Browsing: loss

Las Vegas Raiders fans can take a sigh of relief.

Star defensive end Maxx Crosby, who exited Sunday’s loss to the Kansas City Chiefs with a knee injury, “should be OK,” according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. Rapoport noted that pulling Crosby from the game was “more of a precaution than anything.”

Raiders head coach Pete Carroll addressed Crosby’s injury after the game, noting that Crosby has been dealing with knee soreness.

“Maxx has had a bit of a sore knee and I don’t know how it happened today in the game, but he wasn’t his full self,” Carroll told reporters. “But he could play and he wanted to be in there and he was. But then we had to yank him because he didn’t look right.”

Crosby, who signed a three-year, $106.5 million extension this offseason, is putting together another strong campaign in Year 7, logging 25 tackles, 10 tackles, four sacks and five passes defended. Needless to say, a serious injury would have been a big loss for the Raiders.

Like most of Las Vegas’ season, Sunday’s game was one to forget for the Raiders. The Chiefs had their way all game as Patrick Mahomes threw for 286 yards and three touchdowns.

The Raiders were abysmal on offense, as Geno Smith threw for just 67 yards and the team netted just 25 yards on the ground in the 31-0 loss.

While Las Vegas fell to 2-5 with the loss, the fact that Crosby doesn’t appear to have a serious injury is good news.

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WASHINGTON – The Vancouver Canucks†most emotional moment Sunday, in a game brimming with them, occurred not on the ice but in their dressing room in the first intermission.

After their best period of the National Hockey League season ended with a three-goal lead against the Washington Capitals and a devastating blindside hit on Canuck centre Filip Chytil, whose career has looked jeopardized by previous concussions, Vancouver players had to measure their anger and sadness about Tom Wilson injuring their friend against the importance of winning the game.

“I mean, guys hung in there together,†winger Conor Garland said. “We didn’t get stupid. I think we were, you know, focused on Filip, which is normal. That’s a friend of ours, a great teammate. And to lose him to that (hit), you never want to see. But just to stay focused and band together was great. It felt like the bench was pretty wide open today.â€

Longest-tenured Canuck Brock Boeser was already missing, suddenly on leave for personal reasons.

Canuck rookie Jonathan Lekkerimaki also did not survive the first period, suffering a possible shoulder injury in a collision with Capitals defenceman Matt Roy along the boards. Another Vancouver centre, Teddy Blueger, who scored his first goal of the season in the second period after missing the first four games with a knee injury, did not finish the third period when the Canucks were under siege.

Amid all this, there was Swedish rookie Linus Karlsson engaging Wilson without hesitating. And defenceman Victor Mancini had never had a fight in his life – “Like, a full-on fight, never. In school, I was a pretty peaceful kid, I guess†– but traded bombs with Brandon Duhaime in the second period.

The oldest Canuck, Tyler Myers, 35, logged 25:50 on defence and contributed a goal and assist. Elias Pettersson scored his first of the season and dug in for the battle, blocking a pair of Alex Ovechkin shots in the final minute, Garland played a foot taller than his five-foot-nine frame and Vancouver goalie Thatcher Demko was again outstanding.

With all this, the Canucks hung on to beat the powerful Capitals 4-3 for their third road win over two time zones in less than 72 hours.

“It’s insane; we just stuck together,†winger Kiefer Sherwood said after his career-high 23:16 of ice time included a goal and four hits. “The coaches made sure that we didn’t get too haywire after losing Heats there. I don’t know if it was clean or dirty, but when you see a guy that’s dealt with that (concussion) stuff. . . you just feel really sorry for him, you know?

“I mean, we’re a family here. It was emotional in between periods, and we just kind of had to gather ourselves and stick together. Everyone went in there (to the medical room) and saw Heats, just trying to lift his spirits and stuff. And then Lekky, and then Teddy at the end. We were down to nine forwards; Iâ€ve never seen something like that.â€

As weâ€ve said before, every win may be worth the same two points, but not every win is equal.

With Sundayâ€s victory, the Canucks†third straight after a sketchy opening weekend to the season, the family got a little closer. And the team got a lot closer to re-establishing its identity after last yearâ€s lost season.

