Browsing: Takeaways

Here are some key takeaways from Dodger Stadium, as L.A. takes a 2-1 lead in the Series, with Game 4 slated for Tuesday night.

The Dodgers†superstar homered twice and doubled twice in his first four trips to the plate. In the process, he became only the second player with four extra-base hits in a World Series game — joining the White Sox Frank Isbell from 1906.

“After that,†said Blue Jays manager John Schneider, “you just kind of take the bat out of his hands.â€

Sure enough, Toronto walked Ohtani in each of his last five plate appearances, four of them intentional. No player had ever reached base seven times in a postseason game. Ohtani reached nine times.

It was a remarkable night, even by Ohtaniâ€s standards. How can he top it? Stay tuned. He might not get many pitches to hit in Game 4; Schneider indicated as much. But Ohtani is also scheduled to take the mound Tuesday for his first World Series start.

2) The Dodgers’ bullpen seriously stepped up
Much has been made of L.A.â€s beleaguered relief corps. But those relievers were outstanding on Monday. In total, nine relief arms combined to work 13 1/3 innings of one-run ball — the most relievers ever used in a World Series game.

It probably helped that the Blue Jays†fearsome lineup was notably less fearsome with four pinch-runners in it by the end of the night. Still, quite a performance. Will Klein picked up the win with four scoreless innings.

But the biggest out of the night? That belonged to Clayton Kershaw. Heck, it mightâ€ve been the biggest out the likely Hall of Famer has recorded in his 18-year career. Kershaw entered with the bases loaded and two outs in the 12th. He got Nathan Lukes to ground to second base after an eight-pitch battle.

Kershaw will retire after the season. If that was the last time he takes a big league mound — what a way to go out.

3) This game will have ramifications beyond Monday night
Remember, Game 3 was the first of three in three nights — with Games 4 and 5 looming on Tuesday and Wednesday. Five relievers from each team pitched more than one inning.

The Game 4 starters? Torontoâ€s Shane Bieber retreated to the visitors’ bullpen and briefly started to get loose. Ohtani, meanwhile, just had nine plate appearances in a game that lasted more than six hours — on the night before his first World Series start.

4) So many outs on the bases; nearly all were calculated risks
This was a wild baseball game — especially so on the basepaths. In total, six players were thrown out on the bases. And you know what? Most of those outs were calculated risks — aggressive baserunning that forced the opposing defense to make a play. Both defenses were up to the challenge.

The first was an anomaly. Bo Bichette was picked off after he mistakenly believed that Daulton Varsho had walked. That, ultimately, was a missed (and slightly late) call from plate ump Mark Wegner.

The other five? Give the defense credit. Tommy Edman made two picture-perfect throws (more than making up for an earlier error that led to Alejandro Kirkâ€s three-run homer).

Kirk, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Addison Barger made excellent throws to catch Dodgers runners on the basepaths as well — including Barger with the fastest-thrown assist that Statcast has tracked in a World Series game.

Some of these decisions are absolutely worth scrutiny. But none were egregious.

5) A Springer injury would be brutal for Toronto
Symbolically, as much as anything else. George Springer is the veteran atop the Blue Jays†lineup, their most experienced postseason performer. Heâ€s largely the reason theyâ€re here in the first place, having hit the decisive homer in Game 7 of the ALCS.

In the seventh inning on Monday, Springer exited mid-at-bat with what the club called right side discomfort. Springer was sent for an MRI and could be forced to the sidelines for the remainder of the Series.

Perhaps that clears a path for Bichette, who has been hobbled by a left knee sprain, to serve as DH. But itâ€ll be tough to make up for Springerâ€s production. He entered Monday with a .931 postseason OPS. Itâ€s probably not a coincidence that Toronto did nearly all of its scoring before Springer was out of the game.

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Eight minor penalties — one for each of the consecutive losses the Calgary Flames have piled up.

“Thatâ€s the difference,†said Flames winger Blake Coleman after a 5-3 loss in Winnipeg Friday, during which the Flames allowed two power-play goals and an empty-netter.Â

“Youâ€re not going to win games, youâ€re not going to get out of a rut like weâ€re in, youâ€re just beating yourself at that point.â€

Insisting his club is finally starting to like its five-on-five play, the carelessness that led to a good chunk of the squadâ€s sins put the Flames on their heels in a game they led early, only to give up two of four goals in the second period while out-manned.

“And theyâ€re not physical penalties, theyâ€re stick penalties,†said Coleman, whose third finish through Eric Comrieâ€s legs made it a one-goal game for the final ten minutes.

