Sports
Floundering Rangers try to end frustrations on visit to Panthers
Dec 22, 2024; New York, New York, USA; New York Rangers center Mika Zibanejad (93) at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images The New York Rangers are still desperately seeking answers following their blockbuster trade of captain Jacob Trouba earlier this month.
They’ll try to regain some stability when they visit the Florida Panthers on Monday evening in Sunrise, Fla.
New York is 3-8-0 since trading Trouba to the Anaheim Ducks on Dec. 6 in a roster shakeup that hasn’t ignited anybody.
They’ve dropped three in a row and six of seven, most recently losing at the Tampa Bay Lightning 6-2 on Saturday.
“Right now, it’s just frustrating,” New York coach Peter Laviolette said. “We’re in the business of winning hockey games and we’re not getting it done right now, so it’s tough to sit here and tell you good things. We’re losing hockey games. We need to win hockey games and we’re not getting that done.”
New York had high expectations after reaching the Eastern Conference finals for the second time in three years last season.
Hopes of getting past that hurdle and reaching the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 2014 were heightened after the Rangers improved to 12-4-1 with a 4-3 win at the Vancouver Canucks on Nov. 19. They haven’t won two games in a row since.
“Result-wise, this is not what we wanted,” Rangers center Mika Zibanejad said. “We can talk about a reset, we can talk about whatever, but if the result is not there, it’s not going to matter.”
In the loss to the Lightning, special teams once again played a big role. The Rangers went 0-for-4 on the power play while Tampa Bay went 2-for-5.
“We don’t score on our power play, we let in two goals, we put ourselves in a bad spot,” Zibanejad said. “I don’t think that’s the effort. I don’t think that’s the team itself or how we came out, how we started. I don’t think that’s why we lose a game. We had (44) shots, we’ve got to get in front of a few more and get some quality chances, but I thought we did. It’s frustrating.”
The Rangers will face a hungry Florida team that has been shut out the past two games, the second time that’s happened this month.
“Yeah, there is something to that. We are playing the perimeter game for the most part,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. “That has a lot to do with it.”
The Panthers most recently fell to the visiting Montreal Canadiens 4-0 on Saturday afternoon, failing to get one past a goalie making his NHL debut in Jakub Dobes.
“I don’t think we are going to dwell on this one, just kind of move on,” Florida forward Sam Bennett said. “Mistakes are going to be made. It’s about how you help each other and fix them. We are just going to move on from this game.”
Sergei Bobrovsky will start in goal for the Panthers. He’s 5-2 in seven starts this month with a 2.24 goals-against average and a .910 save percentage.
He made 24 saves in a 3-1 win against the Rangers on Oct. 24. Overall, the two-time Vezina Trophy winner is 15-12-3 in 31 career starts against New York with a 2.83 GAA, a .908 save percentage and one of his 45 career shutouts.
Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin was pulled after giving up five goals on 13 shots in 28:08 against the Lightning. He took the loss against Florida in October while making 26 saves and is 4-3-0 with a 2.87 GAA and a .915 save percentage against the Panthers all-time.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Report: RB David Montgomery 'wants out' of Detroit
Dec 25, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Detroit Lions running back David Montgomery (5) looks on before the game against the Minnesota Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images Lions running back David Montgomery “wants out” of Detroit after three seasons, ESPN reported on Sunday.
Montgomery, however, immediately appeared to refute the report on X, posting: “Damn, Dmo told you that?”
The ESPN report claims the Lions would want “a decent Day 3 pick (possibly a fifth-rounder)” in the 2026 NFL Draft in return for Montgomery, who turns 29 in June and is owed $6 million next season.
The report follows general manager Brad Holmes’ remarks after the season about Montgomery being unhappy with his playing time in 2025. Sharing a backfield with Jahmyr Gibbs, Montgomery rushed for a career-low 716 yards and eight touchdowns in 17 games (no starts).
“Those are conversations that we’re going to have to have because I’ve got a lot of respect for that player,” Holmes said of Montgomery in January. “He deserves to be in a situation where his skillset can be utilized, and so yeah would love for it to be here, but if it can’t be here then you’d just love to see where could work out best for him.”