“You know, the schedule’s been tough the last three days,†Demko said. “We had some pressure on us coming into this road trip; I’m not going to pretend like it’s not there. Media was talking about it, guys in our room were talking about it, coaching staff’s talking about it. I think we all knew what position we were in coming into the trip, and to get the first three (wins) is huge. It’s been a great start to the trip.â€

The Canucks will rest Monday before visiting the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday.

Theyâ€ll need more players.

Centre Aatu Raty, a healthy scratch the last two games due to the return of Blueger, will go back into the lineup and minor-league callup Max Sasson could find himself centring the second line.

But depending on the status of Boeser, Lekkerimaki and Blueger, the team may need to recall a couple of forwards from the Abbotsford Canucks. Vancouverâ€s road trip ends Thursday in Nashville.

Coach Adam Foote told reporters after the game that Boeser, at least, should be back soon. The wingerâ€s departure was announced by general manager Patrik Allvin less than an hour before faceoff.

“I’m hearing that it’s not going to be long at all,†Foote said.

On Wilsonâ€s open-ice hit with 36 seconds left in the first period, Foote said: “It looked like, from my first view, that it was a clean hit. Iâ€ve got to look at it again. I mean, he’s a big guy. I liked the way our players didnâ€t get caught… in the trap after a hit like that, running after him and trying to get him. We have to get two points first. That other stuff takes care of itself later down the road, if it needs to be taken care of.â€

The Canucks were up 3-0 when Wilson crushed Chytil, who was looking right and following his pass into the neutral zone as one of the NHLâ€s most notorious players closed on him from the left. The hit looked a step late.

Pettersson picked the top corner from a Garland pass just 59 seconds into the game, and Myers†cleanup from a chaotic scramble doubled the Canucks†lead at 17:09. When Capitals coach Spencer Carbery unsuccessfully challenged the goal because Canuck Evander Kane had contacted goalie Charlie Lindgren in the mosh pit around the net, Vancouverâ€s power play made it 3-0 at 17:52 when Sherwood tapped in a loose puck.

Bluegerâ€s goal, on a savvy kick-pass from Kane after Myers forced a turnover inside the Washington blue line, made it 4-0 at 4:54 of the middle period.

But Ryan Leonard, after a brilliant initial save by Demko, scored on a Capitals†power play at 13:42 of the second period. The Canucks†short bench and long travel worked against them in the third period, and goals by Jakob Chychrun and John Carlson brought the Capitals within one with 2:14 remaining.

With Washington attacking six-on-five, Vancouver survived an awful giveaway by Kane, got the two blocks from Pettersson and others from Myers and Sherwood, and Demko made the last of his 27 saves on a sharp Ovechkin redirect one second remaining.

“We bent there, but we didn’t break and we just stuck together,†Sherwood said. “We literally used every guy tonight. Demmer stood on his head, and the D were just mucking it out, and we got everyone just contributing and pulling the rope together.

“It’s a high-character win against a good team. Really happy with the way the guys just dug in and got it done.â€

Mancini on fighting Duhaime:†I mean, he asked me and I wasn’t going to turn him down. Especially in those circumstances — obviously, that’s not the guy who hit Fil — but I want to protect my teammates, stand up for my teammates. So, yeah, I was ready to answer the bell.â€

Karlsson on grabbing Wilson after his hit on Chytil: “Our guy went down pretty bad, so I didn’t really even think. I know (Wilson) is a tough guy; I was just trying to stick up for the guys. We fought for each other.â€

Foote on Pettersson: “He played great. He had more pace in his game going at guys, had more confidence. On the defensive side, we saw him with two big blocks, too. So I really liked his game, especially in not-a-friendly environment. It could have gotten really physical, and he didn’t seem to mind.â€

Myers on Chytil: “Yeah, it was tough. It’s never what you want to see, really, from any player, whether he’s on your team or not on your team. I hope he’s okay. He’s a true pro, and has been a true pro since the day he got here. And I know he will be (again) in getting better and getting back on the ice.â€

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New York Jets head coach Aaron Glenn decided to make a change under center on Sunday, replacing Justin Fields with Tyrod Taylor as the team fell to 0-7 with a loss to the Carolina Panthers.

Fields doesn’t blame his coach for pulling him out of the game.