“Theyâ€re penalties that are avoidable; you can work hard to avoid it, and we just arenâ€t doing it. Itâ€s disappointing because itâ€s been talked about, and we know itâ€s been an issue, but itâ€s just not getting through.â€

Pausing, the most eloquent member of the Flames offered up a simple, “Weâ€re running out of words right now.â€

Weâ€ll do the same, so readers can get back to their Blue Jays parties:

Nazem Kadri had his best outing of the season, drawing his first of two penalties just 19 seconds into the game.

The second penalty he drew, five minutes in, led to his first goal of the season, a one-timer on the power play set up brilliantly by the passing of Zayne Parekh and Morgan Frost.

Kadri had a career-high 35 goals last season and will definitely be needed to help lead the way if the Flames are to improve on their league-worst scoring rate.

With an eye on trying to speed up the puck movement on the power play, Parekh was promoted to the top unit Friday.

It worked, well, early on at least.

Five minutes in, his assist on the Kadri goal marked his first in the NHL.

“He did a good job up there tonight,†said Ryan Huska of the 19-year-old defenceman.

 â€œThe puck movement up top was noticeably different from him tonight, so it was a lot quicker moving side-to-side, and I think thatâ€s what opened up that chance for Naz on his goal.â€

Ultimately, the power play let the Flames down, as it finished 1 for 6.Â

Mikael Backlund may have had his best outing of the season, scoring a beauty, setting up Colemanâ€s third-period tally, hitting the crossbar, and finishing plus-two with four shots.

The teamâ€s chief penalty killer was also busy doing his best to limit a potent Jets†power play to two goals in eight chances.

Special teams have been a huge issue for the Flames throughout the teamâ€s horrific start, with the power play sitting 29th in the league at 13.2 per cent, and the penalty kill now 22nd at 74.4 per cent.

Adam Klapkaâ€s team-leading third fight of the season came early in the first period when the six-foot-eight, 235-pound winger found a dance partner in Logan Stanley, who stood just one inch shorter and five pounds lighter.

Heavyweights by stature, if not reputation, the two exchanged just a few punches before an off-balanced Klapka was thrown to the ice.

Klapka hits everything that moves. Heâ€s got some hands, but most importantly, heâ€s got some jam, willing to do whatever it takes to make an impact in a lineup with too many passengers many nights.

The Flames host the Rangers Sunday night before jetting off for a four-game eastern swing through Toronto, Ottawa, Nashville and Philadelphia.

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It was a winning road trip for the Vancouver Canucks even if it didnâ€t feel that way.

Most times on a five-game trip, if the visiting teamâ€s travel record is 3-1 heading into the last stop on the tour, that final game feels like a bonus. Win and itâ€s a superb trip. Lose and itâ€s still a successful one with six points out of 10. Go .600 on the road all season and youâ€d need to be putrid at home not to make the National Hockey League playoffs.

Normally, you take 3-2-0 in a heartbeat. Get home, rest up and use your own rink to your advantage.

The problem for the Canucks is that Thursdayâ€s travel finale, which they lost 2-1 to the struggling Nashville Predators, looked at least as winnable as the back-to-back home games Vancouver has this weekend against the Montreal Canadiens and Edmonton Oilers.

For the Canucks, there are other problems, of course. There is a potential crisis at centre with no safety net even before Filip Chytil crashed with another apparent concussion Sunday in Washington. The Canucks arenâ€t scoring — two goals in their last seven periods — and their power play has suddenly disappeared.

The power play went 0-for-5 on Thursday, which included a 90-second five-on-three near the end of the first period, and actually finished minus-one because Ryan Oâ€Reilly opened scoring shorthanded for Nashville at 9:01 of the second period.

Big picture, Thursdayâ€s game felt like a missed opportunity for the Canucks not only to add an exclamation mark to their trip but, more essentially, simply stash two more available points in the standings. Two points that may be harder to come by this weekend.

The Canadiens will be in Vancouver before the Canucks get home and had won six of seven before losing 6-5 in Edmonton on Thursday. And the Oilers, though scuffling themselves and playing their own back-to-backs this weekend, still have Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl and fairly dominated Vancouver in a 3-1 win on Thanksgiving Weekend.

In Nashville, the Canucks managed more energy and a better game than they displayed in Tuesdayâ€s 5-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins. But they were outshot 35-22 by a Predators team that had been winless in four, and the Canucks were outplayed at five-on-five.

Still, it was 1-1 heading into the third period, with both points there to be seized.

But the Canucks were slow to close down Justin Barron at the point, the Predatorâ€s shot was tipped by Cole Smith between goalie Thatcher Demkoâ€s pads and the puck rolled on edge just over the goal-line for Nashvilleâ€s winner at 5:09 of the third period.

