters of his generation. The Yankees exulted in everything he got to provide in 2024, including a pennant-clinching homer.
Pat Cummins has conceded the Australian Test side has to improve if it is to reclaim its status as the world’s best team and said it is fair to question whether a personnel change is needed to spark their best this summer.
DENVER — Gavin Brindley’s strong play with the Colorado Eagles has earned him another opportunity with the Avalanche.
The speedy, aggressive forward was recalled Saturday, just nine days after being sent back to Colorado’s AHL affiliate.
The recall comes as the Avalanche prepare to face the Calgary Flames without Logan O’Connor. O’Connor missed Friday’s practice to attend his father Myles’ funeral, and head coach Jared Bednar confirmed at Saturday’s morning skate that the forward would not play.
Brindley has made the most of his time in the AHL, recording four points (one goal, three assists) in four games since his reassignment. He finished October with nine points (two goals, seven assists) in eight appearances, earning recognition as the Eagles’ second star of the month.
In Colorado's October 14 matchup against the Dallas Stars, Brindley appeared to score with a beautiful wrist shot. The goal horn sounded, and the arena briefly celebrated before everyone realized the puck hadn't gone in. Instead, replay showed the puck hitting both posts in what can only be described as one of the biggest cases of rejection in recent hockey memory. The Avalanche went on to lose 3-2 in a shootout, but Brindley came close to giving the team one of the night's best highlights.
He appeared in four games during his initial recall, recording one assist while averaging 8:08 of ice time. His opportunities were limited, as he saw no action on either special-teams unit. Still, his recent production with the Eagles has given Colorado another reason to see what he can do at the NHL level.
The Avalanche acquired Brindley from the Columbus Blue Jackets in June 2025 in the trade that sent Charlie Coyle and Miles Wood to Columbus. Colorado also received a 2025 third-round pick and a conditional 2027 second-round selection. The Blue Jackets had selected Brindley 34th overall in the 2023 NHL Draft.
Brindley spent most of last season with Colorado, recording six goals and 13 points before being sent to the Eagles in late March. He has since accumulated 14 points in 61 career NHL games.
With another call-up, Brindley gets a chance to turn his strong AHL play into more NHL opportunities. He'll look to make the most of the opportunity as Colorado takes on Calgary.
The Avalanche take on the Flames on Halloween night at Ball Arena. Puck drop is at 8 p.m. local time.
Yesterday afternoon, Adam Spolane reported that the Houston Rockets had picked up Reed Sheppard’s fourth-year option. This means for the 2027-2028 season, Sheppard will be making just above $14 million before he is eligible for a rookie contract extension. It could be seen as an odd move for the Rockets, who had some questions about where Sheppard would fit into the rotation throughout this season, but it does seem like they want to keep him around for at least this year and next year before potentially extending him in free agency after the 2027 season.
Sheppard is the 10th first-round pick the Rockets have selected from 2021-24. He is the sixth of 10 players to have his fourth-year option picked up by the team. The previous five, Jalen Green, Alperen Sengun, Jabari Smith Jr., Tari Eason and Amen Thompson, all inked contract extensions with Houston. After a rough debut year, Sheppard has become a fixture in the Rockets’ rotation. He moved into being Fred VanVleet’s backup at point guard from sliding completely out of the rotation. He also played three games for the Rockets’ G League team in Rio Grande Valley in January 2025 to get more playing time.
The Rockets feel Sheppard still can play point guard at an NBA level, but with VanVleet returning and Marcus Smart joining the team as a free agent, he’s been playing largely off the ball through four games this season.
“He’s a guy that has to get better at pick and roll,” Rockets head coach Ime Udoka stated on media day. “He’s played off-ball his whole life, and you know he’s really good at it.
Numbers-wise, Sheppard does seem to have the ability to contribute as a scorer, playmaker and at times on the perimeter defensively, but he does need to figure out a way to be able to be a lot more efficient with his shooting from the field and from three.
Sheppard is definitely capable of improving his efficiency this year if he can play more off-ball and take advantage of playmakers like Fred VanVleet and Alperen Sengun, who can both set up Sheppard with great catch-and-shoot situations to create more separation from the defense when coming off screens and cuts. Sheppard might also develop as a shooter, just by acquiring more confidence over the season.
It should also be noted that Sheppard has had some injuries this season, including a left knee issue that helped him out against the San Antonio Spurs on October 23, and a back injury that kept him out of the lineup against the Dallas Mavericks.
The injuries Sheppard has suffered so far this year don’t appear to be severe, but they are crucial to keep in mind in case it is impacting his play on the court when he is available.