“Can’t be mad about the decision,” Fields told reporters. “I understand why. It’s life, it’s football. I’ve learned to not take anything personal.”

The Jets turned to Taylor to start the second half after Fields threw for just 46 yards on 6-of-12 passing in the first half. New York trailed 13-3 at the time of Fields’ benching.

Taylor didn’t necessarily turn things around, as he threw for 126 yards and a pair of interceptions in the 13-6 loss. From Glenn’s point of view, he was hoping for a “spark” coming out of halftime.

“We needed a spark at that time. I felt it was the right time to do it,” Glenn told reporters.

Glenn added that it was “a tough decision” to pull Fields out of the game.

“It’s always a tough decision, but as the head coach, you have to take a look at what is best for you to to put yourself in a position to go win the game,” he said. “And that’s the only thing that was going through my mind when I was walking in.”

Fields’ tenure with the Jets has not gone well so far as he’s thrown for just 845 yards and four touchdowns through six games, adding 257 yards and three scores on the ground. The 26-year-old was hoping to hit the reset button after his time with the Chicago Bears and Pittsburgh Steelers, but so far, he’s left much to be desired.

Whether he will get the chance to turn things around next week or if the Jets will stick with Taylor remains to be seen.

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Toni Storm might be stepping away from AEWâ€s singles title scene—for now. After coming up short in her AEW Womenâ€s World Title match against Kris Statlander at WrestleDream, thereâ€s a strong belief sheâ€s about to pivot into the tag division.

Dave Meltzer explained during Wrestling Observer Radio that AEW is likely pairing Storm with Mina Shirakawa, who also lost on the same show. The idea? Boost the credibility of the womenâ€s tag belts by putting one of the companyâ€s biggest stars in that role.

“It looked like theyâ€re setting them up — Mina Shirakawa and Toni Storm — they beat both of them tonight, with the idea that now what weâ€ll do is weâ€ll make them the tag team champions. And making Toni Storm tag team champion, the deal is just like… it gives the tag team titles credibility because you have the biggest womenâ€s star in the company as tag team champion. So I get that.â€

But while the move makes sense from a booking standpoint, Meltzer questioned whether Statlander was the right choice for a long-term singles run over Toni—or even over someone like Willow Nightingale.

“I just… I donâ€t… I mean, look — Kris is going to work with Mercedes Moné, so itâ€s a big match. Title versus title. But if it was going to be someone for a long-term title reign, I would have picked Willow above Kris Statlander… I think Willowâ€s got way more charisma, probably wrestles better as well.â€

Storm is arguably the most over woman in AEWâ€s womenâ€s division, both from a character and crowd-response standpoint. Pairing her with Shirakawa could help the tag titles, but it also temporarily pushes her out of the top singles spotlight.

If this shift becomes permanent, AEW might be risking underusing one of its strongest characters—just to give the tag division a short-term jolt.

Please credit Ringside News if you use the above transcript in your publication.

Do you think taking Toni Storm out of the singles picture is the right move? Please share your thoughts and feedback in the comment section below.

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Florida State would have to write Mike Norvell a massive check in order to fire him, even after he restructured his contract in the offseason.

Norvell’s future with the Seminoles will become a bigger point of discussion after FSU fell 20-13 to Stanford, extending its losing streak to four games.

Alas, the coach might be untouchable for now if only because of what the Tallahassee Democrat‘s Dan Rorabaugh reported is a buyout of around $59.2 million.

As long has Florida State fires him without cause, Norvell is entitled to receive 85 percent of the outstanding balance on his contract. Since his deal runs through 2031, dismissing him at any point over the next few years will be expensive.

Here’s his annual salary moving forward, per Rorabaugh:

Norvell is another example of the risks schools are increasingly taking with the extensions they’re handing out.

Ahead of the 2023 season, Florida State re-signed him through 2029 and bumped his annual salary up to $8.05 million. The Seminoles’ unbeaten record during the regular season that year resulted in another pay raise.

FSU proceeded to fall off a cliff in 2024 and finished at 2-10. Even assuming that was a nadir under the current regime, missing a bowl game for the second successive year would be a disaster.

Florida State is also trending toward a fourth losing record in his six seasons at the helm. It’s starting to feel like 13-1 was more of an exception than 2-10.