Playing their fifth game in eight nights with two time-zone changes, the Canucks generated only seven shots in the third period. Brock Boeser, back from a two-game leave of absence for personal reasons, had one of the few good chances to tie it but couldnâ€t elevate his shot from the hashmarks over Juuse Saros†pad just before the buzzer.

By the time the Canucks see the Oilers on Sunday at Rogers Arena, it will be Vancouverâ€s seventh game in 11 nights.

Itâ€s important to remember the unease hovering around the Canucks when their five-game odyssey began after disconcerting losses to the Oilers and St. Louis Blues.

The team chased away those doubts with impressive wins in Dallas, Chicago and Washington to start the road trip.

But since Chytil was crushed in the final minute of the first period in Washington on Sunday, Vancouver has been outscored 10-3 and lost a pair of games against teams almost nobody is picking to make the playoffs.

The Canucks are 4-4 through eight games. Equal shares of good and bad.

Promoted from minor-league Abbotsford for the road trip, Max Sasson scored his third goal in five games. The skill he displayed in doing a spin-o-rama with the puck in the neutral zone to beat Barron along the boards, then skate away on a breakaway and fool Saros with a quick shot between his pads is why the 25-year-old is changing the narrative around him.

Yes, Sasson is an undrafted, late-bloomer who is undersized and speedy. He had only three goals in 29 games for the Canucks last season. But he is showing on this recall that he can make plays at the NHL level and may yet be able to transport his offensive game from the AHL. Is he the second-line replacement for Chytil? He shouldnâ€t be, not this season.

But Sasson has speed and skill the Canucks need, and he looks capable of breaking through the low ceiling attached to most second-tier prospects.

And by the way, it was a heckuva assist on his goal by another minor-league callup, Sassonâ€s AHL linemate Linus Karlsson, who used his heavy stick and game to emerge with the puck against two Predators behind the Canucks†net, then send a stretch-pass up ice.

Sure, Smithâ€s fortunate deflection broke a 1-1 tie in the third period. But, honestly, the game was decided by a Vancouver power play that allowed Oâ€Reilly to open scoring shorthanded on a two-on-one. It capped an atrocious minus-one night for the Canucks†man-advantage unit.

The power play was mostly peripheral, and the decisive puck movement and player interchanges we saw in the pre-season and the start of October have been missing the last two games. The Canucks were bullied on special teams in both.

WHATâ€S WRONG WITH QUINN HUGHES?

That headline-question gets asked as often in Vancouver as: “Why is this condo so cheap?â€

Hughes is the Canucks†superstar, their one game-changer, not including Demko. And even when he isnâ€t generating goals, Hughes always seems to have the puck and is generating chances.

But Vancouverâ€s captain seems to be pressing so much to help his team win that it is getting counter-productive.

Usually a play-driving force of nature, Hughes had no points and two shots in 29:26 of ice time in Nashville and, almost inconceivably, Vancouver was outshot 18-6 at five-on-five with its best player on the ice. Hughes†expected-goals-for share of 33.5 per cent looked like a misprint.

Through eight games, the Canucks have been outshot 91-64 at five-on-five with Hughes, and that shot-share of 41.3 per cent is more than 14 points below his elite level from last season.

The Canucks have 74 games to go and their surest thing is Quinn Hughes. But through two weeks, the Canucks†desperation is reflected by Hughes†desperation. Even with the greatest players on Earth, less is more sometimes.

Foote on power play: “The last three games, teams have been pressing us a lot on our power play. I think we have to move our feet a little bit more. . . and get a few more pucks to the net. We had some good looks, but it would have been nice to get one there (on the five-on-three).â€

Foote on the schedule: “We donâ€t have much time to, you know, get our legs back. But it is a condensed season that we all are aware of, and weâ€ve been aware of it for a long time. Itâ€s happening to every team, and every team is going to have their. . . tough week or tough two weeks. This is a tough one for us, but weâ€re going to be pros and get ready for the next one.â€

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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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The Vegas Golden Knights absolutely demolished the Calgary Flames 6-1 in Sin City on Saturday night NHL action.

The Flames have now lost five in a row and are dead last in the overall NHL rankings for the season.

Here are the takeaways:

What’s Going on with Dustin Wolf

As of the end of this game, Wolf has given up 15 goals in five games in even-strength hockey and has an Expected Goals Against (xGA) value of 8.33. That is below expected by 6.67, the BIGGEST in the league.

Safe to say he is in a sophomore slump, but it’s still early in the season to pick it up.