It is clear that the front office has belief in Reed Sheppard, and time will tell to see how he develops this season and beyond.
MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN - OCTOBER 11: Tarik Skubal #29 of the Los Angeles Dodgers throws a pitch against the Milwaukee Brewers during the second inning in game one of the National League Championship Series at American Family Field on October 11, 2026 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images) | Getty Images
I am not a fan of hypothetical trades that are completely unrealistic which is why my first instinct when I heard ESPN mention the Cardinals and Tarik Skubal in the same breath was to laugh it off and turn away. However, the more I started to think about the concept of the St. Louis Cardinals signing free agent Tarik Skubal the more I realized that it’s worth exploring even though I predict it’ll never happen.
I want to be clear that this is not a free agent signing prediction that originated with us. Blame this on the 2026-27 MLB offseason best fits for free agents from ESPN. They said that the Chicago Cubs were the best fit for Tarik Skubal, but their second choice for a possible fit was our beloved Cardinals. I immediately dropped this in The Feed and it inspired many interesting responses.
One thing that David Schoenfield of ESPN said that does make a hypothetical Tarik Skubal signing doable for the Cardinals is the estimated 2027 payroll of just $66 million. Mathematically speaking, it would not be outrageous for St. Louis to add even a pitcher of Skubal’s stature to the roster. I’ve seen estimates that Tarik will command a contract between $400 and $500 million. Spotrac projected a 7-year, $276 million contract not that long ago. I think that’s wildly conservative, but let’s run with those numbers. Could the Cardinals handle a $40 million per season top of the rotation superstar starter? My last name is not DeWitt, but it doesn’t sound unreasonable for St. Louis to suddenly have a $106 million dollar roster instead of $66 million.
There are three more reasons that I think a St. Louis Cardinals/Tarik Skubal deal could make sense for what Chaim Bloom is trying to accomplish. First, he would be the ultimate leader for the young arms on the Cardinals roster and those about to appear from Memphis. Who better to be a model and mentor for young pitchers than a two-time Cy Young award winner? The second would be marketing. A Skubal signing would be a message to the fanbase that the organization is serious about winning again sooner rather than later. That would be a great way for the DeWitt family to put the attendance trajectory at Busch Stadium headed back toward 3 million per season. Finally, Chaim Bloom would not be giving up any prospects to place a proven ace at the top of the rotation. That fits within his stated mission of not harming the farm system for a short term gain.
Now, let’s tear down why all of my daydreaming will almost certainly never happen. First, Tarik Skubal will likely not have any interest in being a part of a rebuild even if he would likely speed up the return to competitiveness. He’ll have the Dodgers, Yankees and other big market teams that are already competitive knocking on his door willing to pay unreasonable amounts of money for a long-term deal.
I’m not a Chaim Bloom mind-reader, but I think we’re at least one if not two seasons away from him going after a major free agent talent. The last time I asked the community about this, I think that 2028 was the most popular guess of when the Cardinals will be seriously competitive again. Why sign Tarik Skubal who will likely hit his peak in the next couple of seasons before the rest of the roster is prepared for a deep post-season run? I’d also be concerned about the bone chips in Skubal’s left elbow discovered this past May. He looked strong when he returned in mid-June through the rest of the season, but that would likely give me a slight pause before I’d recommend getting the DeWitt checkbook out.
As I watched Chaim Bloom’s end of season press conference, I got a vibe from him that he’s pulling back from some fan’s expectations that the rebuild is going quicker than expected. He seemed to be warning that an expectation of seriously competing in the next season would be premature. Do those words sound like a President of Baseball Operations that plans to go sign the biggest free agent pitcher in recent memory? I don’t think so.
NEW YORK, NY - JANUARY 28: Houston Astros General Manager Dana Brown presents Michael Harris II #23 of the Atlanta Braves with the 2022 National League Rookie of the Year Award during the 2023 BBWAA Awards Dinner at New York Hilton Midtown on Saturday, January 28, 2023 in New York, New York. (Photo by Mary DeCicco/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Bob Nightengale of USA Today has reported via social media that Dana Brown is returning to the Atlanta Braves organization as a senior advisor with amateur scouting.
Brown, who had been in the Braves organization from 2019 through early 2023 in an executive role with the team’s front office, had been the general manager of the Houston Astros from January 2023 until he was released from his contract in a mutual agreement in August 2026.
This marks the third time that Brown, 59, will have worked with Alex Anthopoulos having done with with the Toronto Blue Jays prior to his first stint with the Braves.