Of course, the dilemma for FSU is twofold.

Norvell would be cashing in on the second-biggest buyout in college football history, eclipsing the $49 million Penn State just paid to James Franklin but falling well short of the $76 million Texas A&M paid for Jimbo Fisher to go away.

All total, the Seminoles would need to find $100 million, maybe even $150 million to compensate Norvell and his staff and then hire a new head coach.

There’s also the fact that the coaching market is in a rough place right now.

Look no further than Penn State. Jettisoning Franklin was an understandable call, but the list of candidates to potentially replace him isn’t exactly inspiring. Curt Cignetti, one of the best theoretical options, took himself out of the running by signing a new deal with Indiana.

It would be the same thing with Florida State. As bad as things are with Norvell, there’s always the risk that things continue to spiral with a new head coach, which would mean another big buyout and more angst.

Giving it another year and trying to salvage things with Norvell might be the most likely outcome for the Seminoles.

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Bottom of the league in goals scored and goal differential, the Calgary Flames are now the NHLâ€s last-place team.

They canâ€t score, they canâ€t defend.

Thereâ€s no sugar-coating where this beleaguered bunch sits a mere half-dozen games into the season, losing five in a row to sit 1-5.

And the road ahead doesnâ€t get any easier, facing Winnipeg in two of their next three games.

A 6-1 beating in Vegas on Hockey Night in Canada on Saturday added to the frustration of an already-challenging start, especially since the effort of several players was called into question.

Coach Ryan Huska, whose players rarely shortchange him on heart, said half his forwards didnâ€t give the sort of effort expected.

Captain Mikael Backlund agreed the group didnâ€t show near enough fight after an evenly played first period saw the Flames down 3-1.

“The battle has pretty much been there from the boys, but tonight I donâ€t think it was up to our standards,†said Backlund.

The harshest criticism came from HNICâ€s Kevin Bieksa, who blasted Yegor Sharangovich for failing to finish a check on William Karlsson late in the game.

“I would absolutely lose my mind if I saw that on the bench,†said Bieksa.

“Thatâ€s a culture thing for me. I would show that clip in practice and say, ‘where are my guys that care?†Play the guys that care. If youâ€re going to get an effort like that, get rid of him. Youâ€re disgracing the NHL with an effort like that. Be a little mad. Hate to lose. That guy doesnâ€t hate to lose.

“You have so many good young players … you have a young nucleus and you canâ€t have them poisoned by that type of behaviour.â€

More takeaways from (another) nightmare in Vegas:

After missing the first five games of the season due to a pre-season injury, Jonathan Huberdeau returned to the lineup and made an immediate impact with a power-play goal three minutes in. Banging in a rebound on the power-play to tie the game 1-1, it kickstarted an evening in which the teamâ€s best playmaker did well to inject some energy into the top line with Nazem Kadri and Joel Farabee. Â

“You need your best players to be your best players every night and I thought the Kadri, Huberdeau, Farabee line was excellent for us tonight, consistently,†said Huska.

“They had the puck a lot and were dangerous. The challenge becomes, itâ€s everybody. You canâ€t rely on the one group of guys. I donâ€t think we had enough other players that were as engaged as that line.â€

Huberdeau said his club isnâ€t playing as a unit, trying too hard to do things individually.

“Right now itâ€s just too easy against us,†said Huberdeau, whose club allowed Mark Stone and Jack Eichel to pile up four points apiece.

“Weâ€re leaving the best player on the other team wide open. Weâ€ve got to be harder on these guys.â€

Go ahead and try to blame Dustin Wolf on any of the five goals he was beaten on, but youâ€d be wrong to do so.

Still, after being beaten five times on 19 shots, Wolf gave way to Devin Cooley for the third period.

It was a salient move given the rigorous schedule ahead this week, with Winnipeg in town Monday, Montreal visiting Wednesday and a return trip to Winnipeg on Friday.

Cooley was spectacular in his season debut Wednesday in Utah, and was solid again Saturday, victimized only once by a Vegas power play that finished three-for-three on the night. He stopped eight of nine shots.

Having taken note of a high hit Colton Sissons made on Zayne Parekh when these two teams met four nights earlier, Ryan Lomberg took the opportunity to let the Vegas forward know it didnâ€t sit well with the Flames.