Second Period Slump

You could make the argument the Flames just got unlucky in the first period. The first shot of the game ended up being a Mitch Marner goal. After that shot, until the 11:25 mark of the first period, the Flames and Knights were even at 5-5 in shots on goal, including trading PP goals, that put the Knights up 2-1.

Calgary then outshot Vegas 8-1 until the second-last minute. Unfortunately, that lone Knights shot found the back of the Flames net, putting them up 3-1 at the first intermission.

That’s pretty unlucky.

But there was no excuse for the nightmare that was the second period.

Forget about the shot count: The Golden Knights had 15 scoring opportunities while the Flames had two. In terms of high-danger scoring opportunities, Vegas had five, including a shorthanded attempt. Two of those ended up being goals.

Calgary had zero high-danger scoring opportunities. They were no threat for Vegas goalie Adin Hill. The second period was basically a walk in the park for him.

The Flames would stage a comeback in the third period, but could not produce any goals.

Poor Penalty-Kill

The Flames went 0-for-3 on the penalty-kill. You cannot expect to put on a respectable season record if the penalty-kill is zero on the dot.

Bottom Line

As for as what I liked with the Flames, Nazem Kadri was 11-of-15 (73.3%) on the face-off.

That’s about it.

The Flames will now come back home to take on the Winnipeg Jets on Monday.

To know how bad the Calgary offense was going into this game, check out this to see who had the most individual total shots for the team all season.

HINT: It’s a defenceman…

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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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Oct 11, 2025; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Nashville Predators left wing Filip Forsberg (9) celebrates goal with center Brady Martin (44) against the Utah Mammoth during the first period at Bridgestone Arena. Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

The Nashville Predators have completed the first week of the 2025-26 season.

Through five games, the Preds have a 2-1-2 record for six points, good for second in the Central Division. They have lost just once in regulation: a 7-4 road defeat against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Oct. 14. The other two losses came in overtime to Utah and Montreal.

The sample size may be small, but there are numerous positive and negative aspects to the Predators’ first week of action. Here are three takeaways from the week.

The Predators Are Ahead Of Last Season’s Pace

Things couldn’t have started off much worse for Nashville in 2024-25. The club began 0-5 in the season’s first week before winning its next two.

Filip Forsberg, who ended up leading the Preds in scoring, was averaging a point per game through the first five. The offense was averaging 2.00 goals per game while opponents were averaging 4.60.

Juuse Saros sported an 0-4 mark with a 3.64 goals-against average and .875 save percentage.

After six games this season, Erik Haula (2-2-4), Jonathan Marchessault (2-2-4) and Roman Josi (1-3-4) each have four points. Haula, Marchessault and Nick Perbix are in a three-way tie for the team lead in goals with two.

The Preds are averaging 2.80 goals per game while giving up a 3.00 average to the opposition.

Saros has been lights-out with a 2-0-2 record, 1.94 goals-against average and .935 save percentage. Backup Justus Annunen suffered the only other OT loss, allowing four goals in Toronto.

To say the Predators look like a team who could contend for the playoffs is unrealistic, as the overtime loss against the Canadiens Thursday in Montreal proved.

The Preds held a 2-1 lead until Cole Caufield scored with just 19 seconds left in regulation to require overtime, then tallied the golden goal to give the Habs a come-from-behind win.

“(It) sucks when you’re 19 seconds away from pulling out of the win and you only get one point,” Preds forward Steven Stamkos, who scored his first goal of the season, told reporters following the loss.

The goal-scoring hasn’t come in bunches, and the defense, while showing some flashes, has had costly breakdowns. Nevertheless, the Predators will take what progress they can get.

Special Teams Have Had Mixed Reviews

Last season, the Predators finished 18th in the NHL on the power play at 21.9%. Through six games in 2025-26, it has been abysmal.

The power-play unit is 2-for-19 through five games. It snapped a string of 13 consecutive chances without a goal when Stamkos scored on a power play at the 11:36 mark of the third period in Montreal.

The Preds were 0-for-6 with the man advantage in their 4-1 victory in Ottawa against the Senators Oct. 13. It didn’t affect the outcome in that game, but through the course of an 82-game season, that won’t be the case.

the Preds had the chance to put the game against the Senators out of reach with a 1-0 lead in the third period after David Perron went off for tripping, but failed to convert.

“We’ve got to put teams away in those situations, especially when you get a power play in the third period,” forward Jonathan Marchessault said after the Ottawa win.

Such paltry numbers are sure to turn around to some degree. With Roman Josi, Filip Forsberg, Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault and Ryan O’Reilly making up the first unit, the Preds have to get better production.