At the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis on Tuesday, Holmes said the situation with Montgomery is “fluid.” He signed a two-year extension during the 2024 season that runs through the end of the 2027 campaign.
“Yeah, I have been in touch with David’s agent, and his representation,” Holmes revealed. “Obviously, we love David, he’s a great player, we love to have him, you know, kind of want to put last year in the rear view, and just move forward. But, obviously, a player has to want to be at a certain place as well. The conversations are still fluid, but we’ll see how it goes.”
Montgomery has rushed for 2,506 yards and 33 touchdowns in 45 games (28 starts) in three seasons with Detroit (2023-25). He has 76 catches for 650 yards in that span.
He began his career with the NFC North rival Chicago Bears, who drafted him in the third round in 2019. Montgomery rushed for 3,609 yards and 26 scores in 60 games (51 starts) with the Bears (2019-22).
–Field Level Media
Sports
Yankees LHP Ryan Yarbrough joins U.S. roster for WBC
Jun 18, 2025; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees relief pitcher Ryan Yarbrough (33) delivers a pitch during the first inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images New York Yankees left-hander Ryan Yarbrough was added to the Team USA roster for the upcoming World Baseball Classic on Sunday.
The 34-year-old reliever replaces Minnesota Twins right-hander Joe Ryan, who is dealing with low back tightness. Ryan moves into the designated pitcher pool, meaning he is eligible for a call-up after each round of the WBC.
Yarbrough went 3-1 with a 4.36 ERA and one save in 19 games (eight starts) during his first season with the Yankees in 2025, striking out 55 batters and walking 19 in 64 innings.
Ryan Yarbrough has been added to our roster for the World Baseball Classic!#ForGlory???? pic.twitter.com/RrtKJQ20gz
— USA Baseball (@USABaseball) March 1, 2026
Team USA will play its first game of the 2026 WBC on Friday night, meeting Brazil in a Pool B contest in Houston.
Yarbrough has a career record of 56-41 with a 4.22 ERA and four saves in 215 games (76 starts) with the Tampa Bay Rays (2018-22), Kansas City Royals (2023), Los Angeles Dodgers (2023-24), Toronto Blue Jays (2024) and Yankees. The side-arming southpaw signed a one-year, $2.5 million deal in November to return to New York in 2026.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Ex-pitcher Dan Serafini gets life sentence for '21 murder
Dan Serafini (file photo) pitched in MLB with seven teams. He was convited of first-degree murder. Former major league pitcher Dan Serafini was sentenced to life in prison without parole on Friday for the 2021 shootings of his in-laws in North Lake Tahoe, Calif.
Serafini, 52, was convicted in July of the first-degree murder of father-in-law Gary Spohr and the attempted first-degree murder of mother-in-law Wendy Wood during a burglary. Spohr, 70, died from a single gunshot and Wood, then 68, survived but died by suicide the following year.
In the courtroom on Friday in Auburn, Calif., Placer County prosecutor Morgan Gire described Spohr and Wood as loving grandparents.
“The impact of this attack has extended far beyond the immediate victims, deeply affecting family members and the broader community, and highlighting the lasting harm caused by deliberate violence,” Gire said.
Serafini, who pitched for six MLB teams from 1996 to 2007, addressed the court and maintained his innocence. He said he was out partying with his wife, Erin Spohr, at the time of the shooting and referred to himself as a “broken, imperfect man that makes mistakes,” according to MyNews4.
The Minnesota Twins selected Serafini, a native of the San Francisco area, with the No. 26 overall pick in the 1992 MLB Draft. He made his debut in 1996 and went on to appear in 104 games (33 starts) with the Twins, Chicago Cubs, San Diego Padres, Pittsburgh Pirates, Cincinnati Reds and Colorado Rockies before his retirement in 2007.
He had a 15-16 record with a 6.04 ERA and one save. He threw 263 2/3 innings and struck out 127 batters.
–Field Level Media
Report: RB David Montgomery 'wants out' of Detroit
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