Two minutes in, to the surprise of no one, the two decided to settle the score.

Six minutes later, the Golden Knights took exception to a heavy Adam Klapka hit on Zach Whitecloud when Jeremy Lauzon dropped the gloves with the big Flames winger.

“The (Connor) Zary line, with Lomberg and Klapka, I thought gave us a great effort tonight – two good fights from the two guys on that line but we didnâ€t have much from the other two lines tonight,†said Huska.

“Weâ€re in a stretch right now where weâ€re not playing poorly – I thought tonightâ€s game got away from us for sure – but itâ€s the consistency our team has to play with for a full 60 minutes. We need to be more committed and more detailed for a full 60 minutes for more than weâ€ve shown this year.â€

There was good news on the farm, where rookie Matvei Gridin scored his first AHL goal in his first AHL game just 37 seconds into the contest Saturday in Tucson, Ariz. Hunter Brzustewicz also scored his first of the season, although the Wranglers fell 5-4 in OT.

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MONTREAL — It wasnâ€t the outcome the Montreal Canadiens were looking for, but it might be the one that keeps them rolling through the start of their season.

Because despite playing a great first period, their last two periods against the New York Rangers Saturday didnâ€t merit a reward. They deserved to lose 4-3 in the end and staging another late comeback — after two last-second ones over the Seattle Kraken and Nashville Predators this week extended their win streak to three and improved their record to 4-1-0 — wouldâ€ve only masked issues that need to be immediately corrected.

Had Matthew Robertsonâ€s harmless-looking shot hit the post instead of beating Samuel Montembeault clean from 60 feet away in the 45th minute of play, it might have kept the Canadiens goaltender from working on a part of his game that needs work. According to NHL Edge data, he was well below NHL average on shots from long range last season, and his save percentage on those shots has dipped through the early part of this season.

Montembeault has also been off his angle on a few of the 13 goals that have gotten by him so far this season and Artemi Panarinâ€s game-winning goal, which took advantage of that weakness just 1:30 after Robertson played on the other one, will force the goalie to sharpen this part of his game as well.

At least he doesnâ€t need to practise taking accountability.

“I need to make those saves to give us a chance,†said Montembeault.

It was a good thing his teammates took accountability for putting him in a position where he needed to make some big saves in the third period.

Sure, they were missing Kirby Dach, Patrik Laine and Kaiden Guhle, which forced them to adjust their lines, defence pairings and special-teams units.

But coach Martin St. Louis said that had little to do with the Canadiens mismanaging the game and swinging momentum their opponentâ€s way.

They didnâ€t do nearly enough to gain it back, and that had as much to do with the result as Montembeaultâ€s faulty play did.

It was unforeseeable the Canadiens would falter as they did after pushing the Rangers so far back on their heels that a fall to their rear ends appeared inevitable. They came flying out of the gate, and their two goals through the first four minutes of play were just rewards for how they were playing.

The Canadiens were sharp, precise, connected, supporting each other up and down the ice and executing meticulously to seize full control and demoralize a fragile Rangers team that had scored one goal total over the course of a three-game losing streak.

But after the Canadiens carried momentum — and a 2-1 lead — through the end of the first, hubris kicked in.

“I think we got overconfident with our win streak and our lead,†said Nick Suzuki, “and they were able to get the lead.â€

He talked about forcing plays coming up the ice in the second period, about not managing the long change well, about how he and his teammates could sense in real time to what extent their game was slipping, and about how they didnâ€t adjust quickly enough and got caught in yet another situation where theyâ€d have to pull a rabbit out of the hat just to earn a point in the standings, let alone two.

The Canadiens wouldâ€ve taken them and ran.

But that might have had them running from their problems instead of focusing on them after the game so they could address them before the next one.

Thatâ€s what they need to do, because pulling off magic tricks is anything but a sustainable win strategy in a league that features as much parity as the NHL does.

Managing the puck efficiently, and supporting it is a sustainable win strategy. And doing it consistently on the way up the ice is a particular necessity, especially against teams that play as conservatively as the Kraken, Predators and Rangers did at Bell Centre this week.