Meanwhile, Nashville’s penalty-kill unit has been near-perfect. Entering the Montreal game, the Preds successfully killed off 11 of 12 penalties (91.7%), good for sixth in the league. They were a perfect 3-for-3 against the Habs. The only chance they failed to kill was a 6-on-4 against Ottawa.

The stellar play of the PK has thus far rolled over from last season, when the Preds finished seventh in the NHL at 81.5%.

Juuse Saros Has Been Money

Some eyebrows may have been raised when the Predators inked goaltender Juuse Saros to an eight-year, $61.92 million contract in July 2024. After posting a 2.98 GAA and .896 SP in 2024-25, the doubters got louder.

Saros has been spectacular in the four games he has started. Even in the heart-breaking 3-2 overtime loss to the Canadiens, he made a number of crucial saves amid a barrage of shots during sequences when the Preds’ defense failed to protect him.

The Finnish netminder has answered the bell in the early going, but even a great goaltender can’t do everything by himself. The back end has failed to protect both Saros and Annunen in key situations.

Such was the case in Toronto, when at least four of the Maple Leafs’ goals were scored when Annunen had little help.

“We probably weren’t all that sharp around the front of the net,” Preds head coach Andrew Brunette said after the 7-4 loss. “Those stick battles weren’t quite to our standard. A little bit slow early.”

If Saros continues to be great, the Preds will be in most games. At some point, however, the defense must be stronger around the net, especially when closing out an opponent.

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The latest season of Netflix’s “Starting 5” was released Thursday, offering new perspectives on memorable moments from the 2024-25 campaign.

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The series followed Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton, then-Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant, LA Clippers guard James Harden and Boston Celtics forward Jaylen Brown.

Each star had his own challenges last season, all revealed by Netflix’s behind-the-scenes access.

“The Netflix people are driving me nuts,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said at one point. “They’re everywhere, you know, and it’s a pain in the ass.”

Durant dealt with injuries and trade talk that nearly sent him to the Golden State Warriors. Haliburton fought through a midseason slump after limited action at the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics. Brown’s knee injury was a setback for the Celtics in their pursuit of winning back-to-back titles. Harden embarked on another season seeking a championship, while Gilgeous-Alexander’s consistency fueled the Thunder’s NBA title aspirations.

The outcome brought two of the season’s stars to the biggest stage: Game 7 of the Finals.

Here are the top takeaways from Season 2 of “Starting 5.”

Trade to Houston still hurts Harden, Durant

The early days of the Oklahoma City Thunder paired two of the game’s top scorers on one team: Durant and Harden. They were teammates for three seasons before the Thunder dealt Harden to the Houston Rockets in 2012, propelling the guard to All-Star and MVP heights.

Even though the trade happened over a decade ago, emotions are still raw for Durant and Harden, who won Sixth Man of the Year that season. Alongside Russell Westbrook, the Thunder were coming off a Finals run in which they lost in five games to the Miami Heat.

Unable to reach a contract extension, Oklahoma City traded Harden. He explained that it “wasn’t about no real money. It was a couple million dollars.”

Kevin Durant, James Harden and Russell Westbrook played together in Oklahoma City for three seasons. (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)

Durant admitted he didn’t know what was going on with Harden’s contract negotiations until the very end and “never thought there was a possibility he was leaving.” He also expressed anger about the reaction leaguewide, with players posting congratulatory messages for Harden on social media.

“I was like, ‘Shut the f— up. Y’all just was f—ing scared. Y’all knew we was on the way.” Durant said.

Harden echoed a similar sentiment.

“Overall, I was mad as hell, too,” he said. “Cause I got the call, and it’s like, then there was loss. These are my dawgs, like you see what we just did these last three years? It was like, ‘we’re gonna win a championship next year.’ … I was hurt. It was sad, for real.”

Durant said he liked playing with Harden and he misses it. However, he pointed out that he, Harden and Westbrook all maximized their potential, which is most important.

Haliburton considered taking a break from Pacers

Prior to leading the Pacers on a surprising NBA Finals run, Haliburton found himself in a dark place early in the 2024-25 season. His confidence took a hit after he played in just three games for Team USA in the Paris Olympics.

The All-Star guard struggled in November and December, averaging 18.1 points and nine assists on 44% shooting from the field as Indiana entered 2025 with a 16-18 record.

“I honestly don’t think I’ve ever felt as negative about myself as I did in November and December,” Haliburton said. “Yeah, I was definitely in a dark time.”

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His fiancée, Jade Jones, could tell Haliburton was feeling pressure from his play and was struggling to identify the root cause of his slump.

The highest-paid player on the Pacers, Haliburton said players such as himself are only evaluated on whether they can impact their respective team to win games. If they don’t, it’s next man up.