The Canadiens paid for some of those errors against those first two teams, but they fought back to earn overtime wins.

The Canadiens made far too many of those errors against the Rangers and it cost them what it should and forced them to focus on fixing it.

“I donâ€t think we were too connected coming out of our zone and through the neutral zone, especially in the second period,†said Mike Matheson. “We were bringing pucks back a lot and not really being available for each other and not working to get open as well as we could, and so that created a lot of long shifts, a lot of turnovers and d-zone time.â€

As Suzuki said, itâ€s the type of bad stuff the Canadiens did religiously a few years ago. The type of bad stuff they worked hard on removing from their game over the last couple of seasons.

Now that itâ€s crept back in a bit, a momentum-sapping loss creates urgency to address it.

“Weâ€ve got to clean that up on Monday (against the Buffalo Sabres),†Suzuki concluded.

Another dramatic win wouldâ€ve had him talking about other things.

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Oct 16, 2025; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Montreal Canadiens center Nick Suzuki (14) plays the puck against Nashville Predators left wing Michael Bunting (58) during the third period at Bell Centre. David Kirouac-Imagn Images

The Nashville Predators concluded their four-game Canadian road trip Saturday night in Winnipeg against a Jets team that came into the game winners of their last three.

Whether that was a factor, or a case of fatigue after playing four games in six days, the Jets made things look easy with a 4-1 win at Canadian Life Centre.

“Not a good first period by us,” Preds Captain Roman Josi said following the game. ”[We] kind of came out sleepy. They were definitely the better team.”

It was by far the Predators’ most lethargic performance of the young season, dropping their record to 2-2-2.

Mark Scheifele scored a power-play goal, former Pred Nino Niederreiter scored another and Logan Stanley put the game away for the Jets. Vladislav Namestnikov added the final Jets goal, while Michael Bunting lit the lamp for the only Preds goal.

Scheifele put the Jets on top 1-0 with a power-play goal at 2:39 of the opening period off a setup from Kyle Connor. Scheifele set a new Jets/Atlanta Thrashers franchise record for total points with the tally.

Former Predator Nino Niederreiter increased the Jets lead to 2-0 at 10:25 of the first from a Vladislav Namestnikov pass. Stanley increased the lead to 3-0 with his second goal of the season at the 5:26 mark of the third. Namestnikov scored Winnipeg’s final tally, also on the power play, at 16:52.

Bunting scored the lone goal for Nashville at the 18:56 mark of the final frame.

Here are takeaways from the game.

New Look, Same Results

Jonathan Marchessault sat out Saturday night’s game with a lower-body injury. Preds head coach Andrew Brunette inserted Nick Blankenburg into the lineup for his season debut.

Blankenburg not only saw action at both defense and forward in an 11-forward, seven-defensemen look, but quarterbacked the power-play first unit.

The Preds were looking for any sign of life from a unit that was 2-for-19 coming into the game. The first and second units had some good looks and even a 5-on-3 opportunity, but once again failed in execution to get the final shot in the net.

During one power-play sequence in the second period, the Preds have several good shots, but Jets netminder Connor Hellebuyck was up to the task. At one point in the period, the Preds had a 7-1 shots-on-goal advantage on Winnipeg, six coming on power plays.

On the night, the Preds went 0-for-4 with the man advantage, continuing a disturbing trend.

Even the penalty-kill unit, which hadn’t allowed a single 5-on-4 goal coming into the game, gave up two to the Jets, who went 2-for-3 on the power play.

The Offense Has Hit A Wall

After four goals each in Ottawa and Toronto to start the four-game road trip, the Predators offense has faltered, managing just three goals over the last two games.

Coming into Saturday, Erik Haula (2g-2a), Jonathan Marchessault (2g-2a) and Roman Josi (1g-3a) all have four points through five games, followed by Perbix (2g-1a), Filip Forsberg (1g-2a) and Luke Evangelista (3a) with three points apiece.

Marchessault is currently out of the lineup, Stamkos has only one goal through six games and Evangelista is still looking to light the lamp for the first time this season. Even Forsberg, who led the team in scoring last season, has fallen silent.