“It got to the point where I was like, ‘Should I kind of step away for a little bit just for our group? Would that be more beneficial?'” Haliburton said. “I know that if I’m not right, that our team isn’t gonna be right.”

A conversion with his trainer, renowned NBA skills coach Drew Hanlen, aided Haliburton’s turnaround. He also returned to Paris in late January with the Pacers facing the San Antonio Spurs.

This time, Haliburton performed. He dropped 28 points in Indiana’s 136-98 win, and the rest was history.

SGA, Chris Paul brotherhood on full display

Gilgeous-Alexander and Paul developed a strong bond in the one season they spent as teammates with the Thunder in 2019-20. The 2025 MVP called Paul a mentor and friend, and he leaned on him for advice.

After Denver Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon nailed a game winner against the Thunder in Game 1 of their second-round playoff series, Gilgeous-Alexander FaceTimed Paul when he got home. The two reviewed moments from the game.

Paul also attended Game 2 of Oklahoma City’s Western Conference finals series against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Gilgeous-Alexander received his MVP award that night as Paul sat courtside next to Gilgeous-Alexander’s wife.

The Thunder guard playfully put Paul in a chokehold after the game, saying, “Now you stuck. Now you don’t know what to do. Now what?”

“Ima just chop your wrist off. It’s gonna be with me,” Paul replied, and the 12-time All-Star went to Gilgeous-Alexander’s house for dinner afterward.

The wild NBA Finals Game 1 ending told by the players

Haliburton and the Pacers’ shocking comebacks were a huge storyline of the postseason, and “Starting 5.” There may not have been a single comeback with larger ramifications than Game 1 of the NBA Finals.

The Thunder seemed to be in cruise control, holding a 15-point lead in the fourth quarter. However, Indiana was in a position it had seen before that postseason and slowly walked Oklahoma City down — something Haliburton said the Pacers tried to do in each of their other comeback wins.

Indiana, down one with less than 10 seconds remaining, had the ball after Gilgeous-Alexander missed a jumper.

“They get the rebound come down, don’t call a timeout. [Haliburton] gets it to his right hand. He loves his right hand. That’s where he goes,” Gilgeous-Alexander explained.

Haliburton then dribbled toward the right wing and rose up for a go-ahead jumper.

“It felt like slow motion. Like the ball’s in the air forever. I’m just like, ‘It’s going in,” Gilgeous-Alexander said.

“I didn’t even know how to react, so I just yell,” Haliburton said, as the Pacers stole Game 1.

Raw reactions after Haliburton tears Achilles in Game 7

The improbable Game 1 comeback set up the best two words in a playoff series: Game 7.

Unfortunately, Haliburton’s outing ended prematurely due to a torn Achilles just halfway through the first quarter. Netflix mic’d Haliburton up during the game and followed him to the locker room.

The Pacers star — who had nine points before exiting — explained he wanted to heat check a 3-pointer, but didn’t like the opportunity. Therefore, he swung the ball, knowing it would rotate back to him with the intention of attacking his defender, Gilgeous-Alexander. However, when he went to drive to the basket, the injury occurred.

“I knew what it was,” Haliburton said.

“I turn around and look to see who’s on the floor, I was like, ‘Oh s—, no way.’ And then I seen him screaming,” Gilgeous-Alexander said.

The first five minutes of Starting 5 Season 2? Absolute CINEMA ðŸ¿

Premiering on Netflix in 10 HOURS. pic.twitter.com/FWv797eBRl

— Netflix (@netflix) October 15, 2025

Haliburton revealed that he wanted to walk off, recalling that Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant walked off when he tore his Achilles.

“I can walk off. Like, it’s possible. So I was like, ‘Get me up, I’m gonna walk off.’ It felt like just dead weight at the end of my leg,” he said. “I think that’s when I became overcome with emotion just because that’s when the reality really set in.”

Haliburton broke down in tears in the locker room with Jones, his father and his mother by his side. He got his ankle wrapped in ice and watched the rest of the game in the trainer’s room, saying to the TV: “Make it worth it, at least.”

With Indiana leading at halftime, Haliburton revealed that his biggest regret was not giving a halftime speech to the team. Oklahoma City ended up winning 103-91 to claim the championship.

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After two straight games chasing their opponents, trying and failing to mount comebacks, what the Vancouver Canucks desperately needed in their fourth game of 82 was a swing in momentum — a lucky bounce, a strong shift, anything that could inject and sustain life into this lineup.

On Thursday night against the Dallas Stars, however, it seemed to be getting late early.

An unfortunate own-goal tip from Elias Pettersson got the Stars on the board, a Mikko Rantanen power-play snipe doubled their lead and it looked like the Canucks were headed towards another too-little-too-late effort after barely surviving the first period.

Then, the momentum swing came, and it came in the form of a penalty kill.

The Canucks just had their best scoring chance after being thoroughly hemmed in their own zone when Conor Garland took a slashing penalty against Sam Steel in the early minutes of the middle frame. It could have been a nail in the coffin for Vancouver, could have made the hill to climb that much steeper. Instead, the penalty killers dug in and prevented the Stars from producing any dangerous chances.

Suddenly, it was an entirely different game.

Evander Kane sprung Filip Chytil just after Garland’s penalty came to an end, who tucked one in blocker-side on former Canuck goalie Casey DeSmith for his third of the season. Then, Brock Boeser tipped home a Quinn Hughes shot on the power play for his third marker this year just over two minutes later, followed quickly by Max Sasson’s first in his season debut. In the span of 3:26, the Canucks turned a 0-2 deficit into a 3-2 lead — a lead they would not surrender en route to a gusty 5-3 win.

“The guys stuck with it. The start of the game didn’t go how we wanted,” Adam Foote told reporters in Dallas after the game. “But I give the guys a lot of credit. They hung in there at intermission and stayed with their game.”

In a market so accustomed to gloom, doom and endless disappointment, it’s easy to catastrophize after two straight losses. But it’s only Game 4, and this win returned the team to .500. More importantly, the Canucks put together their most dominant period of the season in the second and held strong in the final frame in the face of pressure, and a goal, from the Stars.

“We just fought our way back,” said Conor Garland, who scored the game-winner to close out the dominant second period. “That Sasson line kind of carried the pace for us, let us get our legs under us, and we had a really good game. Really good finish to it as well.”

That this performance came against a Western Conference juggernaut like the Stars should do loads to boost the Canucks’ confidence as they continue along their five-game road trip, with upcoming stops in Chicago, Washington, Pittsburgh and Nashville.

Is this the type of performance we should expect from the Canucks going forward? We’ll find out on Friday night, when they take on the Blackhawks.

“We’re 2-2 now,” said Garland. “We had no panic. It’s early. We’re trying to find our game. A lot of young guys in the lineup just getting used to the league. To hang in there tonight against one of the best teams in the Western Conference was a good statement by us.”

It took four games, but the Canucks power play finally got on the board.

The Canucks have suffered from a lack of production from their top players, and the same can be said about their power play, which went 0-for-7 prior to Thursday night.

While going 2-for-3 on the man-advantage against the Stars won’t magically fix the power-play woes, which date back to the latter half of last season, it’s encouraging to see them finally find success and string together high-danger chances on each chance.

“I thought they were moving the puck pretty good tonight,” Foote said.

The Canucks scored on their first opportunity, with Boeser, Hughes and Elias Pettersson combining to finally score for the snake-bitten unit.

They were stymied on their second chance, but looked dangerous throughout, forcing DeSmith to stay on his toes and make some tough saves, and on their third try, with the Stars’ goalie pulled to pull to five-on-five, Hughes sent one into the empty net for his first of the year.

The power play still sits at a dismal 20 per cent, but for the first time this season, there is a glimmer of hope that they can find this success consistently.

With just one assist through three games — albeit a record-breaking assist — the Canucks captain was off to an uncharacteristically slow start to the season.

Of course, ‘slow’ for the 2024 Norris Trophy winner is a relative term, and he still led the team in ice time prior to Thursday, smooth skating even if the points weren’t coming with it — very much the case for the entire top-end of the lineup.

Nobody who watches Hughes play regularly thought this mini-slump would at all extend to the point of concern, but it was still a relief to see the defenceman impact the scorecard in the way we’ve grown accustomed.

Hughes finished the night with a goal and an assist, bringing his point total up to three in four games this year, while launching a team-high four shots in over 25 minutes on ice.

If there were any questions surrounding Thatcher Demko’s ability to man the crease after an injury-plagued 2024-25, he has very quickly provided answers.

The 29-year-old has far and away been the Canucks’ MVP through his three games played this season, looking much like the Vezina Trophy runner-up of two years ago, and on Thursday night, he provided yet another first-star performance.

His .903 save percentage is a little misleading, as he kept the Canucks competitive even as the Stars were throwing everything at him. He had to be sharp early, too, with Dallas outshooting his squad 8-1 before the halfway point of the first period, including a Grade-A chance from Adam Erne less than three minutes into the game.

“I think he’s the best in the world. So big, so mobile, tracks every puck,” Garland said of his goaltender. “We feel very confident any time he’s in the net and we’re fortunate to have (Lankinen) tomorrow night, so we feel great about our goalies.”