“We’ve got to keep building,” Josi said. “We’ve got to have better starts than we did today. And then we’ve got to find a way to score some goals… Our defense has been good. I think we still have a lot of potential offensively… The power play has to be better. We played well in the last two periods, but we’ve got to just find a way.”

There were some spurts against the Jets. Hellebuyck was tested on two different occasions in the second period Saturday, but slammed the door each time. The Preds outshot Winnipeg 15-4 in the period.

Bunting’s goal broke Hellebuyck’s shutout. Other than that moral victory, the net might as well be a brick wall.

Brunette, while pointing out the inconsistencies of the team’s play, nevertheless felt the four-game road trip had some positive things to build on.

“Well, I think you see the images of when we play a certain way, and it’s a good picture,” Brunette said. “So, for us going forward, we need to be a little bit more consistent with that right from the puck drop. And for the most part, through this trip, we have been. So, to me, it was a good road trip.”

Michael McCarron Drops The Gloves

If all else fails, fight.

The Predators were looking for anything to provide a spark. At 8:28 of the middle frame, 6-foot-6 Michael McCarron went toe-to-toe with 6-foot-7 Logan Stanley. Both received five-minute majors for fighting.

It was great entertainment for the fans at Canadian Life Centre, but it didn’t put the puck in the net for the Predators. In fact, Stanley got the last laugh by scoring his second goal of the season for a 3-0 Jets lead in the third period.

The Predators will limp back to Bridgestone Arena to start a five-game homestand that begins Tuesday against the Anaheim Ducks.

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NEWARK, N.J. — Pe-rim-e-ter:The outermost parts or boundary of an area or object.

In hockey, an area away from the net, beyond the reach of the defensive team.

The Edmonton Oilers sit near the bottom of the NHL in even-strength goals, and itâ€s no mystery why. In the offensive zone, theyâ€re playing the game right now out on the edges, near the boards. Not in the hard areas where goals come from.

“I agree with that,†said forward Andrew Mangiapane, who went minus-2 without a shot on net in a 5-3 loss to the New Jersey Devils on Saturday afternoon. “A lot of goals are scored around this league by just being in front of the net and causing havoc. Getting that puck back and doing it again and again and again.

“I feel like weâ€ve got to deliver more pucks to the net, and our forwards have to do a better job of getting to the net.â€

There are two things going on here, as the Oilers wobble through the New York area with a win and two losses, the second-best team on the ice in all three games.

One, their best two net-front forwards last season were Corey Perry and Zach Hyman. The former is an L.A. King now, and the latter is out with a dislocated wrist until some time in November.

Someone has to figure out where the blue paint is, and fast.

“Somebody’s got to park out front … but everybody can have a little bit of that in their game. Go to the front of that when it’s your turn,†explained Adam Henrique, still a fan favourite here after seven seasons as a Devil. “If Iâ€ve got the puck on the outside, I can’t be at the net — so somebody else to. If somebody else is out there, then maybe Iâ€ve got to be there that time.

“When it’s your turn, it’s your turn. And I think we can find a little more of that.â€

The second part is simply this teamâ€s DNA.

The default here, when scoring starts to get a little scarce, is to make more passes. To share the puck more, not less — especially in October — when the answer is likely to get a little more selfish. To shoot more often, or dip your shoulder and take a puck to the net rather than pull up and look to pass.

Weâ€ve seen what this team looks like when it counts. How down and dirty it can become when the Golden Knights, Stars or Panthers push them up against a wall in April, May or June.

It takes a minute for this team to find that game in October and November, no question. But speaking with Connor McDavid after Saturdayâ€s loss, we would expect a little more linear game Sunday afternoon in Detroit.

“Everybody can be simpler. Everybody can do things a little bit easier, more predictable for each other. Get more pucks to the net, get more bodies to the net,†the Oilers captain said. “All the cliches are cliches because they work.

“Weâ€ll get back to our game here.â€

Somehow, a team that blew its opener to Calgary despite outplaying the Flames, then dominated Vancouver in an impressive win, forgot to pack its game for this Eastern swing.

They were average in New York, a ticking timebomb of giveaways on Long Island, and simply blah here. It was only a matter of time before the quicker, more concerted Devils found twine behind Calvin Pickard, and the Oilers were in chase mode the rest of the day.