“He’s unbelievable,” Sasson added. “The saves he makes just look… They’re really hard saves, and he makes them look routine. It’s just a testament to his professionalism.”

In his past two games combined, against the Stars and the Oilers on Sunday, he’s been tested 67 times and made 62 saves.

It’s early, but Demko is already in mid-season form.

Compliments to the Calder Cup line

Foote, on the Arshdeep Bains-Sasson-Linus Karlsson line: “I thought they had some jump. You saw it in pre-season and then you saw it tonight. That speed on the goal —(Sasson) almost had another chance — with that speed, defencemen will back off when he’s out there. He spread the D out, they weren’t playing up when that line was out there. They had to be cautious of that speed.”

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Turns out backup goaltending is the least of the Calgary Flames’ concerns right now.

In the most important start of his career, Devin Cooley made an overwhelmingly positive first impression with a 29-save performance that made him the gameâ€s first star Wednesday in Utah.

However, his heroics werenâ€t enough as the offensively-challenged Flames lost their fourth in a row, this time by a 3-1 score to the Mammoth.

And while the effort was solid, the reality is becoming daunting, warned coach Ryan Huska afterwards.

“You need to find your game in a hurry because you canâ€t make the playoffs the first month of the year, but you surely can miss them,†said Huska, whose club played in Calgary the night before and arrived at their Salt Lake City hotel after 3 a.m.

“It is important for guys to recognize the work is there, but itâ€s some of the execution thatâ€s not, or the mistake at an inopportune time that is costing us some of these games.â€

“That stuff has to be cleaned up. I do feel weâ€ve beaten ourselves in this stretch weâ€re in right now. Those are all things I think are correctable for sure.â€

Given the nightmarish second half he had in the AHL last season, followed by a subpar pre-season, plenty was riding on Cooleyâ€s opening performance.

With rumours abounding the Flames are already looking to bolster their backup position, the 28-year-old responded to the pressure by being the gameâ€s first star, keeping Calgary in a game that could easily have gotten out of hand without him.

“I thought for his first game of the year I thought he was excellent,†said Huska, who will need Dustion Wolfâ€s backup to win at least half his starts for the team to make the playoffs.

“He made the saves he had to, and he sprinkled in some that were competitive saves, and thatâ€s what you want to see from him.â€
Making just his seventh NHL start, Cooleyâ€s first NHL action in 18 months saw him make a trio of great saves in the first period that gave plenty of early hope he was up to the task.

“I felt pretty good, maybe a little jumpy, a little scrambly, but maybe that comes with not playing in a while and having a lot of energy and feeling excited to have an opportunity,†said the California native, who was an AHL all-star last season.

“Especially in a backup role, my job is to give the team a chance every single night Iâ€m in, whether itâ€s a tough travel day or whatever, Iâ€ve got to find a way to dig in.â€

He did. And his teammates did well to scrap their way through a tight game, despite the obvious fatigue that comes from playing their second back-to-back in eight days.

“I thought our guys battled really hard,†said Cooley.

“I think we got in at 3:30 or 4 in the morning on a back-to-back, so it wasnâ€t easy, but our guys battled to the end.â€

With just six goals in their last four games, the Flames†inability to finish continues to plague a franchise that missed the playoffs last season because of it.

Joel Farabee and Matt Coronato were the most dangerous of all Flames Wednesday, as they pushed hard in the third period to erase a one-goal deficit, outshooting the hosts 12-4.

But shortly after Karel Vejmelka made a crucial shoulder save on Nazem Kadri in the final minute, the door opened for Kevin Stenlund to bank a lucky clearing attempt into an empty net after banked it in off the side boards.

Fact is, scoring is hard enough for the Flames without having to kill six Utah power plays.

Full marks to the revamped penalty kill approach and personnel the Flames employ for being perfect on the night, but it makes it awfully tough to come back in a game when youâ€re constantly down a man.

“Itâ€s going to be a hard game to win when you take six minors,†said Rasmus Andersson, whose power-play goal in the first period came courtesy of a fortuitous rebound off a defender.

“The penalties cost us tonight, I thought.â€

Huska didnâ€t disagree, pointing to a second-period lapse in which the Flames were outshot 18-3 and outscored 2-0 while having to kill off three penalties.

“Once we were killing that many penalties, I donâ€t think we got out of our zone the whole period,†he said.

“Then youâ€re making fatigue mistakes more than anything.â€

One of those mistakes saw Zayne Parekh fail to close a gap at mid ice and lose a footrace to JJ Peterka, whose breakaway conversion stood as the winner.

The Flames visit Vegas on Saturday.

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