“We talked about getting off to a good start — and we want to get out to a good start,†said McDavid, whose Oilers are now 2-2-1 after five games. “These games matter, and we didn’t find a way to win or get better today.

“Maybe the second part is more important than the first. Results matter, but I didn’t like that we didn’t seem to get any better today.â€

It was the second straight game in which the power-play unit surrendered a shorthanded goal, this one to ex-Oiler Connor Brown, who steamed in on a breakaway and beat Pickard.

“Those are kind of the special moments in your career,†Brown said of the goal, his third of the season. “You’ve been through so much with that team over there. Obviously, it’s just one of 82, but it kind of felt a little bigger for me, playing the old club. And to be able to pot one in a timely manner like that, it was a fun afternoon.â€

He bore down on Pickard, two former teammates whoâ€ll chuckle over that goal for years to come.

“I was actually just trying not to laugh against Pickard. We’ve got a pretty good bond,†Brown said. “I was telling the guys, (Leon) Draisaitl used to always tell me to go backhand-forehand on breakaways, so I thought I’d try it there and it worked.â€

Said teammate Brett Pesce: “I’m so happy for him. He lit up, too, like a Christmas tree.â€

Well, at least someone had some fun on a Saturday afternoon in Newark.

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LSU football endured a disappointing 31-24 road loss to No. 17 Vanderbilt on Saturday, with Commodores quarterback Diego Pavia accounting for 246 yards (160 passing, 86 rushing) and three scores (one passing, two rushing).

This is another tough blow in the tenure of fourth-year head coach Brian Kelly, who left Notre Dame for LSU late in 2021 and signed a 10-year, $95 million contract with the Tigers. Per USAToday, the buyout for Kelly’s contract is $53.3 million.

LSU football’s season started with great promise as the No. 9 team in the Associated Press preseason poll, and it only got better after a 17-10 win at No. 4 Clemson.

The Tigers then rolled off three straight wins to move to 4-0 and up to fourth in the AP poll.

However, it’s been tough sledding ever since, with the possibility of the 2025 campaign getting worse before it gets better.

LSU lost 24-19 at Ole Miss in a game the Tigers never led in the final 35 minutes. The Tigers then scratched and clawed their way to a 20-10 win over a South Carolina team that’s currently 3-4 overall (1-4 in the SEC).

Now LSU has lost again, this time at No. 17 Vanderbilt. Once again, LSU played from behind and trailed for the last 35 minutes.

A look ahead at the schedule reveals more potential pitfalls. LSU will host No. 4 Texas A&M and then enjoy a bye week before visiting No. 6 Alabama. The Tigers should then be heavy favorites over the next two weeks against Arkansas and Western Kentucky. Another tough game ends the ledger, though, at No. 14 Oklahoma.

Ultimately, LSU faces a significant uphill climb just to make the College Football Playoff after missing out last year in the first season of the 12-team field.

Simply put, Kelly’s tenure overall has left much to be desired.

Kelly took over a program that had gone 11-12 in its last two seasons under head coach Ed Orgeron. LSU immediately improved from 6-7 to 10-3 in year one under Kelly and even qualified for the SEC Championship Game, where the team fell to Georgia. However, the Tigers closed the year strong by beating Purdue 63-7 in the Citrus Bowl and finished 16th in the AP poll after not even being ranked to start 2022.

The 2023 team began the season as the No. 5 team in the nation. While LSU did amass another 10 wins, the Tigers went just 1-3 against ranked teams and notably allowed a combined 155 points in three losses to Florida State, Alabama and Ole Miss. A win against Wisconsin in the ReliaQuest Bowl closed the year.

In 2024, LSU started 13th in the AP poll, but this was a rough year for the Tigers, who again struggled against ranked opponents (1-3) and endured a three-game losing streak after a 6-1 start. They finished 9-4 but finished outside the AP poll entirely. A win against Baylor in the Texas Bowl closed the season.

Now 2025 is sailing in the wrong direction. The opening win against Clemson doesn’t look as good on paper now with the Tigers having their own struggles starting the year at 3-3 and falling out of the AP poll.

LSU now faces a pair of tough tasks against two SEC powerhouses. Wins against both of those schools could quiet any naysayers, but poor performances would only embolden critics as Kelly continues year four.

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